When you think of "Places to Visit in Japan" maybe you think of Tokyo or Kyoto. Maybe you think of Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Maybe you think of Okinawa or Hokkaido.
But you probably don't think of Shikoku, the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. So two of us spent almost a week discovering just what is on that little island.
Method of Transportation: A 1992 Honda Civic, Manual
Music: 1000 Songs on my MP3 Player
Number of Cookies: 30
DAY 1: "Wrong Turns and 800 Stairs" Okayama to Takamatsu
- Took a wrong turn and ended up on a road so narrow, we needed help from three stunned locals to turn the car around and lift it when it fell partially into a gutter.
- Felt relieved when toll across the elaborate bridge to Shikoku (one of only three bridges to the island) was less than $40. (Had expected $60)
- Ate the famous Sanuki Udon; couldn't tell what made it different from regular udon.
- Walked up 800 steps to a temple; watched a little old lady get a lift on a wooden carrier held on the shoulders of two strong men; decided the signs that read shiawase ("happiness") should have read shia-ase. ("ase" = sweat)
DAY 2: "Pretty Gorge, But No Whirlpools" Takamatsu to Naruto to the Koboke-Oboke Gorge
- Walked around the pretty "Ritsuin" garden and did not get sunburned; drove two hours with window open and my right arm was red for the rest of the trip.
- Went up really, really, really long escalator at Naruto.
- Failed to see the famous whirlpools at Naruto because the viewing area was closed. (But it was a pretty view of the bridge to Kobe.)
- Drove deep into the mountains, through a gorge with crystal-clear bright blueish-green water; passed a building with a ninja climbing up the wall.
- Discovered that a holiday week in late September is apparently NOT prime camping season because it's not August and therefore not summer holidays. What ARE they thinking?
- Walked over a 'vine' bridge where the space between each slat to the river below was just under the width of one's shoe; were very careful with our cameras.
- Realized we had managed to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at "Sunkus" (a convenience store chain).
DAY 3: "Off-road Adventure and Cave Guides" Oboke to Kochi to Susaki
- Gained understanding of the true meaning of the colors of the roads in our atlas: Blue = Toll Road (read: a well-kept road where the speed limit might actually be, gasp, over 40mph) Red = National Highway (read: a large or small two-lane road that has a number) Green = Main Road (read: a road that may be as wide as an interstate or a narrow as a one-lane road that has a number, but the atlas doesn't tell us what number) and Yellow = General Road (read: anywhere from a typical two lane road to a barely-wide-enough-for-a-car road that has no name or number and could go through a mountain forest where the only sign of life for an hour is an abandoned car with vines growing on it, some signs with "Danger" as the only Japanese we understand, and a stone buddha with fake flowers in front of it; a road with no mobile phone reception that is covered with leaves and moss and may suddenly, without warning in the middle of freaking nowhere, BE NO LONGER AT ALL PAVED)
- Deep breaths. Turned around. Survived.
- Found the biggest cedar tree in Japan! Paid $2 to see it.
- Stood on a flat stone in front of a giant gravestone; listened as the gravestone started singing an old Japanese song to us quite loudly; wondered if the neighbors knew all the songs by now.
- Walked through limestone caves for an hour where, instead of having a tour guide, there were random women standing still in the shadowy cave waiting to explain a particular formation to passing tourists; were glad they were just guides and not the bats the signs warned about; climbed so many stairs in the cave, we had to walk down a long hill of stairs after the exit where we bought a shuriken (ninja star) from a hillside store; passed a building later during the descent that had live chickens on display for no understandable reason; were not sure the chickens weren't a hallucination.
- Found Katsurahama beach; walked on black, pebbly sand that was extremely uncomfortable for bare feet; took photos of a big statue of a rebel leader; wondered if the "dog fights" they advertised were entirely legal; found a "Sprite" in a vending machine (which was a first) but the vending machine was out of order (also a first).
- Found our next place to stay by borrowing a phone book and calling every single ryokan in the phone book; shortly later, realizing that such a method can lead to sketchy places.
DAY 4: "Pilgrim Spotting on Sunny Road" Susaki to Cape Ashizuri to Uwajima
- Stopped in a road-side hotspring to bathe since we were too scared to even look at the quality of the bath in the last ryokan we stayed in.
- Massive rainstorm blinded us, making the lovely blue signs that we depended on for directions hard to read; massive storm continued, even as we turned onto a road called "Sunny Road" in English.
- Finally saw some pilgrims walking on the side of the road making the famed 88-temple pilgrimage through Shikoku; wondered if they would accept if we offered them a ride or if it would mess up their 2-month walk; dissed the fake pilgrims on buses and motorbikes or that didn't have The Official Pilgrim Woven Hat.
- Reached the southernmost point of Shikoku - Cape Ashizuri; saw a lighthouse and some amazing views; watched groups of strange clear slug-type bugs scatter as we walked down the path; climbed over 250 stairs; visited the main temple; saw jingling pilgrims chanting; took a photo with a pilgrim!
- Returned on Sunny Road in the sun!
- Roughed it; pulled over at a scenic view point, set up the car, and slept in it. Cracked windows open so we would have some air; instead had rain drip in on us during the night; but were surprised how comfortable sleeping in my car actually was.
- Yes, that is what you think it is.
- Although we had been duly warned by our tour books, still managed to feel traumatized after walking out of "Taga Shrine" with the three-story fertility museum chock full of penis/vagina statues, illustrated kama sutras among other things, amusing animal sex comics, and similar-themed historical relics from all over the world that would be shocking if seen at a regular temple, or indeed anywhere else. I wanted to wash my mind out with soap afterward.
- Reached the biggest city in Shikoku: Matsuyama.
- Were unable to climb the hill to see the GIANT stone statue towering over the trees, welcoming pilgrims, because rain made it impassable; but enjoyed pilgrim-watching at the nearby temple.
- Were entirely unimpressed with the very famous "Dogo" hot spring; found it to be tiny, narrow, lacking in shampoo and towels, too hot, too crowded, and had old men disrobing in the same room they served us tea in; wondered what the heck all the tour guide books were talking about when they recommended this even if some emperor DID bathe here.
- Took tram to downtown shopping arcade; did purikura; ate very yummy okonomiaki available in either Hiroshima style (chock full of soba) or Kansai style; had no room left for Haagen Dazs.
- Woke up early; had the ryokan lady feed us a requested "non-fish" breakfast that included toast, hard boiled eggs, tofu, sausage, and salad; walked to nearby hotel and paid $15 to go into a REAL hot spring with rocks, multiple pools, an outdoor section, and a MYSTERY BUTTON! Pressed the mystery button. Got very wet as water massaged me. Decided this hot spring was worth the money.
- Took cablecar to Matsuyama Castle; climbed up the steep wooden stairs in slippers (as all Japanese castles seem to require); ate bubble-gum flavored shaved ice.
- Had weird guy hit on my companion; he somehow picked up that she was American despite that everyone else on this trip thought she was Japanese and I was "her foreign friend."
- Drove back to Hiroshima on the multi-bridge and made it home! That's four more prefectures out of forty-seven that I've been to. Woo hoo!
Total cost for 6 days and 5 nights including all food, lodging, gas, tolls, and tourist spots: $550.
Number of Cookies Left: Zero.
