Last weekend I saw an ukiyoe exhibit at Kobe City Museum. Ukiyoe is what first comes to mind when you think of Japanese art - particularly the tidal wave print, and the Mt Fugi series of prints. They're woodblock prints, typically from 1700-1800. And, as is usual for art, it wasn't much valued in Japan, but made a big impression with the Impressionists in Europe at the time. Rumor has it that perspective in a painting was actually first done in ukiyoe, and then later copied by European artists. The exhibit was amazing. Lots of the pieces were on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. We were there on the last day of the exhibit and it was packed. The crowd was about four people deep, so we just took a passing glance at each piece but certainly was worth the afternoon trip to Kobe.
And here are photos from last week's ikebana classes. That's Eiko, our instructor, posing with my bouquet. The branch is from a peach tree, and of course those are daffodils, and another unknown flower. 
Last Friday night, I joined Mitch and Merry for yakiniku (basically "grilled meat"). They had been many times to this restaurant and raved about it. For about $20 you get to eat as much as you can within 90 minutes. You cook the food yourself on the built in burner in the middle of the table. Merry had the menu translated into English by one of her teachers at school and that was VERY helpful - and saved us from potentially ordering liver or tongue! Besides all the meat, we had pumpkin, sweet potato, cabbage, and garlic grilled, as well as the ubiquitous bowl of rice, and a Pepsi drink bar!! Things got a little heated when the extra fatty beef was put on the grill, but I'm sure the place has a well-tested sprinkler system!
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