MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
I recently came back from an exciting trip to Japan. I was there on business for over a week but managed to get a couple of days to myself. Fortunately, my trip coincided with one of Bill Valavanis' Japan tours happening that same week. I asked him if he would mind if I joined him and his group for a small portion of it. He agreed! I am very thankful to him because this gave me the opportunity to visit places I would have never been able to go by myself.
My agenda with Bill was as follows:
DAY 1: Bonsai village in Omiya
DAY 2: Kunio Kobayashi's Shunka-en garden and museum outside of Tokyo
DAY 3: Taikan-ten bonsai exhibition in Kyoto
I will post 3 different threads focusing on each of the days respectively. My intent is to try and bring you along with me and experience what I saw as best as is possible through photography. Needless to say, this was a memorable trip for me and one I will not soon forget. Let us travel to Japan!
On a bright and beautiful morning at 9am Friday, November 13th, I anxiously waited at the gate at Newark airport for my plane bound for Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan.
After a 14+ hour flight, we finally approached Narita Airport on an overcast Saturday afternoon.
In Japan, many things are well organized and seem to run smoothly, including the luggage carousel at the airport where a baggage handler pulls the luggage out while you wait behind the line.
On my first day joining Bill's tour, we took a bus to Omiya Bonsai Village at 8am. The agenda for the day was packed! We were to visit the gardens of Morimae's S-Cube, Kimura, the Omiya Bonsai Museum, Mansei-en, Kyuka-en, Seikou-en and end the day at Fuyo-en.
On the way, Bill informed us of what we were about to see that day and kept us engaged and entertained with lots of interesting bonsai related information.
MORIMAE'S S-CUBE
After about an hour, we arrived at the famous S-Cube garden of Mr. Seiji Morimae. As we approached his nursery, we could see from the highway one of the best and largest bonsai collections in Japan, recently purchased from the late Mr. Daizo Iwasaki.
As we arrived, Mr. Morimae was anxious to show us his entire Iwasaki collection which has been temporarily placed in an empty lot adjacent to his nursery. The ground was really muddy so it was a bit difficult getting to see some of the trees up close. Most were huge Japanese black pines but there were many other varieties in the collection including many maples and beech. I was told some of the trees had been styled by Kimura in the past.
My agenda with Bill was as follows:
DAY 1: Bonsai village in Omiya
DAY 2: Kunio Kobayashi's Shunka-en garden and museum outside of Tokyo
DAY 3: Taikan-ten bonsai exhibition in Kyoto
I will post 3 different threads focusing on each of the days respectively. My intent is to try and bring you along with me and experience what I saw as best as is possible through photography. Needless to say, this was a memorable trip for me and one I will not soon forget. Let us travel to Japan!
On a bright and beautiful morning at 9am Friday, November 13th, I anxiously waited at the gate at Newark airport for my plane bound for Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan.
After a 14+ hour flight, we finally approached Narita Airport on an overcast Saturday afternoon.
In Japan, many things are well organized and seem to run smoothly, including the luggage carousel at the airport where a baggage handler pulls the luggage out while you wait behind the line.
On my first day joining Bill's tour, we took a bus to Omiya Bonsai Village at 8am. The agenda for the day was packed! We were to visit the gardens of Morimae's S-Cube, Kimura, the Omiya Bonsai Museum, Mansei-en, Kyuka-en, Seikou-en and end the day at Fuyo-en.
On the way, Bill informed us of what we were about to see that day and kept us engaged and entertained with lots of interesting bonsai related information.
MORIMAE'S S-CUBE
After about an hour, we arrived at the famous S-Cube garden of Mr. Seiji Morimae. As we approached his nursery, we could see from the highway one of the best and largest bonsai collections in Japan, recently purchased from the late Mr. Daizo Iwasaki.
As we arrived, Mr. Morimae was anxious to show us his entire Iwasaki collection which has been temporarily placed in an empty lot adjacent to his nursery. The ground was really muddy so it was a bit difficult getting to see some of the trees up close. Most were huge Japanese black pines but there were many other varieties in the collection including many maples and beech. I was told some of the trees had been styled by Kimura in the past.
