The Cultural Melting Bath !

Artist Cai Guo-Qiang found this nook the very best to install his Bath. Some places feel so good so does this modest site. He said chi energy flows in here most in the island. This is an artwork, a natural energy field, with Taifu rocks from China, a practical jacuzzi with herb in the hot water brought in from the US, and real humans from many parts of the world in the bathtub.

 

Try finding where it is and get the chi energy.

Pumpkin evacuated!

It was a magical day in Naoshima. The Pumpkin was there as usual in the morning but it was gone in the afternoon, most likely because of the expected stormy weather. Quite amusing for me but feeling sorry for the travelers who came to see the pumpkin and couldn't. The weather forecast was right: cloudy and a bit of drizzle in the morning and later even sunny. The humidity was 100 % though. The beach looked totally different when seen in the morning and in the afternoon. 

 Very white at CHICHU Cafe

 Much better

 More light

 Pumpkin missing!

 Very green

 And SUNNY

I checked the Benesse web site and in their news section there was a notice about their emergent closure on July 10, 2014. This day could have heavy rain and strong gust due to the approaching typhoon. My guests and I were very fortunate: we were there on July 8 when Benesse people were preparing for the coming bad weather.

Matsue has a hospitable spirit

A bridge ahead

Approaching

A turtle once roaming at night and ate up people 

 Foxes guard the premises of this shrine

Matsue and other places of interest in SHIMANE prefecture has been offering special discount to visitors from abroad for the past several years. Naturally are seen more tourists from overseas. 

Recently, the area seems to be getting more travelers than before probably because more girls are finding SHIMANE attractive due to its enigmatic match-making power. This should not be only for the one between boys and girls but comprehensive relations between people. But inevitably it turns out to be everybody's priority. 

Besides famed Izumo Grand Shrine, there are countless old shrines in SHIMANE. In fact, three of them are believed to be older than Izumo. Matsue is its capital city and the three oldest shrines are nearby. The city evoleved as a castle town from the start of the 17th century. The castle tower still soars in the center of the city surrounded by moats and rivers. That area retains the ambience of the days gone by. Now, just like you board a gondola in Venice, here you see the city while you are aboard the wooden boat navigated on the moat by a local skipper. One unique attraction of this boat-ride is to go beneath the bridges, four of which are so low that the boat's awning has to be flattened when going under them. And of course you flatten yourselves too. 

Matsue has a good size to move around and has a long tradition and unbeatable reputation of good sweets for green tea. You can also try making some at a studio called KARAKORO Studio. 

There are lots more the city has to offer. Have fun in this mystic city of waters that Lafcadio Hearn called the capital of gods and goddesses. 

The strange stories and legends, some of which are even spooky or scary but all have profound meanings, compiled by him are now readable on the net free of charge. Feel SHIMANE even at home.

 Old quarters seen from the boat

 Matsue's Lake Line bus

Hells in Beppu are rather colorful

 

Beppu's top attraction is touring the eight hells. The hells are in fact multicolored volcanic pits of boiling water and mud and one geyser. They are too hot to be diluted into onsen, and they emerge at temperatures ranging from 50 to 99.5 °C (122 to 210 °F). Some of the hells have a natural smell of sulfur — which comes out a bit like rotten eggs. See some of the hellish photos.

 

Cool samurai @ kumamoto castle

KATO Kiyomasa is one of them

People love samurai castles. Only 12 original castle towers remain but more were reconstructed based on the original. The main castle tower of Kumamoto Castle connected with the minor tower is a concrete recreation built in 1970. In front of them lies a square where samurai members periodically gather and perform shows. In the photo is seen a tall ginkgo tree which was first planted at the beginning of the 17th century by KATO KIYOMASA, who expanded the existing fortress into a magnificent castle complex now known as Kumamoto Castle. He predicted something ominous would happen when the tree became as tall as the main castle tower. That grave event could have been the battle fought in 1877. The castle was besieged by unaffected former samurai members from Satsuma but was so well designed that it was not penetrated more than 50 days and most of the Satsuma troops moved a way from the castle to seek different tactics. Kumamoto castle has some old historical buildings which you cannot resist taking pics. But their reconstructions have been beautifully done and that's the way this castle has to offer you a lot to see.

Bank of Japan, Hiroshima branch, lives the second life

Facade of the bank with a banner saying BANK OF LIFE in Spanish

This magnificent bank building survived the atomic bombing. How it should be utilized has yet to be discussed but it is already active as a gallery or event space once in a while. This time, an artist living in Osaka had his exhibition. The fifth time he has done in here so far. This building is open to the public and the interior including the basement which was almost completely intact from the devastation of the atomic bombing shows its cultural siginificance. The building was only a few hundred meters away. This is an invaluable asset the city of Hiroshima has to maintain and use. 

Interior with artworks

Piano concert in Peace Park

At pilotis of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

Frequent visit to Peace Park gives you a chance to encounter something special. This time, the piano that outlived the atomic bombing was at the pilotis of the original wing of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. The piano concert started at 9:40 am. The travelers I took to the park had this rare opportunity to touch and sound this historical piano. Hiroshima is full of love.