Gorgeous art and 300 french pastries

Here's a recommendation you won't find in any guidebook: when in Kyoto, go to a french bakery and look at the art on the walls. You'll see stuff so wonderful you won't mind staring at it, letting your espresso get cold and your croissant get a bit stale. And, of course, not just any french bakery, but one specifically...

My cousin Shingo paints, and, in my humble opinion, he paints really well. The aforementioned bakery has purchased some of his art and it adorns the walls of their flagship location. The bakery itself is very neat, it dates to 1913, has ~13 locations, and delivers baked goods to many hotels and other establishments in the Kyoto area (including Tully's!). They make over 300 kinds of pastries everyday and they are very tasty.

The bakery commissioned three paintings from Shingo for their space. His works fit beautifully into the environment and are deep and rich.

At a separate location, he has one additional work up. It is joined by original lithographs of Claes Oldenburg, Roy Lichtenstein, and Sam Francis (Shingo's father). Great company!

Finally, I must thank Yasuko, the bakery owner, for her incredible hospitality. She let K and I stay at an unused traditional Japanese house of hers in a lovely and quiet part of Kyoto (the Ryoanji area). It was a great and unique introduction to this culturally rich place. She was also a great tour guide, taking us to a hole-in-the-wall paper shop and to a locally famous potter's house (more on that to come!)