The Miho and the Hut

Mihoko Koyama, the heiress to the Toyobo textile business, and one of the wealthiest women in Japan, dabbled in religion by establishing the Shinji Shumeikai spiritual movement in the 1970s and then, in the 1990s, decided to showcase her collection of art in a museum and hired I.M. Pei to design something in the mountains near Kyoto, Japan.The result is the Miho Museum, about which I have mixed feelings. Positively a wonderful architectural accomplishment and beautifully embedded in natural surroundings, especially when the cherry trees are blossoming - a display so impressive that critical detachment is overwhelmed. On the other hand, the contents of the museum are not enough to justify a special journey. And the marshaling of so much money and engineering to achieve natural modesty seems bizarre to me. So, when the day at the Miho is recollected in tranquility I have to say "Go there only when the cherry blossoms are in bloom."

On the other hand, the half hour spent sheltering from the rain under the thatched eaves and peeking into the little hut in Arashiyama called the Rakushisha Residence that belonged to the 17th century haiku poet Mukai Kyorai and where his teacher, the immortal poet Basho Matsuo visited, left an impression which grows in the memory and still gives pleasure without reservation.

Arriving from Kyoto after a 30-minute trainride and a 50-minute bus connection you have the option of walking  a half-mile to the museum or using their electric car.

Walking is the obvious option when the blooming cherry trees border the road for a quarter-mile.

Leading to a shiny tunnel

And a suspension bridge with the museum entrance beyond.

Through the doors

Into a lobby with a fine nature panorama beyond, including her spiritual center in the distance.

The grounds are well tended.

Tree branches are beautifully supported.

The walk back is also beautiful.

The entrance to the poet's hut in Arashiyama

Old-fashioned coat and hat, hanging on an outside wall

Interior

The thatched roof which sheltered us from the rain.

Closing Credits

I may add more credits and photos to this as my travel-weary mind rests and recovers. We are leaving Honolulu this evening for New York.

Emma

1. First of all, the trip was her idea. We could not have planned the trip without her knowledge, experience and good sense. On the trip I would not have have noticed at least half the things I saw without Emma bringing them to my attention. She directed my photography. The best shots are due to her.  I would have been sick half the time if it were not for her sanitary precautions. She planned all the sightseeing and snacking and eating. She helped me cross the streets and climb the stairs. She handled all the transactions. Does this make me sound like an infant? So be it! Here are some examples just from Penang, Malaysia.

Emma alerts me to a broken sidewalk in Penang, Malaysia

Emma selects samosa from the best stand in Penang

 Emma, opposed to laziness, walks away from a reclining Buddha in Penang.

In violation of law, (shown on sign behind them) Daniel Young and Emma touch lips.

 Willis Haviland Carrier (1876 – 1950)
The inventor of electrical air-conditioning. Without air-conditioning in airplanes, trains, buses, automobiles, hotels, restaurants  and some stores, I don't think I would have survived the 75-day portion of this trip in Southern Africa and Southeast Asia in a period most residents said was hotter than usual. I'm talking at least 95 degrees, high humidity and strong sun. Only mad dogs and tourists go out in the midday sun.

Portrait of Willis Carrier

Canon SX 270
This amazing little camera took at least 200 shots a day for 100 days straight without letting me down on a trip to fourteen countries, in Southern Africa, Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia under all sorts of conditions. I used none of its many modes except Automatic. I shot with surprising success through car windows, hotel windows, store windows and museum display cases. I rarely used the flash because it was so good in low light conditions. Its zoom was terrific, both optical to 20x and digital all the way to 80x. I often shot in haste with only a rough idea of framing the subject and sometimes I shot from the hip or backwards. I carried three chargeable batteries for it, one in the camera and two in the pocket. Proof of what I say may be seen at www.danielyoungtravels.com

Mac Air
Communication by email and Skype, research on the go, news, blogging and Scrabble. I regret to say that I was heavily dependent on this computer and on the internet for the successful completion of this trip. (For music we used this and an IPod Touch.)

Camelbak Water Purifier - This well-designed, sturdy and reliable device purified water quickly with ultraviolet light whenever we were in doubt about the purity of the water. The impressive battery held a charge for a very long time.

The screw-off top contains the well-protected UV lights, a great lithium battery and a simple button control.

Eagle Creek Duffle Bag - A tough, expandable duffle bag, started small for safari flights and expanded later. Well-designed with good end pockets and reliable zippers.

Bottom expands significantly. Well-made.

Ass Wipes - CVS baby wipes in a resealable dispenser insured personal cleanliness in many foreign toilets.
 

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Loofah - A single fabric-backed oval of loofah, approximately 5 inches long, helped scrub my dirty, sweaty body in countless showers and remained in good condition (without mold or tearing for over three months).

Tag Heur Eyeglasses - a light, flexible and strong eyeglass/sunglass which stood up well to the rigors of travel. Special reactive lenses change to sunglasses in sunlight. Before the trip I improved them by adding a silicon rubber band attachment for hanging around my neck (much stronger and more durable than the commercial holders) and by gluing the nylon line (which holds the lenses in place) to the lenses to prevent the loss of a lense under extreme conditions. There was no need to use my backup eyeglasses.

