Kurashiki... more pics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kurashiki..

We say goodbye to Hiroshima
and MyLittleSister travel guide expertly gets us on board the Shinkansen,
the Bullet Train, to travel to Kurashiki.
Actually we find ourselves on the Nozomi Super Express Shinkansen
and maybe we were not meant to be on this particular express train, but nobody notices us
and we travel fast and comfortably using our Japan Rail Pass.


The Shinkansen trains are wonderful.
I love the way the Guard bows low when he enters the carriage
and turns and bows low again  as he leaves.
There always seems to be time for politeness and order..
and unlike NZ trains.. the trains are always on time.. exactly!

And so.. we arrive in Kurashiki.
It is late afternoon and we set out walking in the older part of this town.
Kurashiki I am told, is a place Japanese love to visit,
a place of beauty. 

We wander along the the most beautiful canal in the moonlight.
There is one star in the indigo sky, 

and  there is one handsome swan swimming in the canal
under the cherry blossoms.
It is all so romantic and beautiful
I imagine the swan is maybe some lost
Japanese prince
waiting for his rescuing princess.

We dine in a very special eating place.
The food is so delicate and tasty. 

We eat slowly savouring every morsel. 

We decide to call this our birthday dinner.
Our birthdays are months away but.. so?
It is so special we feel honoured to be here.

After our meal we walk again along the canal
and the moon high above is reflected in the still water. 

The reflections of houses look as real as the houses above 

and the whole place is a wonderland.

The next day we set off to explore the shops,
and to roam the streets just absorbing the ambience...

and there is plenty to look at.

Many people have come to walk and admire the cherry blossoms,
and the swan is there to enjoy the adulation too. 

 Haiku..

Swan swims the canal
Stealing the attention from
the cherry blossoms 

Swan and cherry blossoms are much photographed. 

Then .. surprise surprise... we discovered the Ohara Museum of Art.
Such a surprise.
Kojima Torajiro was a Japanese artist in the 1920's.  He travelled to Paris to explore
the essence of art, and he bought works of art for his sponsor.
These works of art are exhibited in this wonderful museum.
We gasped as we came across works by Chagall, Gauguin, Miro, Picasso,
Monet, Matisse, Modigliani and more.
In one room stood The Annunciation by El Greco.
We felt we had personally discovered a treasure house!

Local artists set out their works along the canal. 

The weather was perfect and everywhere spring was welcomed in the loveliest ways. 

Our visit to Kurashiki was a happy one
and looking back now
seems dreamlike.
I always have the feeling I am on a pilgrimage,
so spiritual is this country.

Like everywhere we went in Japan
we met only kindness and calm.
During our time in Japan we saw not one piece of litter.

Living as I do in a small island country like Japan,
but with less than 5 million people,
I am astonished how 170 million people can live such an orderly and calm life
as the people of Japan live.

Is it because there is one culture here.
The Japanese culture.
I hear the words of Emperor Meiji
"We will take your Western technologies
but we will keep our Japanese culture".

I am learning very much from these people.

Kanazawa.. sleeping in the Geisha House...

I cannot wait any longer.
I just have to tell you about our stay in the Geisha House in Kanazawa.

Haiku

Tip tapping Geisha ghost
tripping on black lacquered stairs.
Aha. Screen latch left open.


Can you imagine
arriving in Kanazawa ;
taxi from the railway station;
winding through narrow ancient streets

to be deposited at this doorway..
and welcomed by the delightful host and his wife
into their beautiful guest house
that once housed the Geisha! 

This was such a highlight for me.
See Nicloa looking at me from the tiny inner courtyard..
(can you see the slippers waiting should you wish to step into the garden).. 

the shiny grey tiled roofs
(did you ever see The film of The Geisha where the little girl escaped over the tiled roofs?)

 

 

This was where my sister and I slept..
on futons on tatami mats with light plump quilts on top
and beautiful rice paper shoji screens.
No secrets in this place.
Hush!

The beautiful scroll and works of art .. all with a meaning.

The small sitting area  with painted screens outside our room. 

Nicola at the foot of the lacquered stairs.
Impossible to walk silently
down these old wooden stairs
wearing the clippy clop slippers!

Our slippers outside our bedroom door
and the little chairs and table by the window screens
where I sat and wrote in my small  Moleskine journal. 

Simplicity and  beauty..
and peace.

A place for cleansing
and contemplation.. 

Hear the dripping of water. 

The passage to the street entrance. 

Wooden slippers to wear in the street..
soft slippers to wear around the house..
and slippers to wear to the toilet. 

And then!
The bath.
Filled to the brim with clean hot water
and wooden covers to keep the water hot and steamy.. 

 Sit and use the shower to rinse and soap and scrub..
and rinse again..
and then clean as clean
climb  into the tub of hot water to soak.
Oh Bliss!!!
My sister and I shared the bathroom..
scrubbing one another's
backs
just as our mother did for us when we were little girls.

Baskets to hold your towels.. 

 and a place to wash your teeth.
Warm and clean
we sleep soundly in our futon beds
dreaming of Geisha beauties and all kinds of intrigue.

This place was heaven for me!
I will never forget our stay in The Geisha House.