10/17 - We had a LONG wait at LAX. Got there at 5:45am (YAWN!) for our 8:45 flight and breezed through security. EXCITED! |
Couldn't wait, although Bec was anxious about the flight. Sat on the runway for a friggin hour thanks to weather in San Fran. |
Wish I could have slept like this on the way there, ha ha. It was 5pm on 10-18 when we arrived! |
10/19 - Toru Shimizu, first artist purchase. He made the glass insects, knows Vittorio Costantini, but hasn't studied under him. |
Brendon's favorites artist, Take (ta-kay). Take made AWESOME boro pendants, Brendon is wearing his proudly. |
More of Take's cool work. |
Becky bought the necklace she is wearing, and this gal was SO proud. |
Brendon and Wakana Ogura, Aki's studio mate and business partner. She made the very cool ant bead I bought. |
Ryo Ono doing a demo. Awesome guy, we got to know him well later in the trip. |
Pulling down some satake cane to use for his peacock feather beads. |
Matt Eskuche's (ess-cookie) demo. This guy makes mind blowing encalmo pieces. I bought some cool Japanese glass trash from him. |
The finished piece, AMAZING. Encalmo is when you join blown pieces and get those nice color lines as a result. |
Bandhu Dunhams amazing marble machine. Almost all glass, with a motor that turns a glass escalator to take the marbles back top. |
Bandhu next to his creation. He sat 2 rows in front of us on the plane there, Aki gave him a ride with us to the hotel. |
Paul Stephan's demo, making a marble. |
Brendon, artist Josh Sable, girlfriend Melissa and Bec, a little break from the show floor. |
Let's get me in the pic.... |
Aki's dad - Yasuhiro Ohkama, a veterinarian who began making beads about 6 years before Aki, and eventually taught Aki |
Friday night collabs. Akihiro Ohkama and Shane Ferro worked together on a cool piece. |
Aki's marble before he eventually stretched and twisted it. |
Robert Mickelsen and Suellen Fowler worked together on a 'Bird in Hand'. Suellen sat 2 seats over from me on the plane ride. |
Mickelsen at work, working on tubing. |
Devin Somerville and Paul Stephan (old roommates) made a 'Pimp Cane' together, which Aki later bought at auction. |
Hot cobalt glass! Pulling and twisting a section of the cane. |
Matt worked with a Japanese artist I didn't know. |
And I don't know what they made either, DOH! |
Bandhu and Brad Pearson worked together, and a couple of American beadmakers made a piece as well. |
Bandhu made a glass rack for 3 of Brad's big beads, one of which he is making here. |
10/20 - Not sure, but hopefully Melissa is sad because I got sick today with the flu. SON OF A! Missed the whole day of demos. |
"Try and Treat", ha haa! Well, at least they tried.... |
I didn't want to miss the Sat night party Aki had arranged for us to be at, so I dragged my sick butt there, didn't eat much. |
In Japan, it is polite to wear a mask when you are sick so as not to infect others. Hated it, it was hot. |
Charlie's Angels - Melissa, Jamie and Becky. OK, really Josh's, Paul's and Brian's angels, ha. |
Late party antics - Aki, Josh, our new friend Yoshio, and Paul. |
Becky: sign model. |
A bridge outside our hotel, Brendon playing (I left the party after a half hour or so, made some paper airplanes for B first). |
How come we don't get 'gourmet' Pringles in the US?!?!? |
10/21 - View of Kobe harbor from our room balcony. |
View of some of Kobe from our room. |
Artist Ayako Hattori - she had LOTS of awesome marbles and beads. I bought just a few marbles..... |
Artist Atusi Ono - I bought the most awesome pendant ever from him for Craig, a spider on its web. |
Aki, me and Keith Bryan. Aki, Keith, Wakana, Ryo Ono, Emiko, Yuka and Yasuhiro all shared a group of tables. |
Artist Brad Pearson - he had a really nice selection of marbles and beads on Sunday. |
Marshall on the torch, Brendon's new friend. Marshall is Paul Trautman's son, who was an early boro pioneer, founded Northstar. |
View of the show floor from the 2nd level.There were about 10 floors of shops in this complex, which our hotel was attached to. |
Paul, Matt, Devin and I. Yeah, Matt looks stoned, but Paul looked stoned in the 2nd try, heh heh. |
Artist Lewis Wilson - I got a cool totem pole from him. Never goes anywhere without his cane and tophat. |
