Shikoku 3-Day Itinerary: Day Three

Read Day 1 here - Uzu no michi, Mount Bizan
Read Day 2 here - Iya Valley, Oboke Gorge
Read Day 3 here - Kochi Castle, Ritsurin Garden

We got into Kochi (??) in the evening last night but the morning of day three, we noticed that the temperature was warmer than Tokushima which was not that far more north. We didn't have much time today as it would be a long journey back to our town so we did not get to explore Kochi as well as we would like.

Kochi Castle

We took the tram from Kochi Station to go to Kochi Castle (200 yen). The tram went to Harimaya Bridge, then we had to hop off and transfer to another tram which took us to Kochi Castle. The castle opened at 9am and we were there about 10 minutes before so it was quiet and relaxing. Entrance to the castle cost 420 yen and there were some displays inside. At the top of a few flights of stairs was a panoramic view of Kochi city. This is the fourth Japanese castle I have been to after the ones in Himeji, Nagoya and Matsuyama. Unfortunately I would have to rank Kochi Castle as number four.

Displays inside Kochi Castle

Model of Kochi Castle

Panoramic view from Kochi Castle

Instead of taking the tram back, we walked back under the arcades (covered shopping streets). We passed by Hirume Market (?????) which had an assortment of food goods. I found a kinken shop (??????) nearby which is a discount ticket shop and bought my train ticket from Kochi Station to Takamatsu Station (3050 yen).

Taking the 11:13am train to Takamatsu Station (??), we arrived at 1:32pm. We hopped onto another train (210 yen) that departed at 1:40pm for Ritsurinkoen kita-guchi Station (???????). This latter train only comes every half an hour. The ride to Ritsurin Koen/Garden was only 5 minutes and it was another few minutes walk to the north entrance of the garden. Entrance fee was 420 yen each.

Koi at Ritsurin Garden

Tranquility at Ritsurin Garden

Boat ride at Ritsurin Garden

The garden was beautifully trimmed and the abundance of koi fish in the water brought colour to the otherwise largely green garden. Sunlight filtered through the leaves and made the green glitter. I really experienced what the Japanese call komorebi (????) here. It's a great place to slow down your footsteps and collect your thoughts.

Walking back to Takamatsu Station took about 40 minutes and there was a long shopping arcade on the way. Again I bought my train ticket from Takamatsu Station to Okayama Station (??) at a discount shop and it cost 1320 yen. We took the 3:40pm train to Okayama Station and the journey was about an hour.

Okayama Castle

We took a tram from Okayama Station to Shiroshita stop (100 yen) which was only a few stops away. From Shiroshita, it was about a 10 minute walk to Okayama Castle. We saw it from the outside because it was closed by the time we were there.

That is the end of our Shikoku trip and we even managed to fit one sightseeing spot from Okayama in the end. From Okayama you can take the Shinkansen or train to wherever is next on your Japan journey.

Read Day 1 here - Uzu no michi, Mount Bizan
Read Day 2 here - Iya Valley, Oboke Gorge
Read Day 3 here - Kochi Castle, Ritsurin Garden

Shikoku 3-Day Itinerary: Day Two

Read Day 1 here - Uzu no michi, Mount Bizan
Read Day 2 here - Iya Valley, Oboke Gorge
Read Day 3 here - Kochi Castle, Ritsurin Garden

For day two of our trip, we headed to another part of Tokushima Prefecture (???).  Yesterday when we arrived at JR Tokushima Station, we went to the travel agency located there and asked about tours for Iya Valley and Oboke Gorge. She recommended the Bonnet Bus tour. I found the Bonnet Bus tour online prior to the trip but since it required telephone reservation and I didn't have enough Japanese to communicate, I didn't make the call. The travel agent called and made reservations for us and we paid her on the spot. It was 7500 yen for an almost 6 hour tour including lunch. 

Bonnet Bus

The All Shikoku Rail Pass can also be purchased there for 6300 yen for 2 days of unlimited JR rides in Shikoku. It even allows rides up to Okayama for when you leave Shikoku. 

JR Tokushima station

In the morning of day two, we took the 9am train from Tokushima Station to Awa-ikeda Station (????). We arrived at around 10:15am and waited until 10:40am for the tour to begin. There were about 20 people in the tour and half were foreign tourists while the other half were Japanese. The tour itself was mostly in Japanese but they gave us a poster in English at the beginning so at least we knew the names of the places we were going to. The language barrier wasn't a huge problem as long as you knew how to tell time in Japanese so you can understand when the guide wants you back on the bus.

