The island nation of Japan is made up of four main islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku. I live in central Honshu and went to Kyushu on my last trip here but this past weekend I got to add Shikoku to the list! Sheena found yet another fantastically cheap trip that included a plane ride to the smallest of the main islands, three nights in hotels, the bus all around the island and breakfast! Score ne! So off we were to Takamatsu airport where we were picked up by our tour group to start our expedition.
The first stop was up north to Tokushima to see one of the three bridges that connects Shikoku to Honshu and the famous Naruto whirlpools. We didn’t see them in their entire swirly action but we did see a few little ones and a crazy surf beneath the bridge. The sky was a perfect blue as we walked out beneath the bridge, occasionally walking over glass panels beneath our feet that looked down 47 meters to the fierce tide below. And the sound! A mix from the traffic and the crashing waves and the sea breeze whipping under the bridge just made for the coolest experience!
Afterwards we had a long drive to the hotel as we crossed parts of the bright green plains beneath the hills with Japan’s inland sea to our right. The hotel was really nice (way fancier than the hostels Rhee and I have been staying at) and had a beautiful bath where you could look out over the sea and another one of the long bridges. We also had an amazing sunset and delicious yakiniku for dinner. Yakiniku is a Korean styled barbeque where the meat is brought out to you and you cook it over a grill in the middle of the table. It was delicious! I was even brave enough to try beef tongue which was delicious also!
The next day found us on a gorgeous green island under yet another awesome blue sky! The second day was the best most amazing fantastic day ever! We began the day by going to Kotohira shrine. Some will say once you have been to one shrine you’ve seen them all, but it seems nearly every shrine offers something different and unique. For Kotohira-gu it was many things from the over 700 steps leading up the hill to beautiful shrine buildings carved out of the forest to the shrine horses (such an adorable pony that reminded me of Tequila!) To the lanterns lining the stares and the torii gates under sweeping willows. It had a gorgeous atmosphere as we climbed in the morning sun. For the climb we were rewarded by an amazing view of the surrounding hills and green rice fields and to our west the inland sea. There was also a stage where three shrine attendees Shinto priests were playing some fort of flute. It’s impossible to deny the majesty of an early morning workout up a forested path to pray to the sound of harmony flutes with a view like the one that surrounded me to my back.
Next up, we drove into the remote forests and followed a highway on the edge of a gorge to a rural spot where another of the three eccentric bridges can be found. Apparently, the one in Nikko was not one of the three but the real three are Saruhashi (yay five mins from me!) Kazurabashi (this one) and the one in Iwakuni where I’m going next week! I love bridges! Anyways, the thing that makes this one so awesome is that it’s made out of vines and to cross it, one must step over huge gaps in the wood. It was thrilling and so fun, I loved it! And the scenery was gorgeous. I will take a moment to note that all those who think Japan is a crowded urbanized country are ignorant for there are more places that are rural and beautiful like this than I believe there are gross cities. It is too beyond beauty for words, but trust me, Japan has some of the prettiest places I have ever been to! After the bridge we walked down to a little waterfall and played around there and then it was off for some lunch.
The afternoon found us popping out of the valley on the other side of the island which faces the open Pacific and has the biggest waves I have ever seen! We visited a famous statue of Ryoma Sakamoto, who was of samurai heritage and famous for helping with the reformation of Japan in 1868 when Japan opened its gates to the outside world and took its first major steps to modernization. I’ve read a few books with him mentioned so it was cool to see a piece of that history. Then we walked down to the stony beach and played in the enormous surf! It was so rough that the waves surged around out thighs in big foamy gusts like blended milk. Overlooking us on a rocky bluff was a shrine as we watched the water splash over rocks and heard nothing but roaring ocean. Silly Rhee lost a shoe and we watch it get sucked out (the force was huge and big enough to tug at my footing when it pulled back) and just when we thought it was gone forever it washed back up! Lucky lucky!
The final stop of the fantastic day was in the city that we were spending the night in, Kochi. Kochi is famous for its castle, one of the twelve originals, and a charming little red bridge famous for its appearance in an old romantic tale about a monk and the girl he wasn’t allowed to fall in love with. The castle was really cool. It was the smallest one I had been in but was in really good condition and over 400 years old! I really liked the screen depicting the battle in which the future of Japan was proclaimed and the art of the samurai on horseback and a lady under the sakura within the castle. We climbed up to the highest point where there was a lovely little veranda circling the tower and took in the amazing view. I love castles. Oh and I love bridges and shrines and horses and the ocean and history and forest and blue skies and that day had it all! I was a very genki Sarah!