Melissa and Brendon with his ever present Nintendo DS. Heading to dinner, late.... |
Wandering downtown Kobe, looking for our restaurant. I really enjoyed that. |
Brendon liked it too, especially with the prospect of food ahead... |
Everybody drinks beer in Japan, and Brendon now too. NOT. EVERYBODY smokes in Japan, it was amazing. |
Mizu and Yoshio clowning.... |
Korean BBQ style dinner, Keith helping to cook. LOVED this meal, yummy chicken skin! |
Brendon tried some raw tongue. Actually, I think he was joking, but I tried a piece. Bizarre. |
By the end of the trip, Brendon was proficient with chopsticks! But our friends kept making him cheater sticks.... |
FIRE soup. Holy cow, this stuff was hot, even though it was supposedly a '3' on a spicy scale of 1 to 21. |
Too hot for Aki - so why'd you order it like that?! |
Mizu had to apply a wet rag to tongue, heh. Speaking of - every restaurant hands out either a wet rag or napkin prior to meals. |
The goofy gang! |
Man, we had a blast. |
Not doing such a good job holding Yoshio for the group pic! |
Better with Ono..... |
Heading back to the train station. We took a train from the hotel to downtown Kobe, it was fun. |
Brendon and Keith - Pretend Engineers |
Yoshio became Brendon's 'DS Buddy' for our entire time there. We were thankful Yoshio took such good care of Brendon. |
Melissa and Josh - I love catching funky faces! |
10/22 - Universal Studios in Osaka! We packed up from the Kobe hotel and headed to Universal, 15 of us total. |
We were there before the gates opened, headed to Spiderman first, STILL had a long wait. |
It was a SWEET 3-D ride, lot of fun. Wakana, Emiko and Yuko model the eyewear. |
Brendon prepares for the Jurassic Park ride after insisting I buy him a poncho. |
Wakana is ready! See Brendon in front of her, ha. |
Ono and Yuko model the Dino Hats. |
NOTHING like huge turkey legs for a morning snack when you're starved. They make good light sabres also. |
There's was a cool Halloween show with acrobats and rollerbladers, etc. |
Little Pumpkin popped out of Big Pumpkin, ha. |
The show.... |
Aki got a clam chowder bowl AND a MASSIVE burger. That boy could eat! |
No way Emiko's mouth is big enough. I decided to try a burger with my clam chowder also.Tasted different, but came with egg,yum! |
Keith kept making us wait while he pinched one, so we all tried to squeeze one in his honor. |
Couldn't pass up a Hello Kitty Dream Car pic.... |
Aki, aka Spider Goof, ha ha. |
Brendon's Jaws souvenir. They had a full-on Jaws ride at this park. |
Ah yes, the perfect Photo Spot. |
Lots of silly hats to go around - Yuko and Bec. |
Spiderboy! |
Yoshio's dream car, the DeLorean. |
Couldn't take just one pic.... |
But hey - it's handicapped accessible! |
Aki worked to try and fit ALL 15 of us in these 2 cars, with luggage.They had Brendon on CherryBoys lap for a while (blk jacket) |
Uuuh yeah - not gonna happen. Several eventually took the train. Steering wheels are on the wrong side in Japan! |
Aaaaw - a Boy and his Shark, how sweet. First night at our little hotel in Nara, favorite hotel of the 3. |
10/23 - Took the train to Aki's studio, which was right next to the station, walked a short distance there. |
Bec takes a shot of his studio, located in beautiful Nara, over the mountain (actually through the tunnel) from Osaka. |
Vessel by Happy Harold, displayed in Aki's window |
Aaaaah, what is it?!? It's Mothra!!! Or maybe some small freakish moth sitting on the ground.... |
Ate lunch at a little noodle shop in Aki's little shop complex. Our first noodle meal. |
Looking down at the row of shops. |
Nice little scene in front of Aki's shop, with the tracks beyond. |
Nutha' shot of Aki's shop, my turn. |
Brendon helps them learn English. Actually, Yoshio spoke VERY well, lived in Oregon for 8 years. Aki does OK also. |
A little temple, a stone's throw away from Aki's studio/shop. |
Looking down from the front of the temple. |
You will always see one guardian with mouth open, and the other mouth closed - Mmmmmm, Aaaaaaa. |
This poor chap isn't allowed to smile. |
A familiar scene in Japan - beverage vending machines! They were EVERYWHERE, with loads of drink choices.Yes, we pertook often. |
