A Deep Breath of Magic in Hakone Open-Art Museum

Hakone Open-Air Art Museum was built 50 years ago and is chiefly remarkable for its the infusion of the natural backdrop into the sculpture viewing experience. The sculptures themselves are very very cool. The integration of nature is next level. If you are a plant nerd, you will also have a good time. There's alot of attention to detail and they have little plaques documenting what species they have. The museum path is windy and long and reminds me of a zoo. I love zoos and I felt like a kid at a zoo... sprinting between exhibits, taking a second to feel them out, and then move. 

Another Jedi Art Temple 

"A walking tour should be gone upon alone, because freedom is of the essence; because you should be able to stop and go on, and follow this way or that, as the freak takes you; and because you must have your own pace, and neither trot alongside a champion walker, nor mince in time with a girl.  And then you must be open to all impressions and let your thoughts take colour from what you see.  You should be as a pipe for any wind to play upon ... He cannot tell whether he puts his knapsack on, or takes it off, with more delight.  The excitement of the departure puts him in key for that of the arrival.  Whatever he does is not only a reward in itself, but will be further rewarded in the sequel; and so pleasure leads on to pleasure in an endless chain … We become thus, in some sense, a centre of beauty; we are provocative of beauty, much as a gentle and sincere character is provocative of sincerity and gentleness in others. "

Japan is the contemporary art capital of the world. It shits on everything.

It shits on the Guggenheim.

It shits on London.

It shits on Washington DC.

There's still magic here. 

The Descent ...

You descend into the Open Air Museum, down an escalator into a beautiful, mysterious glass corridor. I’ve seen this strange patterned stone construction in many buildings in Japan — especially their art museums. I’ve come to love it. It reminds me of the only magical stone structures I’ve encountered, and those are the Jedi temples various from Star Wars games, like Jedi Outcast or Dark Forces II. 

I shall include pictures but leave out a play by play of the various exhibits. I want to include that they have an exhibit of 319 original Picassos (bruh), the "Symphonic Sculture” a tower of stained glass containing a spiral staircase to the top, and a legit public steam foot bath.

We Love Hakone Art Museum 

The only thing about Hakone which I regret is that I felt I stumbled into it too easily. There was no journey. I consumed it the way I consume my Facebook page — which I had to delete. Before I knew it, it was gone — like the world of Spirited Away. I appreciated the way that movie starts with a tunnel and this experience starts with one as well.

The Teien Art Museum (Meguro, Tokyo)

The Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum is a contemporary art museum and archichtectual cross-genre masterpiece from the 1920’s, when Art Deco came tearing into Japanese traditional art methodologies. This museum was also once the residence of a prince of the Japanese empire.

You're So Art Deco 😁😁😁😁

Coming to you Live 

I am in Prince Akasa’s Tokyo residence. I am writing from a terrace overlooking the sprawling Japanese garden below. I walked through the garden on the way here and the stone walkway and water motifs remind me of a delicate human reimagination of a swamp. The art museum's design is undeniably european, but the Japanese influences are everywhere too. Its an extremely ornate building but it doesnt set my imagination aflame like Frank Lloyd Wright does. Not much does. Japanese gardens do, though, and I wish this garden had a more dominant presence because fuck Europe. I find their tasteful design elegant and virile — outside of bad bitches, that paroxysm is very difficult to find IRL.

Echos of Naoshima, the World’s Crown of Contemporary Art

Smaller rooms on the guided path through the residence have been converted into art installations. One instillation was built by artists who run a project on Teshima Island. I immediately recognized it when I heard it, before I even saw it. When I saw it, memories of Teshima flooded back into my mind. My moment was unlike any one else’s whose been in this building today; a traveller's lonely little gift.

The Heartbeat Project flashes a bulb in a dark room to the rhythm of actual human heart beats people have recorded on Teshima island.

Oscar Wilde said that the person who sees ugliness in beautiful art is irredeemable; art is a mirror and your own mental sickness is laid bare for you to examine, if you dare to admit that, when you see ugly in beauty.

I saw a memory and it provided so much depth to the Teien Art Museum experience for me. That was something special for me. The feeling for me was like an old friend whom I care very much for suddenly showing up where I least expected them. 

— To Be Continued. 

Day 10 - Teshima, Naoshima, + Retrospective

Some vacations lead to profound revelations, all-new relationships, and life changes. I've been back in Seattle for about one week, now, and in America for two. The Art Islands have left my mind and I think my comparison to summer camp is super apt. It's over now - I accept it - but its also there, waiting for me to return, next summer (or whenever.) The Art Islands are 100% hold the most impressive and mind altering collection of art I've ever seen. It is a magical place.

