Weekend activities

[gurdymonkey]

The ever lovely and talented takadai_no_tora came up to visit this weekend.

Our first stop Saturday, by request, was Daiso Japan over in Daly City. I've mentioned this Japanese 100 yen chain before. For reasons only known to the Klearance Kami, they had New Year's decorations! I now have a shimenawa garland with a lion dancer mask and sprigs of pine on it for Rising Sun camp next year. Since I actually liked the cheap kitchen knife I bought there on my last trip, I got another of the same make in the next size up. Tora got some bargain papers which she uses for bookbinding.

From there, we went into downtown SF to the kimono fashion show at the Asian Art Museum. Having had lousy luck trying to use a camera in the gloomy cavern that is Samsung Hall, last year, I didn't bother trying to get photos. Most of this year's designs by Tomita Nobuaki were keyed to the current Drama and Desire exhibit of Edo period paintings from Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. I rather liked the kimono decorated with kai awase shells, and the red and white butterfly furisode. After the fashion show, we checked out the exhibit itself. My absolute favorite painting has to be this work by Katsuchika Oi.

We wandered across the street to the SF Public Library, who had some ettiquette and ettiquette spoof books on display, then headed up to Japantown. Most of the shops were closed or closing, but we had big slurpy pots of noodles at Mifune, then headed back over to the East Bay for a gelato at the food court in Emery Bay.

Sunday's plan to hit the antique market was scotched when we got there and found an insanely huge line at the gate. I wouldn't be surprised if a recent news article about the market had generated the turnout, because it wasn't exactly a beautiful day - yet. Instead, we hopped BART back into the city and hiked around Chinatown most of the afternoon. Yes, the shopping up and down Grant Street is totally touristy, but I came home with a very pretty choker of jade beads, a silk sleep shirt sort of thing with a dragon on it that is a lot prettier than it sounds if you're thinking Chinatown Tourist Schlock, and a pashmina shawl in green and rust that just spoke to me. I can't remember what all Tora bought, but she got some Mah Jong tile jewelry and a few other goodies of her own. At one point we were walking up Bush Street and I glanced up and saw we were passing a very pretty church, Notre Dame des Victoires. We went in. It's a mid 19th century confection with very pretty windows, and it was founded by French immigrants who'd settled in SF.

We had a rather lateish lunch at the Far East Cafe - a cavernous restaurant that looks like something out of a 1930s movie with massive lanterns hanging from high ceilings, dark paneling and small private booths along one side of the room. I had the roasted pork and oyster hotpot, which turned out to be generous on the oysters, making up for the rather fatty bits of pork.

All in all, an enjoyable, if busy weekend.

Comments

[eleryth.livejournal.com]

I saw Drama and Desire when it was at the ROM in Toronto and really enjoyed it. I'm glad others are, too! Sounds like you had quite the weekend.

[danabren.livejournal.com]

*sigh*

*envy*

[takadai-no-tora.livejournal.com]

What gurdymonkey said. The kimono show and "Drama and Desire" were both fascinating--I've seen a lot of ukiyo-e prints, but this was the first time I'd seen the paintings.
I also got New Year's decorations at Daiso as well as a 2-pack of dollhouse size tatami mats, one of which is already in service as a coaster for my Japanese tea cup.
We truly did hike all over Chinatown and that was after we hiked up the hill to get there in the first place.

[bebemochi.livejournal.com]

Thank you for posting that painting! It is definitely a wealth of outfit inspiration. :D
I'm so jealous of cool museums and hyaku en stores. I wish I could just fold the US in half sometimes.

[takadai-no-tora.livejournal.com]

Doesn't Columbus have any cool museums? I can understand how you wouldn't find hyaku en stores thick on the ground.

[bebemochi.livejournal.com]

We have one art museum that I get to whenever the exhibit is interesting (recently: wedding dresses from Victorian times on, many of them local), but aside from that, they're all military museums with fairly static material. We're right next to Ft. Benning. I try to keep my ear to the ground about cool events, but sometimes I miss stuff.
One thing we do have is a bunch of "Oriental" markets and restaurants. For a town this size, it's pretty awesome to have both Korean and Vietnamese restaurants. Again, it's prettymuch because of Ft. Benning.