keiro no hi

Today is the start of Silver Week and a national holiday, Keiro no Hi (Respect for Aged Day), similar to Grandparents Day.

I've shown you my grandparents in the past and wanted to share with you this photo of my great grandparents.

Am bummed that no one in my family knows where the original photo is (it was actually more like a ceramic thing that had their photo on it) nor what their names are.

Appreciating our grandparents, great grandparents for always watching over us.

We’re keeping safe and staying close to home, have a good week.

takamatsu-ogishima-takamatsu-osaka

On our last day of Silver Week, we got up quite early to catch a cab to the pier.

At 8:00, we were on a ferry to Ogishima.

On my flight to Hawaii this summer, I was flipping through the in-flight magazine and came upon an article about Ogishima.

The island is supposed to have more cats than people living there.

During this time of year, the surrounding islands also participate in the Setouchi Triennale Art Festival.

Lots of contemporary artists display their artwork around the islands, some use abandoned houses.

Since the ferry ride to Ogishima is only half an hour, we were there too early to view some of the art displays, so we went around to the opposite side of the island to see their lighthouse.

It is about 1.3 kilometers (0.8 miles) from the ferry pier to the lighthouse.

There is a paved road so it is a nice walk.

The scary part is seeing signs that there are inoshishi (wild boar) in the area...

While descending down the incline to the lighthouse, tons of isopods were scurrying out of the way (they look like huge cockroaches!), while huge grasshoppers were in kamikaze mode, a lot flying into us....me screaming...gah!

The lighthouse is rather small, but I loved how they used the sea glass to decorate the signs.

Since the only way to go all the way around the island was to go up a hill (where there may be wild boar), we decided to go back the way we came...

Through the isopods and flying grasshoppers...

Each art display cost 300 yen per person to view, so we only went to see one.

Then we explored the southern part of the island.

There were some cats here and there but definitely not more than the amount of people living there.

We saw a poster explaining that cats on the island are being neutered/spade.

If their ear is "nicked" to look like a cherry blossom petal, then they have been neutered/spade.

Many of the cats that we did see were already neutered/spade.

Since we had some time before our ferry back to Takamatsu, we hung out at one of the only places open, Onba Cafe.

Onba means "cart" or "wheelbarrow" in the local language.

This cafe has a little workshop off to the side and they make custom onba...so cute!

We were feeling a bit hungry, so Satoshi had their ice cream with coffee while I had their chocolate pound cake with an iced coffee....total of 1400 yen for both.

It was nice to be able to sit and just space out.

The island is rather quiet and very peaceful.

We enjoyed our time on Ogishima but were ready for lunch.

Back in Takamatsu, we stopped at the first Sanuki udon shop we saw...Gainayatsu.

Sanuki Udon is the type of udon served in Kagawa.

The noodles are thick and chewy.

Purists eat it with just a little shoyu, while other prefer just a little dashi (stock).

Satoshi had their small curry udon, while I chose their cold niku (beef) udon.

Satoshi's was piping hot.

My noodles and soup were ice cold, perfect for the humid day, while the owner heated up the beef...and while this was sweet-salty delicious, this turned out to be quite gross toward the middle of my meal, as the fat from the beef congealed with the cold soup...

We both agreed that small was just the right size, leaning on a bit too much for me.

I picked up some soy salt by Kamebishi to try. I'd seen this somewhere online and was curious to try it. Soy sauce is dried to a flake type of "salt". I'll be sure to update when we try this.

And then it was time to get on the bus back to Osaka.

We were bummed to find out that the "business" type of bus with free wifi was not to be found on our route back to Osaka...boo!

The weather was overall cooperative, there were some sprinkles here and there, but for the most part, we were able to do and see what we intended to.

I hope you enjoyed our adventure, we sure had fun.

