It started raining about 10 minutes after I started driving. Mountains I was passing swirled with fog. I thought museums first today and lets hope the weather improves in the arvo – as it happens, GREAT thinking and plan by me!! 🙂

The POLA group, a skin care and beauty products company, opened the POLA Museum of Art in 2002 to display the extensive private art collection of the company’s late owner, Suzuki Tsuneshi. The museum was built amid a forest of 300 year old beech trees in Hakone, and although constructed of concrete and glass, it is designed so as not to disrupt the natural environment that surrounds it. To achieve this, the majority of the building is located underground.

The museum features modern and contemporary paintings, sculptures, ceramics and glassware by mostly Japanese and European artists. Saw a lovely exhibition today “Modern Times in Paris 1925: Art and Design in the Machine Age”. In addition, some art I really liked – (1) Sonia Delaunay co-founded the Orphism art movement noted for its strong colours and geometric shapes; (2) Guerlain perfume bottle 1920’s; (3) Raoul Dufy’s ‘Paris’ in 1935; (4) Sugiyama Yasushi’s ‘Sharpness’ in 1973; (5) Mounir Fatmi’s ‘Modern Times: A History of the Machine’.

While in the area, had to visit the Hakone Venetian Glass Museum, Japan’s first art museum specializing in Venetian glass, and exhibits works from the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries and also modern pieces. (1) Compote with 2 sea horses 19thC; (2) Miniature of furniture in millefiori glass 19thC.

Noticed a special exhibit of some of Dale Chihuly’s works – so gorgeous!!

On my way to see Mt Fuji, at Lake Kawaguchi, I saw this incredible row of cherry trees in Gotemba, and driving towards them, found the Higashiyamako Fishing Area. Well, what a sight, a pond surrounded with glorious cherry blossoms. Quite a few fishing persons there, enjoying the hanami.

My first sighting of Mt Fuji was when exiting from the freeway…looming impressively but shrouded in fog, concealing its upper cone.

When I arrived in Kawaguchiko, the town, was spilling over with slightly crazy tourists…doing really silly things, like dashing across the road at the last minute to greet a friend, never mind traffic. The cable car entry area was worse…people wanting to get best in queue, as it snakes a fair way down the hill and around the corner. Crowds are epic. Kept on driving until I found a quiet part on Lake Kawaguchi where I could pull over and stretch the legs, take some pics. Fog completely gone, sun is shining…yay! And some cherry trees to do some arty farty shots.

Fabulous day of art and nature!