East Eats West

Soaking among septuagenarians

Onsen, Japanese hot springs or baths, can be found across Japan. They come in various shapes and forms. From garishly touristy like in Beppu on Kyushu to secluded in the mountain area. Using a Japanese onsen requires some basic knowledge of bathing etiquette. Before entering the hot pool one has to wash and rinse thoroughly. It is important that no dirt or soap enters the hot pool. I was told by my Japanese friends that some Onsen are now battling the influx of foreigners from Mainland China who do not obey the bathing rules (as apparently happening in Kurokawa, a formerly secluded Onsen town). My favorite Onsen on Kyushu is Musoen Hotel in Yufuin. The outdoor pools are facing majestic Aso mountain, a still active vulcano. Particularly in autumn the view of the mountain, framed by red and yellow maple leaves, is worth a visit. Musoen Hotel also has a nice restaurant and traditional Japanese rooms. As it is situated a bit outside of town it offers reclusion and calmness.

Hand-painted shoes from Japan

Picture: Goodyear-welted and hand-painted shoes, made in Japan. 

Which is the best place to get a wide assortment of top Italian, French and English men's wear brands? No, not London, Paris nor Milan but Tokyo! Retailers like Beams or Tomorrowland stock a wide variety of venerable European men's wear brands like Isaia, Swaine Adeney and Briggs, John Smedley or Crockett & Jones. If you can't find it in Tokyo, it is not worth having it! I also saw some of the best dressed sales staff in the whole universe and some even spoke English! Therefore the discerning gentleman can choose from a plethora of Japanese suit and shirt tailors who use Italian fabrics and cuts from Savile Row to Milano. However, the icing on the cake for any man with exquisite taste are custom-made Japanese shoes. Hiroki Imai, a Japanese in his mid thirties, produces traditional goodyear-welted men's shoes. You can choose among wide and round lasts and a dazzling variety of colors, soles and stitching. It takes Mr. Imai 40 days to finish a shoe and he also ships to Europe. He learned his trade in Italy and what makes his shoes unique, besides that he only uses Japanese leather, is the unique coloring. He is not shy of mixing black and red, red and green or purple with black. I shall receive my shoes in spring 2011! Here is his website: http://imaihiroki.com/Picture: Mr. Hiroki Imai at work, painting a shoe. Below, a selection of his wide-ranging work. 

The birthplace of Korean pottery in Japan

Picture: Head of the almost four meters high, lacquer-covered float. 

When Korean potters were forcefully brought to Japan in the 1590s it marked the beginning of a new dawn for Japanese ceramics. The potters settled in the town of Karatsu on the southern island of Kyushu, locked-in in a gated village with moats. The Nakazato Taroemon kiln in Karatsu is run by descendants of those very first potters. The city of Karatsu, a 90 minutes train ride from Fukuoka, has all the ingredients for a good tourist destination: sea-side location, over 500 years of history, a small castle and the wonderful annual float festival. But looking for the history of pottery is hard as no operating kilns can be found and shops are all over town. Visiting the city on a sunny day left me with the feeling that town's inhabitants quickly left the city and might return anytime soon.

However, the true attraction of Karatsu are the magnificent and oversized floats. Once a year in early November during a huge festival fourteen floats get pulled down the streets by young men in traditional attire. For more information click here: http://www.karatsu-kankou.jp/english3.html     

Trivia: what is it?

I found this ad on the Tokyo subway. What is it for? Take a guess and write a comment! 

Fukuoka food stalls

Picture: Food on the fast and cheap in one of the many Fukuoka food stalls next to the river. 

Food stalls are a common sight from Malaysia to India and from Vietnam to Thailand. Due to the high concentration of shopping malls and train stations, street food stalls in Japan mostly concentrate at tourist sites and shrines. Fukuoka on the southern Kyushu island however still has a culture of night food stalls along the river. They offer Japanese skewers, Ramen noodles and beer for the city-dweller in a hurry. The food stalls are mostly run by charismatic cooks and carry a red lantern as their trade-mark.

