Tag Archives: Architecture

静岡県, 静岡市, 観光, Japan, Japanese Culture, Kura, Shizuoka, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Tourism

Kura: Japanese Traditional Warehouses in Shizuoka Prefecture 3-Galvo Gallery in Shizuoka City!

November 18, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

“Kura” (in japanese 蔵 or 倉) means “warehouse” or “Storehouse”.
In traditonal Japan, especially during the Edo Era, as most of buildings and urba/village structures were made of wood, fires were the bane of society by and large.
However well-protected a fire would consume a house or buildings and all its properties within minutes.
Hence a special building or warehouse was needed to protect goods and properties against such a catastrophe.
But erecting a storehouse solely made of concrete, stones and some metal cost a vast amount of silver and gold and only rich merchants and nobility could afford them. Even castles could not be built entirely of stone then.

I have been chasing “kura” in Shizuoka for some time but I had never realized that the most beautiful of them stood along my daily cycle trips in Shizuoka City!
There is a simple reason for that: I was always cycling past the front facade without bothering looking up!
And then yesterday as I was cycling around in search of a totally unrelated spot I espied the back of a grand kura across a large car park. Mind you, the car park is fairly new and lays in a spot formerly occupied by old buildings!

So I got off my bicycle, leaving my bag in its basket (Japan is so safe, but I realized later that was border limit!), and practically ran across the car park (not really allowed, LOL!) to have a closer look.
How could I have missed such a big kura (enormous by Shizuoka standards) and the more for it being built of ancient red bricks? The roof had been restored and the fact that red does not really stand out in the city might have been other reasons!

It is now owned by Galvo Gallery, a high end ladies fashion shop.
The great clothes in the display window tend to keep your eyes away for a more deliberate view of the building itself!

Since the windows upstairs are kept shut they probably use the upper floor as a storeroom!

GALVO GALLERY「ガルボギャラリー」
Shizuoka City, Aoi Ku, Shichiken Cho, 8-4/静岡市葵区七間町8-4
Tel&Fax 054-251-6611

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Navigating Nagoya by Paige, Shop with Intent by Debbie, BULA KANA in Fiji, Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Ichi For The Michi by Rebekah Wilson-Lye in Tokyo, Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in Kansai by Nevitt Reagan!
ABRACADABREW, Magical Craftbeer from Japan
-Whisky: Nonjatta: All about whisky in Japan by Stefan Van Eycken
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City

Buildings, 静岡県, 静岡市, 観光, Japan, Japanese Culture, Photography, Shizuoka, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Tourism

Traces of The Past….. (Shizuoka City, Japan)

November 18, 2013 dragonlife Leave a comment

Japan is a continual contradiction. Or a dichotomy?
If you just keep looking out enough you will find an incredible amount of themes for photography in a country both so hit-tech and still so analog in all fields!
I was cycling (a good method to find “sites”) in Ryogae Cho and Shichiken Cho in Aoi Ku, Shizuoka City when my eyes stopped on this big building that no one thought of cleaning a long time after an adjacent buiding had been pulled down to leave place for a car-park!

The traces left by the defunct building are so vivid that the facade seems to wear its own ghost of the past…
At night nobody woule notice but it really uncanny in the morning by a bright late fall day!

A zombie house?
Maybe.
Natural art?
Definitely!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City

静岡市, 観光, Japan, Japanese Culture, Photography, Shizuoka, Shizuoka City, Tourism

Old Shizuoka City Hall: Another Cultural Asset saved from the Developers’ clutches!

October 9, 2013 dragonlife 2 Comments

If you go to the modern Shizuoka City Hall in Aoi Ku you will notice an old building topped with a dome on its right.
The whole building had been the city Hall of Shizuoka City from 1886 to 1986, just a century.
Having lived 38 years in Shizuoka City I witnessed the building of the new City Hall (which had to be restarted after it was discovered that its foundation was too low!) and shared the worries of the local citizens when the mayor in place, Shingo Amano (you will not find his name in all records as he had to step down in second mid-term after one too many financial scandals!), wanted to pull down the whole edifice to leave place to another of his expensive “monuments”.

The edifice created by a guest British architect was finally saved out of the mayor’s friends’ clutches when various citizen groups finally woke up and started a damaging campaign forcing the mayor to relent (the beginning of end for him actually!).

