Recently I took an art tour of Azabu Juban, an adjacent neighborhood to ours. It wasn't what I thought it would be. I imagined meandering from gallery to gallery, admiring original works by Japanese artists, perhaps buying a print, or painting, or two. Don't get me wrong, it was certainly interesting. It just wasn't what I thought it would be and I came home empty handed and a bit baffled.
There were a lot of us on the tour which made it hard to hear the soft spoken tour guide. I prefer a more intimate group. The first stop was the most interesting. She took us to a little incense shop called Azabu Kogado. We were treated to an overview of incense by the owner himself, Mr. Yamada, who is a seventh generation incense master. He explained the history of incense in Japan and roughly described the ritualistic means in which incense is made and applied in tea ceremony and Japanese life. This was deep.
Then he passed around a small smoking pot or "censer" for us to smell from. The censer had to be held in a certain way, whiffed in a certain way and passed in, you guessed it, a certain way. Man, there's a lot of rituals. The scent was subtle yet intoxicating, calming and mystical. We were all in awe. This ain't no chemically synthesized Pier One incense! Then he passed around a piece of wood the incense originated from. The wood is called Kyara and is worth more than its weight in gold. It was fascinating. I made a mental note to come back and buy some of this fantastic stuff.
Mr. Yamada and his bag of smelly goodies.
Our tour guide looks on while Jayne holds the incense censer just right and takes a whiff.
The rest of us sit pensively and worry we'll drop it.
Next we went to a ceramic shop called Kaburaki, specializing in pieces from all over Japan. I felt like a bull in a china shop, literally. There were so many of us and the store was so tiny. Rows of handmade ceramics were precariously perched on shelves, tables, sills. This was not a place for American-sized women with even larger handbags. Every shelf was layered with exquisite works of art, most hand made, hence the handmade prices. The proprietor looked worried.
I can't take Russell here. He'll want to buy an entire set of those handmade wine glasses. Truth be told I was sorely tempted to buy a couple of hand painted sake cups. They were exquisite. But could I really rationalize spending $120 on one tiny sake cup even if it did have a dragon on it. Hmmm - I was born in the year of the dragon. This could be our anniversary gift we never bought ourselves this year. I could buy it for Russell's birthday. Christmas is coming. We love sake! The rational was bubbling out of me like angry ants from an anthill. Apparently I could rationalize it. I took some deep cleansing breaths and finally decided to abstain. For now. There was more to see on the tour I might need to buy. I'll come back.
Lucky for Russell I am not a compulsive shopper. I'm an irritating shopper which is why I generally shop alone. I have to peruse all that is available and generally sit down and contemplate my purchase, usually over coffee, before I buy something. This is why I like shopping with Russell. He doesn't have the patience for this exhaustive shopping process. He just makes me buy it. Now. If I linger over something he takes it away to the cash register and returns with it in a bag. A man that insists you buy that pair of black shoes when he knows you already have five other pairs at home, now that man is a keeper.
Next we went to a kaleidoscope shop. Wow - I never saw that coming. How strange, how wonderful.
The place had every type of kaleidoscope you could imagine. Even ones you can't imagine with intricate, amazing, dazzling patterns. They were addictive. They made me feel dizzy. There were giant kaleidoscopes that looked like telescopes and tiny, exquisite, kaleidoscopes that hang on your lapel or key chain. I had no idea kaleidoscopes could be so amazing or so expensive! And the kicker was most of them were made in the U.S. Now, that's rich.
Kaleidoscope Shop - bring lots of cash
Then we hit an actual art gallery, Gallery Mona. The gallery changes exhibits every seven to 10 days. This day the gallery was exhibiting hand made bead work. The artist was there demonstrating the beading process. It was painstaking. She had several pieces of her work on display, as well as, those of some of her students, mostly necklaces and purses. The beads were so small the finished pieces looked like intricate needlepoint.
On the way to lunch we passed a flower shop that carries supplies for Ikebana. Note to self - could be useful for the future.
Lunch was at Yasaiya Mei, a restaurant that specializes in vegetables. At first everyone was a bit distressed at the set menu choices. The descriptions didn't sound too appetizing. The ingredients didn't translate well. Most people went for the safe choice of sauteed eggplant with noodles. But the best choice was the deep fried daikon and ham. I wish I had ordered that. It looked like katsu - deep fried pork cutlets which are super yummy. My choice wasn't bad. I had the ginger chicken. Like most Japanese restaurants, lunch was a great deal.
After lunch we went to a tenugui or towel shop called Asa no Ha Tenugui Shop. Oh, that's what those things are, I realized as our guide explained how the tenugui or Japanese hand towel was used for everything from mopping up spilled tea, to sweat bands (note the famous sushi headband) to welcome banners and table runners. You see them all over Japan but I had no idea what they were for. The cheaper ones are mass produced; the more expensive ones printed one at a time from hand carved wood blocks. The shop had a myriad of them in bright colors and patterns. Some were framed. It reminded me of the t-shirt shops on Bourbon Street in New Orleans but without the naughty slogans.
Our last stop was a very famous shop called Blue and White which specializes in, you guessed it, blue and white merchandise made from repurposed Japanese materials. The woman proprietor, Amy Sylvester Katoh, is a beautiful, accomplished eclectic mature woman with high cheekbones and exotic jewelry. She has lived in Japan for over 30 years and is a local celebrity and highly regarded designer.
After the tour I was exhausted and empty handed. Empty handed! Clearly I have to go back.
Map of walking tour and sites we saw thanks to our tour guide Lara.
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