What an adventure!

Better get a snack--this blog might be a little long. We just returned from a 5-day "vacation" on the island of Shikoku (4th largest--pop. 5 million) and so much happened, there's a lot to report.

Our amazing host, Mie, comes from Shikoku and she arranged the entire trip. The island is surrounded by steep mountains covered in forests--people live in the valleys. We flew to the capital city of Matsuyama (1 hour), picked up a rental car and drove 2 hours to meet her parents in an udon noodle restaurant which is a specialty of the area. The wheat noodles are freshly made and are served in a bamboo bowl. The meal included tiny fried crabs caught in the local river.

Tiny crabs

We then drove to Mie's parents' home in Yoshinogawa. This is a beautiful small town of about 20,000, filled with charming homes, rice paddies and shrines around every corner. Nuboru (which means "sunrise"), Mie's father, is an affable, friendly guy and Yuriko ("lily"), Mie's mother, is a sweet and charming woman. They speak Engish well and their Japanese home is quite large with many rooms. They love having visitors and are generous and gracious hosts.

Rice paddies near Mie's house

Next I did something really Japanese: I got dressed up in a kimono that was made by Mie's grandmother, who also lives with them (Yukiko--"happiness"). Miles wore a yukata. It took Yuriko about 30 minutes to dress me and there were about 12 different parts to put together. I have no idea how a woman can dress herself since so much of it happens from behind, like the complicated obi sash. How one goes to the bathroom, I'll just have to imagine. (Needless to say, I didn't try.)

Miles-san and Laurie-san

We made sushi for dinner. Yum. We slept in the guest room on tatami mats. Our western bodies were a little sore in the morning, but one can get used to anything.

Making sushi

Tatami-mat bedroom in Mie's house

The island is most famous for its 88 Buddist temples and many come here to trek from temple to temple. If you did the journey in one go, it would take about 3 months. Our challenge: to hike from Temple #11 to #12, a distance of 13 kilometers.. #11 is about a 40-minute walk from Mie's home. We left around 9 am, with lunch boxes wrapped in beautiful cloths, filled with rice balls, fried tofu and pickled vegetables. Yum again. It was a beautiful day and a hard hike. We went up-down, up-down, up, covering 3 peaks totaling a 1000 meter climb. But was it ever worth it! Fantastic views, the trees amazing, the temples beautiful. At each temple, there are pilgrims making their trek, dressed in special white shirts and pants, some carrying walking sticks and wearing straw hats and bells. Once at the temple, they chant their prayers and then go to a scribe who stamps a "trek" book with the local stamp and writes a notation in black ink/Japanese brush in beautiful calligraphy. Every ritual is done with such respect and honor. We finished at around 4:30 and an ice cream at the end perked me right up.

Sign post marking the trek from temple to temple

View from the top of the trail

Temple trekker--he had walked to 52 temples in 12 years...36 to go!


Temple 11

The next day, we drove to a preserved 18th century Edo period street. The Edo period lasted about 200 years, 1650-1868. Another special feature of this area is indigo dyed cloth. The buildings we saw, mostly from the outside, were from around 1707. Wow.

Edo period buildings

Indigo display

We then left town and drove about 1 1/2 hours to the more mountainous region along the Oboke Gorge. Lots of river rafting and hiking along here. The highlight for us was to go to a thermal bath atop a mountain. The women and men bathe separately and after washing first, sit in the rock trimmed outdoor hot pools gazing out over the mountains. Does it get any better than this??? Ahhhhh...Sorry, no pictures allowed. Modesty issues.

Next day, we walked over the river on the Iya Vine Bridge. They have to re-construct this bridge every 3 years and I had to refrain from jumping and swinging on it. Darn.

Iya Vine Bridge

Next we took a tourist boat ride on the river to see the green/blue slate rocks. We then drove to the top of a mountain to see a miniature version of the 88 temples. This took less than an hour compared to 90 days! Our next stop by car was to #66 Temple which is only accessible by gondola. We ended the day driving back to the capital, Matsuyama.

Oboke Gorge

Shrine for the elderly (male and female) at Temple 66

Next day, while Miles and Mie were at the University (Miles had a lecture--yes, he likes to work sometimes), Mie arranged for me to have a guide take me around the older part of the city. There were shrines, a thermal bath house in a 150-year old building, old fashioned trolleys/trains and charming shops. After a tour of the lab at the university, we headed for the airport and came back to Tokyo.

19th century street car station in Matsuyama

We were so grateful for Mie, who made our stay there so memorable.

Till next time. Go to sleep, if you're still with me. This blog was a cure for insomnia. I warned you.