Daydream and Sculptures (This week's Photo Hunt themes)

Ever since I was a kid, I've dreamnt of visiting foreign lands and having wonderful experiences there.  In my younger days, I tended to look West and daydream about visiting many places in Europe and North America.  But after having ended up spending the majority of my adult life thus far living in Europe (specifically Britain) and North America (more specifically, Wisconsin and Philadelphia), I guess it's inevitable that the past decade or so has seen many of my daydreams centering on the Eastern part of the world -- in particularly, living in Hong Kong and visiting Japan.

Over the past couple of years, I've been based in Hong Kong and made three trips to Japan.  The most recent -- almost a year ago now! -- included a visit to Hakone, with its beautiful Lake Ashi, various cool modes of transportation (including a "pirate ship" and cable car), sulphurus Owakudani, and wonderful Hakone Open-Air Museum which I would love to revisit at some point in time.

I've already highlighted some of the art (particularly sculptures) in a photo-essay that can be found here but this week's choice of Photo Hunt themes by Sandi and Gattina give me the opportunity to draw attention to a few more, including British sculptor Antony Gormley's amusing Close and Hungarian-French artist Marta Pan's Floating Sculpture 3 which I felt had Zen-like qualities, particularly when viewed in the surroundings in which it's been installed at the Japanese museum whose grounds and art cannot but invite daydreaming.

Speaking of daydreams or just dreams in general: I'm sure it's beyond the wildest dreams of many to imagine a museum that's equipped with its own hot spring foot bath.  But the Hakone Open-Air Museum really does have such a facility -- one which I, of course, took advantage of to soothe my footsies made sore by the kilometers and miles of tramping about I did that day and other days on my most recent Japan trip. :b