83rd Street and 5th Avenue

Part four of our Met tour takes us to the Far East, which according to the museum map is to the far east (rimshot). A great amount of thought appears to have been put into laying out their collections. Among this collection is a traditional Japanese garden where one can walk through, sit down, even meditate until closing hours. Of course, if you’re really good at meditation, you can make time stop and stay for longer.

If all that introspective thought gives you the urge, you can go past the room of Buddhas and left around the Chinese armor, you’ll find the Asian wing’s bathroom. You won’t find any zen gardens here. The room is shaped almost like a horseshoe and greets you with yet another full-length mirror. The floor is made of brick-colored square tiles; good for a Mediterranean kitchen, but here it just reminds you of elementary school in the way metal bars remind an ex-con of prison. However the floors and the white brick tile walls are fairly clean, like a geisha girl’s skin. The sinks are also well-kept and functional. We did find another stall casualty. One of the toilets was broken and filled with what can only be described as “bodily waste water.” Apparently the Yakuza are trying to send us a message.

Rating 4.5

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