National Museum of Ireland, Dublin

Posted on 15 February 2025 by boryssnorc

Somewhat wet and miserable day in Dublin… what to do, what to do? Find the National museum of course. Took a couple of Ubers via the First Chapter coffee shop, to avoid the cold and wet – worth it!

Wow! What an amazing building! The entry/vestibule is so impressive with its gorgeous domed ceiling and beautiful mosaiced floor. I do wish England/Ireland hadn’t embraced this trend for forgoing cloakrooms and/or lockers though. What a pain in the arse to have to carry your coat, scarf and outer layers for a couple of hours through a museum. :/ Europe is still insisting you cloak your shit – anything bigger than a handbag – into a locker it goes, I much prefer it tbh.

Most of the descriptions here are literally copied and pasted from the object’s description plaques, hence the lack of form guide in listing dates, and the weird capitalisation. I could re-type it all, but when you’re travelling and writing on an iPad, time is limited!

Bronze bells, St Mary’s Abbey, Howth, Co. Dublin. Late medieval period.

DECORATED STONE, Youghal, Co. Cork. 2500-1700 В.С.

A necklace of gold beads
Perhaps the most mysterious of all the gold ornaments of the Late Bronze Age are the hollow gold beads found at Tumna, Co. Roscommon in 1834. Eleven beads are said to have been found when a group of men were tilling land near Tumna church beside the Shannon River. Each bead is made in two sections which are fused together. They are perforated which suggests that they were intended to be strung together. The graduated size of the beads also suggests a necklace of massive size. After the discovery the beads were divided amongst various collectors. Gradually over a period of about 150 years nine of the original eleven were acquired by the Royal Irish Academy and the National Museum of Ireland, one is in the collections of the British Museum but the whereabouts of the one remaining bead are unknown.

HOARD CONTAINING A GOLD BRACELET, A GOLD DRESS FASTENER, TWO BRONZE RINGS AND AN AMBER NECKLACE. Meenwaun, [Banagher], Co. Offaly. c. 800-700 B.C.

GOLD AND AMBER BEADS. Cruttenclough, Co. Kilkenny. Later Bronze Age

Part of a hoard of gold ornaments consisting of collars, bracelets, two neck rings, and a double ring.
Mooghaun North, Co. Clare. с. 800-700 В.С.

14. Amber bead. Unknown locality. 900-500BC
Amber Nekclaces C. Cavan. 900-500BC

Bronze chain-link collar. Near O’Connor’s Castle, Co.Rosecommon. c900-500BC.

Collection of swords, Dowris Hoard. Doors sheath, Co.Offaly, c.900-500BC

Selection of horns and other objects of the Dowris Hoard. Doorosheath, Co. Offaly, 900-500BC.

Enamelled bronze belt buckles, Louth Gara, Co. Sligo. Late 7th-early 8thC AD

Penannular bronze brooch, Arthurstown, Co. Kildare, 6th-7thC AD.

Bronze mount with enamel and millefiori, Big Island Lugacaha, Co. Westmeath 6-7thC AD.

Bronze fibula with enamel insets Lough Ree, Co. Longford, 1stC AD.

Enamelled bronze mount, Coolure Demesne, Co. Westmeath, 7th-8thC AD.

Gilt bronze harness mounts, Athlumney Navan, Co. Meath, 8-9thC AD.

Ogham script is the earliest form of writing known in Ireland.
It is a system of linear symbols cut on either side of, or across, a baseline. Ogham is modelled on the Roman alphabet and consists of 20 letters. The key to ogham script is recorded in the Book of Ballymote, a later medieval text. More than 300 inscriptions survive on stone. They are particularly common in the southwest of Ireland and date to between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. Ogham stones surviving in parts of England, Scotland and Wales are a testament to Irish presence in these areas. The majority of inscriptions record personal names and can be considered commemorative inscriptions or perhaps boundary markers.

The Cross of Cong is one of the greatest treasures of the era. It was made to enshrine a portion of the True Cross acquired in AD 1122 by Toirrdelbach Ua Conchobair, High King of Ireland. An inscription records the names of Ua Conchobair, two high-ranking clerics and the craftsmen who made it.
The cross is made of oak covered with plain sheets of bronze. Panels decorated with animal interlace overlay these plain sheets. The relic, now missing, would have been visible behind the rock crystal at the centre of the cross-arms. A staff could be inserted at the base to enable the cross to be carried in procession. The shape of the cross-arms recalls the Tully Lough Cross, made almost four centuries earlier, but the decoration is in the late Scandinavian Urnes style. The glass and enamel studs are characteristic of Irish Romanesque metalwork.

The llth and 12th centuries witnessed the production of a large number of highly decorated religious objects. Croziers, which were used by abbots and bishops, are the commonest type of church metalwork from this period, but enshrined bells and books also survive. These items were symbols of power and authority. Inscriptions on some of these treasures name royal patrons and important churchmen and suggest that the commissioning of such objects was as much a political statement as it was a religious act. Political power in 12th-century Ireland was held by a small number of provincial kings who were generous patrons of the Church. A major reform of the Irish church at this time shifted power from the monasteries to bishops who controlled dioceses. Rivalries ensued as competing groups attempted to lay claim to these new centres of power. The production of ornate church treasures inscribed with the names of key political figures can be seen as a reflex of these power struggles.

Shrine of St. Lachtin’s Arm. Donaghmore, Co. Cork, c. AD 1120.

Saint Patrick’s Bell and Shrine, Armagh Co. Armagh, 6th-8th century AD and AD 1100.

Silver chalice, Reerasta, Ardagh, Co. Limerick, 8th century

Tomb shaped shrine, River Shannon, 8-9thC AD

The Golden Age of Irish Art.
Metal artefacts of the period show unparalleled skill and artistry. Ornamentation
on metal, on stone and on illuminated manuscripts shows close links in style and symbolism. Contacts with Pictish Scotland, Anglo-Saxon England, Germanic Europe and the Mediterranean region exposed Irish craftsmen to new metalworking techniques and art styles. Irish craftsmen blended these styles with native late Celtic ornament to produce a distinctive new style. The greatest artistic achievements of the new style date to between the late 7th and the early 9th centuries, a period often described as the Golden Age of early Irish art. The Church was a major patron of the arts and it enjoyed the support of important political families. Secular artefacts, such as the Tara brooch, also survive.

The Tara Brooch, Bettystown, Co. Meath, 8th century AD

Silver paten and bronze stand, Derrynaflan, Co. Tipperary, 8th century AD

Gold ribbon torc, near Belfast, Co. Antrim, 3rdC BC to 3rdC AD.

The Broighter Hoard
The hoard of gold objects from Broighter, Co. Derry, is the most exceptional find of Iron Age metalwork in Ireland. The tubular collar, miniature boat and cauldron, two neck chains and pair of twisted collars (torcs), which date to the Ist century BC, were found on the ancient shore of Lough Foyle in Co. Derry. The sea god Manannán mac Lir was associated with Lough Foyle and the place-name Broighter (from the Irish Brú lochtair) may be a reference to his underwater residence. Most notable is the model gold boat with its mast, rowing benches, oars and other fittings that can be regarded as an appropriate offering to a sea god. The decoration on the tubular collar appears to include a highly stylised horse, an animal that is especially associated with Manannán mac Lir.

DECORATED LEATHER BOTTLE, Found feet deep in bog, Cloonclose, Co. Leitrim, Early Medieval.

Replica of Gokstad Faering
The battle of Clontarf was fought on the shores of Dublin Bay and a fleet of Viking ships played a significant part. This boat is a replica of one found in 1880 in a burial mound at Gokstad, Norway, where a Norse lord had been buried in a great Viking ship dating to c. 900AD. Accompanying the ship was a smaller fishing boat, crewed by two oarsmen, known as a faering, which is in many respects a miniature Viking ship. It shares many of the same features and techniques – such as the clinker-built oak planking and the side rudder.

