Bonsai Society of Sydney -www.bonsaisocietysydney.org.au Newsletter 97 Page 5

By Keith Gallie

What a beautiful and amazing countryJapan is. Being a first time visitor Iwas totally awe struck by the wholecountry, the scenery, the friendliness

and politeness of the Japanese people, the food andeverything else I encountered.At Sydney Airport we met up with most membersof our tour party, people interested in bonsai fromall parts of Australia. Arriving at Tokyo airportafter an overnight flight our tour group transferredto the Bullet train for Kyoto, a distance of over 500kilometres, we arrived there in about two and a halfhours. All trains in Japan are efficient, verycomfortable and a pleasure to ride on and all leaveon time, it is easy to become confused or lost, best

to have a guide with you.In Kyoto we booked into our hotel and at nightvisited Nijo Castle where the cherry blossom treeswere all floodlit. The following day we visitedKinkakuji Temple or the Golden Pavilion, a Zentemple by a lake, definitely worth seeing, in theafternoon a trip to the Kyoto Imperial Palace Park

and its gardens. Later we strolled along thePhilosopher’s Walk. Lots of walking done already.Next day a day trip to Nara to see the BuddhistTemple with the largest image of Buddha in Japan,along the way we saw red deer roaming the parksand streets being hand fed by people. These deer

are protected and not afraid of humans, they justwander in and out of the crowds looking to be fedon rice biscuits. More walking done.We travelled by Bullet train next to Kanazawa andbooked into another fabulous hotel. The followingday a visit to Kanazawa Castle and later a visit toKenrokuen gardens, both a must to see, the gardensare spectacular, with every turn there is anotherbeautiful scene to behold, my camera was inovertime mode by this and my shutter finger wasbeginning to hurt, we spent about three hours there,you definitely needed more time to explore. Late inthe afternoon we walked through the old Samuraivillage, a collection of old houses all made ofwood, sadly all deteriorating, soon there will benothing left. We walked 10 kilometres that day andmy feet were telling me about it.Bullet train again next day to Omiya andtransferred by coach to Nikko, along the wayvisiting Kanuma Satsuki Bonsai Nursery, a top

MEGUMI’S BONSAI TOUR OF JAPAN

Con

tinue

d on

pag

e 6

Bonsai Society of Sydney -www.bonsaisocietysydney.org.au Newsletter 97 Page 6

place to see how they grow bonsai commercially.Later we booked into a Japanese style ryokan,where there is hot spring baths and enjoyed aJapanese style dinner with everyone dressed inkimonos.

Another day, more bonsai, we visit Mr MasaruHasaka’s private bonsai collection where there is anoutstanding range of bonsai and also housed is hiscollection of bonsai pots, all beautiful to see. Thenwe toured Nikko Toshogu Shrine, a dozen or morebuildings decorated with gold leaf and woodcarvings all set in a forest. Late in the day wevisited Lake Chuzenji, a scenic mountain lake thenon to Kegon Waterfall in Nikko National Park.Afterwards we headed back to our ryokan foranother different, very enjoyable, Japanese dinner.

The next day we travelled by train to Utsunomiyaand transferred to the Shinkansen (Bullet train) toSendai. The following day we toured to Zuiganjiand Entsuin Buddhist temples in Matsushima,followed by a visit to Matsushima Bay, apicturesque area open to the sea dotted with variousislands, which along with Sendai was devastated bythe tsunami in 2011. Also along the bay we enjoyedJapanese tea at the Kanrantei tea house.

On to Hiraizumi by bus next and stayed at anotherryokan that night. Along the way we visitedChusonji, another Buddhist temple set in a forestwith the Konjiki-do, a building similar to Kyoto’sGolden Pavilion, then we visited Motsuji temple,known for its pure land style garden, a verybeautiful walk around its lake setting.

Onwards the following day to Hirosaki Castle enroute to Aomori. Walking to Hirosaki Castle thestreets are lined with cherry trees, all in full bloom.The surrounding park is well known for the massesof cherry blossoms, picnic areas and moats; verypopular with the Japanese and for the festival heldat the time we visited.

At Aomori next day we travelled to Oirase Gorgeand take a sightseeing boat around Lake Towada,then further by bus to Mount Hakkoda then up tothe top by Ropeway, heaps of snow still on theground at that time.The tour has now ended and we travelled byShinkansen to Omiya where our group separated togo to various hotels to attend the 8th World BonsaiConvention.

The Opening Ceremony of the convention at theSonic City Hall, next to the Palace Hotel, Omiya

was a spectacular affair, withJapanese drummers putting ona masterly performance,followed by introductions tothe bonsai masters andafterwards a granddemonstration by MrMasahiko Kimura.The crowds at the Super Arenaat Omiya were enormous. Isaw about three bonsaidemonstrations in variousrooms including Megumiacting as translator for MrChiharu Imai. I also managedvisits to the Bonsai Art

Museum and the Hikawa Shrine to see bonsai atthose places. The only disappointments were notbeing able to visit more convention venues andnot able to buy official Bonsai Convention gear,shirts, hats, etc. from the stall, all sold out veryearly on the first morning. But all in all, it was asuper effort all round on behalf of the BonsaiConvention organizers.While in Japan the weather was very good, a littlerain only at Kyoto and Kanazawa andtemperatures everywhere were mild, only a lightjacket and rain gear needed here and there. TheJapanese food was delicious, there are cafes, bars,restaurants and food halls everywhere, so no onewent hungry. All the hotels we stayed at wereexcellent quality, very well maintained and allstaff were very polite and helpful, even thosewho did not understand English, but we allmanaged along.

Visiting Japan, be prepared to walk to see all thebest tourist spots, wear comfortable shoes, Icertainly had my share of exercise.And many many thanks to my newfound friendsand companions who helped this poor old decrepitcorrespondent along the way; we all helped eachother in some little way and all got along famously.It made for a pleasant and friendly holiday for all.And the biggest thanks to Megumi and the travelagent for organizing such a fantastic tour.Would I visit Japan again? Yes, in a flash, ifMegumi organizes more tours put my name downat the top of the list.

Bonsai Society of Sydney -www.bonsaisocietysydney.org.au Newsletter 97 Page 7

.Bonsai Society of Sydney-www.bonsaisocietysydney.org.au Newsletter 97-Page 8

There were four BSQ members who were given atree each, and asked how they might style themAndrew Sellman from the Sunshine Coast wasgiven a juniper which he would style and create aShari. Glen Smith from Brisbane had a five Figsgroup to work on. Mark Harris AABC member hada Leptospermum variety which he picked up from apark dig and Albert Garcia currently the Presidentof Bimer had a Charet Topuarofolia. Chris De Nola

and Tony Bebb were commentating during thisprocess.AABC AGM meeting was held at 17.15hrs at theHotel .On Saturday night there was a beautiful 3 coursedinner served in the dining room , The painting byMarc were Auctioned.Sunday 21st May 2017Back to Bonsais- Marc Noelanders styling a juniperprocumbens into a slanting style, with jins andshari. At the same time the Bebb Family created agroup planting on a rock, using five Neea BuxaFolea, which were bought by Lindsay in Porto Rico,and brought into Australia in 2000.Marc Noelander critique some of the trees thatwere in the exhibition and then afternoon teafollowed by the auction and the drawing of theraffles.

THE AABC CONVENTION IN2018 IS TO BE HELD IN

MELBOURNE IN JULY 20TH

TO 23RD.