Wait, where am I? Japan or France? I had to do a double take as this looks a little bit like the Louvre. Yet, this is the Arita Porcelain Park in Arita, Japan. It was a theme park at one point, however it is now mostly abandoned. The ticket booth is boarded up, the parking lot cobblestone is falling apart, there is dry grass growing between the cracks in the cement, the pottery sculptures are chipping and fading, and looking through windows into buildings, the park visual art was left as is to collect dust behind dirty windows. Doors closed, nothing moved out, abandoned. It is still a tourist attraction as the City of Arita still lists it on the tourist map they hand out to adventurers. Possibly due to its location and fortunately for me, there were only a handful of people walking around. I like the mystery and feeling of an abandoned space decaying in time. The park exists several miles off the beaten path and may be a reason why the park may not have made it as a major attraction as the park sits about an hour’s walk each way from the Arita train station. Just outside the park was an enchanting restaurant where I had an amazing meal. The only part of the meal I could identify was the soup, the plums, and the rice. I have no idea what the white thick substance was that got mixed with the strawberry, plum, and sesame sauce, however the whole meal was a super tasty little find.
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