The bus was a small and old vehicle but it zipped through the narrow, often single-lane, mountains roads. In mid-October, the weather forecast said low 20C in the afternoon but it was much colder in the mountains so dress warmly! 

Iya Valley

Peeing boy statue

A 40 minute drive took us to the first stop, which was the statue of a peeing boy overlooking Iya Valley (????). Some parts of the tour had English recordings playing over the loudspeaker to explain the sights. I didn't quite catch the story behind this statue but in any case, it was quite amusing to see the placement of this statue. The valley was very deep from our height up in the mountain and that itself was great.

Lunch

The next stop was already lunch. I was expecting a simple meal because it was included in the tour fee but it was actually a nice meal in a restaurant overlooking the valley. We were served soba noodles, a grilled fish, rice, miso soup and an assortment of other side dishes. I was very full at the end of the meal. 

Kazurabashi

After a short drive, we arrived at Kazurabashi (????). The bridge was 45 metres long over the Iya River. I have been to a few other suspension bridges before but this one was pretty special. It didn't sway especially dangerously but the floor boards were wide apart such that my small feet could easily slip through. As well, it looked like the bridge was only held up by vine and some pieces of wood (I sure hope there was more reinforcement underneath!) 

Walking on Kazurabashi

Vines that held up the bridge

The Heike Folk Museum was next and it was a traditional Japanese house with different old items inside from baskets to money. Then we went to a rest area in Oboke (???) and a monster greeted us as we alighted the bus. The rest area had a monster mansion and since it was the month of Halloween, they had staff in costume roaming the area and also costumes for kids to wear and take photos in. 

Monster!

The last stop of the tour was a boat cruise down Yoshino River in Oboke. This was the first time where I had to take off my shoes to ride a boat. The floor of the boat was matted and we took off our shoes at the bow before sitting down. The ride was leisurely and we rode in a calm part of the river where the guide pointed out at rocks that resembled animals on the way. He did so in Japanese and none of the rocks looked particularly like animals to me so I didn't know what animals they were supposed to represent.

Yoshino River

Boat ride

Observing interesting rocks

We were driven back to JR Awa-ikeda Station by 4pm. Overall I think this tour was pretty worthwhile because it would have been difficult navigating the large area via public bus. As well, all the places we went to, except for the rest area, required admission fee and the tour fee included all of those plus a good lunch.

We took the 4:30pm train from Awa-ikeda Station to Kochi Station (??). The ride was about 75 minutes and cost 2820 yen.

Read Day 1 here - Uzu no michi, Mount Bizan
Read Day 2 here - Iya Valley, Oboke Gorge
Read Day 3 here - Kochi Castle, Ritsurin Garden

Shikoku 3-Day Itinerary: Day One

Read Day 1 here - Uzu no michi, Mount Bizan
Read Day 2 here - Iya Valley, Oboke Gorge
Read Day 3 here - Kochi Castle, Ritsurin Garden

We were able to explore three prefectures in Shikoku (??) over three days. Shikoku is one of the four main islands of Japan. Departing from Sannomiya Station in Kobe, we took a bus to Naruto koenguchi (?????) where the whirlpools are. We took Shinki Bus which took 78 minutes and cost 2280 yen one way for advance purchase at the conbini.

Naruto Bridge

The bus dropped us off by 10:15am and a lady at the tourist booth told us that the next tidal change was at 11:30am. Since we had more than an hour to wait, we opted for the promotion which was 900 yen for entrance to the museum and Uzu no michi. The museum was small but informative about the whirlpools and famous bridges in Japan and around the world.

Interactive parts of the museum

Uzu no michi (???) was a walkway under the Naruto Bridge and had glass flooring so tourists can see the whirlpool in action below. I was mesmerized as the water swirled stronger and stronger as it approached 11:30am. The colour was a bright blue mixed with navy and pictures did not do it justice. I have heard that some people were disappointed by the Naruto Whirlpools but I think that it is just important to check the high and low tide times of each day to see them at their height of action.

Uzu no michi

Whirlpools forming under my feet

Uzu no michi

A short walk away from the bridge, down a flight of stairs behind the museum was the bus stop for heading to Tokushima (??). The ride took a little over an hour and cost 710 yen one way.

