January 7 2024

 

What is the meaning?

preparing for second semester

I am having a moment. My adult children are giving me the gift of time, living under my roof for awhile. Their presence in my life, while I am on a journey myself that I do not totally understand, registers peace at a molecular level. Or something like this that I can't quite articulate. 

Today they are both working a nine-hour shift together at a nearby restaurant - Wiley in the kitchen with his collection of chef's knives, and Norah earnestly at the prep counter and front of house. Their stories in the late evening at home are funny and illuminating; I am learning so much from them. 

The nine-hour shifts gives me solitude at home, which I am easing into and remembering a time in my past when I had time like this to myself. I have been reading books, listening to music, and today working on lesson plans for second semester. I have listened to all of the grammy nominees for album of the year and am loving Lana Del Rey, Janelle Monae, and Jon Batiste. There is a jazz album as well, from Pat Metheny, that I can only describe as sublime. 

A blanket of snow covering the field out of my window, a fire in the fireplace, living in the moment with art and music as my companions today. The practice of solitude and independence feeds my soul. 

January 2 2024

 

Sapporo by Train

JR train approaching the Niseko station

A few days before Christmas, Wiley and I took the train to Sapporo to complete his work permit paperwork. I was so grateful to spend the day with him. We walked along Odori Park, visited the immigration building to complete his work papers, and ate lunch at a fabulous ramen noodle shop. 

Ramen shop, Sapporo

The shop reminded me of the book, The Little House, written by Virginia Lee Burton. The shop was tiny, weathered, and sandwiched between modern high-rises and city parking lots. The shop opened at 11:30 in the morning and we were the first customers in the door. 

Cozy inside!

By 11:45 the shop was full of business men in suits - all three tables and the counter were full. There was a cacophony of noodle slurping the entire time we were there. I live for these moments! One bowl of miso ramen and three gyozas later I was stuffed to the gills.

miso ramen

Before getting on the train to return to Niseko, Wiley and I stopped for a coffee in the train station. It was a small moment of peace and gratefulness to sit with my son and just be. 

💗

 

Book of Days 2024

 

January 1 2024

On Mt. Niseko-Annapuri

Last year my son gave me A Book of Days with photographs and writing by Patti Smith. I am reading it again this year because I love this book so much. I am going to attempt my own personal record of days this year. I started off the new year skiing with my family in Japan and it was a glorious, blue-bird day. I love being outside, living in the moment, and having my family - Tom, Norah, and Wiley within arms' length.  

Let's go, 2024!

Winter Reflections

 

Eve of the Hibernal Solstice

[ Looking out, Looking in ]

With so much snow, and more falling, my mind has turned inward and thinking about all things while I stand in the quiet of the white landscape that surrounds me. I am deeply savoring the experience, the people, and the place where I find myself right now. I am on my own journey, and have a vantage point of age and distance from the familiar, and am wondering what it all might mean. To me. 

I watched the stunning documentary "American Symphony" recently and stopped the film to write down these words from Jon Batiste:

"I have faith that everything can change. I have faith that everything is changing. God giveth and God can take away. There are things I would like to be different but I think I am more like coming to the realization of what genuine acceptance is. And genuine gratitude. And there is an urgency to that realization."

Naoshima Island: Part 2

 

Appreciating Tadao Ando and others

[ Yayoi Kusama - Narcissus Garden ]

Once Norah and I had settled in at Oyajino Umi we headed out to catch a shuttle to the east side of the island where there are a series of museum spaces and outdoor sculptures nestled within the landscape of the island. Several of the museums were designed by Tadao Ando, a modernist architect whose work integrates form and landscape, called something like "critical regionalism".  I was really looking forward to seeing some of his work. 

[ Drink a Cup of Tea, Kazuo Katase ]

Many of the structures  at the Benesse Art Site on the island were designed by Ando so that is where we headed. We had a 3:30 reservation at one of the museums, the Chichu Art Museum, where the number of visitors inside at one time is limited so that you can have the chance to experience the space as Ando intended. Our plan was to see some of the other museums and sculptures along the way to this museum. 

