OK. Here we go: final days in Japan. Winding down.

Wednesday 14 August
A slow and relaxing start to the day before heading off to Yodobashi Metro. We’d been invited to Yutaka Moriguchi‘s house in Ryokuchikoen (= Ryokuchi Park). Yutaka is Heather’s Arts and Health contact in Osaka: she’d already been over to see HP at Atelier Outotsu, and they had been to visit one of Yutaka’s student projects at Nara Hospital (all of which is detailed here). Let’s just say they hit it off…

Yutaka’s lives with her husband Zenya in a stunning modernist house designed by her late father (a sculptor of some repute). Colleagues from Kindai University came a bit later. All very relaxed, some lovely food, and I particularly enjoyed a lengthy conversation with Zenya. We were still there at 9pm: I’m sure we overstayed our welcome. A treat.

[I would have loved to have taken some photographs, both of the house itself and the fabulous artworks contained therein. But it seemed like a step too far to even ask.]

Thursday 15
Shopping.

Friday 16
A last dash around town. First a visit to the post office to send off a parcel back to the UK. It was in the ground floor of the slick glass curtain-walled Dojima Avanza skyscraper, outside of which was a shrine that looked like it might have been designed by Buckminster Fuller. Cue short meditation:

Photographing the overhead power lines has been a theme throughout both visits to Japan: a chance to capture this series of dense installations along a single street in Sonezakishinchi:

Wandering then up through Umeda for some last minute gift shopping, and then a quick dash down to Shinsaibashi on the Metro for more of the same. Presents for the kids. With a couple of hours to spare I walked over to Mitsu Park (aka Triangle Park) and messaged Greg Hilton to see if he was around. Not to be.

Packing. Dinner. Lovely chat saying goodbye to Simon in the hotel.

Saturday 17
Up very early. Kansai airport by bus. Mata kondo!