Second trip to Japan – March 2016

For the second trip, I wanted to immerse myself in the Japanese culture. I chose a different travel plan: I landed in Osaka and I planned to travel all the way to Yokohama. I had important historical cities to visit like Nara and Kyoto!

First stop: Osaka Castle! Even though it’s a reproduction of the 1583 castle, the architecture has kept that beautiful Japanese essence. The roofs are so beautiful, I marveled at such a great work of architecture.

But I must say that there is another hidden gem in Osaka for great architectural references: you need to go see the Osaka Museum of Housing and Living. It’s a live-size reproduction of a small Edo period town (1603-1867). The lighting imitates a whole day, from dusk to dawn. Therefore, you even have some great lighting references. I could have passed day just drawing the different perspectives with their vanishing points.

Next I went to visit Nara. Nara is less touristic than Kyoto, but it has many beautiful temples. It’s important to know that Nara was Japan’s capital in the 8th century. It’s actually Tim Kern that told me to visit this region, and to go see the Thousand-armed Kannon. It’s a beautiful statue! In Nara I also had the chance of seeing the great Buddha (Daibutsu) in Todai-ji and feeding the deer.

After Nara, was Kyoto, the city of the geishas and temples. I only had 2 day to visit Kyoto, so to get the most out of this trip, I decided to take a tour bus. This way I would not get lost of lose time in public transportation. It was expensive (around 100$ CAN per day), but it was worth it because I managed to see 6 temples, 1 castle, 1 traditional Japanese show and I ate in a traditional Kyoto Kaiseki restaurant. I must say though that I plan to go back to Kyoto and take my time to see certain temples. My favorites places for good drawing references were: Fushimi Inari taisha, Sanjusangen-do and Gion.

I finally arrived at Yokohama, ready to get tattooed by Shige. He had prepared the drawing for the top of my sleeve: hannya and a snake. He tattooed me 13h in 2 days, we managed to finish the lining and the shading. We took the time to discuss tattoo again, he showed me his drawers full of tattoo machines. I have never seen so many machines! At the end, he was kind enough to carve one of his special edition Sunskin machines for me.

We talked about technics, Japanese mythology and symbolism. He told me about some old Japanese legends that are less known, and he even explained the symbolism behind some of his tattoos. While talking about Ukiyo-e, Shige told me that the best place to get great Ukiyo-e references and artbooks is Jimbocho. It’s a small district of bookstores and book collectors. It is best to speak a little Japanese to find what you want.

I finished the trip at the famous Senso-ji of Asakusa. This temple is probably the most known temple of Tokyo. Dedicated to Kannon, the deity of compassion, it’s a beautiful temple. Once again, I finish my trip with Kannon and surrounded by blossoming cherry flowers. The delicate smell of sakura makes me very grateful of this amazing experience.