A Trip Round The Islands - Naoshima

The island trips continue. Naoshima is a very special place and it was great to spend the night there, without the pressure of a 5pm ferry on our minds. We camped out in yurts by the sea, had a BBQ for dinner and drank prosecco on the beach (champagne is beyond our budget).

This time we got to see all of the Art House Project buildings. It was interesting to see traditional spaces converted into something altogether different. There was a great variation in quality though. One or two of the buildings made you wonder why they had bothered at all. Nonetheless, I enjoyed wandering the streets and not knowing what to expect each time I walked through the door.

We also finally made it to the sento, which is really unusual and almost a work of art in itself. The bath had a mosaic floor that was pieced together from photographs, drawings and other oddities. Above the bath stood a life-size model of an elephant. It was a strange atmosphere but it did feel relaxing which is the point I guess.

The James Bond Museum was a real oddity. They’ve centered the museum around a post-Fleming Bond novel in which the climax is set on Naoshima. It has lines like ““Japanese women are the most beautiful in the world” thought Bond, as he sipped his Martini”. They’d made their own Bond film/documentary which involved some unusual “acting”. Still, it made me laugh and I enjoyed browsing through the Bond tat that they had collected over the years.

I’m sorry this entry reads as a bit of a list of stuff that I did. I’ve had a funny week, really. I got a bill from Softbank that was as much as a shinkansen ticket. It floored me. The lesson is to never, ever use your Japanese-contract phone abroad. Even for a minute. Feeling totally screwed, I handed over my not especially hard-earned money at the combini and muttered to myself in a crazy person fashion.

Crazy person muttering is not a good look for me.

To the art island...

Last time we went to Naoshima it was freezing cold.

 

Naoshima has a special place in my heart. Pumpkins, beaches, galleries, cool art oddities scattered all over the place and a laid back vibe. It’s one of my favourite places in Japan. K and I will be visiting for an overnight stay this weekend. We’ll be camping in a yurt next to the beach. If it remains dry, then it should be a beautiful, relaxed weekend. If it rains then…well let’s just hope it doesn’t rain.

I’ve been quite health-focused recently. I’ve done a lot of exercise and am keeping an eye on what I’m eating and drinking. I’ve also barely (with a couple of exceptions) smoked since coming back from Tokyo. To be honest, I love smoking to the extent that it almost feels like a hobby. But it’s not quite as awesome as it used to be. I really hate giving up and the side-effects that go with it-that’s as good an incentive as any not to lapse. I have very weak willpower and I do like chocolate an awful lot (particularly when it’s covering Macadamia Nuts or involves green tea), so I slip into bad habits sometimes. I also find it difficult to eat food in sensible quantities. Even when I eat stuff that’s healthy, I tend to eat too much of it.

In possibly-related news, I’m going to (for complicated reasons) be getting a free, sporty car when I get back to the UK. When you put all of the above together-exercise, weight gain, practical wearing of tights in winter, shaving of head and driving of a silly car I suppose it does sound a bit like a mid-life crisis. But they’re meant to happen when you’re 40, right? Seriously though, I think it is just a coincidence, but it does feel like a lot of grown-up things are all happening at once right now. I’ve even started to get a thrill from gardening recently. Maybe I should just do a Mark Oaten and get it over with? Probably best not to.

Stomping Through The Rain

You’re not always aware of how much you’ve missed people until you see them again after a long time apart. Two good friends of mine came to visit me in Okayama yesterday and it was such a dramatically awesome day that I’m faintly dreading my return home to an empty apartment tonight.

It’s starting to heat up. Rainy season is just around the corner and it won’t be long until I’m wearing shorts on a regular basis. I really hate the way that shorts look on me. There has never been a tall person who looked good in shorts-it’s a karma thing to make up for our being able to see the stage at gigs. But anyway, shorts will be worn and sweat will be wiped. I’m even thinking that I might invest in one of those towels that old Japanese men sling round their neck all day in the staff room. I think they’re very becoming.

Meanwhile, this month is all about islands. Rabbit island last week, Shiraishi island this weekend and Naoshima the following weekend. Shiraishi is a reasonably pretty sunbathing spot in the Seto Inland Sea. We’re looking forward to some chilled reading time and a balmy evening stay at the International Villa there. Fingers crossed that the rainy season holds off for another weekend.

It will be our third visit to Naoshima, one of my favourite places in Japan. I have fond memories of wandering the island in torrential rain and being hugely impressed by the Tadao Ando architecture and random bits of art. But this time we are camping in a yurt by the beach. Hopefully there’ll be sunshine, relaxed times and tasty picnics. In practice, it may not turn out that way.

Inspired by my recent ill health, I went out for a run on Monday and I’m probably going to do the same again tonight. It felt good to explore the area round my house and the surprised faces of the elementary school children at a gaijin running directly towards them made me giggle. I cut a fairly ludicrous figure when I run, but that’s part of my supposed charm I guess.