Leaving Tokyo, the tour headed north towards Mashiko, an important pottery area and the place where the
mingei (folk art) movement in the mid-twentieth century was centered. We visited a young ceramic artist, the Mashiko Messe ceramic museum and the Hamada Shoji museum (Hamada was the leader of the
mingei movement).
After a busy day, we spenth the night at a typical
onsen (hot spring inn), Mashikokan Satoyama Resort Hotel. This is not a luxury inn and does not generally cater to Westerners, but rather to office and youth groups having off-site retreats and to families taking short vacations in the country. Here we found gaudy lavender
yukata (robes) and generally unimpressive accommodations, including colored plastic
tatami mats. However, we also discovered really nice public baths and surprisingly good food (and that's what the
onsen experience is really about) served on strangely colored dishes that seemed reflect the proprietors' odd aesthetic vision.
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| Our guide in lavender yukata |
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| Dinner at Mashikokan Satoyama Resort Hotel |
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| Custard in weird dish |
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| Breakfast at Mashikokan Satoyama Resort Hotel |
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| Wonderful cabbage dish at breakfast. How did they make this? |
Mashikokan Satoyama Resort Hotel is the best place to stay in the area and, despite our initial misgivings, it turned out to be a nice first stop.
Bobby Jay
1 comment:
Nobody does food presentations like the Japanese. Their taste is exquisite!
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