THE SIGNS WILL SHOW YOU
2010年08月25日
Well after the shenanigans of my boss JC’s brazen picture, eating fancy food and toasting ferries in the Inland Sea with good wine (readers see my blog pictures on Shikoku Ferry Services) What a cheek …I was in a bad mood when I slouched off to pick up my assignment for the week. Another ordeal by humiliation I thought?
But as I entered the building to pick up the job, I heard the James Bond theme suddenly start. Dum-dee-dee-dum, da-da-da, dum-dee-dee dum. Ta-da-da!
‘This is great’! I said. ‘What a marvelous new office you have’. ‘What appropriate music.’ ’I find this all quite different, agreeable.’
“It’s part of the new us.” Says JC grinning and slouching in his chair.” And we did this to show you how much your wonderful blogs mean to us.” He said offering me a whiskey highball and comfy sofa.
All right, I just made that up. But there really is this amazing building down by the Takamatsu waterfront nearby where JC and his crew hang out.
I took a couple of shots of this building and it seemed to disappear due to the reflective surface. It’s an exhibition piece entitled, ‘Prosthetic Restoration of our Memory’. Some of these pieces have some great names don’t they? I think my memory will need a little prosthetic restoration after all this heat… I’m slowly turning into a puddle.
In Takamatsu these days there are signs absolutely everywhere showing visitors all the information we need to find our way around the Setouchi International Art Festival. And what great signs they are too. Color-coded in blue, white and black which is apt, as the skies are very blue now and the clouds so white.
These signs are easy to understand and featured prominently in the city and especially in the port and central station areas. So please be aware of this blue, white and black color scheme as all these signs relate to the exhibits and their transport facilities.
Inside the Takamatsu Central Station there is the ‘setouchi art navi’ electronic display and a group of friendly guides to assist.
A little advice on this, while there are a few different smaller publications on the exhibition, by far the most comprehensive one is this one but it’s a little hard to find. I suggest you ask specifically for this (see photo above) ‘Overview of the Art Setouchi 2010’ as it’s the best out there. The information includes routes and ship times for the islands, tips for making the most of the festival, recommended course plans, speedy routes for those in a hurry, short trip options and an ‘art and architecture course’.
The advice is practical, sensible and includes things like always double-checking your next ferry, restroom facilities and taking food and drink with you.
As mentioned, in the back all the information on routes and times for ships are printed and in the front, an overview of the works on exhibition.
The official site is
http://setouchi-artfest.jp/en/
This site has improved a little bit lately and is less bogged down with vague descriptions of events and the staff blogs, which don’t really make that much sense. What we need is basic; What? Where? And when?
You’ll need your art passport and these are available at a variety of places including convenience stores for 5,000 yen. Don’t forget you’re still going to have to pay the ferry fees and a few events aren’t included and will need an additional charge.
The Setouchi Art Festival office in the Hyogo Machi shopping arcade has helpful staff and of course they have the passport on sale.
Takamatsu has improved a lot over the years and is much more tourist- friendly with plenty of good signs around the town.
Go out and enjoy this wonderful exhibition and remember, keep those cards, letters and emails coming in! I’m waiting to hear from all of you, so please leave a comment!
But as I entered the building to pick up the job, I heard the James Bond theme suddenly start. Dum-dee-dee-dum, da-da-da, dum-dee-dee dum. Ta-da-da!
‘This is great’! I said. ‘What a marvelous new office you have’. ‘What appropriate music.’ ’I find this all quite different, agreeable.’
“It’s part of the new us.” Says JC grinning and slouching in his chair.” And we did this to show you how much your wonderful blogs mean to us.” He said offering me a whiskey highball and comfy sofa.
All right, I just made that up. But there really is this amazing building down by the Takamatsu waterfront nearby where JC and his crew hang out.
I took a couple of shots of this building and it seemed to disappear due to the reflective surface. It’s an exhibition piece entitled, ‘Prosthetic Restoration of our Memory’. Some of these pieces have some great names don’t they? I think my memory will need a little prosthetic restoration after all this heat… I’m slowly turning into a puddle.
In Takamatsu these days there are signs absolutely everywhere showing visitors all the information we need to find our way around the Setouchi International Art Festival. And what great signs they are too. Color-coded in blue, white and black which is apt, as the skies are very blue now and the clouds so white.
These signs are easy to understand and featured prominently in the city and especially in the port and central station areas. So please be aware of this blue, white and black color scheme as all these signs relate to the exhibits and their transport facilities.
Inside the Takamatsu Central Station there is the ‘setouchi art navi’ electronic display and a group of friendly guides to assist.
A little advice on this, while there are a few different smaller publications on the exhibition, by far the most comprehensive one is this one but it’s a little hard to find. I suggest you ask specifically for this (see photo above) ‘Overview of the Art Setouchi 2010’ as it’s the best out there. The information includes routes and ship times for the islands, tips for making the most of the festival, recommended course plans, speedy routes for those in a hurry, short trip options and an ‘art and architecture course’.
The advice is practical, sensible and includes things like always double-checking your next ferry, restroom facilities and taking food and drink with you.
As mentioned, in the back all the information on routes and times for ships are printed and in the front, an overview of the works on exhibition.
