Sky at Ryoan-ji

Clouds over the famous zen garden at Ryoan-ji temple in Kyoto...

Naoshima Island Art

More info on Naoshima Island at the bottom of this post.
Above artwork: Pumpkin, Yayoi Kusama;
Cylinder Bisected by Plane, Dan Graham;
Time Exposed, (framed photos) Hiroshi Sugimoto;
Shipyard Works, Shinro Ohtake;
The Secret of the Sky, (stone sculpture at bottom) Kan Yasuda;
Architecture by Tadao Ando.

Found Landscape Snapshot

Buddhist & Shinto Figures, Naoshima

Two Uniformed Bicyclists, Kyoto

Two Graphics, Tokyo

Art House Project, Naoshima

Art House Project by Shinro Ohtake, Bokkon - Nozoki:
Building, entryway, uninstalled sign in backyard...

Honmura Port Neighborhood, Naoshima Island

Naoshima Island

Naoshima Island sits on the Seto Inland Sea and took a bullet train ride from Kyoto for a couple of hours and then a local train south from Okayama to get there. A short ferry ride and I arrived on the tiny island that has been partly converted to an Art Site over the past decade or so. It features two major museums designed by Tadao Ando, one for large site specific works and one to house a major modern collection as well as a bunch of outdoor works situated nearby. In another port on the other side of the island are several Art House Projects, existing historic buildings and structures given to artists on commission to do what they want with... In the words of the president of this concept "Naoshima subtly asserts its existence as a site of creation where the rhythms of the nature and history of the Inland Sea and the selected artworks resonate as one. It is also a site that transmits a powerful message to modern society." True enough. Anyway, I got there a little late in the afternoon, and missed the bus that would have got me to one of the museums with enough time to check it out, so after some conferring with a few people who I thought I wasn't having much luck communicating with, one gentleman walked off and soon spun around in his car to give me the short ride there... more exceptional Japanese helpfulness. I couldn't take pictures there, but more to come from other spots. Oh, and you have the choice of staying in $200. and up per night rooms, designed into the hillside overlooking the inland sea, or $40. per night "Mongolian Paos" at Tsutsuji-so on the beach - not a tough choice...

Chance Meeting of Circles

On Naoshima island in front of Shinro Ohtake sculpture,
from Shipyard Works....

Stones Throw

From Big Happy Funhouse

Tokyo Fish Market

This is the one place that almost everyone recommends going to in Tokyo. So later on, when you have your next sushi or fish dinner, you'll know exactly what it took to get it to you on the wholesale level. A bustling maze of activity that begins around 4 a.m. and is over by around 8...