The Future is Now - Our Men in Japan, Day 10 - Kyoto

Tower of Babel, still from Metropolis

The vision of the future presented in director Fritz Lang's 1927 masterpiece is alive and well. It lives courtesy of architect Shin Takamatsu. All the images below are his buildings. All are located in Kyoto. Our men in Japan toured them yesterday. Click on the images for a larger view.

Maruto IV


Cupola of Maruto IV


MK Station

Cella Retail Building

Cella Retail Building

Cella Retail Building

Ining' 23

Ining' 23

Week


Week

Week

Our Men in Japan - Photo Diary, Days Eight and Nine - Takayama and Miyajima

The view in Takayama

Miyajima Native

Miyajima Pagoda

Our men are now in Kyoto, have access to internet, and have sent photos of their time in Takayama, and Miyajima.

Evidently, the deer on the island of Miyajima have the run of the place. Our men report that one of them ate their map of Japan.

Today (it is 11:06 a.m. Thursday, July 16th their time) our men have plans to visit as many of the architect Shin Takamatsu's buildings as they have time for.

Opteron One

Sorry there are no new photos from Japan today. There was no WiFi in the ryokan in Miyajima. However, our men report a unique dining experience, as well as a very close encounter with some island deer.

No new video of Matilda the Corgi puppy either. More tomorrow, I promise. We bought her a Frisbee today...

In the meantime, I have completed the first work in a new series called Metamorphology (I know, it's not a real word). Image - including two details - above. This painting has been donated to a silent auction that will benefit the programs of an organization called the Hirsch Wellness Network and is sponsored and organized by Gallery 115.

The auction takes place on Saturday, August 8, 2009 from 5:00 to 8:00p.m at the Gallery. The cause is a good one, and many local artists and artisans have donated their time and talent to the event. Hope you can make it!

More paintings in this series will be exhibited in Gallery 115's annual winter show in December, so it's back to the studio for me.

Our Men in Japan - Photo Diary, Days Six and Seven - Takayama and Shirakawa-go

Restaurant sign in Takayama.

From here, our men went to , Shirakawa-go, a preserved traditional Japanese village.

One view of Shirakawa-go

Find the frog

Tomorrow it's on to Miyajima, an island south of Hiroshima, for a one-night stay in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Matilda the Corgi puppy discovers something in her space that wasn't there before.

Our Men in Japan - Photo Diary, Day Five - Holiday in Hakone

This one and one-half inch long fellow lives in the waterfall, above.

Our Men in Tokyo-Japan Photo Diary, Day Four

Imanishi Motoakasaka
Designed by Shin Takamatsu

Located on Odaiba

Tokyo Big Sight

The Ueno Green Club
(for Bonsai exhibitions)
also designed by Shin Takamatsu

Koban, or police station, in Tokyo

Our Men in Tokyo-Japan Photo Diary, Day Three

Studio Ghibli Store
Unfortunately closed for renovations, which means that a Totoro doll will not be headed this way.

The mushroom-shaped ice comes from the hotel vending machine.
The robot who wants a drink came from a toy store, perhaps in Akihabara.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, and while we are on the subject of animated creatures and robots, here is what Matilda has been up to.

Our Men in Tokyo-Japan Photo Diary, Day Two

The ubiquitous vending machine. One can purchase almost anything from these.

Phone Box

Capsule Hotel. It appears to have been taken over by squatters.

Train station. Our men report that the trains themselves are spotless.

Sensory overload

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Matilda the Corgi puppy is fascinated by a potato.

今日は, Konnichiwa, Hello

My two sons are in Japan for a two-week tour. This is the view from the Shiodome Media Tower, which houses the Park Hotel, which is where they are staying for the next three days. The photo was taken Wednesday morning, Tokyo time, at approximately 6:00 a.m. It was 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, Mountain Time, as Japan is 15 hours ahead of Colorado.

I'm hoping they bring back some of those round ice cubes (oxymoron alert) that Japanese bars are fast becoming famous for.

The orange Eiffel Tower-looking structure on the right is the Tokyo Tower, basically the world's largest antenna.