After dropping our things off at our hotel in Tokushima, we headed to Mount Bizan (??) with the intention of riding the ropeway up to see the sunset and night view (1200 yen round trip). However, there happened to be an anime festival that weekend and the queue for the ropeway was at least 1.5 hours long because there was an event on Mount Bizan.

On the hike up Mount Bizan

View of Tokushima City from Mount Bizan

Instead of waiting, we opted to hike up the mountain. It took about 45 minutes and most of the trail were rocks or tree roots. Only the beginning and end of the trail had proper stairs. I actually preferred the rocky trail because it was less tiring than stairs.

Sunset from Mount Bizan

The view at the top was great! We could see far out into the city and the sunset were gorgeous shades of crimson and orange descending behind the shadowy mountains. The queue going down the mountain was pretty long as well so we began our hike down before nightfall since it was not lit. We did not get to see the the night view but the beautiful sunset made up for it.

Read Day 1 here - Uzu no michi, Mount Bizan
Read Day 2 here - Iya Valley, Oboke Gorge
Read Day 3 here - Kochi Castle, Ritsurin Garden

Castle in the Sky and Kinosaki Onsen

Being a fan of Studio Ghibli, I have wanted to visit the Takeda Castle Ruins since I learned of it when I first came to Japan. It is said to be a Castle in the Sky like the Ghibli movie called Laputa and is also sometimes called the Machu Picchu of Japan. I have not yet been to Machu Picchu in Peru but the version in Japan is definitely much smaller in area and the hike is easier.

Lone bench at the Takeda Castle Ruins

After some research online, it was recommended that we go between sunrise to 8am. After 8am, the fog will have mostly dissipated and the castle among the clouds effect will be gone. On a Sunday morning, we set off at 5am and drove for about 1.5 hours to Asago (??). You can also take the train to JR Takeda Station (???). You can visit Asago's website here for more information on the castle's history and how to get there.

We followed the Google Maps route and it led us to a parking lot where traffic controllers told us that the lot was closed until 8am and directed us to another parking lot. At the next parking lot there was a sign with a map and we followed it to walk to the base of the mountain where Hyomaijinja is (????). We chose the sign that said 30-40 minute Mountain Trail (actually it had a typo and was spelled Mauntain Trail) that was visible on the left after you ascend the flight of stone stairs up to the shrine. If you do not want to hike, you can take a Zentan bus up for 500 yen. Check the schedule here.

The hike was steeper than I thought and although it was a cool morning, we were all sweating by the time we reached the top after many flights of stairs on the trail. Admission to the castle ruins cost 500 yen. We reached the top around 7:30am and the view was definitely worth the steep hike. The dense fog hung over the castle ruins allowing parts of the lush green rice fields at the bottom to peep through. 7:30am in the morning may seem early but if you were going to make your way out there, you should try your best to come before the fog goes away.

The castle in the sky photos used to promote the Takeda Castle Ruins were probably taken from a helicopter or on a mountain on the opposite side because this trail leads you to the castle ruins itself so you cannot see it in its entirety enveloped by clouds. However, it was still very pretty and serene. Despite the word "ruins" in the name, the place was tidy and well kept with rope to prevent tourists from stepping out of bounds into dangerous zones. There were no visible remnants of the castle left except some stone bases. The hike down the mountain was much, much easier and quite enjoyable.

Kinosaki Onsen area

After a day of early morning hiking, we drove for another hour to Kinosaki Onsen (????), a quaint onsen town with seven different onsens. Honestly, we chose one at random and tried out Ichino-yu (600 yen per person). The water was very hot and there was a semi-outdoor section which was less hot.

Crab Soba

We found lunch at a restaurant by the river and I tried some crab soba because crab is supposedly famous in this part of Hyogo Prefecture. In all, it was a productive day with a good balance of exercising and relaxing.

Otsu, Uji, Osaka: 1-Day Itinerary

I wanted to make the most of my Seishun 18 pass (??18???) and I was able to pack three prefectures and three cities into one day. Of course this only allowed me to see one or two sights in each city but I didn't mind because I had specific targets for each anyways.

Lake Biwa seen from Otsu, Shiga

Starting from Himeji (??) I took the JR Rapid Service to Otsu (??) which took 100 minutes because I could not ride the Shinkansen with the Seishun 18 pass. Otsu is the capital of Shiga Prefecture (???) and is one of the cities that you can see Lake Biwa (???), the largest freshwater lake in Japan.

