Wish we could have spent 2 weeks on Shikoku, instead we had 2 days.
In Tosa-Iwahara we went rafting with HappyRaft on the Oboke river. I’m sure the guys thought it was a floozy, but Bram and I had good fun and didn’t go overboard, yay! Afterwards we borrowed a ‘car’, aka a little pickup truck, to explore the Iya valley. It’s so tiny Bram’s knees pushed against the dashboard. Unfortunately the roads are equally tiny, as narrow as our little pickup. However we happily winded and honked our way through the gorgeous green valley, visiting the vine bridges and onsens. We stayed 2 nights at Teru’s farmhouse – the one with the red roof in the first picture.
In Kotohira we decided to skip the 1000 steps to Kompirasan’s main shrine in favor of the local sake brewery & museum and the Kabuki theatre. It’s a really nice town to wander about.
Our last night was spent in Maysuyama, famous for its Haiku poet, and Dogo, a cute little onsen resort.
More pictures later, but here’s a couple including a chopstick shop and gorgeous kabuki posters!
The last one is of the Inland Sea. Getting to and from Shikoku you will see tiny islands of green like dust speckles in a misty sea of blue, ferry beats train anytime!
Continue reading Shikoku roundup
Tag: photos
No Smoking…
…or the mountains will put their headbands on and the bears start scratching you. While a little girl – wearing number 4 – will try to hypnotize your cigarette!!!
Konichiwa Osaka
Everything they say about Japan is true. Well, the good things at least! Service is impeccable and everything is so clean. Most ads have cute little animals. And English is non-existant in some places, like the 2nd floor bar I’m in right now, but hey, my Japanese is improving, hai!
Today we started out with a traditional bath in our hotel. Our restroom has a one-armed, heated Toto which Bram immediately put to the test. Our hotel, T’Point, is a design boutique hotel near Shinsaibashi station, well recommended!
We spent most of the day in Sumiyoshi taisha shrine to watch the annual Otaue rice planting festival. Near the shrine’s northern gate is a great coffee shop – kissaten – called Winnipeg. Check the pictures to see the cutest panda latte art.
In the late afternoon we passed Osaka castle and took a ride on a ferris-wheel ON TOP of a skyscraper building. And now we are sampling a bit of the nightlife around Dotonbori, the neon lights are truly too bright! Back to playing Wii with the bartender 🙂
Btw, Osaka is full of bicycles! If I had known we would have rented some!