The Dunmore Cave hoard – This hoard was hidden in Dunmore Cave around 965-70.
The most interesting objects are sixteen hollow cones, woven from fine silver wire in three sizes. They were probably connected to a knitted fringe of exceptionally delicate coiled silver wire. The fringe, in turn, was probably attached to an imported silk cloth, of which a tiny fragment survived. There is also a decorated buckle and matching strap-end, whose form and decoration suggests that they were made in Dublin and this may also be true for the silver cones.

Skave Chain, Near Strokestown, Co. Rosecommon.
This fearsome chain and collar for a slave or hostage was found in Dublin and may possibly have been made there. It was found mid19-thC possibly on a crannog.

The shrine of the ‘Stowe Missal’, c.1030
This shrine held an 8th-century mass-book for the monastery of Lorrha. An inscription on the base requests prayers for the ‘king of Ireland, Donnchad, son of Brian and Gormlaith. Donnchad reigned for many years after Clontarf but was never generally recognised as king of Ireland. Lorrha, Co. Tipperary.

9th Century Viking cemeteries at Kalmainham and Irelandbridge, Dublin.
The Vikings in Ireland as elsewhere in Europe were not Christianised until the late 10thC. Their burial customs were pagan and the wealthiest were buried with their person: possessions. The cemeteries associated with the earliest, 9thC, Viking settlement at Dublin were located on a ridge overlooking the Liffey in the area now occupied by the modern suburbs of Kilmainham and Islandbridge. One of these cemeteries was located on the site of an earlier Irish monastery at Kilmainham. It is believed that the first Viking fortified encampment at Dublin, established in 841, may have been located nearby.
Most of the objects were recovered in the course of grave digging and in the building of the railway line in the 1840s, 50s and 60s. The presence of weapons, tools and brooches among the finds indicate that both men and women were buried there. The finds recovered represent at least fifty burials, and it is the largest known Viking cemetery outside

Eight iron swords, 10th-11thC.

Copper alloy buckles, belt ends and pins. 9thC.

Roasting spit? 9thC

Three pairs of copper alloy brooches with strings of glass beads.
Oval brooches are typical finds in women’s graves of the Viking Age and indicate that women of importance were also buried there. Spinning and weaving were tasks carried out by women and objects such as the whalebone ‘ironing board’, spindle whorls and bronze needle case are further evidence of female burials. The presence of a number of folding weighing scales, purses and weights indicates that some of the Viking settlers in ninth century Dublin were merchants while the iron tongs and hammers suggest the presence of smiths. Some of the brooches and pins from these burials are of Irish manufacture and indicate that the Vikings of Dublin, as elsewhere, adopted Irish fashions of jewellery and, perhaps dress.

Copper alloy balance scales, 9thC AD. With lead alloy weights.

One pair of Oval brooches, Finglas, Co. Dublin.

Museum replicas of Irish viking costumes.

Pair of copper alloy oval brooches and chain from a burial ot Arklow, Co. Wicklow. The chain is curiously Baltic in origin, it is possible the wearer may have been gifted the chain to wear with the locally made brooches, or herself came from that region.

Silver sword fitting – no known locality.

Ballinderry Crannog, Co. Westneath, c850-1000
The crannog, or artificial lake dwelling at Ballinderry, excavated in 1932, provides the most complete picture of life in a rural settlement between the late 9th and early 11th centuries. Its size and the variety and richness of the objects found suggest that it was the homestead of a prosperous farmer or a local king. The fields and pasture lands were probably located on nearby dry land, reached by hollowed oak longboats or canoes.

Wooden stave-built bucket, c.850-1000 AD.

Wooden gaming board, c.850-1000AD

Leather shoe, Carrigallen, Co. Leitrim, c.9-10thC.

16 SILVER ARM-RINGS – These arm-rings, made of thick bars of silver, are decorated with a variety of stamped patterns. They were current between the late 9th and early 10th centuries and over sixty examples are known from Ireland. They were manufactured in Ireland, probably in the Viking settlements and some have been found in hoards in Scotland, England and Norway.

GOLD ARM-RING – This simple but massive arm-ring, made of three twisted rods of gold, is the largest surviving Viking Age gold ornament from Ireland, weighing 375 g. The heaviest gold hoard from the Viking Age was also found in Ireland at Hare Island, Lough Ree in 1802 and consisted of ten gold arm-rings weighing approximately 5kg. Unfortunately, that hoard was melted down shortly after its discovery.

7 – silver ring ingot, part of a hoard from Derrynahich, Co. Kilkenny.
8 – silver brooch with gold filigree, Mohill, Co. Leitrim.
9 – Ring of silver penannular brooch in two pieces – location unknown.
10 – Head of silver kite brooch – location unknown.
11 – head of a silver thistle brooch – location unknown.
12 – Two silver rod arm-ring fragments, – location unknown.

WOODEN BUCKETS, Cloonarragh, Co. Roscommon, 10th-11 th century
Found together with a third, stave-built vessel in a bog. The stave-built vessel shown here is secured by a pair of wooden hoops, the other vessel is carved from a single block.

WOODEN BOWL, Cuillard, Co. Roscommon, 8th- 9th century, The bowl contained butter when it was discovered, indicating that the storage of butter in bogs was one way of keeping surplus food.

Inlaid glass beads, Clough Co. Antrim, Tristernagh. Glass bracelets and strings, c.8-9thC

Four lead alloy disc brooches, High St, Christchurch Place, Winetavern, c.8-9thC

Copper alloy buckles, belt and strap ends, High St, Winetavern, c.8th-9thC

Model of a typical Viking settlement in Ireland, c.8th-9thC

DUBLIN – Amber, glass, jet and Lignite.
Amber was brought to Dublin in lumps probably having been collected along the shores of the Baltic Sea, mainly in Denmark. These lumps were converted to beads, pendants, earrings and finger rings. An amber worker’s house was identified at Fishamble Street where the floor was strewn with several hundred waste flakes and tiny spicules. Jet was probably brought from Yorkshire, and was used mainly in the production of bracelets, finger rings and earrings. It too appears to been worked in Dublin as was glass, possibly from imported pieces of old Roman glass.

Amber pendants, finger rings, unfinished amber beads, necklaces beads and fragments. Fishamble St, c.8-9thC.

Glass beads, discs and spindles. Some unfinished. Fishamble St. c.8-9thC.
It is likely that some glass beads were made locally from pieces of broken glass imported from old Roman towns in England, such as Chester and York.

Antler and bone were used for knife handles, gaming pieces, buckles, and as panels for boxes. Bone was used for spindle whorls, spindles and weaving tablets. Whale bone was used for clamps or hand-vices as well as for caulking spatulas. Walrus tusk were also used for gaming pieces and pendants.

Decorated bone and antler plaques, and antler combs, Christchurch Place, Fishamble St. c.8-9thC.

Decorated antler strap ends. High St, Fishamble St.

Motif pieces, antler and bone. High St, Fishamble St. c.8-9thC

Weapons and Luxury Goods – 11th to 12th Centuries. Weapons, tableware and sets of gaming pieces were among the most prized possessions of kings and nobles in the early medieval period. Most of our knowledge of weapons from the later Viking Age comes from stray finds of objects lost in rivers and lakes. Shallow drinking bowls of copper alloy and silver were imported from the Continent. In some cases these imported bowls were adapted to Irish taste by the addition of enamelled hooks of local manufacture. Gaming boards and gaming pieces are known from the tenth century onwards. The game of chess, however, was not introduced to Europe from the Islamic world until some time in the eleventh century.

