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I visited Bonsai Art Museum.
This place is very nice place to see and learn the essence of Bonsai, and at the same time, to spend a relaxing time to calm your mind.
It is good place for travellers from overseas.
What is 'BONSAI'?
"BONSAI,'tray planting', is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in containers"
(Wikipedia contributors. "Bonsai." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 28 Jan. 2023. Web. 6 Feb. 2023.)
Omiya Bonsai Art Museum
I visited the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum in Saitama city, Saitama prefecture, Japan.
Note: This facility is not in Nagano Prefecture.
By train, it takes about 40-50 minutes from Shinjuku station, Tokyo.
It is located in a residential area. The entrance and a signboad are not very conspicuous, and the facility has a nice, quiet atmosphere.
There is a parking lot and a bike parking place with a roof.
I brought a small suitcase and was able to leave it at the reception desk.
Indoor collection gallery
The indoor collection gallery exhibition starts with a basic explanation of bonsai, and as you follow the explanations, you can learn a little more about bonsai. Of course, the explanations are written in Japanese and English.
The bonsai on display are covered with frosted glass on both sides so that they can be viewed from the front and so that visitors can focus on one bonsai at a time.(This is my guess.)
The grandeur and history of nature is truly expressed in the vessel. The most amazing thing is that it is not a fake, but a living thing. I am sure that there is something to be felt from the living nature.
The second half of the indoor exhibition is a tatami room decoration. Visitors can enjoy the beauty of the combination of Japanese architecture, bonsai, and hanging scrolls. This was absolutely wonderful. (No pictures because photography is not allowed in the gallery.)
Exhibition room
Once you leave the main building, please go in a separate building on the left. You can see the history of how bonsai, introduced from China, has changed and developed in Japan.
In Japan, the 1968 Tokyo Olympics and the 1970 Osaka World's Fair were the two major events that led to the spread of bonsai throughout the world.
Bonsai garden
After exiting the building, please enter the courtyard. The bonsai garden here has about 60 bonsai, several types of the trees, mostly large ones, ranging in age from about 50 years to several hundred years old.
The maple trees have lost their leaves, so the spread of the pure white trunks and the branches can be seen clearly, which is a good thing in winter, but I would also like to see the autumn leaves in fall.
The ones made as mixed planting give me a sence of natural forest. Personally, I liked this type quite a lot.
The plum blossoms were just starting to bloom.
Volunteer guides
There were volunteer guides in the garden.
So I asked her a few questions and she provided a relevant explanation.
It was a great experience to have my questions answered on the spot.
How to arouse the client's interest and how to accurately respond to that interest without missing the moment when the interest peaks. I want to be prepared for that.
Summary
Learning about Japanese culture and calm my mind. It was a very good time for me.
I would like to visit again in a different season.
Omiya Bonsai Art Museum:
https://www.bonsai-art-museum.jp/en/