some more japan photos from march/april.

these are from a trip to art island naoshima,

with a great stopover in the international villa in okayama.

top photo above is poster of the excellent naoshima sento.

the name of which is a play on words, I♥湯 ("i love yu")

we had the villa to ourselves - amazing.

traditional thatched roof country house

in an isolated country village,

the quietest atmosphere i have ever experienced in japan.

but we think the place might be haunted.

all photos by julian patterson again.

bathroom wickerware at the villa

cast iron bathtub in villa. called goemonburo, with slightly macabre etymology

sleeping zones at villa

a spot o go at villa

external view of villa

this is on naoshima

external view of villa

naoshima

we were hoping this was a summertime bar. 

but kind of even better if just someone's house.

on naoshima.

naoshima

naoshima

art installation naoshima (we didn't realise no photos. very naughty this shot)

this is really interesting.

yoshida-ryo in kyoto.

dormitory accommodation for students at kyoto university.

this article gives really great information on the how and why.

(this place is also a potential 200 yen per night stay in kyoto!)

via this side of town.

and back to big.

i got a fast speed (1600) disposable camera

after i dropped my little digital camera

and it stopped working.

we were hoping the fast speed disposable number

would make shots pleasingly grainy

and able to be taken in low light.

not all of them worked out,

but some i kind of liked in a subdued way.

an excellent kissaten on the takasegawa canal in kyoto.

another version of kissaten, this one in a random small town in wakayama whose name i can't recall. 

the view was over the small train station. from our 2nd floor aerial view it looked like a tati film set, 

with the form and function of the train station and people going about their business everywhere.  

i think julian took some photos of it, will try and post later.

i like a sink outdoors

all of these are from a little minshuku we stayed at in a small onsen town called 

yunomine no yu in the mountains of wakayama prefecture.  

in usual style, we didn't have a place to stay organised, and the friendly people recommended a little minshuku there for us.

 it was lovely, quiet, great breakfast. loads of gaijin (ie 3), so i guess it is also in lonely planet.  

it was called yamane minshuku, and is cheaper if you only get breakfast, not dinner and breakfast.

the blue tiled simple bath was really nice, the waters very restorative. the bus ride into this mountain onsen town is also beautiful, 

following the sulphur coloured river into the depths of the mountains.

i am looking in to places to stay in kyoto whilst in japan next month.
we were super lucky last time and stayed in my friend akiko's wonderful old wooden house
in the mountains near the path of philosophy. beautiful:)

this time i hope to rent an apartment of our own for the short time we will be there.
iori machiya stay i have mentioned before, but it is sadly outside the range i would like to pay for accommodation. (i am yet to properly grow up in that respect:)
and the cheap machiya guest houses i posted seem great, but i am looking for a private place. so...

monthly kyoto is a key site for this kind of search.
one room apartments in modern blocks for about $30AUD a night for the whole apartment
(that is $15 each! small places, and they add a surcharge for each person, but man,
that's cheap private accommodation when you compare what a dorm bed in a hostel costs).
shortest stay is 7 days. then goes up in weekly/monthly increments.

but what i have my keenest eye on are the machiya they list.
here are some photos to show what they offer.
you can rent these machiya for around $90AUD and up per night -for the whole house.

i think having your very own machiya to call home whilst staying in kyoto
beats a hotel, guesthouse, even a ryokan any day...
but then, i am super biased, loving machiya so.
as time passes i realise more and more how lucky i was to live in a machiya when i lived in kyoto.


this site may be of help to anyone planning a stay in kyoto sometime?
it's in japanese, so you might need a japanese speaker to help navigate it.

monthly-kyoto
in english:
sakura house does similar apartment rent facilitation in tokyo (but has more guest houses)
this site lists some private machiya for rent in english

i am recently on a bit of a mission to find out more about modernist matters and architecture related to japan.

the very top photo and all photos below are via ok los angeles. they have a great blog that features the restoration of a classic modernist home and guesthouse in LA. they seem to travel to japan a bit to look for artists and artists to represent in their store, some pictures of one these included below.

claska hotel i saw on jollygoo and immediately decided i need to stay there at least one night. it is an old business hotel from the 60s renovated for contemporary japan, and i love the blue room above.

below are some links i have found so far.

i am super keen to hear of any more!

oklosangeles

ok online store
isamu noguchi site (design, wonderful)

claska hotel
modern japanese architecture: masters and mannerists in the 1950s-60s
frank lloyd wright in japan
bruno taut in japan
CASA BRUTUS has a modernism in japan special edition from a few years ago,
but so far i can't find a way to get my hands on it from australia, i will keep trying...

edit:
and this recent scientific discovery confirms in my mind how great octopuses are.
"There's really complex behaviours that we write off because we think we're the clever ones."