From the little temple to the big temple - Toshodai-ji Temple, one of Nara's most famous and historical spots. |
This bell used to warn the surrounding villagers of various things. Different ways of striking communicated various things. |
One of the many buildings in the complex. The main temple was under a metal structure being renovated. |
Lots of cool heads on the roof corners... |
These were really old buildings. |
This fish head style was fairly popular. |
It was a beautiful complex. |
Not sure what this building was... |
The armory and treasury, where all the important 'stuff' was kept and guarded. |
Various exhibits were in the different buildings. A budha was in this one, with monks actively working. |
The lotus plant, not in flowering season. The Japanese buddha always sits on a lotus flower. |
Walking to our next temple. |
Typical home in Nara, and a persimmon tree - they LOVE persimmons there, I have no idea why. |
This was a TWO-lane road in Nara, and actually much wider than some. Crazy driving, but I never saw an accident. |
Doh, got to our next temple too late, doors closed 5 minutes before we got there. |
You could even buy beer from the vending machines! But supposedly they don't dispense after 11pm. |
Walking back to the studio, it was a good day... |
A couple of these HUGE wasps were flying around these bushes. Aki said they were poisonous, not sure if he was joking.... |
Inside Aki's studio, shop is behind me. |
Aki at work on a Japanese torch, using very soft satake glass to make a bead. Look, you can't even see the flame... |
Group shot! From back - Aki, Yuko, Yuko's friend, Sari, Melissa, Wakana, Jamie, Paul, Becky, Josh, Brendon & Yoshio |
Nothing like a couple of Japanese chicks hanging on a 10-year-old's arms. |
That night we went to a natural hot springs spa, men/women separate, cheap $5 entry, then had dinner there afterwards. Awesome. |
From the other end.... |
Aaaah, ancient Japanese secret! Actually, it's a new secret boro tech that Devin demo'd for us. Not tellin'. |
Aki and Devin at work on the boro torches. |
10/24 - Van load of people, narrow Nara roads, Aki driving like a madman to our next Nara destinations. |
Walking from near Aki's other new shop to some more temples/museums. |
Japanese turtles. They breathe fire and can kick Godzilla's butt. |
The gang, comin' up the steps. My back already hurts. |
There seemed to be a tall skinny temple like this near all the main temples. Didn't learn the significance. |
Large wooden poles used to be on every one of these concrete spots. |
There was a ninja in the window, so Brendon struck the pose - Cool Japan!! |
Nara is FAMOUS for its deer. They're EVERYWHERE in this big park and around the temple, and vendors sell cookies to feed them. |
They will literally chase you and bite your rump if they think you have food for them. Yeah, I got nailed, thanks to Aki! |
Monument for the Todai-ji Temple. |
There was one of these massive dudes on either side of the huge entrance. Always two, one mouth open, one closed. |
Brendon found a little buddy, awwwww. CHOMP!!! |
Looking back at the entrance. Watch where you step.... |
Todai-ji, the world's largest wooden structure, housing the world's largest Buddha. |
Postcard shot! |
Becky feeds a cookie to one of the local wildlife. Errrr, I mean Devin.... |
Showing the sheer size of it.... |
World's biggest Buddha. |
A 'little' Buddha on the side of Big Boy. |
I think he's air typing... |
Seriously steep stairs to....nowhere I think. |
Another mean guard, who will apparently write your name on a scroll if you get out of line. |
The original coloring and enamel on these statues was extraordinary, it's a shame we've lost that today. |
One of the wooden poles had a hole the size of Buddha's nostril. Legend has it that if you can fit through, you're blessed. |
6' 5" Paul made it, tall and slender, and Melissa made it no problem. |
Uuuuh, YEAH. Not gonna happen. Couldn't even remotely get my shoulders into the hole. Bad luck a-comin'.... |
Will Becky make it......???? |
Suuuure, no problem for my skinny chick! |
How about Brendon? Oooooh yeaaaah! Took us a minute to talk him into it, ha. |