The official site is
http://setouchi-artfest.jp/en/
This site has improved a little bit lately and is less bogged down with vague descriptions of events and the staff blogs, which don’t really make that much sense. What we need is basic; What? Where? And when?
You’ll need your art passport and these are available at a variety of places including convenience stores for 5,000 yen. Don’t forget you’re still going to have to pay the ferry fees and a few events aren’t included and will need an additional charge.
The Setouchi Art Festival office in the Hyogo Machi shopping arcade has helpful staff and of course they have the passport on sale.
Takamatsu has improved a lot over the years and is much more tourist- friendly with plenty of good signs around the town.
Go out and enjoy this wonderful exhibition and remember, keep those cards, letters and emails coming in! I’m waiting to hear from all of you, so please leave a comment!
SHIKOKU FERRY SERVICES
2010年08月04日
The last few months have seen some tough times for the ferry operators in the Inland Sea. Rising fuel prices have hit them hard as have cheaper rates to use the Seto Great Bridge and a general decline in inter-island commutes overall.
This is sad, every island needs as many lifeline arteries as possible and Shikoku isn’t an exception. I use these spacious, well-equipped passenger-vehicular ferries as lot as part of my work visiting schools to give talks and can say they are truly a great and relaxing way to travel. We can even lay down on a carpeted floor and have a nap if we wish. How cool is that? I can’t think of many other ferry services in this world that allow napping without trying to charge for it.
This acute financial situation has given the Shikoku Ferry Company http://www.shikokuferry.com/ and the Kokudo Ferry Company http://seaagent.com/companies/ship_manager_operator/company_profile/Utaka_Kokudo_Ferry.html a chance to combine most services and both have acceptable English translations of ferry timetables.
Without Japanese they’re easy to understand with the departure times from Takamatsu on the far left, the Shikoku Ferry services in red and the Kokudo’s in blue. These ferries run to Uno in Okayama (one hour) and from Uno one can catch a train to Okayama City and the Shinkansen lines which run through a lot of Japan.
Both terminals are centrally located and accessible on foot to the West on the coastal road from the JR Takamatsu Central Station and less than ten minutes away.
I interviewed Mr. Matsumoto from the The Shikoku Ferry Group which run regular vehicular and passenger services from Takamatsu to Shodo Island (two ports:Ikeda and Tonosho) not including high speed ferries, at regular times throughout the day and early evening. He said that these timetables are unlikely to change in the near future as both companies had worked out an agreement on this prior to publication.
When I visited the offices to talk with Mr. Matsumoto, I nearly had a heart attack. There right in front of my eyes was JC’s picture large as life. There he was enjoying an ice-cream in the publicity material (a free one no doubt) and in another sitting back enjoying what was most likely a free lunch. With wine! Drinking on the job … this was a big shock I can tell you!
Anyway, please let’s all use these wonderful services as they are super reliable, fast, (one hour to Shodo Island and one hour to Uno) clean and it's important that they be patronized by us all no matter what the financial situation is.
Please keep those cards letters and comments on Pat’s Blog coming in! We’ll get back to you I promise and in the meantime, in between time, have a cool and great summer please …
This is sad, every island needs as many lifeline arteries as possible and Shikoku isn’t an exception. I use these spacious, well-equipped passenger-vehicular ferries as lot as part of my work visiting schools to give talks and can say they are truly a great and relaxing way to travel. We can even lay down on a carpeted floor and have a nap if we wish. How cool is that? I can’t think of many other ferry services in this world that allow napping without trying to charge for it.
This acute financial situation has given the Shikoku Ferry Company http://www.shikokuferry.com/ and the Kokudo Ferry Company http://seaagent.com/companies/ship_manager_operator/company_profile/Utaka_Kokudo_Ferry.html a chance to combine most services and both have acceptable English translations of ferry timetables.
Without Japanese they’re easy to understand with the departure times from Takamatsu on the far left, the Shikoku Ferry services in red and the Kokudo’s in blue. These ferries run to Uno in Okayama (one hour) and from Uno one can catch a train to Okayama City and the Shinkansen lines which run through a lot of Japan.
Both terminals are centrally located and accessible on foot to the West on the coastal road from the JR Takamatsu Central Station and less than ten minutes away.
I interviewed Mr. Matsumoto from the The Shikoku Ferry Group which run regular vehicular and passenger services from Takamatsu to Shodo Island (two ports:Ikeda and Tonosho) not including high speed ferries, at regular times throughout the day and early evening. He said that these timetables are unlikely to change in the near future as both companies had worked out an agreement on this prior to publication.
When I visited the offices to talk with Mr. Matsumoto, I nearly had a heart attack. There right in front of my eyes was JC’s picture large as life. There he was enjoying an ice-cream in the publicity material (a free one no doubt) and in another sitting back enjoying what was most likely a free lunch. With wine! Drinking on the job … this was a big shock I can tell you!
Anyway, please let’s all use these wonderful services as they are super reliable, fast, (one hour to Shodo Island and one hour to Uno) clean and it's important that they be patronized by us all no matter what the financial situation is.
Please keep those cards letters and comments on Pat’s Blog coming in! We’ll get back to you I promise and in the meantime, in between time, have a cool and great summer please …
Posted by pat at
16:48
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