Copper alloy sword pommels, gilt copper alloy swords, Iron swords, locations unknown.
Iron axe head with wooden handle, River Robe, Ballinrobe, Co.Mayo. C11th.

Bronze bells, Donoghmore, Co Tyrone. 11-15thC

MANCHAN’S SHRINE (REPLICA), Lemanaghan, Co. Offaly, 12thC
The original shrine, made to contain the bones of St Manchan, was most likely produced by the same individual that produced the Cross of Cong. Its ornament, known as the Hiberno-Urnes style, is a blending of a late Viking art style with native Irish art. This nineteenth-century replica, which is a restored version of the original; made by Alexander Carte for Dr John Lentaigne.

Inscribed Grave Marker, Clonmacnoise, Co, Offaly. 9th-10thC.
One of several hundred memorial slabs from the cemetery of Clonmacnoise. It bears the name ‘Sechnasach’ along with a cross and some geometric ornament. It is unusual in that it is made from a reused mill or quern.

Shring, copper alloy, gilt and enamelled, early 11th C. Drum lane, Co, Cavan.

Leather satchel, 15th C, Drumlane Co. Cavan – to house the shrine.

Knight Jug. Wine jug decorated with figures of armoured knights and monkeys. It was imported from pottery kilns at Ham Green, near Bristol. Pottery, 13thC. Found High St, Dublin.

Wooden, two to four handed mether tankards. Carved from single pieces of alder, c.14thC. Co. Donegal.

Various precious and semi precious jewelled items.

Gilt silver cross pendant, c.1500. Provence not listed.

Gold finger ring, c.14thC. Provenance not listed.

Knitted cap, 16thC AD. Ballybunnion, Co. Kerry.
This knitted wooden cap was found in Co. Kerry in 1847. This style of cap was fashioned up to the 1580s and made from expensive materials. Often decorated with jewels and feathers. Traditional records that when it was found, the cap had a gold band around the crown.

Often overlooked, I love that the building this collection is housed in is somewhat of a work of art itself.

Bronze laver, believed to be Flemish, c.1425.

Cross Pendant, obverse is engraved with an image of the Crucifixion and symbols of four Evangelists.
Silver gilt with glass and garnet settings, c.1500. Near Callan Co. Kilkenny.

Rock crystal with silver mounting, 15thC.

Reliquary Cross, T-shapedor Tau cross indicates it was designed to protect the wearer from disease known as St Anthony’s Fire, whose symptoms included burning sensations. Contains a cavity to hold a reliquary. Gilt silver, c.1500.

Seal ring with a central image of a human figure inside the doorway to a turret castle. Flanked by engraved images of the Virgin and Child and Holy Trinity. Gold, 15thC, Girley, Co.Mealth.

Shrine of the Cathach. Made to contain a 7thC manuscript believed to be written by Columba himself. The Cathach (battler) was one of the chief treasures of the O’Donnells throughout the Middle Ages. They carried it into battle to bring good luck. IT’s keeepers were the Magroarty family, one of whom was killed when the shrine was captured in 1497. Wood with gilt silver, silver fittings, rock crystal. Late 11th-14thC, Ballynagroarty, Co. Donegal.

Shrine of Patrick’s Trail. This is a complex piece made up of portions of different objects. It’s a purse shaped form dates to the mid-14thC when it was covered at the request of Thomas Birmingham, Lord of Athenry. The shrine was used in the early 19thC for curing sick animals. St John, the Virgin Mary and figures of Irish Saints flank the figure of Christ on the front.

Bell, copper alloy, silver inlay. 11th-12thC. Scattery Island, Co.Clare.

Overall, this musuem on Kildare Street was well worth a visit. It has some fabulously obscure objects – though I did find the curation had more of a focus on *where* something was found rather then where is was created/made. Sometimes that info was a bit buried under the lead.

Belfast and Giants Causeway

Posted on 13 February 2025 by boryssnorc

I’ve wanted to come to Belfast and in particular go up to Giant’s Causeway since 1995. Only on that trip to the UK, we couldnt’. Myself, BigSal and BluddyMary had hired a car to drive around the UK for 6 weeks – extremely decadent, and only possible due to a corker of a British Airways deal that BigSal had found us; our BNE to LHR flights came with a free side trip to a number of European capitals and 7 days free car hire. Per person! Else, I’m not sure we could have afforded to hire a car for such a long period of time in our early 20s. There were, sadly, two restrictions on the whole travelling by rental car thing… 1) I was the only driver because the other two didn’t have their damn licenses! and, 2) we couldn’t take the rental car into Northern Ireland because of The Troubles. Having no desire to be blown up, bailed up or held up, and also being somewhat law abiding and risk adverse (we would not be insured if we did), we sensibly stayed away. Anyway, it’s been on my list ever since. Only 30 years in the waiting to get here… fucking puffins still on the list – but that is another story!

I found us a day trip from Dublin to see the Causeway and Belfast, (primarily to see the Titanic Museum), and while it promised to be a long day, I was hoping for a good guide so it would prove to be an informative and if we were lucky, entertaining. Happily, we had an amazing guide named, Quiggs. Quiggs was quick-witted, interesting, and stuffed full of interesting cultural and historical tidbits.

On the drive out of Dublin, we learned all about Irish oral story telling and musical traditions, and had a quick lesson in Irish language! Quiggs was raised speaking Irish and is one of only 2% of Irish people who are fluent in Irish… the Irish language is seeing a resurgence in recent years thanks to the promotion and sponsoring of Irish language programs in schools. It’s great to see them fostering their language before it is lost. Quiggs also spoke English (with a university level proficiency) and some French and German – which came in handy as we had people on our tour from France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Turkey, the US and all over. He set the tone early by laying down the law… he was not going to suffer lolllygaggers and threatened to make any late comers sing if they returned to the bus even one minute late and held up the entire group! I loved it! Great idea… more guides should rule their pax’s with the threat of public ridicule, I say.

Quiggs was particularly passionate about sharing his interest in Irish language, he told us all about how Irish speaking Catholics were subjugated and disenfranchised. Literally kids were beat at school for speaking Irish at school, those that were fortunate enough to attend school, that is. The children would be given a card to wear around their neck, and every time they were heard to be speaking in Irish, they would get a knot tied in their cord, which resulting in a numbered beating at the end of their school day.

Beating The English Language Into The Irish, Quite Literally

At one point in the English attempts to quash Irishness, educating Catholics was made illegal entirely and Hedge Schools emerged – as the name suggests, primary aged children were taught informally in the hedgerows.

The plan of course was to destroy Irish identity – it was banned in business, banned in parliament, in legal circles and in courts of laws. To the point where the Irish speaking Catholics were literally unable to defend themselves if accused of a crime. They would be put on trial, in English, and unable to explain or defend their actions in English, it led to a many wrongful convictions and even wrongful deaths. In order to maintain this status quo, Catholics were disenfranchised by minimising their voting power. Good Catholic families would breed prolifically, so outnumbered their Protestant counterparts quite considerably, so in order to suppress their voting power, they legislated that voting was connected to property ownership – one property, one vote. Thus ten adult Catholics living in one home only got one vote. One wealthy Protestant who owned multiple properties managed to get as many votes as properties he owned!

As we neared the border to Northern Ireland, Quiggs told us stories of The Troubles… personal accounts of incidents that happened to his grandfather, his mother and his father – they all had stories of tense face offs with border guards. His mother nearly got herself shot to pieces going across over the border in the wee hours of the night, when she fell asleep behind the wheel due to extreme fatigue and nearly drove into the guard house. She apparently woke herself at the last moment and slammed on the bakes; the guards were all standing, pointing at her with their firearms and yelling at her to get out of the car. It sounds like his poor Mam went into shock, and when the soldiers realised what had happened they took her inside, gave her coffee to wake her up and let her stop shaking before sending her on her way. His father’s run in-was somewhat more of a ‘fuck you’ student protest type interaction, where he was refusing to provide identification when trying to cross the border. All up, it sounded scary, tense and totally understandable that Hertz wouldn’t let us take our car into Northern Ireland in 1995!

