Adventures in Japan...Pt 1

[bodhidharma]

G,day Folks, I will start at the beginning In 2010 The Japanese government decided to publicly fund a Bonsai museum and called it the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum. It not only has Bonsai but historical pots, Suiseki and historical materials related to Bonsai. It was magnificent and the people were incredibly proud of their achievement, and rightly so. The antique Bonsai pots were a site to behold. The security guard was a crackup and i shared many a laugh with him. As is the case in most (read all) Bonsai places in Japan It was NO PHOTOGRAPHS. As i said earlier we were sort of kindred spirits and i conveyed to him that i was from Australia and needed to have the photos to show all back home that i had been here. Well, we struck this agreement that he would look away at the appropriate time when i wanted a shot and the signals we used were hilarious. Anyway here is the proof that i was there. And so begins the adventure in Wonderful Omiya

[Pup]

I believe ya you lucky Boy. Not bad tree either EH


An envious Pup

[nealweb]

Beautiful pictures. Thankyou!

[strawbs]

Gday Bodhi, just wondering who u did the tour with as i am making the trip over in march next year?
Jow mentioned j-bonsai.com, and he has access to Kimura's garden, and im sure the next lot of fotos will show that.
cheers for the fotos and the info bout the NO PHOTOGRAPHS, was a bit worried bout that.
looking forward to ur next instalment .
strawbs

[craigw60]

Hi Bodhi, Thanks for the pics they are great, its a pity photos don't convey the actual size of these trees. Interesting to see the hornbeam in an unglazed pot.
Craig

[bodhidharma]

G'day Pup, Yes, it was a privilege to be there. Its a Red Pine in the backround by the way. All the tree's are generational, of course.

G'day Strawbs, I did the whole Japanese tour on my own (and wife) i am that type of guy. No rushing, if i liked a place i could stay as long as i liked. The Japanese do tours Japanese style. They show you (very quickly) the highlights and then you can have a brief look on your own. You have to meet back at a certain time and if you are not back they leave you behind. There is no waiting. You must catch a taxi to the next destination and rejoin the group. That is a fact as i saw it happen.

G'day Craig, size comparison is always a problem but the majority of these were large Bonsai. Some very large.

[Amanda]

Hi Bodhi, what a trip?!

Those trees are breathtaking. Thank you for sharing.

[Jarrod]

now I really want to go back!

Lovely red pine, the species I love the most.

[Chris H]

Great photos
I didnt get the same deal re the photos but I snuck a few in. I must dig them out and see what I got.
Strawbs, for Omiya you can just walk around the streets and look on your own. The people there are very keen to help. Maybe do both, a tour and then a day on your own.
Ill be there in March as well, although Ill be in Osaka.

[Jamie]

hi Bodhi

mate, talk about being green you are a lucky man to get over there!!! hopefully one day i can make the homage

I like the hornbeam in the unglazed pot I find unglazed pots can go very well with deciduous and broadleaf evergreens, but that might be because i dont really get much autumn foliage !!

look forward to it all mate great start! i cant say i have a favourite yet as i love them all!

Jamie

[bodhidharma]

hi Bodhi

mate, talk about being green you are a lucky man to get over there!!! hopefully one day i can make the homage

I like the hornbeam in the unglazed pot I find unglazed pots can go very well with deciduous and broadleaf evergreens, but that might be because i dont really get much autumn foliage !!

look forward to it all mate great start! i cant say i have a favourite yet as i love them all!

Jamie

Interesting that you like the Hornbeam Jamie because if you look at your Avatar it has similarities to it. Could be an inspiration to use the hornbeam as a guide for your further refinement of your tree.

[Jamie]

by golly your right!!!

i have saved the pic for further study, will definately keep it in mind, i do need to get an update shot of the clero, the lewer left hand branch has started to fill out well

jamie

[craigw60]

G'day Bodhi, interesting what you say about tours. I have to say I whole heartedly agree, when I was there I booked for a day tour in Kyoto and left it after about 2hrs it was my only bad experience in Japan. Being rushed from one temple to the next is not my idea of fun, besides its such an easy country to negotiate.
Waiting for the next installment.
Craigw

[kcpoole]

You lucky bugger Bodhi
Nice trees too

Ken

[Watto]

Thanks for the photos Bodhi, great shots of a great place.
Strawbs - try Japan Journeys, a UK based tour place that has access to many fabulous locations. I went on their tour in 2006 and was very impressed.