The building has since then been used as a meeting hall, library and document vault.
You can actually visit most of it on your own without permission.
It is a great place to explore for photography buffs with old stairs, panels. windows and waht else!

Try and catch the dome under a red dusk sky! I’m sure you will have plenty of striking pics to show back home!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Shop with Intent by Debbie
BULA KANA in Fiji
Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in Kansai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Whisky: Nonjatta: All about whisky in Japan by Stefan Van Eycken
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City

Buildings, 美術, 観光, Japan, Japanese Culture, Kikugawa City, Museums, Photography, Shizuoka, Tourism

Kikugawa Red Brick House saved from the developers’ clutches!

October 8, 2013 dragonlife 2 Comments

If you walk straight out from the only exit of Kikugawa City JR Station you are bound to walk past a square old building all made of red bricks.
Now, this is a noteworthy discovery as such buildings, mostly official at the times, were destroyed during WWII and most of those you may discover, especially in Yokohama and Hokkaido, are copies.
This building in Kikugawa City is the real article!

It was erected as soon as the Tokaido Railway Line opened a station in Horin No Uchi (as of Hori no Uchi District in Kikugawa City) ine 23rd Year of Meiji Era (1890).
many buildings of the same architecture were also built at the same time along Kikugawa Station platform, Yoshizawa Arch Bridge, Kanaya Station and Makinohara Tunnel as offices, warehouses and else but they all have disappeared and the Red Brick House in Kukgawa City is the only one left.
For long the land had been ogled by developers and only 2 years ago the rumors were pretty bad until an NPO took charge of it with the blessings of the city as Cultural Asset!

The original front facade although it is now oriented away from the street.

If one looks carefully one can see the traces of the adjacent buildings and walls which have all disappeared!

The place can be visited on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 to 16:00 except on third week-ends.
It is still being cleaned and ordered inside but it is still worthy of a visit and of a glimpse of the past!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City

Design, 観光, Japan, Japanese Culture, Shizuoka, Tourism

Wall Design: The Genuine one and the Accidental one in Shizuoka City

October 4, 2013 dragonlife 2 Comments

Genuine or accidental?

In Japan it is always a good idea to keep your eyes well open as the urban landscape tends to change very quickly.
And it is also a good idea to memorize some spots before taking pictures later when you notice some alteration!

This particular wall design found in Aoi Ku in Shizuoka City is genuine as it was conceived as such while the building was being restored. It does give an interesting appearance and seems to increasee the height of the whole buolding.

Now, this design is purely accidental.
There used to be a black space in pace of the green part as the old house adjacent to the orange building torn down to leave place to a car park.

But the owner of the building belatedly realized the interesting nature had left on his/her building and had it recently painted green!

here is the PROOF I took on October 20th, 2009!
Actually they have also repainted the building into a deeper orange as well!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Must-see tasting websites:

Non gastronomy must-see sites by Shizuoka Residents

HIGHOCTANE/HAIOKU by Nick Itoh in Shizuoka City

Culture, 静岡市, 観光, 農業, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Cuisine, Tourism

Japanese Culture & History: Oomura Family House and tea Fields in Shizuoka City!

August 29, 2013 dragonlife 5 Comments

if you know where to look or if you keep your ears (and other senses) open, there will always be a time for a new discovery in Japan. The deeper in the country you venture the better chance to discover true history in the guise of a farmhouse for example!

Oumura Family House is located up the Abe River in Shizuoka City perched high above the water by its own green tea fields.
It has been an official Shizuoka Prefecture designated (and protected) cultural asset for ages.
But the House and the (restored) farm and its original tea fields have been there since Edo Era, that is more than 150 years!

Green tea has been grown there for even longer, for hundred of years!

It is heaven for photographers as pictures are possible from an infinite number of angles, be they at ground level or from above!

All the walls and roofs have been preserved or restored all the time to reveal the grand house of a rich farming family of yore!

Traditional Japanese carp pond! At such an altitude, it is a wonder!

Under the thatched roof eaves…
We cannot visit the inside but from I could judge from outside it was full of antiques!

This wall was built in the Edo Era manner. How old could it be?

But now this is a very old and authentic wall of the Edo Era. i was told it was more than 200 years old!
Pity we couldn’t visit the place as the family still lives inside and grows green tea!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

BULA KANA in Fiji
Kraemer’s Culinary blog by Frank Kraemer in New York,Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento, Hapabento, Kitchen Cow, Lunch In A Box, Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Ohayo Bento,