Kate, Tina, Corinne and I hopped on the ferry for a weekend getaway to Shikoku, the most rural of the 4 major islands in Japan. Perhaps "getaway" is not the appropriate word choice here, as "get away" makes it sound as if we took a short ferry ride to Shikoku and then sat on the beach, tropical drinks in hand. Tina, master traveler that she is had it all planned out, and wonderful as it was, it was anything but layed back. The travel started at about 5:30AM Saturday morning, from there we had another 3 hours or so until we boarded the ferry in the north of the prefecture at about 8. From there we took a two hour ferry ride to Shikoku, only to be followed by, you guessed it, more trains.
Our first stop on Shikoku was Otani, a very small, very rural pottery village. Otani developed out of the need for large containers to hold mass amounts of indigo dye famous in the area. HUGE pots are made by hand on a MANUALLY operated pottery wheel. That is no small feat. We got to peak inside a few workshops and see the pots drying, but unfortunately didn't get a chance to see anyone at work.
Next on the carefully planned agenda were the Naruto whirlpools. Supposedly strong currents collide so strongly that they create whirlpools just off the coast. Welllllll, we did see a few small whirlpools, and the boat ride was fun, so I'm not complaining, but I would say this is what many would call a genuine tourist trap. (The first one is what it really looked like, the second is advertised....
We got back to Tokushima at about 7:00, but even after a 12 hour day we weren't slow'n down. We went to a performance of a regional folk dance, the Awa Odori. The music and dancing were phenomenal, and reflected a very different side of Japanese dance than the one so often popularized; refined geisha girls taking tiny steps with subtle fan movements. Unfortunately I didn't get to take a video, so photos will have to do. So fun was the dance, that I decided I would actually have to take part in it myself. Kate, Tina, and I got up to try it out when they called for volunteers, and as the only foreigners there I can assure you we had a lot of eyes on us as we made fools of ourselves.
The next day you might think we took it easy, but no, we boarded another 5:30AM train for another long train ride to the Ritsurin Gardens in Takamatsu. The gardens were really nice, especially given that we beat any potential crowds by a good 4 or 5 hours. Japanese gardens have become one of my favorite things about living in Japan. There are absolutely stunning gardens everywhere in this country. Their sense of balance, placement, and natural beauty is really different than the gardens you typically find at home. (Though we are really lucky to have the Japanese garden as a part of the Duke Gardens.) Japanese gardens aim to replicate the natural landscape, albeit a properly trimmed and primped natural landscape. Color is subtle, grass, rocks, and other greenery make up the majority of the scenery. Line and form rather than symmetry and flowers become the focus.
Already hungry and in need of some sugar to keep us going we left the serene natural landscape for a Mister Donut a few stops away. Energized and ready to see more, we walked over to Takamatsu castle. Apart from one watch tower, the castle was primarily ruins, and will go down in my book as just another Japanese castle.
Our final stop in Shikoku was Shikokumura, a model folk town/outdoor museum. The highlight for me was the vine bridge, a model of much bigger higher ones further into the island. Other than that there were a lot of model huts with different functions. They were set among a forest which made the village really nice.
Altogether it was a really a nice trip, though I took a few days to recover. As the months and weeks dwindle it's hard to decide exactly which is more important, seeing more of Japan or saving more money in preparation for returning home. I have been really lucky this year and I have seen a lot of Japan. The truth is though, I will never see it all, there is a lot that I want see that I won't get around to. As the years comes to a close though, I am really happy with how much of Japan I have gotten a chance to see.
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