I rode my bike downtown yesterday.  It was warm and sunny and my first day this year on my bike without a jacket.  I rode down from my house almost entirely on quiet, narrow residential streets.  The late blooming double flower cherries were shedding pedals like snow, while azaleas, dogwood, wisteria and yellow kerria were in full bloom, everywhere.  My destination was Nijo Jinya.  The Ogawa family has been living in this designated National Treasure for several hundred years, since the days when it functioned as an inn catering to feudal lords visiting Kyoto.

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I knew nothing about the Sayamaike Museum, except that Tadao Ando designed it and that it is located in sub-urban Osaka.   After a relatively easy trip from Kyoto with a few train changes, I found that the site far exceeded my expectations. Ando combines light and water with poured-in-place concrete, wood and glass to create a poetic and playful public space that delights and surprises at every turn.

Sayamaike is Japan’s oldest irrigation reservoir, dating back to about 600AD.  The museum has very cleverly sliced a cross-section of the 1400-year old bank into a pyramid-shaped wall.

The entrance consists of several parallel waterfalls and parallel walkways running about 250ft in length.

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The lobby of Naoshima Island’s Park Hotel designed by Tadao Ando.

I just returned from a two night stay on Naoshima, where I saw the Benesse Art Projects and museums. The Benesse-related sites now span 16 years, starting with the Benesse Museum Hotel in 1992, the Benesse Hotel Annex in 1998, the Chichu Museum in 2004 and the Benesses Park Hotel in 2006, all designed by Pritzker-award winning architect, Tadao Ando. Below are images of the hotel lounge area.

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Built about 20 years ago, Gora Kadan is one of Japan’s finest contemporary ryokan. It is located in the wooded hills of Hakone, in the little hot springs town of Gora and surprisingly close to Tokyo. I recently spent two impeccable nights there. It was the perfect combination of Japanese aesthetics, cuisine, comfort, hot springs relaxation and extraordinary Japanese attention to every detail.

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Today, I entered a house of stone.  Honey warm in the afternoon light.  A private home on Shikoku Island in southern Japan.  Built by Isamu Noguchi and Masatoshi Izumi in 1972.  Based partially on impressions of houses in Ahmenabad, India.

The lead photo in the above slide show is by Gail Rieke.

A tropical space, open to the outdoors and to Noguchi’s stone sculptures in the garden.  I remember the bar-b-que party I attended there, ten years ago.  That night we cooked fish and vegetables over hot coals in the courtyard.  Light filtered through the white mulberry paper of Noguchi’s paper lamps and illuminated the meal like candles.  Noguchi once said, all that is required to create the perfect space is a bedroll and a really good lamp.  Somehow adding a meticulously built stone house adds much to that equation.

Spring has arrived one week early this year. Kyoto is already blooming with snow willows and plums. I saw the first cherry blossoms today, along the Kamo River. I have spent the past two weeks guiding an artist and a professor of landscape architecture to all of my favorite gardens in Kyoto. A few days ago we visited Shugaku-in Imperial Villa. Built in the 1600’s as a retired emperor’s country villa, Shugaku-in consists of  three sections and is completely surrounded by working vegetable and rice farms on about 140 acres of land.  Located on the slopes of the eastern hills, just 20-minutes bike ride from my house ,  this immaculately maintained estate is an excellent example of tea inspired sukiya-style architecture.  Admission is free-of-charge and is limited to 60 visitors at a time.  An appointment to visit can be obtained through the Imperial Family Household offices.

My clients remarked that whereas many great cities in the world may have a few truly outstanding garden sites to visit, Kyoto easily has enough spectacular sites to keep avid garden enthusiasts completely engaged for a long, long time.

Time and again, over the past 17 years, I had walked by the dark brown gate of Obai-in that frames both the mossy entry garden and the “no admittance” sign. Recently, however, I was finally able to go inside, during a rare public opening. Founded in the late 1500’s, this unusually large sub-temple reveals itself through dramatic wooden corridors, courtyards, mossy green expanses, scroll gardens, tearooms and countless highly crafted architectural details.  The garden in the above image was designed by legendary tea-master, Sen no Rikyu.
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Update 5-09: This building has recently been torn down: Located on the most prominent street corner in the heart of Osaka’s exciting Shinsaibashi entertainment district, is Kirin Plaza, designed by renowned Kyoto-based architect, Takamatsu Shin.  In this already highly stimulating neighborhood of neon and assertive signage competing for our attention,  Takamatsu chose large, minimalist volumes and simple detailing for Kirin Beer’s high profile theme building. The size of the entries is exaggerated by high arches.  Also characteristic of Takamatsu’s other work,  Kirin Plaza is boldly futuristic, with the facade dominating the area.  During the day, the building appears silent and black.  At night, its four otherwise non-functional towers are illuminated, thus transforming both structure and surroundings of this frenetic district into a quieter, more powerful and majestic place.

I have long been a contemporary architecture enthusiast.  Because I live in Japan, I have many opportunities to experience excellent, creative design,  since this country is a leader in the field.   The Japanese were actually well positioned to be an architectural leader.  They have had a strong economy, despite the long recession.  Though traditional in many ways, Japanese society is very future-oriented.  Because of their advanced technological know-how, they are able to manifest a wide range of design concepts.  In addition to their dedication to a high level of quality, they are inventive and highly experimental by nature. Finally, they are committed to architecture as an art form, and are willing to fund cutting-edge projects.

I am posting the following photos as part of my plan to to build an archive of exceptional buildings in this blog.