LIFE BJ (BEFORE JAPAN) & AJ (AFTER JAPAN)

THE LEAD UP

Before we took off there was far too much to do to get ready and to take time to think about what had transpired over the last year and what to expect in this much anticipated Japan trip.

And then, after that, what’s next in 2020 - I mean, who could think of such things?

I feel the sense of ending and beginning more strongly than usual. This has something to do with moving out of the teens and into a new decade. It feels important. It feels like time is passing (too) quickly and only yesterday it was 2010. Or even 2000. Time slowed down a bit in Japan. I’ll get to that.

ON BECOMING AWARE OF JAPAN

Back in the early 70’s my art school director father and my college-aged sister went to Japan on a design trip and of course I was terribly jealous. And knowing how places change so much and so fast - how could I see what they saw? In 1979 I attended the IDCA Conference themed “Japan in Aspen”, and learned about some of they saw - and I even met with one of those famous Japanese designers speaking at IDCA (he’d befriended my father and sister) and now in 2019 I finally saw Japan, with all it’s perfectly designed and considered spaces, papers, textiles, grounds, and foods…

I know that my lack of awareness about life in Japan was ignorant - but in my defense - growing up in Pittsburgh, Pa is my excuse. And my dad served in WWII, in Europe, not in the Pacific. So yes, I was slow to learn about Asia - in so many ways.

THE TRIP

My November and December 2019 were filled with the magic of Japan! Yup - this was the most amazing travel experience I’ve ever had (and I have traveled plenty). I am so thankful, and just simply blown away by Japan and how I had the chance to partake in such a unique way. We saw so much and traveled far and wide, by train, bus, car, taxi, ferry, boat, and Bullet. Some of what we saw was quite obscure, as this was a specially curated trip for people to experience Japan’s most stunning art, antiques, temples, gardens, textiles, ceramics, fashion, design, paper, architecture, and food.

I traveled with 13 arty people including my husband Jack and - yes - I brought Barbie along. In this iteration she’s an African-American yoga Barbie, which somehow seemed right for this trip. I like her chartreuse and hot pink workout outfit and her ability to move in such a human way.

Once again this is a photo-heavy post and most of these images I shot on my iPhone. There are probably a few exceptions mixed in - either someone took them of me or I am confused about whose are whose because we shared images during the trip. Credit goes to all the very artistic folks I had the opportunity to travel with and especially to our friends who put the group together.

Before We Departed

Just days before our departure we took a field trip to Filoli, a beautifully preserved mansion and grounds located on the Peninsula. We saw a splash of fall color at this delightful estate and grounds (photo below). It was a good ramp up to the Japan trip…

A glistening fall day in the Bay Area’s beloved Filoli Gardens (BJ)

LIGHT, SHADOW, REFLECTION

It is the tradition in Japan to take everything around you into consideration. Nothing is random. How things sound, look, and feel, are all important components of your experience. As a result it’s a magnified experience. Water and reflections play a key role. I am keenly interested in reflections, mirrors, and multiple images so I especially enjoyed these less obvious sightings. It rains a lot in Japan so the ground is often shiny wet and the green plants are glistening. As in photography, light and shadow play are important factors in their architecture and landscape design.

BARBIE TAKES ON JAPAN

I noticed a general amusement when people saw my with Barbie. I’ve been calling her “black yoga Barbie” but officially she’s “Barbie Made to Move”. It was fun to put her into complex action poses, especially on Naoshima, “the art island” of Japan, where we spent several days. People like to participate. At one point in one of my favorite sites, the moss garden that sports 125 types of moss - we came across a little party of stuffed animals on a photo expedition. So, of course we joined in!

I’M STILL COLLECTING YOUR BARBIE STORIES SO PLEASE SEND THEM ALONG TO ME @ SRKIRSHENBAUM@GMAIL.COM

WHAT WE ATE (&DRANK)

This is some seriously beautiful food, so even if you don’t enjoy all of the flavors, you can fully appreciate the display and preparation. Also, the seasonality is very noticeable. We ate lots of autumn foods - served with well-chosen leaves, including dishes with chestnuts, apples, squashes, potatoes, and fish in season. The plates, cups, and bowls were always unique, often tiny, and bountiful. So many dishes and cookers and servers were used for each meal even including very fine glassware and original ceramics. We enjoyed cool sake, wonderful whiskeys, delicate shoju, crisp cold beer, and tasty fruit drinks. We drank many many cups of tea a day. Had loads of little sweets and snacks. So many are green tea flavored! We ate our pretty bento box lunches on train rides (the trains and train stations are a whole other story). And there’s real coffee - it’s popular and often quite good.

