Shikoku Road Trip!!! すごい!!

I’ve been horrible at keeping up to date. So I want to go back in time a little to a road trip that I took with my boss and a bunch of students. We rented a camper van and headed south to the sunny and warm island of Shikoku. We journeyed into a prefecture called Kagawa-ken. Kagawa is famous for its sanuki Udon. This is a type of thick noodle that is famous in Japan. We started this kick-ass road trip at 5 am, yes that’s right, the sun had yet to come up and I had to look photo worthy. Once everyone was in we headed on our way. It was a 5-6 hour drive to get there. We passed over the famous Seto-Ohashi bridge which links Okayama to Shikoku. And of course went straight to a famous Udon shop for our first of many Udonya’s. After that...well, then we went to another Udon shop. My students were really serious about the Udon. They had pre-researched all the best places to go. Thank Buddha for the GPS system that gave us directions to all the shops. Then we went to a famous shrine and mountain in Kotohira, called Kompira-san. The shrine is located on the top of a mountain. The only way up is to climb the 1368 steps to the top. And well, of course those 1368 steps are the only way down as well. My calves were definitely feeling the trek, that and the 5am wake-up call were making me chotto nemui (little sleepy). The temple is dedicated to the Gardian or Mariners. The picture below is the large Asahino Yashiro (Shrine of the Rising Sun) built in 1837. The climb was not easy, but totally worth the view at the top. And it was a beautiful and sunny day.

Then we took the fairy across to a smaller island called Shodo-Shima, where we would be staying in a youth hostel for the night. The hostel was a traditional type. Which means your bed is inconveniently hidden in the closet and you have to pull it out and dress it and then sleep uncomfortably on the hard floor all night. I put a duvet and blankets under me just to try to add some extra cushioning. And of course you have to love the team bath. There weren’t any showers, but only a “bath room” where you are expected to bath with others, taking turns using the room (and bath water) with the men. It isn’t as bad as I just described, in fact it is lovely. You shower first and then climb into hot hot water. A nice end to a long day.

The next day we headed for adventures on the island. First we went to see a traditional Kabuki play house. It was all closed up, but we could peep between the windows and saw a cool scene, and a revolving stage. It would be quite the sight to see a play in person. Then we headed to a huge standing up Buddha. We were able to go inside and get the royal tour. A monk blessed us and then we listened to him chant for a while. Then he let us take the elevator up to the Buddha’s chest. The whole while commenting on the random foreigner (me) who was traveling with a group of Japanese people.

Next we headed for this sight on the shore called ‘Lovers Road’. During low tide a curved road is created, but at high tide it was covered. That’s the group shot below.

Then we took the fairy back to the main island and headed for yet another Udonya for a brilliant lunch with Udon, and sushi, and tempura. Oishi!! おいし!! Then we went to a Temple called Zensuji. It is one of the sacred 88 temples that people doing pilgrimages will pass through. It is also basically the largest one. One temple on the ground was very special because it had sand from all the other temples scattered around it, there by visiting this one temple, you can spiritually visit them all.

The drive home was a very long one. My students and boss tried to speak English when they could, but most of the time it was quick Japanese. This can be isolating at times. But it also gave me an opportunity I don’t have in class, which is to learn Japanese from my students. So it was a really good trip, tiring and packed with Udon, but great. It is very convenient to travel with people who actually speak the language, they aren’t strangers in a strange land like me.