Highlights of October 2015 - Autumn Leaves, Chanel at Saatchi Gallery, Baths in Kyushu

Isn't this tree the perfect autumn tree with its color gradation from top to bottom?

I took this picture today on my morning walk in the park and it was oddly so crowded.

I think everyone was out enjoying the park at its peak.

The courtyard garden below was one designed by Karl Lagerfeld because he doesn't have much to do besides design numerous collections at Chanel and Fendi while redesigning houses and being a photographer.

The Chanel exhibition was so popular that there were waiting times of up to two hours.

The exhibition itself was what you would expect and the highlight was a short movie clip directed by Kaiser Karl himself.

I left a bit feeling neutral but this freebie bag and poster left all those who exited very happy and glad we all decided to visit.

 

I went to Korea to visit my Korean side of the family to spend Asian Thanksgiving but my highlight was visiting the Japanese island of Kyushu when I needed a break from all the feeding.

 

I adored everything about it and now Tokyo seems one of the dullest places in Japan the more I explore the country.

I adore hot springs and I take at least one bath a day in London so this was such a treat to take the healing waters at one of the best hot spring towns in Japan called Kurokawa.

 

I even took a sake bath.

Sake is very good for the skin and most workers in sake factories are known to have youthful hands.

It was a bit gimmicky because a 30 minute soak wasn't going to do much but it was more about imbibing the atmosphere.

 

I also can't forget this beautiful bathtub that isn't available in any bathware store in Europe.

 

A popular snack in hot spring areas is a boiled egg cooked in the waters.

You realize that in Japan nature is powerful and there are reminders that nature is to be worshipped but respected.

I went to one of the oldest spas in Japan in  a town called Beppu.

Takegawara spa was open in 1879 and is famous for the special niche treatment where they bury you to hot black sand for 10 minutes. If you have nightmares about being buried alive, this place is not for you although I quite enjoyed it.

I took on average 5 baths a day to soak the various waters.

I can't tell you how seriously they take the practice of Onsen.

 

It may look like kimonos to most but these are dressing gowns.  Kurokawa is a town where the main goal is to try all the different springs so this was a common sight.

 

I decided to talk to springs just outside the town and enjoyed the scenery along the way.

This was my favourite bath of all the 25 different hot springs I tried in Kyushu.

The water was a perfect temperature and the surroundings could not be more perfect.

It's become my new go to meditative mental spot where I imagine if things gets stressful.

 

They also had an internal tub that was just as perfect and this has become the new benchmark of the perfect bathroom.  I have been to fancier/chicer/more luxurious/modern/older bathrooms but this is the one that captured my heart. 

 

I did do other cultural pursuits that I might share but I did try and not get culture fatigue.

But these Buddhas were memorable with their Mondrian blue heads.

 

 

The picture is terrible as you can't see the hue of the unique blue lotus flowers I had never seen before.  I had a deep and intense conversation with a Japanese caretaker who spoke way above my Japanese pay grade but I had no heart to tell him I didn't understand the hard bits. Mind you I have the same problem in English with some people.

Cats were lounging around in all corners of a temple in Fukuoka and yet

dogs were banned.

I think it's a religious thing.

Good thing about jetlag was that I was up at sunsets but other than that I am finding jetlag harder to digest as I get older.

Japan loves vending machines but there were these 4 out of nowhere in the middle of a highway.

While gardens were not in the same league nor seriousness as the ones I saw in Kyoto last year, they did not disappoint.

Please excuse the disjointed post but editing posts take twice as long as writing it.

I don't have the patience at the moment.

I thought I would instagram more but I am realizing more and more that it doesn't have legs. It has its place but I am going against the grain and think I will definitely stay blogging.

 

I had to remind myself that in the beginning I blogged for me as no one else was reading and I must not worry about invading your inboxes!

 

Hope you have been well and here is to a fabulous November xx