[ Three Squares Vertical Diagonal, George Rickey ]

It was a hike, let me just say. After about a 30 minute climb up hill after crossing along a path along the sea, we reached the George Rickey sculpture and the Kazuo Katase cerulean cup of tea. After feasting on the sumptuous view of land and sea and art we kept going to reach the Valley Gallery of the Benesse House Museum. This structure is tucked into the fold of the hills and blends in with the surface of the earth. Yayoi Kusama's Narcissus Garden sprawls on the front lawn and in the pond. It was magical.

[ Valley Gallery of the Benesse Art Museum ]

We hiked a little further and reached the Chichu Art Museum, where we had a 3:30 reservation. We were met at the gate by the museum guard, who checked our ticket time and asked us to wait outside of the gate for the 17 minutes until we could go in. This museum is completely below ground from the entrance and I could not really understand where I was going once we were let in. 

[ Here is an aerial view of the Chichu Museum, designed by Tadao Ando ]

I cannot sufficiently describe the beauty and the drama once we were inside the museum. We walked in alone down a concrete corridor with a sliver of light coming from above us (the sky). After climbing an outdoor metal staircase along the square walls of an outdoor garden we entered a semi-dark room where a group of people were silently sitting on a bench removing white slippers and putting on their shoes. We did not know what to do so we just stood there. 

[ Making our way to the second floor ]

Once they got up and walked away into the darkness, a docent in all white directed us to sit down and remove our shoes and put on the white slippers. She then directed us towards a seemless concrete doorway with a glowing white light coming from inside. We entered and found ourselves in the Claude Monet Room, a completely white room with glittering tiny white marble tiles on the floor,  white walls and ceiling, and natural light somehow glowing down from the ceiling. Straight ahead in the room was a giant painting of water lilies floating on the wall. Four more giant water lilies paintings hung from the walls to the right and left. We were alone with these paintings for quite awhile before a few more people slippered in. 

[ Time/Timeless/No Time, Walter De Maria (secret snapshot by Norah) ]

We were not really permitted to take photos, but Norah snapped this one on the way to another area of the museum where we had to wait in a skylit room for our turn to view a light canvas Open Sky by James Turrell. To view this piece, we once again had to remove our shoes and walk silently up a staircase into a white room. The room was then bathed in color for awhile creating a feeling of spaceless-ness. It was an experience. 

Before leaving we sat in an open air concrete square room where the sky dropped in from above without any ceiling edges. We theorized that the outside walls were bevelled and when we saw the aerial view of the museum we found the square room with bevelled ceiling. 

[ another secret snapshot by Norah of room with bevelled ceiling ]

The museum did have a very nice cafe nestled into the hills and facing out to the sea. We sat with a drink and just settled in on our experiences that day. It was a really lovely moment. We made our way back down the hill to the shuttle bus stop to return to our accommodations for the night. I was able to walk out to the dotted pumpkin that I promised my students I would find and photograph to bring back to show them. Norah and I took some photos before the sun set on a beautiful day. 

[ Pumpkin, Yayoi Kusama ]

There were quite a few museums that we did not make it to on our visit. The Benesse Art Museum is perched up on a hill with a spectacular vista of the sea beyond the island. They have a museum hotel and restaurant that is the front wing of the museum facing the sea. As we walked along the path to leave, visitors were sitting on their balconies watching the sunset and (hopefully) basking in their great luck to be staying at this magical place where time can stand still for at least a few hours. 

[ Slippers, futons, and tea ]

Once we were back at our place, we rolled out our futons and turned in for the night. The following morning we would take the bus, ferry, shinkansen, and airplane back to Hokkaido. 

