One Day Picnic to Hakone.

I went to Hakone last weekend.  Hakone is a popular resort, which is well-known for having many hot springs, beautiful scenery and wholesome climate.  It’s easy to access from Tokyo and in my case, it took about an hour to drive from Yokohama.  It’s so convenient.

It was a fine day and I had expected to view Mt. Fuji from a very close point.  I think that Mt. Fuji has a special power that makes us get excited.  Whether we are able to see its beautiful corn shape or not.  Even Japanese like me, who already have seen the mountain many times, get thrilled and foreign tourists much more so.

First of all, we went on board a sightseeing cruse boat on Lake Ashi.  Lake Ashi is a caldera lake, which collects water in a large crater shaped like basin made by volcanic activities.  (Caldera is a Spanish word that means sunken places.)  Lake Ashi is surrounded by forest and it makes the scenery more profound.

 Blowing in the breeze on the deck of the boat, I was looking at the surface of the lake, which was sparkling with the reflection of sunshine.  There are very few commercial facilities around the lake, so we could appreciate the genuinely natural landscape there. 

After that, we climbed Mt.Hakone-Komagatake by ropeway.  Komagatake used to be a volcano, but now it’s a good view point that overlooks a panoramic view of Lake Ashi, Mt. Fuji, the Izu peninsula and more.  When we got to the plateau, most of the coulds were swept away and the beautiful shape of Mt, Fuji with its long skirts appeared just in front of us.  How lucky we were! 

Mt. Fuji enshrines the Shinto deity named Konohanasakuya-hime, or literally means “Princess this flower is blooming now.”  Maybe, she was in a good mood and smiled for us, I believe.

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Yoko Ono: from My Window

photo: Museum of Contemporary Art,Tokyo

I went to see an exhibition entitled “Yoko Ono: from My Window” held at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo in Kiyosumi-shirakawa.  Yoko Ono is most of thought of in her relationship with John Lennon, but she has been a great artist in contemporary art long before she met him. 

She is one of the pioneers of conceptual art and I have been a big fan of her works.  The exhibition emphasizes her very beginning works in the 1960s’ including some events she held in Tokyo.  Looking at the photos and videos at the show, I was taken aback by how avant-garde they are.  They are still interesting and inspiring to this day.

Why do I like her works?  I took a moment to stop and think about it.  One reason is that her works have the power to stir my imagination.  For example, the “instructions for paintings” series.  They are just displaying instructional words on pieces of white paper like this: 

Painting for the Wind

Cut a hole in a bag filled with

seeds of any kind and place the

bag where there is wind.

With this instruction, you can imagine any process of changes after the seeds start spreading into the air.  Flying in the air, touching down on the ground, germinating and covering the ground with green leaves.  You can transfer the instructions to your own vision.  I think that the idea Yoko Ono came up with is a beautiful invention.  We can draw invisible pictures in our head and maybe, it’s more creative than real pictures. 

The second reason I like her works is that her art works are always positive.  There is nothing that scares me or depresses me in her works, even if their themes were anti-war.  I can always feel happy with them. 

After going through the exhibition, I was fully charged with the energy.

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You can understand Japanese history in 9 minutes.

Hi everyone.

I love this video.   Have you already check it out?

It's so funny and maybe, useful.  ww

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