Mum & Dad in Japan: Awajishima
My mum and dad arrived in Japan for a 2 week stay. Our apartment is too small for 5 of us so we decided to head out on the road while they're here. We picked them up at Itami airport and spent the first night at Yukiko's parents' house. Our 2 sets of parents hadn't seen each other since our wedding in Hawaii 3 years ago so it was a fun reunion. It was also the first time my parents had met Jotaro and they were really excited to see him. Jo was a little apprehensive at first as he had only seen them on our computer screen during our video chats before. So we came to call my mum and dad 'the computer people'.
The next day we set out at a leisurely pace for our first destination, an apartment at the southern tip of Awajishima island. Awajishima island is in between Honshu and Shikoku and connects them by road. It was a very pleasant drive and I was glad to have the onboard Navi. My dad was really impressed with the Navi too and is thinking about getting one for his car when he gets back to Canada.
Here's a little info about our destination. It's a weekly rental / timeshare apartment that was super affordable. We got two apartments that were fully furnished with TV's, DVD players, kitchen supplies, etc, and they worked out to only $35 per room for a night. Unbelievable eh? The building also had a heated swimming pool, karaoke room, table tennis room and Chinese restaurant. Yukiko gets the credit for this awesome find. All the details are online here but the info is only in Japanese.
The apartment building on Awajishima.
Our apartment which included a massage chair.
Mum and Dad's apartment which had a home theatre system.
Naturally, the only thing Jo wanted to play with in the apartment was the gas heater.
The building is a little 'inaka', a little in-the-middle-of-nowhere. There is a nice beach very close by though and I'm sure in the summer it's very nice. We took advantage of the lack of people and had several nice strolls through the nearby pine tree forest.
Jo in his 'spacesuit' is ready for the chilly temperatures.
Jo and his grandmum.
Jo and his granddad.
During our stroll we saw hundreds of these tiles decorated with faces that were all different.
This one was particularily impressive/creepy.
Mum found this little shrine where she got to make a wish.
Jo loves his new 'Dr. Seuss ABC' book.
Mum and Dad couldn't believe how many flowers were still blooming in Japan in December.
Posing with our humble little minivan that carried us and our luggage so far.
Jo sends grandpa to sleep too.
Jo just won't let me sleep though.
On our last free day we went to the Otsuka Museum of Art in Naruto. It's the largest museum in Japan and contains perfect replicas of many major Western art classics. You'd have to spend a fortune and a lot of time traveling to see all the originals.
The Architect's Dream by Thomas Cole.
This was my mum's favourite.
Yukiko's favourite, John Everett Millais's Ophelia, which she used to look at in the Tate Gallery in London.
Jusepe de Ribera's Bearded Woman.
One of my favourites, Giacomo Balla's Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash.
Here's me being an uber nerd, examining a painting that is discussed in Dan Brown's novel, The Da Vinci Code.
Here's the piece in question, Leonardo's Madonna of the Rocks (version 1). Brown characterises the angel Uriah's outstretched hand as a threatening, "cutting" gesture. It's plain to see that she is merely pointing at the baby John the Baptist though.
Here's the most controversial painting from Da Vinci, The Last Supper.
Things can be seen more clearly in this closeup. Admittedly John the Baptist does look feminine, but is it really Mary Magdalene? Is Peter really threatening him/her with his hand and a knife? The left hand just appears to be resting on the other person's shoulder. And the knife, while held in a somewhat contorted position, doesn't appear dangerous at all. And they were eating dinner so it wouldn't be strange to be holding a knife.
Leonardo's St. John the Baptist. Very feminine isn't it? Perhaps that was John in the earlier piece.
Nicolas Poussin's The Shepherds of Arcadia, which plays a large role in the book The Holy Blood & the Holy Grail.
The next day we set out at a leisurely pace for our first destination, an apartment at the southern tip of Awajishima island. Awajishima island is in between Honshu and Shikoku and connects them by road. It was a very pleasant drive and I was glad to have the onboard Navi. My dad was really impressed with the Navi too and is thinking about getting one for his car when he gets back to Canada.
Here's a little info about our destination. It's a weekly rental / timeshare apartment that was super affordable. We got two apartments that were fully furnished with TV's, DVD players, kitchen supplies, etc, and they worked out to only $35 per room for a night. Unbelievable eh? The building also had a heated swimming pool, karaoke room, table tennis room and Chinese restaurant. Yukiko gets the credit for this awesome find. All the details are online here but the info is only in Japanese.
The apartment building on Awajishima.
Our apartment which included a massage chair.
Mum and Dad's apartment which had a home theatre system.
Naturally, the only thing Jo wanted to play with in the apartment was the gas heater.
The building is a little 'inaka', a little in-the-middle-of-nowhere. There is a nice beach very close by though and I'm sure in the summer it's very nice. We took advantage of the lack of people and had several nice strolls through the nearby pine tree forest.
Jo in his 'spacesuit' is ready for the chilly temperatures.
Jo and his grandmum.
Jo and his granddad.
During our stroll we saw hundreds of these tiles decorated with faces that were all different.
This one was particularily impressive/creepy.
Mum found this little shrine where she got to make a wish.
Jo loves his new 'Dr. Seuss ABC' book.
Jo sends his grandmum to sleep.
Mum and Dad couldn't believe how many flowers were still blooming in Japan in December.
Posing with our humble little minivan that carried us and our luggage so far.
Jo sends grandpa to sleep too.Jo just won't let me sleep though.
On our last free day we went to the Otsuka Museum of Art in Naruto. It's the largest museum in Japan and contains perfect replicas of many major Western art classics. You'd have to spend a fortune and a lot of time traveling to see all the originals.
The Architect's Dream by Thomas Cole.
Yellow Christ by Paul Gauguin. I thought 'If Jesus was a Simpson' would also work.
This was my mum's favourite.
Yukiko's favourite, John Everett Millais's Ophelia, which she used to look at in the Tate Gallery in London.
Jusepe de Ribera's Bearded Woman.
One of my favourites, Giacomo Balla's Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash.
Yukiko seemed to think I resemble Self Portrait by Pablo Picasso. I guess the nose is about right.
Here's me being an uber nerd, examining a painting that is discussed in Dan Brown's novel, The Da Vinci Code.
Here's the piece in question, Leonardo's Madonna of the Rocks (version 1). Brown characterises the angel Uriah's outstretched hand as a threatening, "cutting" gesture. It's plain to see that she is merely pointing at the baby John the Baptist though.
Here's the most controversial painting from Da Vinci, The Last Supper.
Things can be seen more clearly in this closeup. Admittedly John the Baptist does look feminine, but is it really Mary Magdalene? Is Peter really threatening him/her with his hand and a knife? The left hand just appears to be resting on the other person's shoulder. And the knife, while held in a somewhat contorted position, doesn't appear dangerous at all. And they were eating dinner so it wouldn't be strange to be holding a knife.
Leonardo's St. John the Baptist. Very feminine isn't it? Perhaps that was John in the earlier piece.
Nicolas Poussin's The Shepherds of Arcadia, which plays a large role in the book The Holy Blood & the Holy Grail.
posted by Jason at 10:51 PM
1 Comments:
Hi, I came across your blogspot and really enjoyed looking at your amazing photos. xx
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