Photo by Geoff
Photo by Geoff
Photo by Geoff
This morning we had a nice breakfast in the hotel before venturing out for the day to go to Awaji Island. We took the train and then a bus across a huge suspended bridge to the island, and got dropped off at the Westin Hotel. From there, we took cabs to Tadao Ando's Shingonshu Honpukuji (Water Temple). You approach by going along a paved trail surrounded by gravel, slowly making your way up a hillside. Eventually you see two large reinforced concrete walls, and the trail leads you to walk in between them.
The entry way to the temple was a descending staircase with two large raised pools of water at each side. There were hundreds of lily pads with lotus flowers floating on top of the water. The staircase that descended down beneath the water to the entrance of the Water Temple. It was amazing because we were the only people occupying the space, so we got to sit down in silence on the tatami mats and take everything in. Surprisingly, we were allowed to take pictures as well! The simplicity and open space felt familiar to the other Ando structure we had seen. However the inside of the temple had bright red walls, with gold ornaments hanging around the shrine. This was an unexpected contrast to the outer area of the temple, which was devoid of color except from the vegetation.
After leaving the Water Temple we walked back towards the Westin and, after a water break, found a nice little restaurant with delicious sushimi and grill-it-yourself steak. Once our stomachs were full we continued our trek to the Westin so that we could visit the Awaji Yumebutai gardens. Once at the gardens, we split into small groups to walk around, photograph, and sketch. The main focus for us was the section of the gardens by Ando. This experience was breathtaking. He combined reinforced concrete, granite, water, and stairs to create amazing fountains, waterfalls, and walkways. The further along the paths you walk, the furt
her up the mountain you get, until you are surrounded by different plots of colorful flowers, and you have a broad view of Awaji Island and the Pacific ocean.
Once we finished our visit at the gardens, we took the bus and train back to downtown Himeji. We looked in some of the department stores, and David showed us Tokyo Hands, where some of us bought some new pens, sketchbooks, and other supplies. From there, we found a Hello Kitty Cafe, which was a three-story
Photo by Kirsten
cafe and lounge with a Hello Kitty theme. Adorable! It was decided that we would have a group dinner and look at some of our photography at the hotel, so we went to a grocery store and picked out our meals to bring back. Once at the hotel, we all met in David's room and looked at each other's photography thus far, picked out our favorites, and watched a small part of a Japanese anime movie. After dinner, the girls went upstairs to the onsen and sit in the amazing massage chairs! Once we finished catching up on some readings and sketches, it was bed time for all, since we had an early move to Kyoto in the morning!
Photo by Geoff
Photo by Geoff
Photo by Geoff
Photo by Kirsten
Photo by Kirsten