A Weekend of Art: Part 1

We began our weekend of art with a visit to the Yayoi Kusuma museum in Shinjuku on Saturday. Tickets for the museum are very difficult to acquire; they are available the first day of the month two months ahead of when you want to visit and often sell out for the entire month in a few hours. Meiling was prepared though and was able to purchase tickets for me, WenYu, and herself.

The Kusuma museum was small but mighty. There were four floors, each with a somewhat small exhibition room but with high ceilings and filled with natural light (except for the third floor) so that all the works could be enjoyed. The first floor held Kasuma’s early drawings and paintings; the second more recent and larger works and sculptures. The third floor contained a visual experience: Pumpkins Screaming About Love Beyond Infinity, a illuminated show of her beloved polka-dotted pumpkins that glowed in different configurations. It was mesmerizing but we were only allowed to stay in the room for two minutes so that all visitors could experience it. The top floor held a giant pumpkin sculpture created by Kusama this year.

After our time in the museum we had lunch in a nearby Chinese restaurant that served Hunan-style dishes. The place was lively and the food delicious, and we left with happy bellies.

Our second stop was not officially a museum but a store filled with Japanese folk art and handicraft. I have wanted to visit Bingoya for years, and the girls and I added it to our day’s itinerary as it was just one train stop away from the Kusama museum. The store was wonderfully old-fashioned, with five floors of beautiful, handcrafted pieces and materials from all over Japan, and an attentive staff. We took our time and examined everything in the store: pottery, paintings, toys, paper goods, wood and fabric items, baskets, and more. The girls felt it was one of the most fascinating places they had ever visited (me too). Everything in the store was for sale, and we each left with a handmade indigo bag and a few other small items.

Day 1 ended with a stop at Starbucks to try their summer Frappuccino flavors: strawberry banana (delicious) and mango-passionfruit tea (delicious). I also picked up two replacement Tokyo coffee mugs and checked that off my list.

Day 2 coming up!