On a very fine spring day in 2019 our friends Hiyoshi and Naomi drove us in their BMW to visit the Susono area, and stayed at the Honda housing facility, or retreat, in Susono that is available to current and former employees of Honda like Hiyoshi.
There, we visited a few museums and parks, and even got a glimpse of Mt. Fuji. A glimpse is all we got because it was cloudy that week.
I had never heard of Susono, a city located in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, at that time. The area on the outskirts of Susono is hilly with lush woods and streams.
The first place we visited was Clematis no Oka (クレマチスの丘), which is an art and nature complex that includes several museums, gardens, and restaurants. Clematis no Oka includes the following museums:
- Bernard Buffet Museum: Contains the world's largest collection of the French painter's works, including oil paintings, watercolors, and sculptures.
- Nagaizumi-cho Inoue Yasushi Literature Museum: Focuses on the life and work of the acclaimed Japanese author, Yasushi Inoue, who grew up in the region.
- IZU PHOTO MUSEUM: Features revolving exhibitions of vintage and modern photography.
The fourth museum within Clematis no Oka is the Vangi Sculpture Garden Museum, which is in my opinion the most interesting of the lot. Giuliano Vangi (1931–2024) was a celebrated Italian sculptor, known for his modern, figurative works.
As you walk the gardens of Clematis no Oka, which incidentally were beautiful, with spring flowers blooming everywhere, you will come across the gardens that are part of the outdoor exhibition of Vangi sculptures. Unfortunately, the Vangi gardens and museum are permanently closed due to lack of funding. I believe it was the only museum in the world that was dedicated to Vangi's works of art. As you view the pictures I have included below you'll see why I thought the museum closing was a great loss.
Note that the other museums that are mentioned above are open, as well as the restaurants and cafes that are part of Clematis no Oka. So I do recommend a trip here despite the Vangi museum closing. It's a beautiful area; a great place to unwind after touring all the tourist-filled spots in the big cities.
Ok, onward, we did check out the Bernard Buffet Museum, and then took a drive across town to the Mishima Skywalk on the east side of Susono. The Skywalk is a bridge over a wooded cavern that leads to, well, nowhere in particular. On the other side there are other sponsored activities that you can take advantage of, but we chose to just do the walk. We fully expected to get a view of Mt. Fuji from there, but it was still cloudy so no luck.
We made it back to the Honda company retreat at dusk, and got lucky - we were able to catch a silhouette of Mt. Fuji!
In any case, the whole area is definitely something to consider visiting if you are tired of the same old big city tourist traps. There are bus tours that come out here, and of course, you can always rent a car and take your chances! Good luck!
Location
Vocabulary
Flash Card Drill-
The company provides a housing facility for its employees near the factory.その会社は工場の近くに社員向けの宿泊施設を提供しています。
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We stayed at a quiet housing facility in the mountains during our trip.旅行中は山の中の静かな宿泊施設に滞在しました。
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We caught a glimpse of the mountain before the clouds covered it.雲に隠れる前に、その山をちらりと見ることができました。
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I only got a glimpse of the painting as I walked past the gallery.ギャラリーの前を通り過ぎるときに、その絵をちらりと見ることしかできませんでした。
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The museum is hosting an exhibition of contemporary art.その博物館では現代アートの展示を開催しています。
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The new exhibition features rare historical artifacts.新しい展示には、珍しい歴史的な遺物が展示されています。
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They bought a house on the outskirts of the city to enjoy more nature.彼らは自然をもっと楽しむために、市の郊外に家を買いました。
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The factory is located on the outskirts, far from residential areas.その工場は住宅地から離れた郊外に位置しています。
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The city built a new sports complex with a stadium and swimming pool.市はスタジアムとプールを備えた新しいスポーツ複合施設を建設しました。
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The art and nature complex includes museums, gardens, and restaurants.その芸術と自然の複合施設には、美術館や庭園、レストランが含まれています。
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The gallery shows revolving exhibitions by local artists.そのギャラリーでは、地元の芸術家による企画展示が入れ替わりで行われています。
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The museum has a revolving program of special events every season.その博物館では、毎シーズン企画イベントのプログラムが入れ替わります。
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The artist is famous for his figurative sculptures of the human body.その芸術家は、人間の身体を表した具象的な彫刻で有名です。
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She prefers figurative painting to abstract art.彼女は抽象芸術よりも具象的な絵画のほうが好きです。
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The museum has an outdoor exhibition of large sculptures.その美術館には、大きな彫刻の野外展示があります。
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We enjoyed an outdoor concert in the park.私たちは公園で野外コンサートを楽しみました。
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The museum was permanently closed due to a lack of funding.その美術館は資金不足のため永久に閉鎖されました。
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He moved to the countryside permanently after retiring.彼は退職後、田舎に永久に移り住みました。
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We enjoyed our trip despite the cloudy weather.曇り空にもかかわらず、私たちは旅行を楽しみました。
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Despite being tired, she continued walking across the bridge.疲れているにもかかわらず、彼女は橋を渡り続けました。
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We tried to avoid tourist traps and visit quieter neighborhoods.私たちは観光地を避けて、もっと静かな地域を訪れるようにしました。
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That street is a famous tourist trap full of souvenir shops.あの通りは土産物店でいっぱいの有名な観光地です。
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The company provides housing for its employees near the factory.その会社は工場の近くに社員用の宿泊施設を提供しています。
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Finding affordable housing in big cities can be very difficult.大都市で手頃な宿泊施設を見つけるのはとても難しいことがあります。
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She spent a week at a mountain retreat to recover from stress.彼女はストレスから回復するために山の保養施設で一週間過ごしました。
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The company retreat helped employees bond with each other.会社の保養施設での滞在は、社員同士の絆を深めるのに役立ちました。
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They moved to the outskirts of the city to find a larger house.彼らはより大きな家を見つけるために都市の郊外へ引っ越しました。
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There are many factories on the outskirts of the town.町の郊外には工場がたくさんあります。
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We could see the mountain's silhouette against the evening sky.夕空を背景に山のシルエットが見えました。
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The city’s silhouette was beautiful at night.夜の街のシルエットは美しかったです。