Naoshima Island: Part 1

 

Subway, Shinkansen, Rainbow Bus, and a Ferry

[ End goal: Naoshima Island ]

Norah and I left our hotel in Kyoto at 8:15 in the morning in order to get to Kyoto station to catch a shinkansen (bullet train) to Okayama in order to get to our destination - Naoshima Island. We both wanted to visit Naoshima - the island is full of art museums and outdoor sculptures and home to several artworks by Yayoi Kusama. Currently in my art classes, my students are creating paintings and 3-D sculptures that reference her work and I promised them that I would get a photo of myself in front of one of her giant pumpkin sculptures, which sits perched at the water's edge on Naoshima. 

The journey from Kyoto was such a transportation adventure that I decided to record our steps as I dutifully followed behind Norah, who had all of the correct train times, platforms, and gates tracked in her phone. Here we go.

We walked from our hotel a few blocks to catch the karasuma line of the subway to Kyoto station. 

[ heading onto the subway ]

Once we arrived at Kyoto station, Norah purchased our shinkansen tickets and off we went to find the right tracks for the fast ride to Okayama station. 

[ parsing the ticket machine ]

We ran to catch our train so I did not get a photo of the shinkansen until we arrived in Okayama. It was a very smooth ride I will say. 

[ shinkansen at Okayama station ]

Things got interesting once we arrived. We had to figure out how to get to Uno Port from Okayama to catch a ferry. There was a JR train, but it only ran sporadically and it appeared that we had missed it. The folks at the information desk pointed outside and said - "take the bus". So, we took the escalator out of the station and walked to the bus station (short walk) and found a ticket office where a very nice woman told us to take the "rainbow bus" and pay the 660 yen straight to the driver. Stand at bus station #2. We waited about 30 minutes and sure enough, the rainbow bus appeared. 

Along with a handful of other tourists and some locals, we got on the bus. I was really glad that I had a really tiny rolling suitcase. The gentleman in front of Norah had two bags, one of them giant, and he was travelling with three other people with giant suitcases. It was a palaver. 

We had no idea where this bus was dropping us off, we just hoped it was walking distance to the port. After an hour and a half of wondering, the bus pulled up a short distance from Uno Port and we got off, along with all of the traveling suitcases. We found a ticket booth for the ferry, bought a round trip fare and got in line. The ferry was ready to go. 

The ferry ride was not very long - about 20 minutes along the coast. We passed little islands all around us, working commercial ships motoring to and fro, and what I think were protected fisheries, along the way. It was a gorgeous day.

[ crossing the bay from Uno Port to Naoshima Island ]

[ I enjoyed an onigiri snack during the crossing ]

Finally, we arrived at Myanoura Port on the island. From there we caught a bus to take us to the other side of the island to our accommodations in Honmura. We hopped on a local bus that charges a flat fee of 100 yen and circles the island dropping passengers at stops along the way. We got off the bus near the Art House Project, one of the many art workshops on the island and walked through the alleyways in search of Oyajino Umi, our resting place for the night. 

[ walking through the alleyways of Honmura ]

[ Oyajino Umi ]

We arrived at Oyajino Umi and were met at the door by the owner and her cute little dog. The first order of business was to register and pay at her checkin office. We removed our shoes at the front door, put on some house slippers and stepped inside. 

[ slippers, anyone? ]

[ the office ]

This place was so cute! I loved it. We had a little room with tatami mats and futons for sleeping, a shared bath and shower, and an outside garden where coffee and breakfast were served in the morning. It was the perfect place for a perfect 24 hours on the island. 

[ our room ]

[ the outdoor garden ]

Once we had settled in, we set off to look for art. More on this in the next post. 

💛

Kyoto - The Food Edition

 

Adventures in Ramen, Tanmen Ramen & Handmade Soba

[ savouring an onigiri ]

Chapter 1: Ramen

On our recent travels to Kyoto, Norah and I managed to find really fabulous food every night for less than 2,000 yen at each sitting. On the night we arrived, we asked the young man who checked us into our hotel room to recommend a good ramen place nearby and gave us directions to one of his favorite spots. After walking about three blocks in the rain we arrived at Kiramekino Aozora in the Shimogyo Ward. 