Gainayatsu
1-27 Nishinomatsu-cho, Matsuya Bldg 1F
Takamatsu, Kagawa
Phone: 090.5270.8779
Hours: 10:00-20:00, days off not set call before going

Onba Cafe/Factory
216 Ogi-cho
Takamatsu, Kagawa
Phone: 087.832.3123
Hours: 11:00-16:30
Open mostly for Setouchi Triennale period and weekends & holidays

iya-awa ikeda-kotohira-oki matsushima

In my last post, while the bridge is in a rather remote area, Jalna reminded me about this huge parking structure that is also there.

It was built about 10 years ago to accommodate all the tour buses coming in and out of the area.

When I first saw it, I thought it was a huge hotel, but when we asked the locals, they said it was a parking structure-small shopping-rest area.

We saw many foreign tourists as well as local tourists using this area. (Thanks Jalna!)

The next morning, we were pleased that breakfast wasn't as krazy as the night before...whew!

Because the buses don't run frequently, the ryokan was kind to take us another 20 minutes to the Oku Iya Niju-Kazurabashi.

Where, you guessed it there are more kazurabashi (vine bridges) to be crossed.

I paid my 550 yen admission, but just so that I could take Satoshi's picture.

Niju-Kazurabashi are two bridges, a male one and female one.

The male one is larger and higher while the female one is shorter and lower.

The slats are closer together than the Kazurabashi we first encountered the day before, but I still chickened out.

These photos are from what Satoshi took.

Tokushima is known for naruto kintoki, a type of sweet potato, so I picked up these small bags of sweet potato chips as our omiyage.

From Oku Iya, it is about 2 hours back down the one laned winding road to Awa Ikeda station.

We grabbed some musubi for lunch from a convenience store and rode JR one station to Kotohira (about 30 minutes).

Kotohira is where Konpira shrine, a huge shrine is located.

In order to get to Konpira shrine, you need to climb up 786 steps!

The goro-awase (to use the sound of numbers in Japanese to make words from them) for 786 is na-ya-mu or "to worry" so they tell you that there are only 785 steps...hah!

It was humid, I was still a bit hungry...so I was hot, snarky and cranky.

But, there was a woman wearing 5 or 6 inch heels, that was ahead of us on the stairs and I thought, if she could make it, I could too...it never ceases to amaze me that there is always at least one person wearing heels at places like these?!

At least the stairs were spread out over several intervals.

Of course, if you go up, you gotta come down...

Man, talk about legs in pain afterwards...

our reward...soft serve!

Satoshi's was super different...kamatama which was inspired by sanuki udon...ginger soft serve topped with green onion & shoyu..meh!

Mine was a wasanbon (Japanese sugar) and shoyu mixed soft serve topped with oiri (roasted mochi puffs)...sweet and salty, this hit the spot.

I think mine was better than Satoshi's!

From Kotohira, it is about an hour by Kotoden (local train) to Oki-Matsushima in Takamatsu city.

I liked how this train allowed bike riders to bring their bikes on board (as is) during the weekends and holidays, not many trains allow this without having you fold up/bag your bicycles.

From here we needed to take a taxi to our hotel, Takamatsu Terrsa.

This facility is mostly used for meetings, but there is a floor designated for hotel accommodations.

Since there wasn't a restaurant serving dinner in the facility, the front desk gave us a map of some eateries in the area (about 10 minutes walking).

We ended up at Hitomasa, an izakaya.

The food menu was quite extensive but we were disappointed with the flow of food from the kitchen, at one point we had to wait over 20 minutes...

Also the portions seemed off. The sashimi platter seemed skimpy. The tempura tako (octopus) was delicious. Tomato avocado salad was so-so. And the kurobuta menchikatsu was the size of softballs...

All in all, another long day, but we got to see and do all that we had planned.

The next day was planned to be another long one before making our way back to Osaka...stay tuned.

