Andy's exhibtion

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Muchos muchos has been happening since my last blog... Where do I start?

Firstly the word of the day.... tanoshi (fun!) or cho tanoshi (really fun!)

I have been trying to tackle the basics of japanese by trying to remember a new word every day. I might have 20 words before I leave the country.

Andy's exhibtions were set up last friday. We were learning japanese expectations on the spot. There are really no galleries with curators in japan for any artists other than those already fabulously famous. It is customary in japan for the artists to set up their own exhibtion and also to sit in the gallery for the entire period of the exhibtion in case anyone happens to come in and want to buy something. I think I am now appreciating all gallery staff a lot more as neither andy or myself are really that mentally equipped for the setting up of an exhibtion. Still, we got through it in the end without too many dramas.

Our lovely friends Shizuko and Saturo drove up from Tokyo to attend Andy's opening at the Convention Centre on Saturday night. It was a nice night. Rhu-hei had arranged some Australian wine to be served with some nice cheese and crackers. (Cheese is extrodinarily hard to come by in Japan - about 10 times the price of what you pay for it in Australia). The Mayor of Toyama was there and I got to meet him and we were invited out for dinner with him later in the week.

After the opening, me, shiz, andy, saturo, and agesan, went to a really nice skuyaki resturant in Toyama. Agesan is the man who designed Andy's invite for his exhibtion. I have been dying to try proper japanese skuyaki since I've been here as it has been my favorite dish at japanese restaurants in Australia. I can tell you I wasn't disappointed! For those of you who may not know skuyaki is like a big hot pot that you cook at your table. You add thinly sliced beef, veges, mushrooms and tofu to a hot pot and pour over some skuyaki stock (which has an incredible flavour). The beef was proper Kobe marbled beef which means it was really tender as the meat has a soft marblling of fat through the meat. So good!

The next day Shiz and Saturo took me snowboarding up in Mt Toga which is about 1 and a half hours from Toyama. It was my first time ever on a snowboard. It was snowing quite a lot up on the mountain and the snow was really nice and powdery. Shiz said it was quite surprising that there was still so much snow so late in the season. I fell over so many times I was really sore the next day! The hardest part for me on my first run at the slope was simply standing up again after I had fallen over! But in the end I was getting the hang of it and could stay up a fair way before stacking in a heap. I had a collision with Shiz that ended up with nothing broken but fits of giggles. Unfortunatly I have no photos as my camera decided to run out of batteries on the slopes!

After Shiz and Saturo had gone home to Tokyo the next day me and Andy had our dinner date with the Mayor of Toyama. I'm not really sure how I got invited to be the main guest of honour at this dinner but somehow it happened that way! We were taken to the most amazing Tempura restaurant I have ever been to. It was myself, andy, rhu-hei, the mayor, the owner of the toyama glass studio, and one of the mayor assistants. I have trouble remembering names as you can tell. If you've ever seen any movies where the scene is depicting japanese businessmen at a traditional formal dinner it was exactly like that. Traditional seating on the floor, a set menu with a multitude of small delicious delicasies being served. A few times I thought we must have had our last dish before being served yet another round of tempura, or pickles, or soup, or other yummy things.

The tempura was nothing like I've ever had before. I was told however that even for japanese it was very good tempura. So many different vegetables fish, eel, shrimp, lotus roots, - all fried in a light batter that was surprisingly not very greasy at all. So many tastes and flavours. Definitly the best meal I've had in Japan so far!

After dinner the descision was made to go strut our stuff in one of the local kareoke bars. Oh gods. I can actually hold a semblance of a tune together, and Andy surpised me by being not bad himself... but we sucked compared to the japanese people at the bar. The japanese LOVE kareoke. Even the mayor could belt out quite a few songs. Rhu-hei is famous for his rendition of 'Osaka Baby'. And the girls sitting at the bar were trained professionals. I think I need to practise a bit more before I can go back.

Andy's mum arrives tomorrow. We are planning a trip to Kanasawa to see the beautiful gardens there. I hope everyone in 'Straya is well. Please keep me up to date with what you're up to. And also if you want a postcard remember to email me you address!

xxx

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