From the JR Otsu Station, I took a city bus (200 yen) to Otsu Port to see Lake Biwa. The weather was gorgeous, albeit a bit hot and the gentle breeze made it a pleasant visit. You can rent bikes and ride along the water in the park next to the port. I ate lunch here overlooking the lake and went back to the JR station for the next destination.

Tourist street in Uji

Matcha drink in Uji

The train ride to Uji (??) in Kyoto Prefecture (???) was between 30 to 40 minutes and required one transfer in Kyoto city. From JR Uji Station, there were clear signs and photocopies of instructions for tourists to get the directions to Byodo-In Temple (???). The Byodo-In Temple has a home on one side of the 10 yen coin. The walk to the temple was about 15 minutes and on the way you pass through a souvenir street selling matcha products in every shop since that is what Uji is famous for. The admission to Byodo-In Temple cost 600 yen.

Byodo-in Temple

Comparing the temple on the back of the 10 yen

Inside is the Phoenix Hall

There were a decent number of people inside when I was there in the late afternoon but incomparable to the crowdedness of Kinkakuji (???) in Kyoto. Therefore it was more pleasant to just stand and observe the temple while comparing it to the 10 yen coin in my hand. There were some women in yukata taking photos with their friends which matched the environment very well.

Famous matcha store

After having some matcha dessert at a nearby store, I hopped on the next train to the last city and the last prefecture of the day: Osaka (??) in Osaka Prefecture. The train ride was between 50-60 minutes and required a transfer in Kyoto again.

Shinsaibashi area

Dotonbori

In Osaka, I met my friend at Shinsaibashi (???) to look around the shops and ate some takoyaki around Dotonbori (???). Osaka was very crowded and lively on this Saturday evening. We had a tabehoudai (????) dinner which means all-you-can-eat but the one we went to wasn't that great so I won't mention it.

All in all, my trip covered a decent area and I was able to go about leisurely. If I had more time, I would probably eat more matcha goodies in Uji!

Osaka

Hiroshima and Matsuyama 5-Day Itinerary: Day Five

Read Day 1 here - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Manga Library
Read Day 2 here - Miyajima, Mount Misen
Read Day 3 here - Ferry to Matsuyama
Read Day 4 here - Matsuyama Castle, Dogo Onsen, Ishiteji Temple
Read Day 5 here - Return journey

The entire day 5 of our journey was spent trying to get back to Hyogo Prefecture (???). We knew that it would take at least several hours so we went to JR Matsuyama Station (??) by 10am to catch the 10:15am highway bus to Kobe (??). When we got there, we were told that every single highway bus to Kobe for that day was sold out! We should have known better to book ahead of time since it was Silver Week.

Fortunately we could still take the train. We bought the tickets in a rush 3 minutes before the train departed and we were on our way to Okayama (??). I could barely understand what the staff at the gate said but I believe she said that our tickets weren't for the express train so we would have to pay more on board. We did not want to wait an hour for the next train so we nodded and rushed onto the train.

Sure enough the train conductor came to check our tickets and notified us that we had to pay a fee. In total, the trip from Matsuyama to Okayama cost 6310 yen for the non-reserved seat option. The journey was 3 hours long and a bit shakey in the beginning since it was going so fast along the curvy coastline but the view was excellent. We were by the water most of the time and it was a sunny day.

Late lunch pho in Himeji

At Okayama, the normal JR trains to Himeji (??) were sold out. We weren't sure whether the JR staff was trying to say that it was sold out for the next few hours or the whole day but we opted to buy the Shinkansen tickets instead. The Shinkansen ticket from Okayama to Himeji for non-reserved seats cost 3220 yen each. The journey was a quick 21 minutes.

Although it cost more than the highway bus option, we were fortunate to have found a way back and be able to find seats in the non-reserved carts during such a busy holiday when everyone was returning to his or her respective cities on the same day.

That is all for my first Silver Week in Japan! We had a packed schedule and visited various places without overtiring ourselves.

