A travel report based on the sensuous experience of a journey from Kyoto to Naoshima and Tokyo.
From the mountains of Kyoto to the junctions of Tokyo, what meets us in Japan is harmony and order, but also movement and flux. Along with an intangible feeling that everything everywhere calls upon a story, a poem, or a song. Our journey begins in Kyoto, or rather on a fast speed train across the country, where we first catch a glimpse of the imposing Mount Fuji.
We sit in the right side of the train.
The island appears before us from the ferry as a still hill floating in the glistening sea. The mornings are particularly beautiful. As the sun rises and slowly sends away the fog, the pale colours of the sky, the sea, and the grass create a scenery so delicate and serene. We explore unexpected installations of contemporary art, and we look at architecture that captivates us by being brutalist yet refined. We dwell on the unexplainable mystery of the place and how it pleases our senses. Feeling revived and initiated in something we don’t know what is, we take a cold dip from the shore to add to this sensation.
We decide we want to come back.
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Chichu Art Museum 3449-1 Naoshima, Kagawa District, Kagawa 761-3110, Japan
We wander the streets of Kyoto. Visit temples, curious small boutiques with original 60s stock and hidden tea rooms. We dwell on the charm of old townhouses, the tactile feeling of stepping on Tatami mats, the stringent order of things that permeates interiors and how it never feels cold or impersonal, always strangely warm and inviting. In the mountains, we find peace among tall pines and streams. A tingling feeling of warmth and sleepiness fills us. A feeling of home.
We eat sticky rice cakes on the go.
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Gallery Nichinichi & Tōka Tearoom 298 Shintomicho, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, 602-0875, Japan
The Lodge MIWA, Kitayama - North mountain Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan
The island appears before us from the ferry as a still hill floating in the glistening sea. The mornings are particularly beautiful. As the sun rises and slowly sends away the fog, the pale colours of the sky, the sea, and the grass create a scenery so delicate and serene. We explore unexpected installations of contemporary art, and we look at architecture that captivates us by being brutalist yet refined. We dwell on the unexplainable mystery of the place and how it pleases our senses. Feeling revived and initiated in something we don’t know what is, we take a cold dip from the shore to add to this sensation.
We decide we want to come back.
-
Chichu Art Museum 3449-1 Naoshima, Kagawa District, Kagawa 761-3110, Japan
We wander the streets of Kyoto. Visit temples, curious small boutiques with original 60s stock and hidden tea rooms. We dwell on the charm of old townhouses, the tactile feeling of stepping on Tatami mats, the stringent order of things that permeates interiors and how it never feels cold or impersonal, always strangely warm and inviting. In the mountains, we find peace among tall pines and streams. A tingling feeling of warmth and sleepiness fills us. A feeling of home.
We eat sticky rice cakes on the go.
_
Gallery Nichinichi & Tōka Tearoom 298 Shintomicho, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto, 602-0875, Japan
The Lodge MIWA, Kitayama - North mountain Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan
This was a condensed travel report, an ode to the peculiar ambience of Japan. We strongly encourage you to go seek out its magic yourself.
Seen, tasted, smelt and felt by Knut Bendik Humlevik, Vibe Høst, Brian Buchard and Johanna Hvidtved
Captured by Brian Buchard & Johanna Hvidtved
Overwhelming, all-consuming, enthralling. A city to get lost in. We shop for ceramics, photography equipment, and kitchenware. Eat meticulously prepared nigiri - a precise soft and salty mouthful, the perfect bite served away from the world at a small counter bar. We dwell on the ceremonial and the absolute, and continuously find ourselves in small rooms in a big city.
We forget time.
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New York Bar, Park Hyatt 3-7-1-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, Japan, 163-1055
Takumi Sushi Kou B1F, 5 Chome-13-1 Minamiaoyama, Minato City, Tokyo 107-0062, Japan
This was a condensed travel report, an ode to the peculiar ambience of Japan. We strongly encourage you to go seek out its magic yourself.
Seen, tasted, smelt and felt by Knut Bendik Humlevik, Vibe Høst, Brian Buchard and Johanna Hvidtved
Captured by Brian Buchard & Johanna Hvidtved
Overwhelming, all-consuming, enthralling. A city to get lost in. We shop for ceramics, photography equipment, and kitchenware. Eat meticulously prepared nigiri - a precise soft and salty mouthful, the perfect bite served away from the world at a small counter bar. We dwell on the ceremonial and the absolute, and continuously find ourselves in small rooms in a big city.
We forget time.
-
New York Bar, Park Hyatt 3-7-1-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, Japan, 163-1055
Takumi Sushi Kou B1F, 5 Chome-13-1 Minamiaoyama, Minato City, Tokyo 107-0062, Japan
