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Well if I was not hot enough from the onsen of Dogo, it certainly paid off in the next few days!
I spent yesterday morning seeing Matsuyama castle, and the tranquil park of Dogo kooen, where I was amongst the like minded taking photos of lillies and beautifully tamed bonsai. The local folk come here for relaxing, reading sleeping, contemplating, and a bit of romance, or so it seems! The odd vagrant also appeared beneath a newspaper and dishevelled clothing, but then again that could be me compared to the TORENDI japanese....I digress...
The streetcars of Matsuyama make getting around a breeze.....so I learnt. For 300 yen you can go anywhere for one day from dawn until 10pm, taking you in the general direction of every tour group known to visit this place. Creating your own itinerary is relativelky easy once you have done some communicating and research - I felt so much better being prepared with kangauage and travel notes, but have been known to recently fly by the seat of my pants.....a rarity I know!
So after visions of swimming at a local beach to alleviate the 29C heat pf Matsuyama I decided ｔo crank down the pace and
see the sights of Uchiko and Uwajima en route to Kochi, my ‘fly by the seat of my pants‘ destination yesterday evening. Ｕchiko is a quaint detsination on the shores of the Oda, Nakayama and Fumoto rivers in Ehime prefecture. Settled in the late 1200s after the Ganjohji temple was established, the town grew to accommodate the farming and forestry industries of the time, and now houses the population of kaitaia.It is set amongst a large valley, and hence gets hot and wintry at opposite ends of the seasons. It reminded me of the gorges in Opotiki or Maungamuka, probably as the people were bathing and camping by the river. Very kiwi, yet Japanese!!! How we are so similar whoever we are....
This ricｈ information obtained a very helpful bespectacled women at the train station held my attention for a short while, until I saw shops and shade, which corresponded well with lunch time! A very toothless and frail old man in an old town shop sold me a bag of what seemed home grown mandarins for only 100 yen (5) which I today started to peel and think I was sold lemons! but turned out not..........................he had an honesty
box for these and 3 large mikans for the same deal, and not reading kanji, I am prone to regular linguistic mistakes! But all was well in the citrus world after all...
So another stop at Uwajima was arranged, enforced as the local train to Koochi did not coincide with the termination at Uwajima. Now being SUNDAY which I completely forgot about being ON HOLIDAY there was little open. What a shame, as I could not contain my excitement over the local fertility symbolism museum that endedup being closed, evidently phallic in nature and a rivetting way to spend an hour. So I had to be content with climbing some steps to one of the 88 ancient shrines of shikoku, part of my intentions to come to this place. Many pilgrams, ancient themselves and also the young, try to reach all 88 independently or by bicycle/ self propelled modes of transport. I could almost say I fall into part of that category....I am always carrying my packs, walking everywhere except when it is too far to get to (omit stupidity from Matsuyama visit!) and doing it the low budget way. Yet I am sure as hell not doing 88
clip, clop, multiplied....
dawn until dusk, these mad keen tennis players showed some pretty deft skilｌ, at keeping others awake!shrines, now that would be overkill not to mention give me what I think I already have, a dose of patello femoral syndrome from all those butt firming exhauisting stairs!Again, no wonder the locals are not obese.
Until today that is, I saw one overweight japanese crossing the bridge in Kochi, just the one so far. I digress...
After Uwajima, I went on what turnedout to be a most stunning train ride with some locals to Kubokawa, a small town in the south of Koochi ken. I got talking to a very nice japanese man whos name I cannot remember, lets call him like every other japanese male as 'Masa'....and it turned out he lives in a small town in the east of Koochi ken called Yasu, has never left albeit to Kyooto once, and lives with his Dada as Mum dies many yrs ago. We had the most in depth conversation about NZ and Japanese economies, house prices, families and work which he did something in the line of finishing off clothing and buttons etc. And this was all done with no English and limited japanese from me....enter the valuable jisho! (dictionary!!) and anything is possible. Language
on ya bike pop
all ages, the honourable jitensha! can be such a barrier yet open up so much connection with people. Please note the photo of our driver who decided to nod off en route...thank god we drove on tracks and not road!!
Kubokawa was a brief stop and made interesting for the motorcycled crew that hammed it up for the obviously Gaijin backpacker for a photo (not included) ......................................................then it was on to Koochi.