Didn't know if Yoshio would make it, but.....heck yeah! I'm the only beast. |
Aki bought a tile for us all to sign to support the ongoing maintenance of the temple, etc. It will be installed later. |
Downtown Osaka, watching live thumping of the mochi. It was fun to watch them fly with those hammers, and more fun to eat! |
We had a BBQ that Wed night, and Aki's family came over as well. Brendon got to play with his 2 boys, 6 and 8. |
Aki, master grill chef, trying to get those coals going. That's his wife Hiromi in the background, with his energetic youngest. |
Aki bought and cooked an awesome array of meats for us, along with various veggies as well. YUM!! |
10/25 - A couple of frogs at the entrance to Aki's favorite temple in Nara, Shin-Yakushiji. Don't know what they're their for... |
Not the fanciest temple, but it had some amazing old statues inside, a group of 12 representing each Chinese year, plus Buddha. |
These are exoskeletons that a couple of cicada bugs shed. We used to find these in Wisconsin, and are LOUD in their season. |
Like most temples/museums with old statues, we couldn't take pics inside, but outside was fine. Pretty gardens surrounded. |
This looked sort of like an old cemetery. |
Apparently, bad fortunes are tied in a place like this in order to ward them off. |
There were LOTS of cool spiders around, like this nice colorful one. |
I think this is where the monks/priests live, it was open so we could peak in. |
A small courtyard by their dweeling. |
Next stop was Osaka Castle and Museum. Which one is Aki and which is Yoshio? |
Bad little boys get tossed in the moat. Did I just call Brendon little? |
Heading up to the castle... |
Fun pic - we did YMCA in our next pic....read the next pic for a description. |
That is one BIG stone that was rolled a LONG ways. |
One of several entrances we walked through. |
This place was REALLY fortified in its day.... |
These flowers were all over the place, ready to burst in blooom, but only this one had started. Couple more weeks and WOW. |
NICE. |
I found this Time Capsule really interesting, enjoyed reading about it. |
This is the Takoyaki Super Family! |
Takoyaki Josh and Melissa! Mmmm, takoyaki, one of my fav' Japanese foods! |
Yoshio's face KILLS me in this pic... |
They look just like the real thing, huh! |
This is takoyaki, which Brendon and I loved. Taco = octopus, yaki = fried. Little stands all over Japan whip up these balls. |
Full on shot of the castle, while the trees are being trimmed. |
Still looks awesome. I was hoping that some of the insides were original castle and contents, but it was many levels of museum. |
Melissa and giggling boys and field trip. |
For only 300 yen!! Brendon could pick a hat and robe and become a ninja in time. |
Sweet shot, look at that tiger, ha! |
Brendon takes his ninja duties seriously! |
I take the point of a ninja sword seriously.... |
The view from the top level of the castle, looking down on one of the moats that surrounded it. |
The golden fishhead with the city of Osaka beyond. |
Other fish, other side, more city surrounding this oasis. |
Looking from moat to gleaming new skyscrapers. |
Were the only ones here, where'd the rest of Japan go?!? |
Days are busy with Aki. Next was a trip up the Osaka tower. |
The gang at the top. |
Looking out over Osaka, stretching for miles. |
Looking down on an old grave. |
Becky and new friend Sari up top. |
The sun starts to set over Osaka.... |
The family and the tower. All Japanese LOVE giving the peace sign during picture taking. |
Next stop - downtown Osaka Pachinko halls are HUGE in Japan, music blaring, steel balls bouncing, cigarette smoke billowing. |
All part of electric/neon lane, with restaurants, shops and entertainment galore. |
Brendon and I bought fresh crab being grilled on the street from this place. |
This guy is a famous landmark, drumming away for years, representing this market. |
Yoshio knee the correct way to pose in front of it.... |
Sort of reminded me of Universal City Walk in Hollywood, with larger than life signs and lights. |
This was one seriously large wall of light and advertisement! |
Yeah we hit a Sega arcade.Brendon loved games like this one which dispense a character card which can then be used in game play. |
