Keiko, Museums and Ando

Inside the Brush Store

Brush Store Name in Japanese

Tempura and Noodle Soup

Nabeyaki Udon

Cathy and Keiko

Inside Church of the Light

Hidden Buddha, Sapporo 

Asparagus and Crab Cake

Fillet

Bread with Tomato Relish and Mustard for Steak Sandwich

Bento Box, the world's best Steak Sandwich to go!

Cathy and Shima Hostess

Tokyo at night

It was raining on our last full day in Kyoto. After breakfast at the hotel we met our guide: Keiko Kamei. We have been with Keiko before and it is a joy to spend time with her. She is extremely knowledgeable about art, ceramics and Japanese culture. She has boundless energy, ready to show us just the things we would be interested in. We think of her as an enthusiastic friend who just can’t wait to show us Tokyo.

We first went to a brush store. It doesn’t have an English name, but I put a picture of its sign on the blog above. It has been in the same family for almost 300 years. They have every type of specialized brush you can think of. We saw special brushes for applying sauce to fish, brushes made to dust just the corner of windows, brushes to remove the makeup of kabuki actors,all kinds of hair brushes. This is definitely one of those only in Japan stores. We bought several of one kind of brush: Tooth Brushes. They bristles are made from horse hair each hair inserted by hand!

We went to The National Museum of Modern Art Ceramics Gallery across from the Royal Palace to see the work of Tsuji Seimei. The show consists of around 150 of Tsuji's finest works, including calligraphy and items from his private collection. It also incorporates pieces from ancient Peru and works produced by Western-style painter Takeo Yamaguchi, American ceramic sculptor Peter Voulkos and artists at Tsuji’s studio.

We then went shopping! We went to the Tokyo branch of Arts & Science clothing and design store, we had been to the store in Kyoto across from the Ritz Carlton. This store sells beautiful clothing and unique home furnishings. They had the breadknife of my dreams. 

On to another Gallery: Bizen Galary Aoyama, located in a small apartment, this gallery obviously specializes in Bizen Pottery.

A cold rainy day in Tokyo demands hot noodles! We returned to Honmura An. Kieko had first taken us to this restaurant several years ago. We shared a salad (they peel the figs), and Chicken Meatballs as an appetizer, Tempura with noodles, Cathy her favorite: Nabeyaki  Udon. The food at this restaurant is excellent, perfect for the Tokyo weather!

This has been a tour dominated by Naoshima Art Island, even though we didn’t go there this time. It was on Naoshima that we first saw and experienced the architecture of Tadao Ando. He designed many of the buildings on the island. His unique use of concrete, the interplay of vistas with nature and light, the craftsmanship and above all the elegance of his designs, makes his work instantly recognizable. Currently, there is  a major retrospective of his architecture at The National Art Center in Tokyo. It is a huge exhibit, with models, slides, multi-media presentations, etc. There was one work in particular that is iconic. The Church of the Light, in Osaka. We have never been to the church, but because I have seen so many pictures of it, I feel I actually have been. The simple concrete box of a building has a gap in the concrete in the form of a large cross at one end, which allows light to stream inside. I was amazed to discover they recreated the entire Church outside of the museum. I can say I have been in the building! The actual church is probably one of the most unwelcoming churches in the world. The small church in Osaka would be overrun by people only interested in the architecture. Read their restrictions here: Church of the Light.

They had a time-lapse video of the construction of the mammoth Hidden Buddha in Sapporo Hokkaido. Along with his Church on the Water in Hokkaido, it would almost be worth the trip to that Northern Japanese Island! We spent a lot of time at this great show!

We then went to Musee Como a small nearby museum dedicated to ceramics. Keiko is friends with the gallery director and she greeted us. The exhibition was the work of two potters who each breathed fresh life into the ceramic world in Kyoto after World War II: Yagi Kazuo and Kiyomizu Kyubey.

We made one last stop at a huge book store to buy a Japanese Architectural Magazine Brutus. Its current issue is about the fantastic Enoura Observatory we just visited in Odawara.

We sadly said goodbye to Keiko and returned to our hotel. We leave Japan tomorrow, so we did a preliminary pack, then headed to the bar for cocktails.

File this under: "I would have had regrets". I most assuredly would have had regrets to have left Japan and not eaten the steak sandwich from Shima. The only way to get the steak sandwich, was to go to Shima, have a steak dinner and then order a steak sandwich to go. You can’t just order one without ordering dinner! It is obviously intended to be eaten the next day. This was a regret I was not going to allow to happen. We returned to Shima, and this time ordered the filet mignon. We don’t usually order filet, but I am glad we did. It was unbelievably tender. At the end of the dinner I picked up our bento box of steak sandwiches to take back to the hotel. As of this writing they are waiting for us. Ah the anticipation!