Onsen, museums and the usual stuff

My life goes on here in Tokyo. The work is progressing slowly, I'm still struggling with the organic reactions and almost everyday I discover new ways to fail in getting a pure product. It's a bit of a mess but I still learn a million things per week so I guess it's good for me, huh?

It's getting colder here, the temperature has fallen down to 10-15C. It's not that bad compared to Stockholm in November, but as the insulation of Japanese houses is a joke the indoor temperature is not that much higher. So I've bought myself a nice fleece sweater and a real futon (bed cover) to battle the cold. Another way to keep warm is to go to an onsen (natural hot spring). Two weekends ago I went with Tomo, Shin-chan and Ma-chan to Tochigi prefecture, two hours north of Tokyo by train. We spent a night at Kita Onsen, an old traditional hot spring in the mountains. Very remote and isolated. The minshuku (Japanese inn) was an old house that reminded me of Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away, Miyazaki Hayao) and there were several different baths to soak in, both indoors and outdoors. At night they turned of the lights and we enjoyed the hot water with beautiful stars above us. I had brought a package of Absolute Five (five flavours of vodka) and we tried all of them many times and compared the Swedish alcohol with Hakkaizan (wonderful Japanese sake) and beer. The next day, despite the hangover that was just slightly cured by a morning bath, we climbed one of the peaks close by and experienced the first snowfall of this winter.

Last weekend Natsuko came here for 4 days. We spent one night at her parents place, again enjoying her mothers wonderful cooking. Then we took the buss to Sengokuhara in Hakone, a mountain resort two hours west of Tokyo and thus close to Mt Fuji. The main goal was the Pola Museum, were they are now showing Monet and other impressionists in a special exhibition. Both I and Natsuko have since our stay in Paris this summer begun to like paintings by Monet, Pissarro, Cézanne and so on, and the visit to Pola Museum was great. Another sweet thing was the private onsen of the hostel we stayed at. You could book it for half an hour at a time and have it all by yourself! We also visited the Venetian Glass Museum and a museum for Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the writer of The little Prince (Le Petit prince).

Back in Tokyo we went to one last museum for the weekend. This time it was an exhibition by Philadelphia Museum of Arts with more impressionist art, but also surrealism and cubism with works by Dalí, Picasso and Duchamp.

As you can see I spend all my time working in the weekdays and all my time playing in the weekends. From now that might change a little, they have scheduled some "Laboratory Seminars" during the following Saturdays so I won't be able to go on any long trips. Too bad...

Check out the pictures in my Photobucket!
http://s221.photobucket.com/albums/dd137/antonfrise/
My trips to Kita Onsen and Hakone and the view of Mt Fuji from the door of my apartment.

Take care!