So after lunch and tea ceremony, Tomoko took us round to her friend's ceramic workshop, which was pretty much a shed made of corrugated iron by the side of the road. However, she had a massive kiln in there and several wheels, obviously a secret hive of activity. Even though she didn't speak English, and mum can't speak Japanese, they managed to have a chat about firings - it's amazing how shared skills and passions can transcend language.
From there Tomoko took us to a small gallery that was in a traditional farmer's house, and from there she took us to the sea, as we weren't far from it by that point.
Mum and I have now to been to the Pacific from two sides of the world...
It was pretty blustery there that day so the kite-surfers were taking advantage...
On Sunday, mum, Jack and I took a trip to the countryside to meet up with one of my school managers and her husband Chris, who is a British ex-pat and a ceramicist no less. We had to get a crazy little train there, consisting of only to carriages, which chugged heavily through rice-paddies and small rural towns. The stations were like tiny garden sheds, and very sweet, most of them had excellent selections of flowers growing around them and hanging baskets.
Jack particularly liked this station as it had an amateurly painted Totoro ( a well-known character from Ghilbli films)...
It was a great day out, Noko and Chris were excellent hosts and took us for lunch at a great soba restaurant. In the afternoon we had our first experience of an onsen (hot springs). The one we went to had radium, which slightly alarmed us as we thought it sounded a bit radioactive! It was lovely though, very relaxing and you felt extremely calm afterwards.
Jack was particularly pleased to see some wild monkeys in the Clark's garden, they were tormenting the dog and generally being cheeky monkeys.
Enjoying the sakura in the park...
Kyoto trip:
Mum and I had to get up at insane o'clock to get to Tokyo station for the 6:30am Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) to Kyoto. It wasn't so bad being up early, mainly because we were going on an adventure. The train to Tokyo was surprisingly busy for 5 o'clock in the morning, but the thing that put a dampener on it was a couple of girls who were clearly getting the train after having been out all night drinking, and throwing up between stations!
That was easily forgotten when we got to the station though and went through to the Shinkansen terminal.
The two-seaters had handles on the side which meant you could flip the around to face the other way and make a cosy four.
The new Kyoto station
Kyoto tower
The Shoji Hamada exhibition at the Asahi Beer Art Gallery Villa in Oyamazaki, a lovely little area 15 minutes outside of Kyoto
There was a beautiful Japanese garden there
Mum and I tucking into our 'Happy Cups' - seven scoops of Haagan-Daz (including flavours such as green tea latte), all for 500yen
The cherry-tree lined rivers
This street is famous for geisha and apprentice geisha, who still operate at the private tea houses in this area - we did see a couple dashing between appointments
One of the interesting dishes we had at dinner - aubergine filled with sweet miso.
We found it quite difficult to find a restaurant that would serve tourists that wasn't some horrendous tourist spot, but eventually we found a nice little place that was by a little river and perfect for people-watching
More Kyoto sights...
Sakura
Silver Temple - this building was being restored
It's the silver sand that gives the temple it's name
Views from the temple's grounds
Dinner at an izakaya
The centre of Kyoto was incredibly busy with tourists with it being sakura season, so we decided to get away from the crowds and hop on a local bus to Ohara, an hour's drive north of the city. It was a beautiful haven.
Mum drawing in her journal
On Sunday, we had a trip booked to Mount Fuji which included a boat ride across a lake in the foothills and a ride in a cable car. However, our train was held up by an 'accident', and we missed our coach. I was very disappointed.
Instead, we went to Harajuku and saw the rockabilly dancers in the park and then went on to Hamamatsucho for a baot ride across the river to see the sun set
It was a fantastic trip and I hope mum enjoyed her visit as much as I did!
From there Tomoko took us to a small gallery that was in a traditional farmer's house, and from there she took us to the sea, as we weren't far from it by that point.
Mum and I have now to been to the Pacific from two sides of the world...
It was pretty blustery there that day so the kite-surfers were taking advantage...
On Sunday, mum, Jack and I took a trip to the countryside to meet up with one of my school managers and her husband Chris, who is a British ex-pat and a ceramicist no less. We had to get a crazy little train there, consisting of only to carriages, which chugged heavily through rice-paddies and small rural towns. The stations were like tiny garden sheds, and very sweet, most of them had excellent selections of flowers growing around them and hanging baskets.
Jack particularly liked this station as it had an amateurly painted Totoro ( a well-known character from Ghilbli films)...
It was a great day out, Noko and Chris were excellent hosts and took us for lunch at a great soba restaurant. In the afternoon we had our first experience of an onsen (hot springs). The one we went to had radium, which slightly alarmed us as we thought it sounded a bit radioactive! It was lovely though, very relaxing and you felt extremely calm afterwards.Jack was particularly pleased to see some wild monkeys in the Clark's garden, they were tormenting the dog and generally being cheeky monkeys.
Enjoying the sakura in the park...
Kyoto trip:
Mum and I had to get up at insane o'clock to get to Tokyo station for the 6:30am Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) to Kyoto. It wasn't so bad being up early, mainly because we were going on an adventure. The train to Tokyo was surprisingly busy for 5 o'clock in the morning, but the thing that put a dampener on it was a couple of girls who were clearly getting the train after having been out all night drinking, and throwing up between stations!
That was easily forgotten when we got to the station though and went through to the Shinkansen terminal.
The two-seaters had handles on the side which meant you could flip the around to face the other way and make a cosy four.
The new Kyoto station
Kyoto tower
The Shoji Hamada exhibition at the Asahi Beer Art Gallery Villa in Oyamazaki, a lovely little area 15 minutes outside of Kyoto
There was a beautiful Japanese garden there
Mum and I tucking into our 'Happy Cups' - seven scoops of Haagan-Daz (including flavours such as green tea latte), all for 500yen
The cherry-tree lined rivers
This street is famous for geisha and apprentice geisha, who still operate at the private tea houses in this area - we did see a couple dashing between appointments
One of the interesting dishes we had at dinner - aubergine filled with sweet miso.
We found it quite difficult to find a restaurant that would serve tourists that wasn't some horrendous tourist spot, but eventually we found a nice little place that was by a little river and perfect for people-watching
More Kyoto sights...
Sakura
Silver Temple - this building was being restored
It's the silver sand that gives the temple it's name
Views from the temple's grounds
Dinner at an izakaya
The centre of Kyoto was incredibly busy with tourists with it being sakura season, so we decided to get away from the crowds and hop on a local bus to Ohara, an hour's drive north of the city. It was a beautiful haven.
Mum drawing in her journal
On Sunday, we had a trip booked to Mount Fuji which included a boat ride across a lake in the foothills and a ride in a cable car. However, our train was held up by an 'accident', and we missed our coach. I was very disappointed.
Instead, we went to Harajuku and saw the rockabilly dancers in the park and then went on to Hamamatsucho for a baot ride across the river to see the sun set
It was a fantastic trip and I hope mum enjoyed her visit as much as I did!
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