We learned how political prisoners were treated by the English, and how they protested from their positions of incarceration – work strikes, ‘dirty strikes (refusal to use the toilets because they frequently got beaten for leaving their cells alone – so they took to pissing on the floors of their cells and smearing their shit all over the place), to hunger strikes. All of which didn’t move the English govt at all. Eventually the IRA decided to start trying to take over by electing members of their people to parliament and even elected people who were imprisoned, who naturally couldn’t take up their roles.

I’m going to have to do some more reading into how the current peace was reached, but in many ways, Quiggs was painting a situation that conveyed that even though the hard border is gone and most people want to co-exist in peace, there is still a lot of tension between the Irish Catholic part of the country and the Protestant northerners. The police stations and court houses still have 12’ tall, 3’ wide thick concrete wall around them, and the memory of frequent bombings at the Europa Hotel (The most bombed hotel in the world apparently… the IRA had a habit of setting off bombs in the hotel, as it’s location made it a prime spot for the world’s journalists to stay when they were covering the tensions, so when they wanted a bit of attention, a small bomb at the hotel would wake them up. Literally.) are still very recent. Quiggs says it wouldn’t take much to set the violence off all over again.

Belfast looks much like Dublin… though slightly fewer visible pubs perhaps? The name Belfast comes from the Irish words for ‘fast river’… which is neither here nor there at this point in this post. But there you have it.

We passed through Belfast and picked up some pax on our way north to the Giant’s Causeway. On the way we stopped at Dunluce Caste – or rather, what remains of it. Dunluce Castle is a ruin of a medieval castle in Northern Ireland and was/is (?) the seat of the Clan MacDonnel. It hangs out on the edge of a basalt outcrop in County Antrim and is only accessible by a bridge that connects it to the mainland. It is surrounded by incredibly steep slopes on either side and this was probably what made it so defensible for the early Christians when the Vikings were coming to invade. It’s been there for a solid 500 years, and was most recently made famous by being used as a film set in Game of Thrones to represent the Pyke Islands or something, which is where Castle Greyjoy is fantastically located.

Quiggs, himself.

So on the way out to the Causeway, Quiggs gave us a very Google-able explanation for the rock formations at Giant’s Causeway, but continued on to say that “That is all bollocks.”. Because, the real formation, as legend has it, was due to Northern Irelandw once being home to a giant named Finn McCool (also called Fionn Mac Cumhaill). At that time, there was another giant – Benandonner, across the Irish Sea in Scotland who was threatening Ireland, such that Finn retaliated by tearing up great chunks of the Antrim coastline and hurling them into the sea. The newly-created pathway – the Giant’s Causeway – paved an accessible route over the sea for Finn to reach Benandonner.

However, this turned out to be a bad idea as Benandonner is a massive giant, much bigger than Finn was! So, upon realising this, in order to save himself, Finn retreated to Ireland and disguised himself as a baby, thanks to an idea from his quick-thinking wife. When Benandonner arrives, he sees Finn disguised as a baby and realises that if a mere baby is that big, the father must be far larger than Benandonner himself!

Following this realisation, Benandonner rushes back to Scotland, tearing away as much of the Causeway as he can in his haste to put as much distance between Ireland and himself as possible. And thus, the myth of the Giant’s Causeway was born.

It was great fun rock-hopping around on the basalt at Giant’s Causeway – can’t say my new knee was super appreciative of it though… that or the cold is getting to it, which would be a bitch if it hangs around long term!

Ms Stephola doing her best interpretation of a siren…

Face in the rock face.

The Giant’s Gateway

Giant’s Causeway is a gorgeous area to explore. It was however, rather cold and while thankfully not raining, very windy and cold. They run a neat little electric bus shuttle up and down to the rocks (quiet and unobtrusive, good job) for the grand cost of £1 per person each way. So we availed ourselves of that service to get back to the quaint little pub near our pick up spot – called, would you believe it, “The Nook”..!

On a cold day like today – all I ever want is a cup of port. Sadly, had to settle for a polite glass of port instead.

One of the pax from our bus did the right thing – ordered himself a whiskey with an ‘e’, and a Guinness chaser.

Next stop on our little tour was to a look out point to see the suspension bridge that links this strange wee island to the mainland. And off in the other direction is a headland that was also used in Game of Thrones as ‘Dragonstone’… nope, I have no recollection of Dragonstone at all.

More brief Game of Thrones stops – this time the “Dark Hedges” which Arya is chased by someone through a foreboding looking forest. This was a disappointing stop – not because there has been a huge reduction in the amount of trees lining this avenue, because there has been; but because of the sheer amount of rubbish people have left laying around this area. Gotta say, if it’s a damn tourist spot you want and we are literally stopping by to admire the Nature (TM), you might want to provide more bins or invest in some people to clean up.

This is a Robin Redbreast – obviously – first one I have ever seen. He was super tame and let me take a handful of close photos of him before I accidentally startled him.

After that it was back to Belfast to drop some people to the city centre, while the rest of us went to the Titanic Museum… and what a cool building that turned out to be! The architect here really understood the brief. It’s as though the famously egotistical Bruce Ismay was in charge of the design of the Musuem “I wanted to convey sheer size, and size means stability, luxury, and above all, strength.”. The building is enormous, and starkly sits out beside the dockyards conveying exactly that – size, scale, general hugeness!

The displays inside were a bit too Disney-fied for my liking… by that I mean, I am getting sick and tired of museums that want to create an ‘experience’ to spoon feed the history to the unwilling. I saw it at Ghent Cathedral with their godawful virtual reality tour of the crypts; same with the over stimulating and confusing audio narrative at the museum for the Battle of the Bulge at Bourgogne which was so over the top, it prohibited visitors from reading ANY of the information plaques, and we see it again here with the over videos and 3D experiences and interactive exhibits. I get it! The internet age has seen people’s attention span shrink to that of a hyperactive goldfish – but there has to be some spaces left in-Hollywood’ed where solemn information can be absorbed in a mature and academic manner… doesn’t there?

Perfect example – this exhibit was about the designs and plans for the ship. But we can’t just have some images of extant plans and an explanation of the design principles in use and their various failings – no, we need to have 40’ projected scrolling floor of plans that distract you from absorbing any actual information about the actual plans. It looks cool – but did I learn anything? Nope.

The Arrol Gantry was specially built to construct the Titanic – as Belfast was a very famous ship building yard – but even here, they didn’t have anything large enough to support a build of this scale.

And then we got funneled onto the Titanic Experience Ride… It took about 8 minutes and I’m not sure what we were supposed to learn from this other than ‘shit be huge, bitches!’. There was no point to this. It talked about people working long hours, in sometimes dark and dangerous conditions in the bowels of the emerging ship. I can only imagine this it to stop iGen kids from getting bored…

They put us in a little car that was hung from these extending arms that lifted and dropped to show you different static projected images. It was soooo Disney, I cann’t describe it any other way.

Once we got past The Ride – there were more informative boards and images that showed how the ship was built, but I noticed, a LOT of people weren’t reading much, they were skipping on past looking for the next fast dopamine hit instead. You train people that they are there – and their attention for steady reading is gone!

Man this thing was huge! But it didn’t have anything on a modern cruise ship – so I am not sure why it still feels so enormous in the imagination.

So – the one thing I did learn was that the ship was actually launched officially nearly a full year before it sunk. I was unaware of this, and initially couldn’t figure out what it had been doing from May 1911 to April 1912 when it sank, until we got a bit further around and discovered that most of that time was the ship being outfitted. They built it on land, then launch it onto the water, and it was only then that the internal fittings – carpentry, furniture, staterooms, recreational facilities etc are all installed.

