Japan sketch travels in April 2024

April 10, 2024

Visiting more of Japan's mountains, temples, and megalithic stones
First to the mountains of Nikko
To begin this trip we took the Spacia X Tobu Limited Express train north from Tokyo to the mountainous area known as Nikko. The town is nestled in a valley surrounded by three mountains - Mt. Nantai, Mt. Nyoho, and Mt. Taro.
After checking into the old Nikko Kanaya Hotel, with its low ceilings, smell of wood smoke, rambling rooms and a table to write letters on using the hotel stationery, we visited the Shinkyo Bridge nearby, a World Heritage Site.
This area, built in the 1600s, is famous for its tofu skin called yuba. We had it for lunch but did not find it particularly memorable.

North to Kegon Waterfall
We took the bus up the narrow switchbacks to Kegon Falls and Lake Chuzenji. I made several sketches of Chuzen-ji Temple along the lake. We also walked the trail to visit the English and Italian embassies further down the shore. The lake was so low that workers were busy extending the docks further out to reach the water's edge. 

The first evening we walked the town looking for a good meal, only to find that the entire town closes down at 5pm on Thursdays. Not wanting to pay the steep hotel prices for dinner, we were fortunate to come upon a sake shop still open that did have instant noodles and a few snacks. That constituted our dinner along with some curry rolls from the hotel giftshop. We thought ourselves fortunate to have found it. We did have the Japanese breakfast the last morning at the hotel. Some cherry blossoms were blooming here but it was still a bit early in the mountains.

Getting my sketchbook stamped
Next day we walked among the many stunning temples that began just across the river from our hotel. People purchase little notebooks called shuincho to get honorific seal stamps at the different temples and shrines they visit. I asked  to have it added to my sketchbook instead at one place. They first said no, but after seeing the sketches I was making in Japan and other places, they decided to add the seal stamp and calligraphy to it without charge, as they felt I was doing a service by honoring these places through the sketches.

On to Kyoto
Our granddaughter met us in Tokyo to spend a week exploring the area surrounding Kyoto. Her first visit to Japan, we had fun sharing many interesting things - foods, temples, shopping. 
In addition to Kyoto, we took her to Osaka to visit Osaka Castle, see the megalithic stones used in the castle walls, and have some tasty Osaka-style okonomiyaki.

A neighborhood in Kagurazaka, Tokyo

Megelithic stones used in Osaka Temple
We were told that the stones were quarried 110 km away, floated across the water and placed up into the castle walls, all in the early 1600s. Apparently there is a tour one can take to see the quarry. It still boggles the mind though how any amount of floats would be enough to move one of these massive stones.

On to Nara
After our granddaughter left, we rented a car to explore areas around Nara, including a strange carved megalithic stone named Masuda Iwafune. Difficult to locate, the muddy  trail climbed steeply through bamboo forest. This stone is stunning, obviously carved but for what purpose, and by whom? It seemed to be almost forgotten.
We visited several other carved stones in the area, but none compared to Masuda Iwafune. We liked the enormous dolmen named Ishibutai Tumulus as well.

Street in an oldtown in Nara

In an agricultural development of Nara
In Nara we stayed in a new, beautiful hotel with natural woods and giant windows overlooking the valley and the agricultural fields being worked here. This setting gave us expansive views across the valley. The buzzing, humming and chirping of the frogs, insects, and birds were a pleasant reminder of nature's gentle activities.

Having a stamp made
My wife spelled out my name in phonetic kanji. I formatted it and added the little brush icon under it. We then sent it to an expert stamp maker in Shizuoka. She carved it by hand into wood. When we visited there we picked it up and purchased a couple ink pads for it. I haven't used it yet, but would like to on the right drawing. My current sketches feel a bit too small in size for it.