Breakfasts were an intense experience for me as I don’t like to eat in the morning but when you travel you need to get off to a good start and our Japanese breakfasts were huge and exotic. Western breakfasts - if I’m giving advice - I’d stay away from them. Although the eggs are tremendous and have bright orange yolks.

Kobe beef is everything people say it is. Delicious and fun to cook yourself. The handmade noodles, especially the thick, square kind, are divine. The freshly ground wasabi is like nothing I’ve had in the USA. Fish and shellfish are always excellent. Pickles - which I love in that Eastern European way - were sometimes too strange for my taste buds, but always colorful. There’s a sense of humor that comes out in the food too, like these mochi desserts with strawberries (photo below) that look like tongues sticking out. And all the wonderful plastic food and drink displays, which are quite helpful in selecting a restaurant.

Chopsticks could be an entire study. You must handle them correctly and place them correctly, use the right ones (big serving and cooking chopsticks vs. little personal eating chopsticks). I bought my own pair with a case, a point protector, and my name etched into them. I like using chopsticks and appreciate how eating with them helps you slow down. I miss them.

Fried river fish for breakfast

Sake cups for in-room party

Kobe beef to cook ourselves

Perfectly grilled fish

Street food

Temple festival being broken down for food distribution

Yuzu fruit to place into wooden in-room soaking tub

Limes - help yourself!

Don't eat the marble these apps are placed on

Last night's lobster is this morning's soup

Edible lettering

Edible leaves are not real leaves (this time)

Yes the are mouths

Micheline 3-star tempura chef hard at work

This fish is spiky!

Jams for "American breakfast"

American breakfast with deep orange egg yolks

ESPECIALLY CATS

We observed animal love and importance at temples, cafes, in the art, product design, and on the streets and shops. If I get to return I’ll seek out even more. From a distance we witnessed an owl spreading its wings in an owl cafe. I’m not keen on the idea of animal cafes. They even have hedgehog cafes, but the closest I came to hedgehogs was a plush toy hedgehog Christmas tree! Foxes, too, are important animals (see my temple shots). I have a special place in my heart for foxes. It’s my mother’s maiden name and during the trip I wondered how to incorporate it into my name. And there were frogs at the temples, too, giant and grand. And dogs were also present in temple statuary. But most noticeable of all is that the Japanese adore cats, take care of them, and so do I.

VERDANT

So many gardens, so much foliage, moss, and giant trees - with all kinds of props binding and holding them up. Water was always running everywhere. Sometime torrentially (why there are umbrellas available everywhere). In Northern California we yearn for rushing streams and and green instead of brown. All of the religious institutions, residences, and art sites we visited were set in lovely gardens. Everywhere we looked the grounds were being beautifully maintained with special tools for gardening and raking. There are clever, special tools for every task.

HOLY PLACES

These are so many holy places to meander through or sit and meditate. Both Buddhist and Shinto, shrines and temples, these were generally quite old and we had the chance to wander through so many - often surrounded by a pack of international tourists or uniformed school kids.

ART, ARCHITECTURE, & DESIGN (& PRETTY PICTURES)

We also visited famous artists’ homes which have been converted into museums, foundations, art sites, and museums of every type. In three weeks you can see quite a bit if you are on the move as we were. In addition to staying in places that were beautiful, traditional ryokans, we had the chance to get spoiled by the onsen experience. These are public or private baths built on hot springs. In addition to the breathtakingly lovely mineral baths you share with others of your gender (no tattoos allowed), there were also deep soaking tubs in our private accommodations (no soap in the soaking tubs, but fresh fruit to scent your bath). There is nothing like sitting in steaming hot mineral water (so good for the skin and hair) and staring up into a starry night sky with a crisp autumn chill in the air. Late one night I sat in a huge bath by myself on the hotel’s rooftop onsen and looked up though a giant square hole - maybe 100 feet over my head. Cool rain was coming down hard and I sat still and got splattered. What a sensation!

PEOPLE WATCHING

We saw both interesting fashions (mostly young women), uniforms, and business attire that looked like uniforms - men wearing dark suits, light shirts, ties, and black shoes. The colors were most often navy, black, grey, and beige. That is, except in fashionable areas and Kyoto, land of temples and geisha, where people rent kimono and parade around taking pictures and selfies.

Selfie within an art installation, Naoshima Island

ART-MAKING ALONG THE WAY

I shoot a lot of photos on both my iPhone and my mirrorless Sony camera - especially when I travel. And although most of my photos can stand alone, I also incorporate many of them into collages, combining them with my life drawings. I make them into all-photo collages too and continue to work on my Barbie series as I head into Phase 3: Barbie in Japan. Walls, water, textures, patterns, plants, trees, lettering, and gates/doors/windows are some of the common fodder I repurpose and layer into my digital collage art.