With decals removed, improved as described above, these are the eyeglasses which endured 100 days of strenuous travel.

Merell Chameleon Shoes - Light, tough, well-ventilated and comfortable, these slip-on sneaker/shoes worked well under all conditions and surfaces for 100 days. Not very dressy but functionally beautiful. Thanks to Amir for recommending them. A pair of Reef sandals was used about 1/7th of the time. They were satisfactory but not extraordinary. The bottle opener in the sole of the sandals was not used even once.

The shoe that conquered the world..

Jeep Brand Vest - A multi-pocketed lightweight vest which held everything one could need on a day of touring or traveling. (Touring = exploring a specific location where one is staying overnight. Traveling = moving between different locations by car, train or plane.)

Useful piece of specialized clothing.

 "Oscar" Sun Hat - By Emthunzini Hat Co. of South Africa. LIght, comfortable and foldable.

Returns to shape very well. Protects well.

"Chinatown" Shoulder Bag - Nylon shoulder bag purchased by Emma in Chinatown. About 15" x 10". Four zippered sections. Held camera, computer, Ipod, countless connectors, adaptors, notebook maps. Used as a daily walking bag and carry-on bag. Performed flawlessly. Held tons.

Palau

Arriving in the dark and rain at 4AM in the morning makes any place forbidding. But after a sleepless five hour- flight from Seoul and getting a few hours sleep at the Palau Pacific Resort we saw we were in a tropical paradise.

Like all paradises it has a dark historical side, in this case a history of occupation, first by the Spanish then the Germans then the Japanese from the beginning of the 20th Century to the end of World War II, the ravages of which reduced Palau's native population from 45,000 to 15,000. Palau was used as an agricultural and supply center by the Japanese with hundreds of thousands of slave laborers from Korea, Malaysia etc. building roads and bridges and working the fields. The Japanese presence made Palau a major target for the Allied forces in World War II.

The islands were taken by the United States in 1944, with the costly Battle of Peleliu between September 15 and November 25 with more than 2,000 Americans and 10,000 Japanese killed. The wrecks of 300 American planes are scattered around the islands as evidence of the ferocious US attacks along with many shipwrecks, now attractions for divers, supplementing the coral reefs and underwater wonders for which Palau is world-famous.  Now, Japanese comprise 75% of the tourists.

Palau has 350 islands, if you count lots of little stones in the sea with vegetation on them. Ten of them are inhabited. Their gentle, green, rolling outline, make a beautiful scene. The climate  is hot and humid. Palau is now an independent country after coming under the benevolent wing of the US following the war. The US dollar is the currency and Palauans have the right to live in the U.S. freely. U.S. citizens can live in Palau but can't own land. English, Japanese and Palauan are spoken by the natives.

The snorkeling was excellent. The reef right off the beach of the Palau Pacific Resort was superb. On a day trip we snorkeled the Dropoff, along the outer edge of that magnificent reef which is world-famous among divers and also snorkeled the unique jellyfish lake where countless stingless golden jellyfish create an other-worldly experience. The multi-colored big clams, the amazing varieties of fish and the varied terrains of corals and underwater plants were also outstanding.

The original deserted island which inspired countless cartoons

Evidence of Japanese WWII occupation

Scenery

A hint of what lies below the surface

Our lunch beach

Underwater scenery

 

Now I can reveal that all the pictures above were taken at the Honolulu Aquarium on our way back after Palau. But they accurately reflect what we saw in Palau (except that in the Jellyfish Lake the jellyfish were golden color in lighter water color..)

Seoul, South Korea

Seoul surprised us. We chose it primarily because it was the connecting point for our flight to Palau. But it turned out to be quite interesting. Big, really big, and modern, full of bustling street markets, covered markets and new buildings; especially a very impressive National Museum and the completely unexpected design center by Zaha Hadid which opened just a month before our visit and had, among other things, a show of Enzo Mari's designs. Fine subway system and reasonable taxis. The meter drops at $3 but stays there a long time. The people are noticeably more relaxed and informal than the Japanese. Ordinary food is on the expensive side. A bagel and coffee can be $10 and a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice $6. Like Japan, lots of cutesy kitsch for sale everywhere. Comparable to Singapore.

View  from our hotel window. Even though we were there for only four days they had time to honor me by renaming the shopping center seen in the lower right.

Here and below, portions of Zaha Hadid's enormous Design Plaza done in the latest architectural fashion of biomorphic shaping of metals, producing pleasing, if not entirely functional, shapes.

 

  

The National Museum was impressive, inside and out.

Inside museum. Special Post-impressionist show from the D'Orsay in a separate building and full collection of Asian art in this one.

Modern subway system, very much like Singapore.

A big "forbidden-city-style" palace. Restored nicely after two destructions by the Japanese, one in the Fifteenth Century and one in the Twentieth.

Palace ceiling detail.

One of the old city gates

Big market complexes everywhere

Sensational, gigantic fish market where you can buy your fish and have it cooked in restaurants on the second floor as shown below

Hairy crab

Sea urchins. We also had abalone and big scallops.

I had time to open an art gallery