Monday, August 27, 2012

Light art.

光のアート展 ("Light Art" exhibition) at the Chiba Prefectural Art Museum

The second I read the title of the exhibition, I just knew that I had to go. I love light and reflections, so as I read the poster ad explaining that it was all interactive artworks involving light, I couldn't wait for my next free weekend so I could go!

At the corner of the museum, with Chiba Port Tower in the distance.
After a very short drive from my home to the Chiba Minato Station area, I made it to the museum with no problems...and free parking! I felt a little lost wandering in - but the receptionist was very nice and quickly pointed me towards the entrance to my long-awaited exhibit.

Also, if you are wondering...photography is okay as long as you don't use your flash, so make sure you change your camera settings before going in (and certainly bring your camera along)!

Lanterns?
As I walked in, a man was huddled under the center of one of these and seemingly punching it (judging by the loud punching bag sound).

「光であそぶ ("Play with Light")」by Atelier OMOYA
With the encouragement of one of the staff nearby, I ducked under and found this!!

Yes....these are cloth lantern? things with tons of marbles inside! They gather at the center, but if you poke/punch it in just the right place with just the right amount of strength, the marbles will spread nicely like this :D

Marbles in motion.
Am I weird for thinking that I would really really like one of those to hang over my bed? It's the perfect amount of light, and lots of fun to boot.

「青の軌跡 ("Blue Miracle")」by Taro Suzuki
I didn't do a very good job of capturing this work, but basically if you lean over it, light tracks will rush toward you while going through all sorts of patterns. It looks like something is swimming back and forth underneath.

「Sound Round」by Ayano Soga
It may look like a lone table, but don't let it fool you! Somehow, if you place your hands on the table, a piano will sound. It has different chords and everything!

「Lake Awareness」by Hiroyuki Moriwaki
I'll admit, I made this photo black-and-white because I failed so badly at capturing this work too. It glows a really pale blue. But the cool thing is that each of the dots (actually they look like triangles if you look at them really closely) have sensors built into them! If you get near it, the lights will shine brighter! You can kiiiiinda tell that's what's happening in this photo.

Note the counter....
This work was tied with one other as my favorites of the exhibit. Can you tell what it is?

Everyone desperately tossing up huge handfuls of paper strips.
Yes...it's a garden! Basically, it is filled with scraps of paper (aka soil?), which you have to constantly toss into the air in order to make the flowers grow. If you stop for too long, the garden will go back to zero, so this means that you wind up with paper all over yourself! It's awesome though because you watch the garden grow in stages...meanwhile the museum staff has to desperately rake the garden as everything becomes a huge mess :3

「Garden」by Kohei Asano
The finished product!

「Kage's Nest」by plaplax
Kids loved the "Garden," but I think they loved this one even more.

「Air's song」by Kosei Komatsu
I couldn't capture this one correctly at all, but it's the same work pictured on the ticket (which you can see below). There are single, lovely feathers in each tube, and they go up and down in all sorts of patterns. It's a little strange, but I kinda like how this photo turned out...

Love the photo they chose for the tickets...
Okay, this post was supposed to happen last week...whoops!
The exhibit only has about one week left, so if you're interested, I hope you can make it! The 800 yen admission fee may or may not seem a bit pricey, but if you like interactive fun, I promise this exhibit will not disappoint you.

For your viewing pleasure, a set of photos taken by professionals:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.457651634258754.107739.247068255317094&type=1
(You can also check out my other favorite work of the exhibit in those photos...photos #10-13. Basically, it is a train with an extremely bright light attached to it. It runs around a literally pitch black room, with random objects from our daily lives (trash cans, colored pencils, clothesline pins, etc.) all over the place. The images the light and shadow reflect on the walls are amazing!

Link to the Chiba Prefectural Museum of Art website:
http://www.chiba-muse.or.jp/ART/english/index.html

If you are coming by car, it's a really easy drive - maybe just 5 minutes or so from Chiba Station, and like I mentioned before - free parking! If you are coming by train, it's an easy 10 minute walk from Chiba Minato Station (either the JR Keiyo Line or Chiba Urban Monorail). Enjoy!!

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Hideaway cafe.

A little light hidden in the darkness of the Chiba Minato warehouse district.
It began on a lazy Sunday night...my dear friend and I were looking for a place to eat. We wanted to eat at a nice cafe, but the only place open so late was here....the elusive Mother Moon Cafe!

