「Yamanashi」タグアーカイブ

Kobuchizawa Art Village

Like I mentioned in my previous post, Golden Week vacation was spent in Yamanashi in the shadow of Mt. Yatsugatake and the Japanese Alps. Being from Colorado, I physically feel at home being surrounded by mountains and blue sky but emotionally, I feel at home surrounded by creative people and the arts.  So when I found out we would be staying in the Kobuchizawa Art Village I was super excited.  In reality, it isn’t quite as fantastic as it sounds.  By this I mean it’s not bursting with creativity around every corner however for being such a little town it does have a good amount of galleries, museums and concerts/festivals.

One of these places, which we were able to visit for free because the resort we were staying at provides a free ticket, is the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection Museum.  Keith Haring was a very outspoken artist with a lot he wanted to convene through his art.  The current exhibit is really a reflection of this and is moving to see the progression of his work.  Although the collection is small and a bit expensive (if you have to pay), I think it’s well worth a visit.  The building is really an interesting piece of architecture as well.

I hope that Kobuchizawa continues to nurture art and the relationship it has with nature. One way we can help out is by supporting it.  Here are a couple links that may be of interest.

DSCF0960

http://www.digi-joho.com/toyko/japan/tokyo-surroundings/kobuchizawa-art-village/

http://yatsujazz.com/

Yamanashi… Again!

Well, alas. Golden Week has come and past.  While the majority of my time was spent basking in the sunshine coming from my window onto my bed (aka, I slept a lot), three days of my trip was spent in Yamanashi.

Yamanashi is a prefecture south/west of Tokyo (I think… Japan N/S/E/W directions are sort of hard to judge) and only a mere 3 hours by train, Yamanashi is the perfect little getaway spot.  That’s just not my thinking as other tourists flee there for their vacations as well.  The landscape makes for beautiful, mountainous backdrops (including Mount Fuji) and or excellent hiking destinations, wineries and temples are in abundance and a popular amusement park, Fuji-Q Highland, also calls it home.

If you are a devout reader of my blog posts (which I bet you are!) you’ll remember that I went there last year as well.  Although we passed by many of the same places as last time, it was a very different trip. Just boyfriend not family, hotel not cabin, train not car, two nights not one.  There was more time to just have a leisurely stroll around the “neighborhood” which ended up in some interesting finds!  An abandoned tennis court, all the old people planting rice, little mountain cafes and all the kuras (traditional Japanese storehouses – see picture) that so many of the houses have in their backyards.  I never would have noticed these things without walking through the town.  Walking is so lovely!

DSCF0929

Yatsugatake

You may or may not have heard the expression, “The best part of living in a big city is leaving it.” but I can say that there is plenty of truth behind it.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the excitement of a big city but Stevie Wonder wasn’t lying when he wrote Livin’ for the City, as sometimes that’s what it feels like us city people are doing.

Therefore, any chance that I can, I try and get out of the city and breath in some fresh air.  Last month, I went to Yatsugatake in  Yamanashi Prefecture.  By car, it takes a little over 2 hrs to get there from Tokyo (although coming back took us 5 hrs because of the traffic!).  The trip was mostly just for relaxing but we also managed to fit in a leisurely mountain drive, a visit or two to a couple farms, two trips to the hot springs (yes… naked AND it was the first time I was meeting my boyfriend’s mother!), and a nabe dinner party!

However, the best part of the trip was the big, blue sky.  It reminded me of my hometown of Denver, Colorado and also reminded me of what I believe we should consider important in life.  You see, in big cities we are surrounded by shops and the media making us believe that we need all those materialistic things.  Basically, the more you look, the more you want.  But when you’re surrounded by nature, you are reminded that you don’t need those things.  Bascially, the more you look, the better you feel.  I like that.

yamanashi