[ Kiramekino Aozora - Shijo Muromachi ]

The glowing blue sign board and steamy kitchen on view through the window got me super excited to go in. Luckily, Norah understood that we had to actually order our food outside and pay at this kiosk before entering. We both ordered a bowl of ramen with chicken and vegetables. 

[ Two bowls of ramen please ]

We left our umbrella in the stand outside and stepped through the doorway. The chef pointed us to two seats at the counter. We sat down and I watched with sheer joy as the chef made our bowls. His work space was so tiny that only he could fit in the kitchen. He had all of the ingredients prepped and stationed in little pots, bowls, and grill pans all around him. He ladled the creamy broth, pulled in the noodles with giant chop sticks, placed beautifully cooked slices of chicken in the broth right from the grill and then swooped and dived along the counter adding vegetables and accoutrements to our bowls. It was the dance of the ramen noodles. I was beside myself. 

[ craftsmanship in a mini kitchen ]

I think within 5-7 minutes he handed a bowl of hot ramen soup across the counter to Norah and I. My noodle slurping skills are still in progress, but I did my very best to make as much slurping sounds as possible while I downed that bowl of soup. 

[ ramen extraordinaire ]

Chapter 2: Tanmen Ramen + Gyoza

Norah found a place on our second night in Kyoto that served a spicy ramen that was loaded with grilled meats and vegetables. This time we ordered inside where we sat alongside a host of locals who rushed in off the street for a bowl of soup after work. 

[ Kibaru Tanmen & Gyoza ]

Norah expertly ordered our bowls along with a platter of gyoza (dumplings) all of which I ate along with generous cups of water to allay the spicy broth of our soup. The flavors were totally different from the night before but equally astoundingly delicious. 

And did I mention that this soup was spicy? When I sat down at the restaurant I mentioned to Norah that it felt a little chilly inside the restaurant and I was glad to have a sweatshirt on. Well, by the time we finished eating I was sweating!!

Chapter 3: Handmade Soba

By our third night, I was really feeling that there was no way that we could find a third amazing place to eat for dinner. We had had way too much good luck on the first two nights. We scanned google maps looking for some options and saw this: 

[ Handmade noodles - I had to find this place ]

Norah and I hit the streets in search of this handmade soba noodle shop and our brisk walk down some dark side streets was electric with anticipation. There it was, an unassuming doorway and some sample dishes displayed in a lighted window out front. And some pink impatiens growing in pots along the curb. THIS was going to be a night. 

[ Shoraku - Shimogyo Ward ]

While we stood outside deciding whether we should just open the door or what two more people showed up and formed a line behind us on the sidewalk. We did not know what to do so we just waited. About 10 minutes went by and then the door opened and a tiny woman wearing an apron and a head scarf came outside to count how many people were waiting. She was sweet, and gracious, and apologetic that we were standing on the sidewalk waiting to get in. I was beside myself with the pure joy of the moment. 

A few minutes later she came out again and invited Norah and I inside. This restaurant was so tiny and so adorable. There were three tables hugged up against one wall and two one-seater tables lining the other wall. Every seat was taken. Our host sat us at the one available table and brought us menus and a ceramic cup with warm green tea.

[ the view from my seat ]

I did not take many pictures because of the intimacy of the restaurant, but here is one that shows the door and the kitchen from where I was sitting. The restaurant is run by the woman who showed us in and her husband, who was busy in the kitchen preparing the food. I think they are both in their late 60's or early 70's. The host asked us where we were from and was very interested to hear about Hokkaido. 

We ordered soba noodles with vegetables, tofu, and a set of tempura vegetables. About ten minutes later our host brought to our table a tray of fabulous food. 

[handmade soba and tempura vegetables ]

[ soup delight ]

[ look at the color of this pickled ginger! ]

Sharing the room that night with Norah and I was a family from Russia, a group of friends from Germany, and two solo diners from the Kyoto area. This one moment of shared experience, nourished by soba noodles carefully made by the chef and his wife, will stay with me for a very long time. When we said goodbye and began our walk home after dinner, the lights went out at the restaurant door. All noodles had been served for this night.