Shikoku Part 3
Kagawa (香川)
My time in Kagawa was short. I really only did three things in Kagawa.
I visited Kanpira, which is a hill with a beautiful Buddhist temple at the top. Unfortunately this was the hottest day of my trip (I think about 36 degrees with 80% humidity, which felt like walking in a hot bath). The view is really nice as well, and at the bottom is a great little section with shops and restaurants and an old kabuki theatre. There was a guy doing free tours inside, and I happened to catch him at a time when no one else was in the theatre, so I got a private tour! This was after my trek down from the Buddhist temple, so I was drenched in sweat, but that didn't stop it from being really interesting. Also, I stopped for some udon (Kagawa is famous for udon), which was great. At a souvenir shop, the shop owner (I assume) asked if I had come to Kanpira alone.
"Yes," I answered.
"That's too bad," she answered. "This is a really romantic place. A lot of couples come here on their honeymoon or for a romantic trip."
"Well, I'm single"
"Where do you live?"
"I live in Akita"
"Oh. Well, you should get a girlfriend from Akita - or somewhere else - and then come back here. Okay?"
Next, I went to Takamatsu, the main city in Kagawa, and visited Ritsurin Garden, perhaps the best garden I've seen in Japan, and the Takamatsu Castle, which was controlled by the Ikoma clan until the 17th century, so maybe it's where I belong.
After staying at a really great guesthouse, and eating udon for dinner (yes, two udons in a day), I headed out the next day for Tokushima again.
Tokushima, Part 2
I had actually planned to stay another day in Tokushima, but because of a festival, I couldn't find a cheap place to stay. So, I just stopped by the morning to check out a couple of things on my way to Kobe for the night. First, I stopped at Ryozenji, which is the first of the Henro temple. The Henro is a group of 88 temples that are a pilgrimage of Shikoku. Apparently it takes a couple of months to complete the whole trek, so some people do it by car or bus, or just a portion of the trip. Ryozenji is the first and last of the temples, so I wanted to stop by and see it. Also nearby is a POW camp for Germans from WWI. It's just a park now, but I stopped by anyhow since it was on the way to Ryozenji from the bus stop. I had a bit of a mishap in that there were no trains from the area and very few buses. Thanks to a very kind high school student, I was able to find the somewhat obscure bus stop (no thanks to the man at the train station who said "go to the intersection and turn left, when actually it was right"). Happily, there was a woman there from Kobe, who was waiting for a bus, so we were able to chat for a bit, and as she said, be distracted from the really hot weather. The last thing I did in Shikoku was visit the Naruto whirlpools, which are whirlpools formed in a channel between Shikoku and Honshu.
My time in Kagawa was short. I really only did three things in Kagawa.
I visited Kanpira, which is a hill with a beautiful Buddhist temple at the top. Unfortunately this was the hottest day of my trip (I think about 36 degrees with 80% humidity, which felt like walking in a hot bath). The view is really nice as well, and at the bottom is a great little section with shops and restaurants and an old kabuki theatre. There was a guy doing free tours inside, and I happened to catch him at a time when no one else was in the theatre, so I got a private tour! This was after my trek down from the Buddhist temple, so I was drenched in sweat, but that didn't stop it from being really interesting. Also, I stopped for some udon (Kagawa is famous for udon), which was great. At a souvenir shop, the shop owner (I assume) asked if I had come to Kanpira alone.
"Yes," I answered.
"That's too bad," she answered. "This is a really romantic place. A lot of couples come here on their honeymoon or for a romantic trip."
"Well, I'm single"
"Where do you live?"
"I live in Akita"
"Oh. Well, you should get a girlfriend from Akita - or somewhere else - and then come back here. Okay?"
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| Kanpira |
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| Kanpira |
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| View from Kanpira |
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| Kanpira |
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| Kabuki Theatre |
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| Kabuki theatre, inside. As you can see, I had the place to myself! |
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| Kabuki theatre, inside |
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| Ritsurin Garden |
After staying at a really great guesthouse, and eating udon for dinner (yes, two udons in a day), I headed out the next day for Tokushima again.
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| Ritsurin Garden |
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| Ritsurin Garden |
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| Ritsurin Garden |
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| Ritsurin Garden |
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| Ritsurin Garden |
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| Ritsurin Garden |
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| Takamatsu Castle - with information about the Ikoma, who ran this place for a while - and then got moved to Akita. |
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| Luckily there are as many udon shops as there are people in Kagawa. Many are super good. |
Tokushima, Part 2
I had actually planned to stay another day in Tokushima, but because of a festival, I couldn't find a cheap place to stay. So, I just stopped by the morning to check out a couple of things on my way to Kobe for the night. First, I stopped at Ryozenji, which is the first of the Henro temple. The Henro is a group of 88 temples that are a pilgrimage of Shikoku. Apparently it takes a couple of months to complete the whole trek, so some people do it by car or bus, or just a portion of the trip. Ryozenji is the first and last of the temples, so I wanted to stop by and see it. Also nearby is a POW camp for Germans from WWI. It's just a park now, but I stopped by anyhow since it was on the way to Ryozenji from the bus stop. I had a bit of a mishap in that there were no trains from the area and very few buses. Thanks to a very kind high school student, I was able to find the somewhat obscure bus stop (no thanks to the man at the train station who said "go to the intersection and turn left, when actually it was right"). Happily, there was a woman there from Kobe, who was waiting for a bus, so we were able to chat for a bit, and as she said, be distracted from the really hot weather. The last thing I did in Shikoku was visit the Naruto whirlpools, which are whirlpools formed in a channel between Shikoku and Honshu.
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| WWI POW Camp. Strangely celebratory. |
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| Ryozenji |
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| Ryozenji |
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| Ryozenji |
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| Ryozenji |
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| Naruto Whirlpools. |