Becky and Melissa had fun on a drum game which taught rhythm. |
Signs of the city. |
It was a LONG avenue, actually two of them, with LOTS of people and things. |
Funny that we saw a big puffer fish here... |
...because we ate puffer fish, both raw and cooked, at the sushi restaurant Aki took us to that night.This was the first course. |
Aki gives the American sign, I give the Japanese one (using chopsticks of course). |
Yoshio and Sari, enjoying one of about 15 rounds of various sashimi, sushi and soup. I can't imagine EVER having better sushi. |
Is Becky going to try some sushi actually?? Well, maybe not salmon, but she DID try some puffer fish and eel! |
Josh and Melissa - Josh couldn't stop eating for a pic.... |
The chef and owner was a friend of Aki's through glass. When we were done, he asked Brendon if he wanted to make some sushi! |
The teacher looks on as Brendon forms the rice, after cutting some tuna. |
Aki demonstrates how to apply the wasabi. |
Hands-on instruction.... |
Watching the master. |
Voila! Sushi, wooohooo! |
Brendon's cheesy grin after he quickly took a bite from his just-made sushi. |
And then he had to make a second one for Aki to try! |
It was a small place, we took it over with our group. Aki's friend was awesome, gave us some of his glass beads as well! |
10/26 - At the train station, time to head to Tokyo for the remainder of our trip. Becky made Aki cry. |
On the bullet train! Guess what Brendon and Yoshio are playing... |
Buds for life. We were so thankful for Yoshio's friendship to us and Brendon. |
One last picture, almost to Tokyo, at speeds of almost 200 mph. |
Keith, wife Hiromi, and Ono met us at the station and then took us to 'old Tokyo'. Rickshaw, rickshaw, need ride? |
The big lantern, entrance to shopping and temple. |
It started raining as we walked to the temple - Ono ran back to the car for umbrellas. |
Another one of those skinny tall structures. |
Looking from the temple back towards the entrance. |
Brendon made use of his umbrella under this downpour. |
The shrine inside this more ornate temple, not as ancient as others we'd seen down south. |
Brendon paid a hundred yen (less than a buck) for a fortune - he got a good one. |
This LONG row of souvenir shops led to the temple. I was surprised at the amount of commercialism around each of the temples. |
We got soft serve on the walk back. |
YUM!! There were like 30 (or was it 31?) flavors to choose from, VERY tasty. I got melon, and Bec put me to sleep w/ choc/van. |
Keith took us to dinner that night at a restaurant in his old stomping ground where he knew the owner. Scrumptious! |
10/27 - One of the ways Becky got her coffee fix in our hotel - brew cups they provided, along with a hot water machine. |
We stayed at the 'Oriental Hotel Tokyo Bay', very close to Disneyland, with Disney shops. I brought The Office Season 3 DVD's. |
Inside the Tokyo Museum. It rained all day Saturday, a perfect museum day after sleeping in, put off the gardens until Monday. |
If Brendon were a prince, he'd have been carried around in one of these. |
A stage setup, showing a Geisha ceremony. |
A life-size re-creation of how a VIP would be carried into town. |
A miniaturized version of the procession, with Keith explaining it all to Becky on the other side. |
Their early bikes were similar to ours. Speaking of bikes, a LOT of Japanese ride them, with large bike racks everywhere. |
The lucky lucky happy smile lucky doll fortune lucky....thingie out in the lobby of the museum. |
We drove through 'new Tokyo' that night, lots of people out with their umbrellas. |
This is the famous Ginza district, with every upscale shop you can imagine, and real estate costing $100,000/sq meter. |
A driving shot of the lit up Tokyo Tower which we would visit on Monday. |
Playing with exposure while driving... |
A street corner crowded with umbrella'd shoppers. |
This is a famous view of Tokyo seen in many movies. Well, not with a car's taillights like this... |
We'd heard of 'Japanese pancake houses' and requested that. Keith took us a to a yummy place where we had very different 'cakes. |
10/28 - A day at Disney Sea, a separate park from Disney Land, beautifully done. |
