Since my parents brought home an Ukiyoe book one day when I was in my teens back in Australia, I have been in love with this art form. Before coming to Japan I had purchased three back in Australia but they were cheap imitations.

On my recent trip to Tokyo from Tonami City, I stumbled upon a store that specializes in authentic Ukiyoe called Hara Shobo. One thing I love and hate about Japan is you can either find or miss some amazing stores if you don’t keep your eyes peeled every second. Stumbling across Hara Shobo was pure luck and an am glad to share this Ukiyoe Gallery/shop with you.

I have seen many tourist t-shirts with Ukiyoe on them but to me they are very tacky, other products you may have seen are Noren with an Ukiyoe print on it. One Ukiyoe i... Read More

Japan has a lot of replica swords for sale, some newly made by machine or hand and some genuine antiques. I prefer the latter, and have seen several dealers in my travels. Asking my Father in-law where is the best place in Japan to go shopping for antique katana, he says he will call some of his brothers who are antique dealers for me.

After a few hours the answer is given to me: Token Shibata in Ginza is where my sights should be set next time I am in Tokyo. After waiting for an opportunity to go to Tokyo from Tonami City in Toyama Prefecture, I jump onto the Thunderbird and head for Osaka to see family then take the Shinkansen to Tokyo. Getting in a cab at the station, I am head for Ginza where Token Shibata is located but the driver has never heard of it he clai... Read More

Setting off from Tonami City in Toyama prefecture, I am getting taken to Inami to check out some woodcarving place that I am told is really famous. My Father in-law has two mates that are master craftsmen there so we are going to get the behind the scenes tour as well. Arriving in the carpark the place is a lot bigger than I expected and has an out door area with huge carvings, which we check out first.

To my surprise being along way from New Zealand, there is a huge Maori Tiki in the ground. Maori are the original inhabitants of New Zealand, who are of Islander decent just for your reference. After a walk around outside we get walked inside for free and are taken to an area just inside the entrance that opens out to a courtyard. Here are the shops of several of the ma... Read More

Tomohiro Hoshino’s youth was focused on being very physically active. He was a gymnastics teacher at a junior high school when, at age 24, he injured his neck teaching his students a routine maneuver. Afterwards, he was completely paralyzed from the neck down. He remained in the hospital for nine years. During this time of incapacitation and therapy he learned to write poems and paint flowers using his mouth with the aid of his mother. As his talent developed, his practice became a world famous collection of work.

A new Tomihiro Hoshino art museum opened in April of 2005 in his hometown, Azuma Village, Seta, Gunma Prefecture. It takes a long and winding trip up in the mountains to get to it, but the views along the way are stunning and the work of Tom... Read More

In Hakone you expect to find history and beauty, yet you do not expect to find such history and beauty of another country, another empire, another time! Yet that is what we did indeed stumble upon in the Hakone Glass Museum. It contains rare and precious glass artifacts from Venice, some dating from the 1st century!

As you walk from one hushed room to another you find blue stained glass with gold tints, gigantic dancing hall mirrors, fish mouth shaped glassware, and glass jewel beads whose mistress has long since left this world. The beauty of these hand blown, hand painted treasures is truly breathtaking in some cases. The sheer history of these fragile pieces is in itself a vivid portrayal of how such people once lived it up in Venice!

Another ro... Read More