The train door

Typical train travel in Tokyo.

Christmas Dogs

Dogs in prams were a common sight at the Yokahama Christmas market on Sunday. People taking photos of their dogs in prams was also a common sight - in front of a white Santa and a yellow reindeer - bizarro!!!

On the Canal

Another highlight of my trip to London was exploring the River Lea on Tas' houseboat.

Petersham Nurseries

A highlight of my brief trip to London was Saturday lunch with Tas,  at Petersham Nurseries at Richmond.  The food was divine and the setting unique and special - inside a glass conservatory with amazing flower arrangements.

Yellow Pumpkin

Yoyoi Kusama was a precursor of the Pop Art movement and influenced Andy Warhol.  I loved the beach side yellow pumpkin at Benesse House Art Gallery.  It is something of an icon for Naoshima Island.

Red Pumpkin

Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese artist known for her pumpkins and dots. This red pumpkin was at the ferry terminal on Naoshima Island.

Oxford Street Christmas

Exploring the streets of London at night, (after visits and meetings with universities during the day), the Christmas lights are up and looking merry and bright.

Toyo Ito

 A visit to the Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture on the island of Omishima,  was a highlight of my cycle ride. He is a famous architect and winner of the Pritzker Prize (like the Nobel Prize, but for architecture).  His work is often described as organic as he tries to bring buildings closer to their environment.  He designed an amazing building in Ometesando (high end shopping street) in Tokyo for Tod's shoes, with overlapping tree silhouettes ( see below).The museum has two buildings - the steel hut and the silver hut in a spectacular location, surrounded by citrus groves.

U2

My cycle tour on the Shimanmani Kaido started at the Onomichi U2 cycle centre.  A great complex in a restored wharf. It was an open and light-filled space with easy flow between each functional area; the Giant  (bike brand, not a large person) store and cycle hire facility, the souvenir shop, the cafe, the restaurant, the bar, the bakery and then to the hotel, with a cycling inspired modern sculpture in there as well.  An inspiration for the cycle hub at Beechworth Gaol??

Monet Garden

There was a divine and beautiful art gallery on Naoshima, specifically designed to display five Monet paintings.  A pond, with lilies, inspired by Monet's garden at Giverny was next to the path up to the gallery.

Textures

Moss and roof tiles on an old building in Onomichi.

A Pink Rabbit

An interruption to photos from my vacation in Japan.  I have been in Vienna, for a conference, and looking for Inspector Rex.  I didn't find the dog, but did spot this pink rabbit.

Drink a Cup of Tea

I loved this blue bowl, at the Benesse Art Site.  The work is called Drink a Cup of Tea.  Perfect for Mary and for Helen.  I think she needs this at her hut on the hill!!  The artist is Kazuo Katase - google him for more images of bowls in spectacular locations.

Benesse House Museum

The attraction for my visit to the island of Naoshima was the art and in particular to visit the Benesse House Museum and Art Site.  Below is some information from their website and gives an overview of what is a truly amazing place.  Would have loved to stay at the hotel, but it is booked out months in advance and costs $$$$$$$$.

This piece on a grassy knoll, is by an American Kinetic Artist and is called Three Squares Vertical Diagnol.

Benesse House Museum opened in 1992 as a facility integrating a museum with a hotel, based on the concept of "coexistence of nature, art and architecture." Designed by Tadao Ando, the facility is built on high ground overlooking the Seto Inland Sea and features large apertures that serve to open up the interior to the splendid natural surroundings. In addition to exhibiting the painting, sculpture, photography, and installations in its collection, the Museum also contains permanent site-specific installations that artists have created especially for the building, selecting locations on their own and designing the works for those spaces. The Museum's artworks are found not just within its galleries, but in all parts of the building, as well as in scattered locations along the seashore that borders the complex and in the nearby forest. Benesse House Museum is truly a rare site where nature, art, and architecture come together, in an environment containing numerous site-specific works created for the natural environs of Naoshima or inspired by the architectural spaces they inhabit.

Honmura Streetscape

The final days of my break were spent on Naoshima Island.  The Honmura District is a fishing port with narrow streets and buildings with dark boards and tiled roofs.  Some empty houses in the area have been turned into exhibition spaces called the Art House Project.  Unfortunately, because I had to catch the 11 am ferry to leave the Island and the Art Houses don't open until 10am, my planned exploration of them meant  I looked, but did not enter the spaces, which is a shame as they seemed very interesting and creative.

Nearly Autumn

There was some autumn colour in the maples at Korakuen gardens in Okayama.  This one was beginning to turn and really made me want to visit again later in November.

Okayama Castle

Okayama Castle was reconstructed after it was destroyed in World War II.  It had many turrets and looks better outside than in.

Okayama Gardens 2

Teams of gardeners at work pruning in Okayama Korakuen Gardens.  I watched one pruner for a while, he was using secateurs like nail scissors, snipping and no chopping.

Chrysanthemum Appreciation

Okayama Gardens where hosting a Chrysanthemum convention.  They are not my favorite flower and I don't know much about them so their informative brochure "How to See and Appreciate Chrysanthemum Flowers". Okiku-Fukusuke style resembles the big head of the Fukusuke doll - bringer of good luck.

Korakuen Gardens - Okayama

The Korakuen Gardens are the main tourist attraction in Okayama.  I was glad to make a stop there and visit the beautiful and extensive formal gardens.  I was wishing I could be there in Spring as there were massed iris and groves of flowering plums and cherries and long pagodas covered with wisteria.  There were some tinges of autumn colours but I was too early for the maples. 

The gardens  are popular with locals as there were school children playing, men in dark suits in tour groups and couples posing for photographs in traditional Japanese clothing.

Buddha in the Shade

While I was cycling I often came across these small Buddha shrines by the roadside. With an orange colored robe this one was particularly eye-catching.    

The Inland Sea

A wonderful part of cycling the Shimanmani Kaido was alway being by the sea.  The Seto Inland Sea is also known as Setouchi.  The blues of the water, the sky, especially at sunset and the mountains, were idyllic.

Topiary

Japanese topiary is extreme.  The precision of the pruning is amazing.  This tree in front of a traditional house on the island of Omishima was pruned exactly and in an exact manner.