Now for the fly by my pants part....I had not arranged any accommodation and arriving at 7.30pm much is usually closed.........until I saw a lovely helpful older japanese man at the tourism counter. We spoke in double negatives of 'are you not open' or 'not closing' until I decided a closed question of open/ closed worked better! He was immensely helpful in organising a bed for me, whom he described with a smile in his face as a 'kawaii gaijin' (cute traveller, I think the cute comes from the size of my pack against my small body and not my appearance which was tired and lack lustre at 8pm!). So it was to be at this local ryokan inn with Tosa Bekkan san, an obaasan, older lady of I swear about
atop Matsuyama shrine
from a great japanese lord、Matsuyama Sadonaga... 90 yrs. Poor obaasan had trouble climbing the stairs to my tatami room, then was thrown into a bit of chaos when pauline let out a scream a few minutes later. No this scream was not from having to bath without water, but at a sizable japanese cockroach that made close friends with my complimentry yukata. Hence I killed it, with the only near thing, my hand, which caused a bit of tatami and not too mention hand carnage, but at least I was now entomologically free.
I found another one later that night but gave it the swifty quick, to be never seen again. Or could it be one that crawled over my headlast night? I will save my imagination for later!!!! Obaasan was very kind in preparing my bed and giving me complimentry vege juice and yoghurt which was a nice addition to an earlier dinner on the train.
Today Kochi was overcast and a bit grim. I did some a walking along the canals and river of the city centre, some slum viewing, and climbing the 100 or so steps to the castle, Koochi-jo, before packing up to leave for a 10.12 departure to Oboke,
toilet practice
amongst the like minded photo fanatics at Dogo kooen, these guys are quite obviously amateur compared to me 6 square inches of Sony...... kotohira and now the bustling hub of tokushima in far eastern shikoku and gateway to the Naruto straits. I talked to a lovely couple from Koochi wwho were going to Osaka for cancer treatment (husband), who were so gracious in giving me some sweets to keep me going...how lovely of them. I felt sad they hadto travel for such treatment which evidently is not available in shikoku.
Other encounters today have been wonderful yet again...........
I went briefly to the tiny village of Oboke, nr Koboke, and hoky pokey, and decided that the falling rain would only get worse and hence aborted the trekking. But I got to interact with some locals by visiting....the shops! I then caught a train onwards to Kotohira, renound as a sight of the 88 temples of shikoku, and very intenese in its committment to the kankoo kyakusan, tourist! I madea pilgramage with my packs....now this was hardcore steps, and believe me I was almost the youngest of the hard core pilgrams doing it. Many looked 80 plus and managed。With bamboo props and sticks, so in honour of them I called this a major achievement. Exchanged many photos and conversations, and was especially enchanted
Dogo onsen
from amongst the lucky strips of paper, this 3 storied onsen is the oldest in Japan! One wash for 400yen. with how they approach the main temple at the summit and pray to their god. I got a young japanese guy to help me and looked a right dick doing my deep and shalloｗ ojigis, clapping and thinking.......The spiritual connection wasasimmenseasmy relieft at not having to climb any more damn steps!
Back to town and another train, not before pissing the post office staff off when I tried to buy 2 not 5 postcards......in the end I got five to send to me increasing japanese penpals, instigated mostly by them as a means to practice english i think, but useful in a mutual way for me too! The train staff are nice and try their skills on me. I got cornered by a very TORENDI japanese guy with blonde hair today who works 'on cars' so we figured by using japanenglish speak, and he expresed a desire to see NZ or Australia some day.............we really are a popular country, not only for LOTR but the scenery too. Mid conversation I realised I needed to get off but the doors would not open on the train. In my desperation I went full throttle through the carriages to the driver to see
river side fun
in uchiko town, it was hot enough to fry some tempura or get wet naked from the waist down by the river Oda (that's the chldren, not adults, now that would be unusual) no doors were open at this station. I then realised I was and so was the train 5 mins EARLY. Hows that!!!! Now thats why the doors were still locked!!
Now in Tokushima I come yet agaion across a very TORENDI japanese toilet....now I buggered if I know how to do anything but wash my ushiro (backside), warm my ushiro, send jets of water through my ushiro....................I then tried to convey that I did not know 'the way of using' the toilet, to which I got funny glances sform my ritzy and expensoive abode for the night, the Agnes hotel TOkushima. We then had a brief lesson, involving one button that lookes like a W and means z'to rise up'. Why did I not just come to the Agnes to get enlightened instead of trying to climb 1000 steps at the spiritual settlement of Kotohira. Incidently they have doctor fish here, that eat your feet. I passed - I doubt my feed would be attractive to them, plus it is free at cooks beach I have heard????
So here endith my Shikoku epistle...be sure of more blog to come as long as there is a god of free
beer anyone?
no id required or cheap internet I will be here!!! I am giving the Naruto whirlpools a miss, too tired and will get or try to some proper sleep, elusive since starting this trip.
Next is Okayama, Miyajima, and Fuji san.....I hope the weather comes to the party on the Fuji front!!!!
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