For dinner we happened upon a brochure for this little joint that sold gyoza (I also love gyoza) it looked a bit posh but we thought we’d check it out, it turned out to be my favourite restaurant in Japan! It had so much character with its lantern outside and menu written on cardboard and chairs of overturned milk crates with cushions. We shared four plates of gyoza and I ordered the most amazing ramen and a yuzu sour which was a brilliant fizzy lemon drink. Everything just complimented each other and I left pleasantly full with a slight buzz. Fantastic evening.
On the third day a typhoon that was destined for China whipped up some crazy wind to the South coast so we lost our perfect sky. It kinda worked out though as we spent the majority of the day travelling. We did stop for a little river cruise up the last undammed river in Japan on placid green waters beneath bridges famous for being flooded when the river rises to high. It was pleasant. The next stop was the Southernmost tip of Shikoku where we could see deep grey skies and more massive bright blue waves as the crashed against the cliff of our vantage point overlooking the rugged coastline and lighthouse. Also at this point was a really neat remote temple that is part of the 88-temple pilgrimage, one of the things Shikoku is most well known in Japan for. Sometime at the turn of the 9th century, a monk named Kukai (774 – 835) sailed to China and brought back with a sect of Buddhism which he set to integrating into Japan. He eventually returned to Shikoku, where he was from, and travelled to 88 temples. His is known sometimes as the ‘father of Japanese culture,’ and was given the name Kobo Daishi (Great Saint) after his death. For over a thousand of years pilgrims have been following his steps. It is said though that if one has a sin to repent for, the follow the route in the opposite direction in hope of meet up with Kukai and find their penance. It’s a neat story and as we left the temple amid it’s rain, palm trees and various statues, I saw a pilgrim go into to purify at the fountain in a rare serene moment with no other tourists present.
Another long windy highway up North again took us to our last city that night, Matsuyama. I thought it was a beautiful city and if Vancouver was located in the tropics and was Japanese they would be the same lol. Anyways, it had an awesome vibe to it with lots of old traditional buildings and was home to the celebrity hot spring, Dogo Onsen. Dogo Onsen is one of the oldest hot springs in Japan and has been mentioned in ancient records from the 8th century. It is said to have healing properties as long ago it was observed that every day a wounded bird bathed in the spring and eventually grew strong enough to fly away. Dogo Onsen was also the place that inspired the bathhouse from Miyazaki’s film ‘Spirited Away!’ It was very neat to see it at night with its warm orange glow and flushed faces of bather’s coming out in yukata. It was drizzling and perfect summer night bath onsen weather so the three of us went to bathe. Rhee and I also included a tour of the Emperor’s bath into our evening and got to take a few twisty corridors and steep stairs to a place in the onsen where only the Emperor is allowed to bath when he come. It has its own entrance, garden and bath surrounded by tatami mats and paper doors. I really enjoyed it all even though the bath was so hot we could only soak for a couple of minutes before we were out again into the damp summer night.
Along with the bathhouse, Matsuyama is also known for its haiku. I found a slip of paper and little mailbox where one can post their haiku. Fresh from a hot bath with skin still glowing a soft red I wrote:
Escape summer rains
And slip into
A bath of history
Not every day does one get to enjoy the same bath and atmosphere that has been enjoyed for over a millennium. Many famous poets, writers, samurai and all sorts of representations of Japanese culture have been there. I always enjoy knowing that I’m walking the same steps of history.
The next morning the sky was blue again and it was our last day in Shikoku. As part of the tour this time we returned to the Dogo district to see the onsen by the light of day… the magic was a little different although I can imagine a sunrise visit with the morning mist still shrouding the town and blocking of sign of modernization, would be quite beautiful. Already bathers were enjoying tea and dango from the upper floors where there are tatami resting rooms. We also went to see this clock which we had visited the night before but didn’t know what it meant. It turns out that like the clock in Kochi it also does a little song and depict scenes from a local story. It was quite cool and while we waited for 8:30, Rhee and I discovered a little foot bath that draws on the onsen’s water!
Finally, with reluctance, it was time to leave. Back to the airport to fly home and get some rest before the Otsuki matsuri which was that night and another story in itself so it’s best to leave it here. I'm worried for the next trip which is eleven days... how am I ever going to blog about it! With more adventures to come! Ja ne!
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