R&R

My tentative way of handling my 2 days off so far has been to relax and take care of things like laundry and cleaning on the first day, and then use the second day to go accomplish things and explore. That was the plan for this week as well, but I found myself bored and wanting to go for a walk so I cheated a bit. I didn't have much of a destination in mind, but heading north I eventually found myself at the Hiroshima Museum of Art. The sign at the front indicated that there was a special exhibit of art by Hiroshi Noda that was going to end in 2 days, so I thought I should go check it out! It doesn't matter that I had no clue who Hiroshi Noda was. Anyway, it ended up costing 1000 yen (which is like $8) to get into the permanent collection and the special exhibit, which was reasonable enough for me. I was actually pretty impressed by the permanent collection. It isn't huge, but it has some really good art in it. Some notable artists: Millet, Manet, Monet, Renoir, van Gogh, Picasso and Delacroix. No pictures allowed though, sorry! I then continued to the second building for the special exhibit. I didn't really know what to expect, but it turns out Hiroshi Noda is amaaaazing. The exhibit was called "Hiroshi Noda - Beyond the Realism", which was entirely appropriate. The collection was a combination of portraits, still lifes and landscapes, but all of the paintings were so realistic they almost looked photograph quality. It's hard to really describe the artwork, and unfortunately I haven't had much luck finding good quality versions on the internet, but you can get an idea at http://www.hiroshima-museum.jp/works_nodahiroshi. He seems to like having some very organic subject, like grapes, or pumpkins and then taking some rougher detail like a scratched up table or rock to balance it. Very interesting artwork though.

I stopped at a donut shop on the way home, and noticed in the back corner a small staircase leading downwards, with a sign above it that simply said "Fresh". Curious, I followed the little cement staircase downwards, and against all reason found myself in an bustling full-sized underground grocery store. I think the grocery store is part of a little mini-mall, and the nearby buildings just happen to have exits to it, but it was still a bit surreal. You never know what you're going to find when you just randomly turn the corner. Japan is so weird.

So, I still have my exploration plan set for tomorrow, so unless anything unexpected happens, I'll probably write about that tomorrow.