My boyfriend called me and said casually, "What do you think about going to Japan?" I responded, just as casually, thinking it was a hypothetical conversation, "Japan would be cool."
"Great! I'm so happy you said that. I'm making arrangements."
Traveling overseas was huge for me. I've never been off the continent and I didn't even have a passport. Also I have several jobs that I had to get time off from. But we did it. Brad got tickets, made reservations and travel plans. I applied for my passport and talked to my employers. On Friday, October 18th, we left Denver and traveled about 22 hours (including layovers and trains) and arrived in Tokyo around midnight.
Much of our time there was spent going on big adventures, like staying in a Buddhist monetary, hiking the 10,000 steps of Fushimi Inari Shrine, and eating at this interesting place, but one part of a day was dedicated to looking at ceramics in Kyoto. The bigger museums were closed when we visited (I wouldn't have guessed this but a lot of places were closed Wednesdays and Thursdays. It's the Sunday and Monday of Japan!), but we went in to little shops selling pieces made locally. I got my fill of inspiration! I have a few big ideas brewing...
The past few months I have barely worked on ceramics. I've been working A LOT at my other jobs, dramas and traumas keep arising, and at the end of the day I've just been tired. I haven't been making ceramics a priority. One great thing about traveling is that I come home with so much inspiration, and stepping away from daily life helps to put things in perspective for me. I need to carve out some time to make things- and not for the shop or to fulfill orders. I need some play time.
I don't have ANY photos of Japan at the moment- I am sitting in the airport waiting for my connecting flight home. The lights are starting to look like stars and I am trying not to fall asleep! I will write more when I am not delirious from jet lag and sleep deprivation.