The sounds of Japan

Picture: Despite the sheer number of passengers on Japanese trains and subways, it is startling to see how little impact all those millions of commuters have. No waste, no sound and no wear. 

 To sit on the Tokyo subway in the morning is an astonishing experience for the lack of chatter and the constant sounds of the announcers. Whoever travels in Japan will be mesmerized, and sometimes annoyed, by the plethora of sounds and announcements. The approaching trains at the railway stations are announced by an ear-piercing sound while never-ending announcements provide the constant sound backdrop (next to the artificial chirping of birds). Also the escalators have a voice, so does the ATM machine and the credit card machine in restaurants. Upon entering a restaurant all the staff booms out a big welcome and the cashier at the till will repeat all items and count the coins out loud. Switching on the air-con will produce a message about the set temperature. Even in temples tour guides try to speak as loud and clear as possible. So silence is golden in Japan. And interestingly there is a lot of silence in Japan. While sitting in a regular subway I suddenly realized that there was hardly any human conversation in the coach, only the constant dull announcements made via loudspeaker.

 

Reduce, reuse and recycle

Picture: Shoes from the middle of last century in a Japanese vintage store. 

 Japan often sees itself as a pioneer in sustainable technology, the Toyota Hybrid being the prime example. Japan wants to pioneer the sustainable lifestyle with the three Rs: reduce, reuse and recycle. At the same time Japan, at least according to my book, still the biggest luxury market in the world (closely followed by China). So what to do if you went on a buying-binge and ended up with a closet full of Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton goods? Right, bring it to one of the many resell shops across Japan. Some pioneering shops in Japan now even let customers sell their used goods for a limited time. Other shops are big into vintage clothing, buying clothes from Europe and the US.

 

The secret of big eyes revealed

Picture: Big eyes in an instant in a Japanese photo booth. 

In a former blog entry I talked about the extra large eyes of young Japanese hostesses. It might not be all plastic surgery but only clever touching up on the computer! I came across this photo booths arcade in a shopping mall and was dazzled by the clever eye-enhancement features of those cubicles!

Picture: Big eyes not enough? Here are some clothes for the ultimate kawaii (cute) look!

Colorful autumn leaves on Mount Koyasan

Picture: Autumn leaves at Koya-san. 

 Middle of November is the main traveling season in Japan. The reason is a color-explosion of red and yellow by the native Japanese maple trees. Next to Sakura, the spring cherry blossom, this is when Japanese travel to Kyoto and other scenic locations for capturing the intensive colors on digital film.  

Japanese mountain temples

Picture: Top, a pagoda in Koyasan. Bottom, the view from our room at the Shojoshin-in Temple in Koyasan.

If you think Japan and temples, you are surely think of Kyoto. Kyoto might have hundreds of temples and shrines but they are all scattered across a big city. And only very few temples offer accommodation. Should you hanker for a unique temple retreat on a sacred mountain, I strongly suggest you visit Koya-san, the temple retreat of the Shingon Buddhist sect. Koya-san is about two hours south from Osaka and located on a small mountain, accessible by cable-car or car. The town of 4'200 inhabitants was founded in the 9^th century by the Buddhist monk Kobo Diashi Kukai, founder of the Shingon Buddhist sect. Koya-san is a UNSESCO World Heritage Site and has over 100 temples, almost sixty of them offering accommodation. The temples are surrounded by dense forrest and beautifully embedded into nature, not like in Kyoto. The lodgings vary in price and comfort. We stayed at the more comfortable Shojoshin-in temple and got a spacious tatami room with futons, a view on a small Japanese garden, a heater and external douche toilets. We were served an elaborate Shojin Ryori breakfast and dinner. This is a traditional vegan Buddhist meal (you can even get a beer at certain temples). Guests of the temple are invited to attend the early morning Shingon ceremony. Shingon Buddhism is especially famous for its fire ceremony and I recommend you attend one. For more information on Koya-san and temple lodgings, visit: Www.shukubo.net