Literally launched here:

Back on the design of the actual museum – it is a very impressive building! And totally conveys the sense of scale / size / enormity that people associate with the Titanic.

After the section on the build of the ship, there was a few galleries dedicated to the fit out. The White Star Line and their custom crockery remind me of Third Reich crockery – though I don’t know why? Hubris, perhaps?

I have long been amused by cruise ship carpets – they are usually crazy bright bespoke creations that presumably are designed to cover a thousand spilled cocktails… seems this is not a new trend! The carpets on the Titanic were also bespoke designed bright coloured monstrosities.

Wood was used for many parts of Titanic’s internal fitout. Huge quantities of wooden furniture and fittings were made for her public rooms and cabins. Years ago in 2014, Mr K and I stayed at the Waldorf Astoria in New York for a week or so and we were told that the timber work and panelling in the lifts and lobby of that hotel were created by the same carpenters and cabinet makers who created all the timber work for the Titanic. It is literally the same wood and was made by the same highly skilled craftsmen.

Very cool – and you can definitely see the similar artistic influence being carried through from that location to that on the ship.

An extant copy of the luncheon menu from the day the Titanic sunk!

This is where the building, creating and fitting out info for the ship finished and we turned to the disaster of the Titanic sinking in the museum experience. You can feel the turn from explaining the scale and grandeur of the ship to the impending peril on this verandah that you traverse – it is designed to look like a promenade deck, complete with shuffle board, and a HUGE three story projection of roiling seas… suddenly things don’t feel so ‘marvel at our engineering’ anymore.

There were multiple story boards in a number of rooms that lead you through the disaster itself – many of which detailed the comms from the Titanic after it hit the iceberg all taken verbatim from the ship’s logs. Then the displays of the human toll: the survivors, and the not so fortunate.

A two story wall listing the names of all the people on the Titanic – very clearly showing how few were saved.

An extant life jacket – exactly like the ones in the film. It was recovered from an unknown Titanic victim. No records exist of who wore this jacket, it was recovered by the crew of the ‘Mackay-Bennet’ one of the ships that responded to give Titanic aid. Only twelve of the ship’s life jackets are known to remain out of a total of 3,500 that were onboard the ship. This makes it an extremely rare artifact. They were manufactured out of linen and cork of all things.

Downstairs is long gallery listing the changes to maritime safety that were introduced after the Titanic sunk. The new laws enforcing that all ships needed to have at least as many lifeboat spaces as the number of people that could board, as well as laws that required safety drills that included passengers, and laws regulating binoculars for lookouts and maximum speeds in ice fields in the North Atlantic… apparently these things were more ‘guidelines’ prior to the Titanic disaster.

It’s hard to fathom the depths of the ocean – I can’t envisage it. I also can’t imagine why some dedicated their lives to hunting for this ship.

An original deck chair from Titanic – recovered from the surface by the same ship, the ‘Mackay-Bennet’. It has a star on the headrest indicating the White Star Line and a brass name tag on the rear – it is one of only six known to have survived.

This is a ‘loving cup’ made of sterling silver presented to Sir Arthur Henry Royston, the captain of the Carpatia – the first ship to respond to Titanic’s calls for aids. It was given to him by Margaret “Molly” Brown. She also gave his entire crew medals made of gold, silver and bronze depending on their rank and chair a fund-raising committee for survivors.

The Unsinkalbe Molly Borwn and Captain Rostron of the Carpathia.

This must be one of the most famous violins in the world. It belonged to one of Titanic’s heroic musicians, Wallace Hartley. It was apparently a gift from his fiancée, Maria Robinson. It was made in Germany, c.1880 and was engraved : “For Wallace on the occasion of our engagement from Maria”. The violin has become an ubiqutious symbol of courage of spirit of those very famous musicians who chose to play until the very end of the Titanic disaster. They are the reason we say, “And the band played on…” to describe bravery in the face of adversity.

The next gallery was full of Titanic paraphernalia in popular culture – bit like the ‘References’ section at the bottom of a Wikipedia page! Most of it was a bit naff.

I’m not sure about this – I know the Jack and Rose thing on the movie made the whole picture on the bow thing famous – but this tableau for tourist to have their photo taken in, felt a little tasteless right at the end of the section of the museum that delved most into the disaster and its impacts. Naturally after this, you exit through the gift shop – and while it was filled with what seemed like really nice quality gifts and souvenirs, it somehow felt a bit unseemly to be buy t-shirts or coffee mugs with Titanic written all over them.

I do love the grand scale of the building.

After the museum, we went back to the city centre and collected some of our group before the long drive back to Dublin. It was a very long day – we were out for about 12 hours, but it was very informative and Quiggs was fantastic throughout.

Hakone Part II

Posted on 16 November 2024 by boryssnorc

There is quite a lot to do in the Hakone area, last time I was here, I went to the Open Air Museum, the Venetian Glass Museum and had driven around from Atami through the mountain pursuing views of Fujisan. This time, we were in Hakone proper – down town to taste the delights; and I mean ‘taste’ quite literally. Hakone has become rather Insta-famous for its local food offerings.

The Haya River that we followed all the way down from Nishiyama yesterday.

More Hakone marquetry… it’s everywhere and I love it and want to take it all home, but I know the minute it leaves here and I attempt to juxtapose these things into my home, it will feel out of place, and I will wonder why I bought it. So I was restrained and didn’t buy any kitchen trays, or coasters, or a tissue box cover, or desk set items. Very mindful. Very demure. Very 2024…

Recontextualised Kokeshi dolls… Star Wars. Made me wonder though : where are the shelves of Pokémon cross over Kokeshi?

The whole main drag of Hakone is shops and famous snacks, shops and famous snacks. One of the most iconic (and Instagram’d) snacks are the Castella-yaki Hakone Manju mini-cakes made by Kikukawa Shoten… try saying that five times fast after a bottle or two of saké. They are a small western-style manju cake – a lightly sweetened sponge cake encasing a white bean paste, stamped with a cute onsen symbol and literally saying ‘Hakone’. The machine making these was really quite neat, loads of people were video’ing the machine working, and taking photos of themselves eating their fresh and warm ¥80 manju cake. Yes, these things are so famous everyone who comes here buys one to put on their socials, and they are still only AUD$0.80 each.

Further up the street is a hippy dippy crystal shop – you can’t seem to get away from these. They are in every corner of the globes… I’ll have to tell Col Dazzles it’s here – he loves these places.

Japanese Dango snacks – sticky savoury rice dumplings on a stick. They come in a bunch of different flavours and are cooked over charcoal… we thought we would try the miso walnut flavour.

Oishii! Miso-y, walnut-y, gooey goodness… also comes in sesame and onsen flavours? No idea what ‘onsen’ flavours are, but if it’s kinda local sulphuric goodness, no thanks!

This guy was in this box all day, packing soba noodles into small packages for sale. I’m not sure why he had to be in a box like a zoo exhibit, but man he was quick with his task.

Daruma cups… cranky faced Daruma. I like him (he ended up coming home with us).

Kamaboko is another type of Hakone local snackage – it’s a type of fish cake made from processed fish paste. They’re very popular and we have seen kamaboko appearing in our breakfasts in particular over the last few ryokans. They’re apparently a specific produce known from this region (Hakone, Odawara, Numazu) – there’s even a museum around here somewhere showing how they’re made. And like all things in Japan, anything worth doing is worth doing excessively well, or artistically. Here they have definitely raised their kamaboko fish paste snacks into an art form!