It was themed with water cities and attractions, very fun place. |
The Tower of Terror behind us, and you can see the real ocean from higher vantage points. |
Sari accompanied us and we had a blast with our great new friend. She speaks English after a stay in the US. |
Neat the 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' ride, our favorite by far. |
Curse the beautiful weather - the place was PACKED! I'd hoped for rain. Seriously. |
The sun sets behind an 'American' lighthouse, with Mt Fuji in the background. |
The fireworks from DisneyLand as we left exhausted, feet aching. |
Our last pic with Sari in front of the hotel. |
10/29 - Japanese McDonalds for lunch in the park, errr, gardens, where we sat and enjoyed a 300-year-old bonzai tree. |
It's like Central Park, but way more beautiful, surrounded by huge buildings. |
A little lake/pond could be seen. |
The contrast was very cool and interesting. |
It is a LOT of work to keep all of these trees looking like this. |
There was a second, larger body of water to enjoy. |
Read this if you're wondering about the straw tied around the trunks of the trees... |
The gang on the bridge.... |
What the bridge really looks like when I figure out how to use my camera correctly.... |
We enjoyed some authentic green tea and bean paste pastry at a quaint tea house, complinents of Ono. |
There is a traditional way of drinking the tea, which Ono |
Yoshio didn't care for it, heh heh. |
The tea house from a the walk way over the water. |
The tea house from across the lake. What a shot, huh? |
We were the only ones here. I wish. |
I couldn't get over this place in the middle of the city. |
The happy family (but my back was KILLING me, almost skipped this day). |
I thought this looked like a place to spy on birds. Ono read the sign, and sure enough, they used these to spot birds. |
But then they would throw nets over them as they floated down the water way.... |
More trees, painstakingly manicured. |
I like this shot. |
Becky demonstrates 'bird calling' with a blade of grass. |
Some of the tree keepers hard at work. Each branch and tuft is individually trimmed by hand with one small clipper. |
Next, on to the Tokyo Tower!! It was modeled after the Eiffel Tower. |
This was the first viewing level, looking down an another old cemetery. |
It was fun to look out on a sprawling city like this. |
Buildings for miles and miles in every direction. |
We paid a 2nd fee to go from 250 meters up to 450 meters, the highest public viewing level. |
Now you could REALLY see the city, including the gardens we'd just been at. |
Look at all those buildings! |
Little ants at play. |
Aaaah yes - more buildings. |
The sun sets over Tokyo. |
Looking down a busy street which would look really cool a short while later. |
We noticed the sun was setting right next to Mt Fuji. |
Zooming in for a closer look... |
Zooming even closer for a really cool shot. Next trip we hope to visit Mt Fuji. |
Back on the 1st viewing level, there was a window you could look straight down through. |
The lights start to flicker on as the sun goes down.... |
The same street we saw earlier, now coming to life with lights... |
A colorful ferris wheel in the distance, which we didn't get to ride, doh! |
Now that street is REALLY poppin'! |
Zooming in closer on that ferris wheel as the city goes dark. |
It looked darker than this, but the exposure brightened the sky. |
Cool shot, huh! |
A little fun with longer exposure.... |
And more fun, woohoo! |
The tower at night - better shot than I got the other night, ha. |
Tokyo, along with Chicago and 5 other cities, is bidding to host the Olympics in 2016. |
Yoshio, Ono and Brendon, who had to have a plushie toy of the Tokyo Tower mascot, ha ha. |
Yoshio got a great shot of Brendon and I with the lit tower looming behind. |
Our last shot with Ono and Yoshio in front of the hotel, after hitting the electronics district in Tokyo. |
10/30 - The hotel rooms in Japan all had doorbells like this. And the first 2 hotels used old-fashioned keys. Huh? |
My back was a WRECK by the end of the trip, DOH!! |
Family sadness - none of us wanted to go back home....last pic in the hotel.... |