Fall Break: The Clear Sound of Jewels

I just arrived back at in Kyoto after a week of break. It is a sunny Saturday afternoon and I don't know what I will write.

I boarded the ferry from Kobe to Takamatsu early Saturday morning. I didn't really know what to expect in Takamatsu, only that that was the closest "entrance" into Shikoku. I landed at 8 PMish roughly 5 kilometers from the center of Takamatsu, and without any choice, started the trek on foot. I luckily ran into a very friendly fellow, who suggested that I sit down and have a dinner of udon. Takamatsu's udon (and for that matter the whole northwestern part of Shikoku's udon), I was soon to realize, is supposedly the most delicious udon in Japan. But to my indifferent palate, it was merely as wonderufully delicious as the udon that I have been eating in Kyoto. Nonetheless, I soon located a ryokan and was fast asleep.
The next morning I wandered into the ruins of Tamamo castle, which lies right on the sea, with my duffel bag and an atlas of Japan.

Two older ladies approached me and explained that one of their friends hadn't showed up and that they had an extra ticket to an invitation only tea ceremony in the ruins of the castle. Jumping at the opportunity, I told them how I was studying in Kyoto and how this was my idea of a vacation. Luckily, they took to me quickly and soon we were sitting seiza in a room with a few tea masters and other older ladies. It was really a delight. After we sampled amazake, a wonderful osake based sweet drink. Interestingly, just outside the castle grounds, the Yakuza were staging a peaceful "rally", which we quickly avoided. I treated the ladies to a lunch of udon, and then found myself in the town of Kotohira.

Throughout the year, pilgrims from all over Japan trek (usually with the help of a bus) to the eighty-eight Shinto shrines that are spread around Shikoku, with perhaps the most famous stationed in Kotohira. After a nights stay in a riverside ryokan, and a climb halfway up the 1500-odd stairs, I met my two fellow (although usually separated) travellers, who had arrived late from Takamatsu. Countless toris and shrines lined the path to the top. Finally we reached the final shrine, which stood rather precariously on stilts which jutted from a rock face, surrounded by trees. We leisurely took lunch there where I unexpectedly, but excitedly, recieved a call from home. Happy Birthday Mom!





I next found myself in Katsurahama, where a famous statue of Sakamoto Ryoma, the local hero who played a role in instigating the Meiji Restoration, looks over the sea. I spent some hours reading and exploring the surrounding port. I met with my two friends who were travelling the same area, and we started heading west along the coast.






I stumbled across a run-down shrine tucked behind the port:




Next, we found ourselves in Ashizuri, which is the southernmost point in Shikoku. We luckily ran into a JET who was stationed in the nearby town of Tosa-Shimizu. She was nice enough to point us to the hostel which lies on the grounds of a Shinto shrine. As it was getting dark, we quickly made our way to the ocean shore and lighthouse. The tori (above) seemingly leads straight into the rock that juts out into the ocean, but if you shimmy up the rock face a small shrine comes into view. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera. But that rock face turns out to be the roof of one of the biggest ocean "caves" in Japan.