We decided to have a a late lunch today as we planned to skip dinner. And planned to do so in two stages – because I wanted sushi, and Mr K wanted tempura or a donburi. So first, we found a little izakaya where Mr K could find something yummy to suit his preference, and in a couple of hours, we are going to hunt down some sashimi for me.

Of course, while I was there ostensibly to make sure Mr K got himself some tempura and donburi or similar, I did have time to get myself a wee bottle of Hakone Mountain saké and some super rare, wagyu nigiri… nice entree to my sushi later! I love how they always assume I need two cups with my saké even when Mr K has ordered a beer!

Mr K managed to find himself a pork tonkatsu and some nice fresh chicken karaage. After Lunch Stage 1, we kept wandering the street checking out all the shops… saw this awesome foot bath just outside a random shop selling condiments and sauces! Love it!

I think cooling foot baths would go down a treat in downtown Brisbane in mid-summer, but if you saw a public water feature like this at home and put your feet in it, you’d likely get a talking to by the cops!

It was very overcast today and I was hoping things would clear for when we caught up with the Messrs Stokes tomorrow. It would be rather sad to not get any good views of Fuji in, but we can’t control the weather – and while we couldn’t see the mountain, I was enjoying the moody atmosphere it created in the town.

Lunch Stage II: Nakamuraya Sushi… great menu, obviously used to tourists who can’t make up their mind. Slightly expensive compared to seaside towns on the west coast, but oh so fresh and delicious!

Another wee bottle of saké, though this time it’s was some mystery junmai that the landlady chose. I didn’t even ask! Wasn’t the cheapest on the menu, wasn’t the dearest either.

Mr K’s pickle baby nori rolls, and I ordered the Supreme sashimi bowl – complete with salmon, tuna, fatty tuna, scallop, ebi, uni, unagi, mackerel, yellow tail, cuttlefish, cod roe and god knows what else! Amazingly fresh, delicate and absolutely delicious! This is going to ruin sushi for me for at least the next six months in Australia! Oh wait.. in six months, we will be back. Brilliant! Carry on…

After a bit of a wander around the town some more, I told Mr K that we had to stop for a famous Hakone Terimisu ice cream… we had come past here earlier in the day and there was literally a packed rope line keeping patrons in line to buy their famous Terimisu ice creams. Now, I fucking hate coffee, but Mr K loves it, so *shrug* he took one for the team so I could take a pic of just one more iconic Hakone snack. Please note, none of the Insta-snackables actually ended up on Instagram.

The hardships of it all! I did buy some strawberry and brandy flavoured puddings to take back to the hotel tonight – given we are skipping dinner tonight in favour of Lunch in Two Parts, some light puddings might be nice after the onsen later!

Hakone is really pretty – it feels rural, a bit like all the other little onsen towns we have been visiting, but it also feels a bit like Montville or Leura in the Blue Mountains, in that it is so heavily touristed, it feels like a totally fabricated place for the local city dwellers to get away to, to kid themselves that they’ve actually gotten away from Tokyo for a bit.

Managed to find a really nicely stocked saké shop so I could buy a few small selections to add to the ume-plum/pity saké I had bought in Minakami to share with ColDazzles when he arrives – apparently he isn’t into saké… Yet! But we have plenty of time to bring him around to the rice side!

Great selection.

We expected to see way more tanukis now we were back out of the Gunma region as they have been really prevalent when we were down this way before, but sadly, not many to be found until I spotted this 3’ cutie.

After this, it was back to the ryokan, and we will be back to a bit of Saturday morning sightseeing tomorrow.

Met up with the Messrs Stokes after they had what sounds like a trying morning of trains and no taxis. There’s a lot to be said for studying the public transport from ann objective distance! First stop after we got them settle was to head off for the Hakone-jinja shrine. Sadly, it was a lot more overcast than I had hoped, I don’t think we will see the mountain peeking through today.

The Hakone-jinja shrine dates to 757AD. Military commanders used to come to this shrine to pray which is what initially brought it nationwide fame. Another popular group of people who would come worship at this shrine were travellers and pilgrims who would come to pray for safe travels. Nowadays the shrine’s ’Heiwa no Torii’, or Red Gate of Peace which stands proudly tall out towards the Lake Ashinkoko has become a ridiculously Insta-worthy tourist spot… people line up here literally for HOURS to get their selfies in front of the torii gate. HOURS! I can’t fathom it when you have limited time in town.

When we arrived there were groups and groups of tourists lining up for their chance for a selfie, and it looked like it might be impossible to get a shot without anyone in it. A group of six Chinese tourists had just scurried into prime photo position and started taking their pictures of each other in small and large groups when I struck up a conversation with three Americans from Michigan who were next in line… I asked them if I might have 30 seconds to take some photos with no one in front of the gate, before they moved in. They were happy to let us take a moment, and in return I offered to take some group pics of the three of them together. What a zoo, though! These girls had waited an hour and twenty minutes for their photos in front of the gate; seriously, the weather is making for very average light for selfies in front of the gate, I don’t get it.

More pirate ships. Fuji in the background all covered in clouds.

After a brief stop at the shrine, we made our way to the Hakone Checkpoint – but first a Tea Cup. But not just any Tea Cup, this one had a Great Wall of Saké. Amazing!

Felt just like being back in Takayama… I could have spent an hour here trying all the saké, but with one minor in tow, we kept moving.

The Hakone Checkpoint was originally an inspection facility during the Edo Period (1603-1868) which was designed to help keep Edo safe (Tokyo, as was). It was considered the major checkpoint for all parts of Japan, and there was a network of as many as fifty checkpoints across the country across the period. Nearly all the checkpoints were abandoned well before the 1860s. There is a lot of information here on the reconstructed Checkpoint itself, how it was constructed, what kind of tools and techniques were used to rebuild the medieval buildings, and how it was completed using authentic methods in 2007.

It took a little bit more digging to figure out what this checkpoint was actually used for. Turns out it was primarily a point used to control the proliferation of firearms (fair enough), and to patrol and control women attempting to escape Edo and their horrid arranged marriages (fuckers). Women have been put upon in every culture in every corner of the globe for ever.

The six meter-high Kyoguchi Gomon gates.

Sadly there were not a lot of plaques with English available for translation, and the ones I did translate seemed more to be about the reconstruction of the site rather than the period use of the site.

Diorama showing the women attempting to escape Edo being inspected – reminded me of traversing Pakistani customs!

The site of the checkpoint is really quite beautiful by the lake, definitely a nice spot to stop and enjoy the natural surroundings. Each summer, large fireworks festivals are held on the lake that set off tens of thousands of fireworks with Fuji in the background, and attract loads of visitors.

After our potter around the checkpoint, we head for a quick spot of lunch and then head back to our ryokan for the evening.

Nishiyama Onsen – Keiunkan

Posted on 14 November 2024 by boryssnorc

Nishiyama Onsen and a stay at Keiunkan was a bit of a last minute addition to our itinerary and took us somewhat out of our way, but this particular ryokan has been somewhere that I have wanted to visit for a few years now. The drive to get there was beautiful and we chased views of Fuji though the mountains and the clouds throughout the morning.

Ducks heading north away from Fujisan… though I thought when you’re in the northern hemisphere, ducks were supposed to go south when it gets cold?

The afternoon light as we followed the Haya River towards Nishiyama was less than stellar – I am hoping we get some better opportunities to stop for some photographs of the stunning landscape on the way back out tomorrow.

Gorgeous…

Nishiyama Onsen Keiukan… unsurprisingly with some very established and well placed Japanese maple trees at their entrance.

We arrived at Keiunkan about 2:30pm – and even though we were early, the staff were extremely welcoming and accommodated us immediately. Keiunkan has been recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records, to be the oldest and longest established, continuously running hotel in the entire world and as such has an extremely long history of exceptional hospitality.

