We’ve moved on to Kyoto but I wanted to give a mention to this great restaurant back in Naoshima. Our second night we tried the New Olympia, a tiny sushi restaurant. By small I mean 5 seats at the counter , two western style tables and one tatami mat table. WOW. Out of this world…
Kicking it off in Kyoto
Left Sparky’s Place early this morning to catch the 6:40 AM ferry. Not many people were leaving the island at that time. We practically had the ferry to ourselves. When it docked, we crossed the street to the train station and caught the one going straight to Okayama just as it was leaving. So, great, we got to…
Photinias steal the show
Naoshima is a beautiful island noted for its attempt at being one big art exhibit. To get visitors primed, outside the main port is a large red pumpkin people can crawl in and out of. A long block away from the big pumpkin is a bunraku statue. Or at least that’s how the Portuguese sculptor describes it. Bunraku…
Takoyaki
I’ve been wanting to try these. Lots of hype about this street food. Finally tried it today at a little place at the port. Takoyaki, often called “octopus balls” by us foreigners, are kind of like fried dumplings. A wheat-based batter fried with a piece of octopus meat inside. Seasoning and sauces vary. They were…
Forget the abandoned houses
Best thing we saw yesterday, sandwiched among abandoned houses. The Can Art Shop.
It sounded like a good idea
Visiting Naoshima that is. An island dedicated to art. Gotta be good, right? After checking into Sparky’s House, we set out to walk a pleasant 25 minutes from Sparky’s to the village of Honmura where several abandoned homes have been repurposed as contemporary art spaces. Grubb will describe the installations in more descriptive prose but let…
Art houses on the island
Staying at Sparky’s Place on Naoshima island it follows that we should have a little bounce to our step heading out to the village of Honmura where it’s a custom to get a ticket to the five art houses. Art houses are abandoned houses and office space that have been converted into venues for installation…
There’s a prize
10 yen to the first person to guess the full meaning of the sign without translating the Japanese words.
Continuing the eastward journey
Yesterday we boarded an early morning Shinkansen bound for Okayama, then transferred to a local train to Chaymachi, another local train to Uno port, and a ferry crossing to Naoshima. All told, about 5 hours from Hiroshima apartment to our room at Sparkys House. Hiroshima Station is another huge megaplex. Below is just one small…
Last of Hiroshima
Eel on the train
Before we got on the train this morning, Ella bought a bento box with eel laid out on a bed of rice. While we were heading to Okayama (to transfer trains to Naoshima), she opened the box and dined. It was the best meal we had all day.
Left to right
On the ferry to Naoshima island this morning I glanced over at a man reading a graphic novel. He was flipping the pages from left to right as one does reading Japanese where the eye travels from right to left. It was like watching a film in reverse. I kept expecting him to stop and start turning the…
Toilet with sink
The toilet in our Hiroshima apartment has a built in water spout. You do your business, flush and water from the spout automatically flows. You can rinse your hands right there.
Risen cities
Visiting Hiroshima, like Rotterdam, while I’m looking at the contemporary skyline there’s a black-and-white photo in my mind of a city reduced to rubble from an aerial bombardment. There’s not much beauty to the functional look of a modern city unless you realize it has risen from almost total destruction. What would be mundane is now magnificent, the…
The lazy way up the mountain
Shika deer, considered messengers of the gods, roam unafraid among humans on Miyajima. They eat anything so beware of whatever you are holding in your hands. I did a separate post with deer pics. We saw them in the streets and alleyways and our trek up the mountain. A forested mountain lush with deer food. There…