Candy Colour Block Dreams

On the 5th of November 2020, heads still fresh from a night in James Turrell’s House of Light, we landed in Echigo Yuzawa Station, Niigata. There was a chill in the late afternoon air and we were looking forward to relaxing in a hot onsen waters, once we figured out how to get to our Ryokan. That’s when my eyes landed on these colourful layers of tiled block loveliness. I immediately forgot myself and clambered over my bags to take a better look (and about 100 photos) before we had to move on.

I can’t find much in the way of useful information about the delightful street furniture other than that they appear to be part of a redesign of the Eichigo Yuzawa’s stations west exit. Niigata is deep snow country so there are months of the year when these structures lay under a blanket of snow. I can only imagine how visually delicious they must look! Oh one for thing to mention! There are foot-baths right next to these. Onsen water, steaming foot-baths. Eichigo Yuzawa is one amazing train station….and I haven’t even mentioned the sake bar!

Tokyo Ordinary : Hidden Temple Gardens

I LOVE it when I stumble into an enclave of Tokyo that makes me feel like; “WOAH! THIS IS A SECRET GARDEN!”. And just for a while, in that moment, surrounded by flickering sunlight and wrapped in near silence… I feel like maybe, just maybe…I might be the only person that knows about it. Of course reality kicks in and more often than not, the city breaks my bubble. Someone will inevitably stroll into my seized moment of ataraxia.

The last time this happened was just a couple of weeks ago. Walking our regular route to a park we regularly visit, we stopped at a temple so familiar to us. It had snowed the night before and the snow had settled in neat pools on the grassy areas rendering the paths, even the tiny ones, completely bare and revealing an unnoticed pathway that curved beyond our regular sightline.

Feet followed curiosity. A whispering breeze lifted ume blossoms into the stillness. The path wound on into a scene of dancing sunlight, receding snow, water and glimmering koi.

This ain’t no grand temple with an extensively laudable history. It’s local. It’s shunted up against a major road and tucked between houses on a residential and much loved walkway. Yet still, I encountered many fleeting and beautiful details here. Textures upon textures, layered with light, crisp shadows and subdued hues harkening the arrival of Spring.

One particular detail that has stayed with me since, is the hedge and the rock. I just can’t get over it!

A hedge trimmed so seamlessly that it appears smooth. Like a perfectly weathered pebble. The age old rock that emerges from within the hedge is rough and hewn with cracks and intrusions. A beautiful contrast of visual textures and human interaction.

THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW TO NOTICE…

I must have walked right past this walled garden hundreds of times not knowing it was there. It just goes to show, no matter how well we think we know a place, there is always, always, something we have not noticed before. There is always something ‘new’ to see.

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Location:

Enjōin

2 Chome-17-3 Daita,

Setagaya City,

Tokyo 1

55-0033

 

Strolling in Itoman

Itoman is a fading fishing port on Okinawa’s main Island, Naha. The Itoman region has a bitter past as the final front in the Battle of Okinawa during WWII and a site of a mass suicide at the end of the battle. The sleepy port we strolled through one July afternoon was barely populated and smelled of sun on stone . Oddly, it reminded me a bit of Stone Town in Zanzibar. Sun and typhoon weathered, the streets felt worn, salty and full of an unusual atmosphere that lingers somewhere between melancholy and determination.

The above stroll was on and around Tomoe-dori towards the Itoman fishing port.

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See more of our strolls here

Strolling in Kakio

We became acquainted with Kakio when we used to visit Hiro’s parents in Shinyurigaoka. Although they have since moved away , we still like to make an occasional trip to the sleepy little neighbourhood for a quiet stroll. It’s sufficiently hype-less to fly anyone’s radar yet it’s steeped in that “fading Japan” charm that really pulls on my heart strings. Sun-bleached hand painted signage, rusty iron cladding, toy shops run by daring old folks stocking the same Shōwa charm-filled items they probably have done for decades. The look on the faces of the shopkeepers when our young boys rush in to see all the things is just priceless.

Kakio is nicest around New Year when they host a Daruma market and in Autumn when its leafy persona really shines. Make the mini hike from the station to Jokei-ji temple - their congregation of monks sill put a smile on your face - guaranteed and in autumn the wooden area is carpeted with higanbana (spider lilies).

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Visit more of our strolls here