Known fully as Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan, it is located in Yamanashi Prefecture and was founded in 705AD by a man named Fujiwara Mahito. It is an exemplar of the Japanese ‘shinise’ concept, which means, ‘long established business’, and is possibly the oldest independent company in operation after a Japanese shinise construction company, called Kongō Gumi, was sold/merged in 2006. It’s amazing that they have continuous records of the hotel on this site for so long.

I was curious to know what was so special about the location or facilities of this particular ryokan that allowed it to remain a viable business for so many hundreds of years. Built originally by Fujiwara Mahito, who was the son of a counsellor to Emperor Tenji, the 38th Emperor of Japan, the onsen gained popularity for the quality of its waters, and as a way station between Gunma and Tokyo. Many famous guests have stayed here, including the current Emperor of Japan… and now us!

The ryokan was in the same family for 52 generations, (including having been passed down to some adopted heirs), right up until fairly recently when in 2017, when none of the extended family members wanted to take over the ryokan. When this occurred, a special company was set up and the ryokan’s long standing general manager, Kenjiro Kawano was selected as the new president. Because he was unrelated, he was unable to inherit the company that owns the ryokan, so ownership was transferred to a new holding company which allowed continuity of business, but sadly, the chain of family ownership was finally broken after an impressive 1300 years.

The lobby and reception area are on the top floor of the ryokan, all the guest rooms are down towards the gorge. We are on the first floor, which is the same level as the onsens.

I have no idea what this object is… it is covered in representations of so many artistic symbols, I couldn’t make head nor hide of it, but it attracted my attention nonetheless.

The hotel in it’s current incarnation was completely refurbished and some sections rebuilt entirely only a few decades ago – I imagine in it’s long long history, it has seen many sections closed and rebuilt in order to stay current to the needs of contemporary guests.

Our room had a small indoor rock garden by the front door.

Having added this stay to our trip only a few weeks ago, I had only managed to book a standard Japanese style room. Rooms with private open air baths are limited, and there are only 37 rooms in total in the entire hotel, which is larger than many of the places we are staying but still considered a small hotel.

Our room was a well appointed Japanese style room with tatami mats and low Japanese table and chairs. It takes a bit of getting used to, having all things at such low levels in the room – all the tea making facilities, phone, artworks, drawers; everything is designed to be at eye level, when you’re seated on the floor.

The ryokan is said to have an extensive collection of art that has been accumulated over the many years, and of course it gets cycled in and out of use in accordance with the seasons.

Arrival snacks – something sweet, and unusually something savoury to try later. Mushrooms… my favourite and thankfully Mr K is ambivalent.

Japanese tea making set, coffee, and a thermos of ice water.

Our room also came with a pair of comfortable couches with views from the large picture window down to the gorgeous Haya River.

We had pyjamas and yakuta, hanten coats and tabi socks provided; Keiunkan has their own custom yukata designs that showcases a lovely maple leaf design.

The bathroom was small but well appointed, including a Japanese style tub (small, but deep – perfect for a short arse like me!), that fills with hot water from the onsen. God, what I wouldn’t give for unlimited high alkaline, natural, hot spring water on tap at home!!

I’ll never get used to the bathroom slippers here… you leave your outdoor shoes at the genkan (front entry way), have some slippers to wear around the ryokan, then some different slippers (or sometimes just socks) to wear in your room, then if you step outside near the onsens, geta wooden sandals, and these random slippers that are just for wearing for the two minutes you might be in the bathroom! The toilet sorry, not the bathroom.

Most of our ryokan experiences have been in rooms with private open-air or semi-open air baths, due to my tattoos. Even onsens where they are happy to let people with tattoos use the public onsens, I am aware that my rather large dragon tattoo makes other people around me uncomfortable – so one of the first things we did on arrival was to book to use one of the private onsens available here. We booked the Seoto bath for 3:30pm, while many guests were still arriving and checking in.

The entrance above to one of the large public onsens – was set up for men at the time, and like most ryokans, they change the spaces at some point in the day so guests can use all facilities at different times of day.

I could see these covered passageways from up in the Lobby and Lounge are which is located on the third floor. The onsens are on the first floor and you take a lift to get down to these floors.

There was a small change room, and a small shower space outside, but we had chosen to shower up in our room before coming down.

Wow! The Seoto No Yu is such a beautiful space! It is said to be large enough to accomodate ten people, and I can imagine if you had ten friends you wanted to nude up with, yes, you could all fit in here, but we had the place to ourselves and it felt so luxurious.

It must be a never ending battle for the staff to be scooping the leaves out of the waters, but to be honest, to see these deep red leaves floating in the water, they looked very seasonal and added to the autumn feel of the whole garden space. Feeling thoroughly spoiled.

Cum pot saké… that’s not really what it is called, it’s just our long running joke with the super cloudy sakés.

I could certainly get used to this!

Even with the leaves floating delicately on top of the water, the water was so clean and hot and fresh… I noticed a couple of leaves that had slipped to the bottom of the water, and it was like looking at them under glass.

You come out of the onsen feeling like you have bones of jelly, and sometimes a little lightheaded. There is a small room to relax after your onsen bath, complete with vending machines full of alcoholic beverages and soft drinks, to rehydrate and cool down before heading back to your room. They recommend not drinking too much when using the onsen baths – but I notice nearly every ryokan provides plenty of alcohol should you wish to imbibe!

We tend to think that rehydrating thing is for suckers – so more saké for the people!

Decided to try the weird little pickled mushroom snack that was provided as a small arrival gift… OMG! One of the most amazing things I have ever tasted, such strong earthy, umami flavours – absolutely delicious! I immediately jumped on the internet trying to find these mushrooms so I could take some home. I even had Yale who was on a train heading back to Tokyo on the job – his Google-fu is often unparalleled in such things. Turns out that these are a rare snack – rare to have them offered to us as an arrival gift in the onsen, and even more rare to find in shops! FFS of course they are. Yale found that there was a shop he could have bought them in – in Takayama where he was yesterday, if we had known about them then.

Le sigh… always the way. Keep your eyes peeled when in Japan people! These were OISHI!!

While I was busy translating my mushroom package, I also took a moment to try and figure out what exactly was in the hand lotion I bought in Kusatsu. There are many many skin care products made in Japan that are created from the by-products of saké production – I haven’t looked into it too much, but they make for lovely smooth products that 1) don’t reek of roses, lavender or other random flowers and 2) tend not to be oily or leave residue over everything you touch. I bought this hand lotion as the water in Kusatsu was quite acidic and my hands felt noticeably dry… translating the bottle didn’t help me figure out what was in it though!

Mr K and I getting ready for our kaiseki dinner in the ryokan’s restaurant – here, they use a large banquet space, and screen spaces off for privacy rather than purpose built private dining rooms; I believe it is because this is a popular wedding destination and the ryokan has been used for state occasions, so they need the large room for large or important occasions.

I really love the designs on the yukata here, and they’re made from a lovely cotton fabric also.

Of course, we started off dinner with some… saké. My body would be complaining something fierce if I had been drinking this much wine, but for some reason the sugars from rice wine don’t seem to bother me as much.

Feast of Shimotsuki Menu, starting with an apéritif of plum wine.

Layered construction: shingen minobu toso; mackerel.

Steamed duck with salt; Boiled Komatsuna Mushrooms; Salmon roe sushi; Sweetfish roe and small Ishikawa potatoes; Grilled miso vegetables.

Sashimi course: Akane konjac stacking: Shingen, Minobu Yokei, Various wives??? Hmmm interesting translation! Pretty sure it’s referring to the condiments.

Koshihikarai rice from Minamiuonuma (Niigata) with chestnuts; Ichika’s Thing: pickled bettors, spicy cucumber and wine radish; Red miso soup.

