Friday, December 20, 2013

23. A FOND FAREWELL

Thursday December 5th, 2013

We have had a very very memorable 2 months in Japan.

Kaoru and Mayumi

Australian missionaries, Eileen and Jim

Junko and Sam

Sandy

 

Part of the engineering office, Jun, Kenta, Jun, Yuki (the last day of his 3 month Bethel assignment), Shingo, Tomo and me.

Ryotaro and Junichi

Kenji, Yukio and Tomo again...

Host of farewellers just making sure that we go..
Kenji
Kazu
Shinske and Maho in front and Chisato, Mari, Emi, Kanako and Yukio behind.
Takashi, Junko, Seiko, Ai, Aki and Tomo at the back.
Host of farewellers
Hanna form Montana
Kayko and Katsu

Bye.

The chasers.
And the final farewell at Narita Airport from Osamu and Sachiko.
To all of our friends in Japan we want to say, thank you very very very much.
Lloydnalex

 

22. KOBE ANDO ART GALLERY

Wednesday December 4th, 2013 continued

One last stop on our journey back to Japan Bethel. Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of Art in the city of Kobe.

This was our last opportunity to see one more Tadao Ando designed building.
One of 3 massive cantilevered roofs.

 

 

Silky smooth concrete Ando.

 

Spiral stair
Courtyard art.

So what did we think of the museum? We did like it.. But, perhaps we were a bit too tired and it was cold. Overall, it as just too monumental and austere. We'll, what did we expect?
Lloydnalex

 

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

21. HIMEJI, A CASTLE IN A BOX

Wednesday December 4th, 2013

Delayed reaction blogging.... Due to technical problems with our blogging app, Blogsy... Not happy Jan.

The truth is, we are back in Australia now and have been for over 2 weeks... but we still have a few blogs it finish off.

First, our new friend Dohi dropped us at the bullet train station and bade us farewell. We really enjoyed our time together.

So... to Himeji Castle...

We umed-and-ared over whether to visit this castle for quite a while. As we mentioned previously, castles are not really our thing. On the one hand,Himeji Castle is the most famous and reputedly most beautiful hilltop castle in Japan. On the other hand... the castle is "in a box". It might even be the original box that it came in, I'm not sure.

So here it is, impressive yes? Well this is a model... in a box... at the train station.

Ahhh, there it is, the real thing, in a box. Perhaps it will look better closer.

Nope... Doesn't look better even though there is a lovely picture of the castle on the outside.

Wikitravel explains: Himeji Castle is currently undergoing renovation until spring 2015. It will stay open throughout, but parts may be off-limits and a large tent-like structure is covering the entire main building of castle. As of Sept 1, 2011, the interior of the main keep was closed to visitors, and the structure itself is covered up. For an additional 200 yen on top of the 300 yen entry fee, you can take an elevator to the top of the main keep to see the work in progress. A series of other parts of the castle complex have been opened up to compensate including some that are generally not open to the public. Although the image of the castle towering over the city is a key reason many people visit Himeji, the covered-up castle is still worth a visit.

If it were not for the renovations, this is what we would see. (This photo borrowed from the above web site) It is impressive. Still, you have to credit the Japanese with taking their renovations very seriously.

Cross-section of castle and box. Pretty impressive structure in it's own right. They sure know how to care for a 14th century castle.

It is also known as "White Egret Castle" or "White Heron Castle" because of its brilliant white exterior and supposed resemblance to a bird taking flight.
 
 

A display showing how those white walls are made. Timber frame with a mesh of branches with rope for reinforcement. Then covered with 4 coats of clay followed by a few coats of white plaster.

We couldn't go inside the castle due to the renovations but this was the view from the top level of the box.

 
 

Guards could select from the triangle, square, or circular window to shoot attackers.

Looking up at a defensive stone wall.

Roof tile detail.

The cast grounds were crawling with school students on excursion all wanting to practice their English...

... and prove that they have fingers.

This is a part of a long exterior wall passage providing defenders with quick and easy access.
From inside.
 

During the 15 minute walk back to the train station we encountered not 1 but 2 groups of JWs from different congregations with literature carts sharing the good news.

What a great world wide organisation.


So, was it worth our while visiting this castle? Yes. Perhaps one day we can see it again after the the renovation is complete and it is out of the box...

Lloydnalex