Sabbatical Adventures

After two hours on the train, we approached Mt. Fuji. Seeing her in her splendor was breathtaking. (Surprisingly, I took this photo while sitting inside the train.) We were very fortunate because by afternoon she had disappeared, and tomorrow’s forecast is steady rain. We are staying in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese hotel, with matted floors and futon beds. Like many ryokans, ours has hot spring baths, separated by gender, where you go in with a only a tiny towel which you wear on top of your head. We also have a hot tub on our balcony, all supplied with volcanic waters. Dress code is a robe called a yukata. 👘 This afternoon we visited a museum featuring the art of Itchiku Kubota. Without a doubt, he created the most magnificent textiles I have ever seen (or even imagined). Fabric is tied in little balls and dyed over and over to give it 3D texture and vivid color. The fabric is then made into kimonos. His work is so renowned that he was the first living artist to be given his own exhibition at the Smithsonian. Besides his art, what I found so amazing is that he endured much hardship, including years after WWII in a Siberian prison camp. The resilience of the human spirit, and ability to create, is beyond measure.Läs mer