Day 10

On the previous night, I had dinner with a new friend, Natalie. She was not the type of person I typically find myself with; head-strong, obstinate, an artist's disposition and eye, kind of wild in her attention -- also 50-ish -- and way more  internationally experienced but hey its the Art Islands. I found myself against a lot of her opinions but unwilling to argue -- not worth. We stayed out till about 11:00pm and I headed home, loaded up my onsen tub, and eventually headed to sleep -- so, so, so excited about day 2.

I wake up -- please be 5:00am, please be 5:00am -- grab my charging kindle off of the shelf -- it feels like 5:00am ... 2:10am. Shit. I roll around till 3:00am when I give up. Im up for the day. There was just zero chance I was getting to sleep for any long amount of time and I could sleep another time, anyway.

I get up, do some reading, and decide I'd like to see sunrise. I personally feel Im more honed in at sunrise, than set. I want to rest after the sun has set. Instead Im usually getting drunk -- but regardless, here's a chance for me to see the sunset during an irreplaceable two days in my life. Done. By 4:00, I'm out the door, ambling on empty streets. Pink is drawling itself out, over the horizon. I jump around taking different pictures with the environment. It's temperate, in my light jacket. There are occasional cars in the early morning light but the only people out are fishermen.

...

7-11 opens At 6am and I buy a breakfast of rice, nori (seaweed,) and tamago (egg.) I miss it so. Right now, I’m practicing Ramadan and just talking about Japan invites a barge of nostalgia filled with these memories, hunger, and feels. I grab food, and head to the 6am ferry. 

I arrive at the island and quickly find it is about half of the size of the first island, despite whatever the maps say. It smells like fresh ocean. It’s almost 7 — nothing is close to opening — and I see only one man out on the street. I approach the man and courteously greet him: I’m looking to rent a bike, I tell him. This is a 60-70 year old man tending to his garden. He motions to follow him and takes me through the village to one of the wooden homes’ sliding doors. He raps on the door and says something in Japanese. A groggy man holding his morning coffee comes to the door — and he speaks a bit of english. "Yes, bike? Okay come in.” 

The man doesnt check a license and doesnt make me sign anything. I give him $15 and I’m on my way with a motorized bike for the day. 

I take out my map, orient myself, and head for the first of the outdoor exhibitions I want to see. It’s closed, but I find an old — it looks like hospital — and decide to break in and explore; possibly take some cool photos. I step into the tall grass and a giant snake slithers right in front of me. Okay, never mind. 

I keep peddling to the first exhibit I want to see. Closed. I consider breaking in, but see “Beware of Wild Hogs” signs everywhere. I feel that 7am, when noone else is around, is not the time to brave a closed, warthog-infested exhibit and Im still spooked by the snake so I keep rolling. 

Day 9 - Kyoto, Naoshima

Kiyomizudera, one of Kyoto’s biggest tourist temple attractions. The temple is ancient, heavy, wooden, and juts out over a cliffside. It was once considered a great blessing to jump off of this 4-story stage. 42 jumpers have lept to the concrete and foliage below and 85.2% have survived. Wow. I saw a crackhead do two stories on worldstar.com once and THAT was bad. 

A mad dash later and I’m on a train to Okayama, a small city I would visit on my last day. A switch to Chiyamaya and another switch to Uno Port.

The Art Islands

Naoshima

Teshima

Ahh, here we are at the Art Islands. I check into Kikusui Ryokan. I hop on the first ferry to Naoshima Island, one of 2.5 major islands constituting the Art Islands. I am too late to rent any sort of private transportation. I putter around and eventually hop on a community bus to the only museum still open — the Benesse Art House -- considered the second best traditional art museum on the islands… I THINK… and I agree with that.

Benesse Art Museum

I let loose and had an amazing time at the Benesse. the first piece I saw was the Secret of the Sky.  When I sleep talk, for no reason known to me, I sometimes ask “why is the sky so complicated?” Naturally, I had to check this one out. I pushed on the window facing outward to the exhibit and it budged. This was no window it was a door — the people around me shared enthusiasm in this discovery. We entered the Secret of the Sky and I laid down on one of the rocks, looking at the sky and listening to the birds... 