Read Day 1 here - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Manga Library
Read Day 2 here - Miyajima, Mount Misen
Read Day 3 here - Ferry to Matsuyama
Read Day 4 here - Matsuyama Castle, Dogo Onsen, Ishiteji Temple
Read Day 5 here - Return journey

Hiroshima and Matsuyama 5-Day Itinerary: Day Four

Read Day 1 here - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Manga Library
Read Day 2 here - Miyajima, Mount Misen
Read Day 3 here - Ferry to Matsuyama
Read Day 4 here - Matsuyama Castle, Dogo Onsen, Ishiteji Temple
Read Day 5 here - Return journey

Today was a full day city tour of Matsuyama (??) and we purchased a one-day tram pass (500 yen). Our first stop was the Matsuyama Castle which was on top of Mount Katsuyama at 132 metres above sea level. There is a ropeway that takes you up for 2000 yen roundtrip but we opted to walk. There were a lot of stairs and some parts were steep but it wasn't a long walk (around 15 minutes).

Matsuyama Castle

The castle area is free to walk around in but the castle itself cost 510 yen to enter. There were three floors and at the top we could see a panoramic view of the city. No shoes are allowed inside and they provide slippers to wear but you may want to bring/wear socks. The stairs inside the castle were steep but not as steep and narrow as the Himeji Castle ones.

View from Matsuyama Castle

After descending the mountain we found lunch at Ehime Kitchen which was delicious. We took the tram back to the Dogo Onsen (????) area and went to the Dogo Onsen Hanko's tour of where past imperial families have used their facilities 10 times. It cost 260 yen and was a short tour. We opted for the tour instead of bathing at the onsen because it was very crowded during Silver Week.

Dogo Onsen

Next on the agenda was walking from a back route to the Ishiteji Temple (???). We were recommended this path by the person at our hostel and she gave a chuckle when she said there were some strange statues on the trail. The path can be reached going past Dogo Onsen and walking away and uphill from the shopping streets.

On the way you will see a sign that says Youth Hostel. You can follow that sign uphill until another Youth Hostel sign points for you to turn right. Instead of turning right, keep going straight. This part was completely empty unlike the busy Dogo Onsen Arcade a block back.

Entrance to the cave

On the way, there is a kindergarten and graveyard. On the right is an entrance to a cave which is 200 metres long and leads to Ishiteji temple. The large stone on the front roughly resembled a skull. Across the street from the cave further down the road was a broken sign which read "Welcome" in English and another word I did not recognize. There was a scary looking figure carved above the wooden sign. Beyond the wooden sign was a very large dome shaped bronze structure called the Mandala that looked like a space ship behind the gnarly trees that obstructed my vision of it. I was honestly a bit jumpy at this point from all the weird sights.

Walking along the trail, you will see a very large statue of a Buddhist monk named Kobo Daishi. I found out the names of all the strange things I saw in a brochure at the temple but before knowing what they were, it all seemed a bit strange. The land on the sides of the trail were a bit forlorn with an abandoned looking building and stone and colourful crumbling statues watching those who approached on the trail.

Ishiteji Temple

Finally we reached the Ishiteji Temple and the inside was more "normal." There were elements that were common to other Japanese temples but the trail that led to this temple made it feel special. We didn't go into the cave nor the Mandala because they were closed but read this blog post on the entire experience. It was definitely the most adventurous day of our trip.

Since the bathhouse in Spirited Away was inspired by Dogo Onsen, we joked that the unique sights that we saw in Matsuyama must have helped with ideas in the movie as well.

After the goosebump inducing hike, we went to Tsubaki no Yu down the road from Dogo Onsen for a bath. It was a more modern onsen than Dogo and less crowded. It cost 400 yen and you must bring your own towel and soap. Though if you forget, those are available for rental. Using the hair dryer cost 10 yen and the locker also cost 10 yen.

Dogo Onsen and Tsubaki no Yu are known to have really hot water. This was my first public bathhouse experience in Japan so I cannot compare to other public baths but it was certainly much hotter than the baths I have tried in ryokans and hotels. The relaxing onsen soaked away all the tiredness from traveling the last few days and I felt so refreshed despite a bit sleepy.

We ended the night with a nice bowl of udon and re-watched Spirited Away with snacks back at the hostel.

Free public foot bath outside Dogo Onsen Station

Read Day 1 here - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Manga Library
Read Day 2 here - Miyajima, Mount Misen
Read Day 3 here - Ferry to Matsuyama
Read Day 4 here - Matsuyama Castle, Dogo Onsen, Ishiteji Temple
Read Day 5 here - Return journey