Kawaguchi-Nagoya-Arimatsu

That's a mouthful, but these are three places we experienced this one day.  I woke at 3AM., but  waited until 6 to get up.  We heard last night that a cold front is on its way.  Decided to go out walking with my camera (and no coat!) before breakfast.

We are across Lake Kawaguchi from Mount Fuji, and I wanted to get some photos as the sun rose.  There is ice on the lake this morning!!

I wandered down the road to a walking path and spotted two cats doing their morning stretches.

Came upon a shrine that was way up some stone steps and offered a nice view of Fuji-san.

Carefully went up and was rewarded with nice images of  the Mount and some fishermen.

Carefully climbed back down.  Came across a jolly fellow, then on to breakfast. 

Our breakfasts were buffet stye, with wonderful choices - salads, fish, spaghetti, seaweed, all sorts of interesting options.
 Onward we went on a bus to a fantastic doll museum.  Our bus driver and our guide:

  At the doll museum, we saw amazing work by artist Yuki Atae.  Photos not allowed, but here is an outdoor sculpture based on one of his dolls, a poster, and a doll that was approved for photography, but hard to capture, as it was in a glass case.

I fell in love with the expressions, was flabbergasted by the tiny fingers, the shoes and clothing.  I bought a book.  Sadly, it is in Japanese, but the images of his dolls are wonderful.

Then our group boarded a train to Nagoya, where Toyota has it's headquarters.  We had to have lunch on the train.  Some purchased Bento box lunches, which were excellent and beautifully presented.

                                                                Back in the big city!

A bus ride took us to the village of Arimatsu, famous for its shibori production. A short walk to our destination provided us with fascinating sights.

We had a lesson from some master shibori artists in stitching, wrapping and tying on a scarf. 

These ladies did not hesitate to correct errors and take your piece and show you how it's done!  They were great!

After our lesson, we walked around the village and visited a kimono store, where the work was outrageously expensive, but rightly so, as it was all hand embroidered or painted.

 

Back in Nagoya, dinner this evening was at a Brazilian restaurant.  Endless meats and other delicious accompaniments. the finale was grilled pineapple. 

                                           We took a roundabout walk back to our hotel,

                                           visiting an underground mall, and a bookstore.

Used a Japanese style squat toilet in the bookstore.  Not awful - this one was modern, clean, smelled nice, and had an extended and thorough flussshhhhh! 

Even though the streets are crowded, everyone is respectful.  At the bus stop, everyone lines up patiently, no crowding or pushing.  They also respect the traffic lights.  Nobody goes until the walk light is green.

Another fantastic day.  Tomorrow - bullet train and paper making.  I will ask our guide about finding the catholic church in Takamatsu to attend the Saturday vigil mass.  The hotel room Bible was in Japanese and English!

 One last note:  The manhole covers!!!  I wanted to get more rubbings, but we were hustling and it was cold!  Glad I got some nice photos of them anyway.

Day two - Mount Fuji

Bus ride this morning to Mount Fuji!  I started a small Boro stitching piece on the ride.  I actually have already seen a glimpse of Fuji-san, as the locals call it.  Riding from the airport to our first hotel in Tokyo, we could see Fuji against the setting sun.  No photo, but a wonderful memory!  Today, we ride a cable car up from Lake Kawaguchi to get a better view. 

 Once at the top, here is my first look:

Climbing a bit further, a more clear view:

 The obligatory tourist 'I was here" shot:

 And my SAQA friends, Lisa Walton - tour leader, and Martha Wolfe, my mentor.

 Here's (mostly) the whole group of us:

 You could have lunch or a snack up here:

 You could throw money at the bunny shrine.

 Or hang a wish or dream:

 Back down at the bottom were shops.  I liked these hats, but wasn't sure how to get one home.

 They had a guy out front modeling:

I indulged in a cookie from a sweet cookie shop:   These people are a positive bunch.  they really are happy, and resilient.  Toshi has told us stories of flood, earthquake, war, fire and destruction. Those who survived have always rebuilt and begun again.

 So, above some of the tourist shops are restaurants.  We wandered into a delightful one that had two women who cooked and served us a fantastic one pot lunch.  Vegetables, noodles and broth all bubbling in front of you as you overlook the lake.  Yum. 

 I especially enjoyed this little lady, and took many photos of her.  She is likely to find her way into a quilt one day. 

                                                   Lots of hand signals working out our orders!

While our pots were bubbling, I went to the restroom with my camera (for research purposes only)  Looked nice to start:

           On entering, I had second thoughts.  Good there is not smell-o-vision on this blog.

               And here you have the non-western version of the toilet.  Pew!  Exited quickly.

 So, aside from that, lunch was lovely, and we continued on our bus to the next adventure, the Itchiku Kubota Art museum and it's display of fabulous silk kimonos, along with other art forms from the master's collection.  Unfortunately, no photos were allowed of the kimonos, but I took several of the grounds and gardens surrounding the museum.  Here we all are, getting ready to enter the big ornate doors . . .

                                              A short walk up to the museum entrance:

These are decorative tiles from the ends of roof tiles on traditional Japanese buildings.  We took rubbings onto fabric before the bus left!

Once inside, we became very quiet as we absorbed the mastery of this silk dyeing artist.  Each kimono was a fantastic work of art - mostly landscapes, and larger than life.  You had to examine them close up to imagine the massive handwork involved, and then from a distance to appreciate the entire scene.  

There was one area where photos were allowed - the artist's 'drawing room'.  Equally spellbinding, with a view out to a waterfall in the garden, and wonderful art pieces including Asian and African wood loungers and sculptures.  

Other surprises delight you as you stroll around the grounds:

We then continued a short distance to our hotel, overlooking the lake and Fuji-san!    

This was the view from my room.

Our tour leader, Lisa invited us to share the 'onsen' or hot bath.  Anyone who knows me will be surprised that I took her up on this invitation, as clothing (even a bathing suit)is not an option.  So, a bunch of us ladies left our kimonos in a locker, and enjoyed the steaming water and a look at the majestic Mount Fuji before dinner.  Sorry, no photos. 

  

We were told that we were welcome to wear the kimono to dinner, so here we are!

Getting to know some of the tour members better now.  We're a mixed bunch, but most are from Australia and New Zealand.

This was another magical day, and somewhere along the way, about halfway through today, I told Lisa that I could go home right now and just be so pleased with what I've done and seen here already!  And we still have 12 days to go!  My cup is overflowing.