Omiya Bonsai Museum, the nurseries, and Toyonishiki

thumblessprimate1

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I'm in Saitama again; just vacation. But this time I had time to explore. It's been my third time to the museum. Still I love stopping there. Superseded to see a selling area in the parking lot. I missed it the previous times I visited.
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Djtommy

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Till when are you here?
I’m now in Hokaido but normally going back home tomorrow . And I was thinking of going to Omiya on Friday, Saturday
If you are still here we can meet once
 

thumblessprimate1

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I visited all the nurseries at Omiya on bicycle this time, but the ones I enjoyed most are Touju-en, Fuyo-en, and Seiko-en. Too bad, I cannot take pictures at most of them. I'l post what I can later.
 

namnhi

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That explain why you have been absent from the board for awhile. What are you bringing back for me?
 

thumblessprimate1

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Look for the 1" needle cultivars of J.B.pine, really tiny, in the socks.shh
Good Day
Anthony
I had a difficult time finding seed. I was told at Touju-en that jbp seed would be available at another season. :(
That explain why you have been absent from the board for awhile. What are you bringing back for me?
I only bring back cosmetics and clothes for wife.
Been there esrlier this autumn and bought a couple of nice (and cheap) pots. Awesome!
Yes! Some nice cheaper Chinese pots. I saw some at the small Shotou-en too. Shotou-en is near Kyuka-en.
 

thumblessprimate1

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Yes, it's so unfortunate not to be able to take photos at most bonsai nurseries, but on the other hand many of then we'e so crowded. Very difficult to take pictures anyways. So I really wanted to only tell about my experiences this time at the village.

I started at Omiya. Again Omiya Bonsai Museum has a nice little shop selling bonsai at the parking lot. I rode a bicycle with my brother from Ageo. Pretty easy to find. I rode their twice on this trip. Omiya has such great bonsai well groomed for viewing. They have a great collection. As you may have heard already, they have a small section where photos may be taken of bonsai.

Then I headed down the street to Mansei. There's a lot of large bonsai being monitored outside their gate. Super sized for me. I'm sure you could find larger stuff in China. I remember this nursery being smaller, than most others at the village, but it could be that there are so many large trees there. There's some very interesting trees there for sure.

Then I headed to Seiko-en. On bike, it's less than a minute away. This is one of my favorites, because I like the feminine touch. It's very refreshing to be there, so much different from other nurseries. It has some modern way of pairing bonsai in modern styled pots with other plants that might commonly be found in kusamono. I believe it's called saika bonsai.

I went there twice this week, because I enjoyed it that much. Furthermore, I ended up buying two pots from there. I wondered if I should have bought a more unusual pot. I was not brave, so I'll be bringing home one shaped like a bowl and one like a cup. The pots are exclusive at Seiko-en and not expensive.
 
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thumblessprimate1

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Next I went looking for Kyuka-en. I could not find it, so I ended up in Shotou-en. It's the smallest nursery there. Very friendly. I enjoyed some saika bonsai there and small maple bonsai.

Not far away is Touju-en. It' very well kept and less crowded there. There's a nice older apprentice there who speaks excellent English. I went there to look for some medium sized bonsai and shohin. They have some great looking Korean Hornbeams. I'll see about uploading pictures when I return to the USA. I didn't use my cell phone much there. I think I saw a large toyonishiki that was displayed at the Omiya museum at one time, but the apprentice wasn't so sure I was seeing the same tree.
 

thumblessprimate1

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I ended a day at Fuyo-en. It is feels more spacious. So much color there because of the maples. No photos there :(. It is my other favorite nursery, because it's so pretty! Beautiful paths from top to bottom. Lots of large deciduous bonsai with interesting curves and ramification. I'd return to see it again for sure.
 

thumblessprimate1

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On my second day back, I revisited Seiko-en and went to find Kyuka-en. Kyuka was sort of hidden because there was no sign. The map guide says they do natural style now using no wire, so this made me want to seek out this nursery. I did not find any wire, but I wonder if wire was used at some time long ago. What was most exciting for me there was toyonishiki. I'm told that they are 50 years old! Such fine internodes. Here's a sample.

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Now I must catch train to Tokyo to go sight seeing at the garden and the Ginkgo trees. Might stop at Tsukiji again for some monster sized oysters. Yummy!
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MichaelS

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On my second day back, I revisited Seiko-en and went to find Kyuka-en. Kyuka was sort of hidden because there was no sign. The map guide says they do natural style now using no wire, so this made me want to seek out this nursery. I did not find any wire, but I wonder if wire was used at some time long ago.

Murata did use wire but not as much as is used these days. It's fascinating to read that they don't use it now. I would love to see some more pics of the stock from there.
Thanks for sharing.
 

thumblessprimate1

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Murata did use wire but not as much as is used these days. It's fascinating to read that they don't use it now. I would love to see some more pics of the stock from there.
Thanks for sharing.
It's pretty difficult to take pictures because it is not very spacious and other reasons. I didn' feel comfortable picking up bonsai even when it was allowed there. Here's some not so good pictures.
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JudyB

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I'll be looking forward to the Korean Hornbeam photos. Also I'd like to understand better the concept you're calling saika bonsai. I'll have to go google that one, sounds interesting.
Thanks for posting your experiences!
 
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