Takamatsu Terrsa
2366-1 Yashima Nishimachi
Takamatsu, Kagawa
Phone: 087.844.3511

Hitomasa
2486-16 Yashima Nishimachi
Takamatsu, Kagawa
Phone: 087.814.7077
Closed Tuesdays
Hours: 17:00-24:00

nahari-oboke-iya

From Nahari it is about a two hour train ride to Oboke, which is located in Tokushima prefecture, another of the four prefectures of Shikoku.

When we arrived, there wouldn't be any buses running for another couple of hours.

In fact the amount of buses running were sparse (total of 4 per day!), so we split a cab with another couple going in the same direction and headed for the Iya area (about 20 minutes from Oboke).

On a side note: The kanji (chinese characters) for Oboke literally mean "big-walk-danger"...let me tell you it is definitely not an area to be walking...all hill!

The taxi dropped us off at Iya no Kazurabashi...a suspension bridge that is made out of vines!

Apparently these type of vine bridges were plentiful in this area back in the day.

They were made of natural materials so that they could easily be cut if enemy were in hot pursuit.

These days there are actual wires supporting the bridge, but apparently the bridge itself is made of only vines and wood.

The vines are changed every 3 years...

Admission is 550 yen per person.

You know, I was brave enough to cross the suspension bridge in Nara, but this bridge was too krazy for me!

I mean, you could see the water rushing down below.

And every time you took a step you needed to look down at your feet (at least I needed to)...

I tried two times but chickened out.

A waste of 550 yen for me, instead I was happy to be in charge of taking Satoshi's picture as he crossed.

If you click on the photo, you may be able to see him (bright blue shirt).

That bridge is 45 meters long (147 feet), 2 meters wide (6 feet), 14 meters above the water (45 feet)...krazy, right?!

The Biwa Falls on the other side of the bridge was something to see.

Since we had some time to kill before the bus to Kubo, we decided to grab something for lunch...Iya soba at Ikoi Shokudo.

These noodles are thick, dense...not like the soba noodles we were used to.

Deko mawashi are skewers with potato, tofu and konnyaku (devil's tongue jelly), which are cooked over coals and slathered with some dengaku (sweet miso).

Apparently when it is flipped over it resembles a doll dancing, so it is called "deko mawashi".

The hour long bus ride from Kazurabashi to Kubo was winding and hair raising, since the road is mostly one laned, at some curves we almost came head-on with cars not familiar with the roadways...eep!

I've attached a photo of the width of the road and the bus...

The ryokan sent a mini-van to pick us up and it was another 20 minutes from Kubo to the property.

Iyashi no Onsen-kyo is only open 6 months of the year. From November until April they are closed because there is too much snow and too dangerous for people to be roaming around the roadways.

I appreciated having tv & wifi especially since we were in an area where I had no cell signal.

Dinner was an array of local delicacies, but there was just too much food and instead of wasting, we asked if they could stop serving us some of the courses.

It was another long day, but we were glad that the weather was just overcast and not rainy like it was forecast to be.

Ikoi Shokudo
166 Nishiiya-yamamura-zentoku
Miyoshi, Tokushima
Phone: 0883.87.2840

Iyashi no Onsen-kyo
28 Higashiiya-sugeoi
Miyoshi, Tokushima
Phone: 0883.88.2975

kochi omiyage

These days whenever we go travelling, I try to pick up food things as omiyage (souvenir).

I usually don't give away omiyage to anyone, well, sometimes to MIL, but I mostly buy for us to try.

Like these mi-re (mee-ray) biscuits (blue side), tiny crackers, that tasted similar to ritz crackers.

The red side was kenpi, thinly sliced sweet potato that is fried and coated with a sweet glaze...super addicting.

A lot of yuzu is grown in Kochi.

Most residents use yuzu in place of shoyu and squeeze some onto their sashimi.

I often like to buy yuzu if it the peel has been candied.

A lot of ginger is also grown in Kochi.

This okazu (side dish) shoga looked interesting.

Diced ginger simmered with shoyu, sugar and other seasonings.