I say elusive because it is literally hidden in an unlit alley of the warehouse district in between Inage Kaigan and Chiba Minato Stations on the JR Keiyo Line. We drove by the street it was on 2-3? times before saying, screw it! I think it's this street!! ...and that's where it was hiding.

Perfect for relaxing with friends and loved ones.
Take a step inside, and you'll find a comfy cafe restaurant. The seating is a strategically placed to create little intimate pockets and let you forget everyone else around you.

Also, the food was amazing. Sadly, I don't remember the names of what we ate anymore, but I do remember that they were mind-blowingly delicious :) So I'll let the photos do the talking.

Prosciutto ham with cheese? on bread, with olive oil and honey. Mmmm it just melted away in our mouths!
Oven-baked chicken steak with lots of pepper and some sort of vinegar sauce I think? And tons of yummy veggies!
It looks kind of gross here, but it was a very very amazing berry tart!
Might I randomly mention that I think all of their cakes/tarts come with a scoop of drool-worthy almond ice cream. Soooo good. So good that we wound up coming back for dessert at some point during the week after.

Outdoor seating, perfect for t
Simply amazing. Chiba might seem like it doesn't have any exciting/fancy places, but it does!!! They are just in hiding. If you're looking for a nice place to chill, and perhaps slightly prepared to get lost along the way....definitely try out the Mother Moon Cafe!

Here's the cafe website:
http://www.mothermoon.co.jp/mihama/index.html

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Summer to-do list: fireworks...check!

So here I am, officially on my fifth and final year on the JET Programme! Time really does fly. I've met tons of new people, gone to a lot of different places, tried out many new things...and now I have a few traditions too!


One tradition is going to the Tateyama Fireworks Display (館山湾花火大会), held on August 8 each year...it was my 4th year in a row going to see the fireworks here! I have a lot of pride for Kamogawa, but the fireworks in Tateyama are particularly amazing...if you didn't go this year, definitely go next year!

Anyway, last year I found out through experience that the roads back north get extremely clogged up after fireworks are over. It's so bad that it probably takes an hour and a half to drive a distance that usually only takes about 5 minutes.

So I was already planning to use the train (the Hojo beach area is just a 5 minute walk from Tateyama Station on the JR Uchibo Line), but this fantastic deal helped me save some money:

Powerful x Smile Chiba Free Pass (パワフル×スマイルちばフリーパス)

For just 1,800 yen for adults, you can ride the JR lines, Kominato Railway, Isumi Railway, and Choshi Electric Railway anywhere within Chiba Prefecture (plus just a touch over into Kashima in Ibaraki Prefecture using JR) as much as you want for one day!! If you want to ride the fancy limited express trains, you just have to buy a separate ticket for that too.

Anyway, this deal is really great if you've ever wanted to travel to the outer regions of Chiba! For instance, standard fare for Chiba Station to/from Tateyama is 1,450 yen one way (1,450 yen x 2= 2,900 yen). But since I was able to use this pass for both ways, I was able to save 1,100 yen (2,900 yen - 1,800 yen=1,100 yen)!!

This was just for a simple Point A to Point B trip, but if you're looking for a full day trip somewhere in/around Chiba, this is definitely for you. As much as I love it, highway bus fare from Chiba to/from Kamogawa is already 1,800 yen one way...!!!

What the actual pass looks like :)
I rarely do extensive traveling by train, but it's really easy to buy! Just go to any JR Ticket Reservation Center (みどりの窓口) at any JR station in Chiba Prefecture, and tell them you want a Powerful x Smile Chiba Free Pass! (And probably feel just a little silly saying it like I did.) Or more than one, if you're traveling with friends.

You can buy the pass in advance, or you can buy it the same day you'll be using it, which is what I did. But beware...this deal is only available until Friday, August 31!! Happy travels!

For more info, here's the link to the pdf describing this deal (sorry, it's all in Japanese though):
http://www.jrchiba.jp/news/pdf/20120709pawasuma.pdf

One more fireworks picture, just for the record.
Fireworks season is almost over, but omatsuri (festival) season is just getting started!! Time for me to pull out my flowery ninja suit (= omatsuri outfit), as my friend called it.