This was a metal board covered in 100 neon slogans, housed in a — hmm — concrete dome. The acoustics in here were otherworldly — I loved it. More, the art operated so that only one slogan of the 100 would highlight at a time. They would alternate, every 5 seconds. For me, this created a random poem. Each slogan carried connotations and the random pattern smashed them together, causing loop-de-loops in my brain. Very cool! 

I met a bunch of friendly, fascinated, and diverse people in this museum. I continued meeting these same folk over the next two days. My new friends and I discovered a quite secluded roof area and witnessed an amazing sunset. As per usual, I hopped the fence into an area I was supposed to go. Completely surprisingly -- I may have found my tribe on this island -- the group on the roof, after some hesitation, all helped each other hop the fence and joined me to snap the sunset. There was no surveillance so we sat down, chatting, watching the sunset and snapping fantastic pictures. 

Secret of the Sky

 I've no secrets to share. The sky is what we thought it was!

100 Live and Die 

Art Friends

Colluding under a blood-red sun, laughing and loopy.

I'm at summer camp, again.

We've taken our lives and experiences to the island but left our baggage. Our personalities are shining through, were in the moment, and were exploring like children. I didn't know this place existed in me -- anymore or ever -- I can't remember. A wise man told me that this island rhymes with itself. That reminded me of George Lucas talking about Star Wars. I cant wait for this rhyme to echo forever.

Day 6 - Kumono Kodo I - Trail in Darkness

I am a city boy. If I ever grow comfortable with the forest, it will be no small feat. 



I spent the morning in Kyoto. I took an early train down to Kii Tanabe, a small city on the coast of the Wakayama Penninsula. Traveling in Japan without any english is mostly easy and sometimes requires some gesturing and working together to come to a mutual understanding. The trouble is miscommunication and that can have serious repercussions like, whoa. Despite leaving early, I arrived too late to begin the trail. After a train, a second train, and a local bus to the head of the trail, it was 12:30 and I arrived to a light rain on the Nakahetchi trail. I made a last minute change to my itinerary and was now obliged to travel 17KM to get to my luggage and reach my accommodations for the night.

One properly begins their pilgrimage with "testing their faith" by crawling through the optional Tainai-kuguri bolder. 

A humongous rock blocks my path like a Snorlax. I remove my pack and crawl through a pitch black corridor. I snake through, trying to keep an eye out for spiders -- the Black Widow spider does live on the path -- but I had to give up on my sight adding anything useful. I reached a sliver of light at the end of the corridor -- a crevice -- was this the exit?


I met no other travelers on this day. In retrospect, none other was fool enough to start the path so late. I spent time sauntering, journaling, and reading Dune -- seated, aloud, and walking.

 I traverse ancient stone paths, deep forest, shrines, and small mountain villages on the gorgeous Nakahetchi trail. Everything picturesque and the outlooks abundant. Fog swam among the tops of the mountains - my panorama for the next two days. In the words of Willy, "Rack Ball."








Things got thick around 5.

I finished my last handful of granola and bought a new bottle of water -- 1000 yen left. Light was fading out. I picked up the pace: Jogging up hills, skipping over brooks, and aggressively scanning my path, looking to avoid any dangerous wild life emerging with sunset.

...

Now the sun was gone. I dipped out of the forest at a rest stop with vending machines and bought a Pocari Sweat. Did it just get even darker? I was scared to look at my map. I knew I had landmarks still to come or hopefully I had just missed them in my mad rush. Of course I had missed nothing. The sun was gone and the forest was black -- it sounded like insect symphony orchestra.

I was out of options and worried, and I kept moving.

Eventually, I escaped mortal peril and arrived in the napping mountain village of Tsugizakuri-Oji. 
This was not the end.

I WISH

This town is desolate.

I dig through my bag and find my town map, under a highway-side street light.

My encampment is through the village, up a hill, past a graveyard, and over a river.

 

More than once I come to what I mistake as dead ends.

I arrive in somebody's yard and scare the shit out of some kid. 

I'm more scared of him.

 

More than once, small upturns or undocumented roads stump me.

I pass a bus stop with a roof. My accommodations for the night.

I've done worse

In the end, my map was reliable.

When I reached the site, it was almost nine. A little old lady was waiting up for me.

"Checking In"

She orienteded me with the accommodations -- including the onsen. My beautiful room had tiers like a tree house, high ceilngs, and smelled of freshly cut forest wood. It had multiple ladders and tiers. I spent the evening soaking, laughing, and counting my blessings.