Little bit of onsen + little bit of saké = very relaxed for a change.

Turnip kettle with minced beef and miso paste.

Chestnut noodles.

Grilled mountain fish with salt.

Joshu beef grilled on lava rocks. Specially selected Joshu black A5 wagyu beef, garnished with vegetables and served with ponzu sauce, and yuzu pepper and salt pepper.

Hot spring Jelly Minobumoto …

Clear onsen water jelly, added some molasses type syrup and matcha flavoured powder, and dip in yuba and fruits… very unusual, but super tasty.

While we were at dinner, the staff had turned out futons for us. I filled the small tub in the bathroom and had a good long soak… the water quality here is excellent. I love it.

In the morning, we had booked to use the other bath, Kawane No Yu for 7am before breakfast… was a great plan. One of the best laid plans!

The bath was identical to the other private bath we used yesterday, only we could tell the staff had an easier time with the leaves this morning as it wasn’t as windy today. These lovely rock surrounded onsens are like something out of a movie… you can tell the spaces are so carefully designed to take full advantage of the natural surrounds, and the gardens have been very specifically planted to provide shelter and beauty. I just love it… I could onsen hop every year, I think.

My biggest challenge with the yukata at any of these ryokans? They’re not designed for the busty! Thankfully I picked up a packed of safety pins at a Family Mart on our second day here and I’ve been able to pin myself together rather than go off to breakfast looking like some blond bimbo anime whore!

Breakfast this morning consisted of carrot juice, miso salmon, chicken dumpling, steamed tofu with ponzu sauce, konjac sashimi, rice porridge, marinated eggplant, grated yam, miso soup with baby clams, assorted pickles, local rice, green salad and yoghurt with blueberries and raspberries! At home? Breakfast is a cup of tea… and I might remember to eat something around 11-11:30am.

The salmon this morning was really lovely – subtle miso flavour and perfectly cooked.

I made some of it into little nori rolls… so fresh and delicious.

Steamed vegetables wrapped in Tamago.

We hadn’t had this dish before served this way before, I think perhaps it’s not particularly common in Gunma… steamed tofu that you tip a light ponzu sauce onto, stir it in and eat with a spoon. Delicious and savoury in the morning. More usually, you will hav cubes of tofu served with a ponzu sauce to dip the tofu in.

Rice porridge… not a fan. It’s like eating a consummé with barley floating in it or something.

Miso soup with nearly every meal is a genuinely wonderful element of Japanese cuisine, and in these ryokans, even the ordinary miso soups are far superior to anything I’ve had back home.

After breakfast I stopped by the reception to fix up our bill… it’s often best to do this earlier in the morning before everyone is trying to do the same at check out time. Happened by the gift shop for a sticky beak.

I must not buy saké to take home! I must not buy saké to take home! Last year, my saké brewery hopping resulted in the buying of a whole new suitcase to bring home with us last year! I mUSt NOt buY sAké tO TaKE hoMe!!!

I totally bought some ‘hot spring violence’ to take home though! It’s little packages of onsen minerals to add to your bath. LOL.

OMG THE MUSHROOMS!!!!! Feels like a find of the century – to add to my already impressive pickle hunt. YES!!! Umami mushroomy goodness for the people… who knew fungi could bring such joy?
*happy dance*

I may have also bought myself a yukata in Keiunkan’s special custom design. Before too long, it was time to pack up and head off to our next stop… what a lovely stay at a truly traditional ryokan. Everything was exquisite – the rooms were beautiful, the onsens were amazing, the food was top shelf, and the staff were so friendly and so very welcoming and helpful. I highly recommend this ryokan. 10/10.

The pot is boiling over.

Posted on 24 July 2024 by boryssnorc

Being in Germany for the last month, the news that has permeated the zeitgeist (and the language barrier) most readily was Spain prevailing over England in the World Cup. But there has been a LOT going on globally and I’ve been catching up on the past month’s news over the last 24 hours since I got home. Over the last couple of weeks: the UK booted out their conservative government, France also rejected right wing extremism, there was an assignation attempt on Trump, J.D. Vance was announced as Trump’s running mate, Israel’s occupation over Gaza has been declared illegal, Crowdstrike and Microsoft demonstrated some stunning global IT vulnerabilities, Biden withdrew his candidacy, Harris has emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee and is steaming ahead with a record breaking campaign (in terms of donors and volunteers). I have no idea what’s been happing in Australia, haven’t got that far yet… other than Gina Whatsherfart and Dutton deciding they like nuclear power a couple of weeks ago (?), but I’ll get into that later.

Any way, one thing I saw stood out a LOT, even among all this noise, was these signs at the fascism-fest that was the Republican National Convention…

Yeessss… subtle they are not! They are fucking huge alarm bells going off.

A couple of weeks ago I was at the Jewish Museum in Berlin and was struck by a room that was lined on both walls with displays of the chronology of legislation that was enacted to slowly restricted the freedoms and rights of the Jewish people under the Third Reich. It started in 1933 and it showed how the lives of the Jewish people in Nazi Germany and eventually Nazi occupied Europe, were slowly and steadily having their rights eroded.

One week, it was Jewish lawyers losing the rights to practice law, the next it’s Jewish student teachers being sacked. The following week Jewish people can’t serve in the civil service, then Jewish doctors can’t treat non-Jewish patients, then Jewish tax accountants had their licences revoked, then civil servants can’t be married to Jewish people. And so on and so forth, until the edicts were codifying that Jewish people can only live in certain parts of various cities, that the property of Jewish people will be forfeited to the state, then Jewish people will be deported and they end up in walled and patrolled ghettos, then they get pushed out of the ghettos to concentration camps, and we all know where this tragic history ended up going.

(If you want to know more about how and when these insidious and pervasive laws were rolled out click HERE.)

The Jewish people in Nazi Europe were frogs in a boiling pot – slowly but inevitably having their rights and humanity stripped away from them, and if they (and the global community) had known where it was going from the outset, history might have turned out completely different.

It is not alarmist to say the Trumpian vision of the US is on the same trajectory – only they’re not planning on boiling that frog slowly. Trump and his advisors are stating unequivocally that they plan to forcibly remove ‘illegal immigrants’ from the United States via forced expulsion and deportation camps. DEPORTATION CAMPS. They are promising to remove 20 million ‘illegal immigrants’; this is a number that far exceeds the estimated number of undocumented residents currently living in the United States, many of whom have been born in the US and have never seen the countries they would be theoretically deported to… And if anyone thinks these deportation camps would be run with any administrative rigour or with any humane consideration whatsoever – just remember the family separation policy that was instituted under the last Trump administration. From April 2018 to June 2018, families arriving at the border saw adults prosecuted and held by in federal jails and subsequently deported, and their children were placed under the supervision and control of the US Department of Health and Human Services. This resulted in over 5,500 children being removed from their parents and the short lived ‘children in cages’ media outrage. No one is talking about it anymore, but as at March 2024, this year – just four months ago! – there are still 2000 children that haven’t been able to be reunited with their families.

“MASS DEPORTATIONS NOW!” is not a slogan for a slow and inexorable removal of rights for people who land on the wrong side of Trump’s bigotry… it is a massive red flag heralding the systematic xenophobic persecution of immigrants based on the ultra conservative values outlined in the Project 2025 manifesto. Trump has stirred and stoked the worst type of fear in these people with his asinine assertions that migrants are ruining their lives. Crime is statistically much lower than during his tenure, but he’s at those rallies and on Fox News bleating about ‘migrant crime’ and, ’Biden migrant crime’ and it’s feeding the worst impulses in his followers.

The pot is already boiling. The whole world can see where this is going… I find myself hoping that the average American is more decent than deplorable, but whenever I think about it too long I worry that most of them are largely apathetic.