The package says you can mix it with rice, put it into omelettes, and many more uses...really versatile.

The biscuits and kenpi are already gone, can't wait to try the yuzu and ginger.

nahari sights

There weren't many sights in Nahari, mainly because it is a tiny village.

N took us to see a a silk worm warehouse.

Huge building!

It isn't used any more but it was nice that they kept it in relatively good condition.

See the tiles going horizontal across the building?

Those are called "mizukiri".

Since Kochi is often hit with typhoons and severe rain, they created these mizukiri (literally "water cut") to deflect the rain.

By deflecting the rain, the walls of the building are protected from water damage.

One more warehouse with a more pronounced mizukiri.

N also showed us various stone walls surrounding homes.

He wasn't sure as to why they were made these ways, but they were fun to look at.

Cool, yeah?!

Lastly, N showed us this old train bridge and tunnel.

Only about two people could walk through it side by side.

Makes me wonder how small the train cars were back then.

Not many sights in Nahari, but we were grateful for N showing us around.

Thanks N!

osaka-kochi-nahari

From Osaka, it is about a 4 and a half hour bus ride to Kochi.

Kochi is one of four prefectures of Shikoku.

We were lucky to get a bus that only had 30 seats, so this seemed similar to business class in an airplane.

Each person had their own foot rests, slippers, and outlets to charge your phone, the seat could recline quite far back too.

There was free wifi on board, even in the tunnels, it was a treat!

After reaching Kochi, we took the local train to Nahari, which is located on the east side of the prefecture.

The train runs through the town and then alongside the ocean.

Too bad the weather was cloudy, the views of the ocean would have been beautiful.

After reaching Nahari, we caught a bus to the Kitagawa Village Monet Garden, a replica of Monet's garden and home in Giverny, France.

Too bad it was late in the day, most of the flowers were starting to close.

All though I did find a piece of "home".

Our main purpose for visiting Nahari, was to see Satoshi's friend, N's exhibit.

N is an architect as well as an architectural photographer.

It was nice to see N's photos of Le Corbusier's works.

I loved seeing all the different flowers around the grounds. This wall vase was so cute!

Afterwards, we had dinner together at Kuimonoya Ai, probably the only place serving food in the area.

Their food was good and everything fresh.

And the portions huge!

My favorite dish was this thick sliced toro futomaki. Enough wasabi to blow out your sinuses, but the pieces of toro were fresh and delicious!

It was nice catching up with N.

The hotel we stayed at, Hotel Nahari was kinda bad, the television worked when it wanted.

But, at least there was wifi and they had just renovated the furo (bath) area.

It was a long day, it was only the start of this adventure but our next day would be even longer...

Hotel Nahari
593-1 Otsu, Nahari-cho,
Aki-gun, Kochi
Shikoku
Phone:0887.38.5111

Kuimonoya Ai
No address or phone number online

we're back

We came back last night from Shikoku.

It was a rather short trip, but we got to see and eat a lot.

If you keep up with us on other SNS sites, you kind of know what we were up to...

Will update as soon as possible.

energy dust

The other day, as I waited for typhoon #16 (they don't give them names in Japan), to pass. I made half a batch of energy bars.

This was a new recipe that I was trying and the photo of the finished product was WAY different from what mine looked like.

The most depressing part was that when I tried to cut it after cooling, it just poof fell apart...dust!

Instead of throwing it out, I scooped everything into a container and "dusted" our oatmeal with it.

I'm thinking I will use it on yogurt too.

Reasons why I think this recipe may have failed...a)I over-blitzed everything in the food processor, b) there wasn't enough "glue" (honey) to hold everything together, c) the baking time (2 or 3 minutes) might have been a typo, d)all of the above...

Debating as to whether to try this again...will decide after the long weekend.

Since today is a national holiday, Autumn Equinox, we're off to Shikoku.

Talk to you when I get back!