Japan on my mind

I am sitting on a shinkansen bound for Hiroshima and I’ll write as long as my battery holds out. I think the trip will be only 1.5 hours. It’s a gray, gloomy day; the rain seems to be here with a vengeance. When I left the hotel this morning it was only spitting and I never bothered to open my umbrella. I went over to the nearby train and subway station and left my bag in a locker. They have lockers in every station and they are wonderful. Makes everything so much pleasanter. I’m just carrying a little overnighter, but this computer makes it heavy. I left my big bag at the hotel in Kyoto.

When I arrived in Osaka a woman at the tourist info office told me the folk art museum (one of my big interests) was in Expo Park, nowhere near my hotel. I chose the hotel because I thought the museum was nearby, and it was near the station for the train to Koyasan. (still working on that post) I kept wondering how I made that mistake, having great faith in my internet research. Last night I searched again and found the museum on my map, right nearby. So that was this morning’s destination. Amazingly, I found the place with only one request for help. It opened at 10, and I was early. With no coffee shop in sight, walking around several blocks, I bought a can of hot black coffee from a vending machine. The machines are all over and sell both hot and cold drinks, including beer and sake. When I was here last I could only find coffee with cream and sugar; now they have several kinds of black coffee—not great, but acceptable.

Back to the museum:9:55 and the doors were open. There was a woman outside sweeping the sidewalk. (They do that a lot here.) She told me the museum was closed until Nov. 1, but I should come into the gift shop.

This museum is supposed to have a pair of folding screens, drawn by Hamada from information provided by Yanagi, with maps of the location of craftsmen. This is what I wanted to see. I asked about them in the gift shop. Either they didn’t understand me or they just don’t know, but they also referred me to Expo Park. Too bad. I should have brought the journal article I found for my class. Most of it was in Japanese and I might have gotten better answers.

Now I’m sitting in the hotel of my dreams: I can work on my computer on a desk in my own room. Of course, I’m in Hiroshima and feeling the need to get out and see things. Just thought I’d have a cup of tea first.