Dour, 電通-controlled, family-centric Belgian Neocolonialism, enthusiastically jaded observations, support for state-owned neoliberalist media and occasional rants from the twisted mind of a privileged middle-class expatriate atheist and とてもくだらないひと projecting some leftist ideals with my ridicule of Tucker Carlson, all while taking America's blood money and cashing out that pension and TSP (from The Blogs Formerly Known As Sponge Bear and Kaminoge 物語)
*see disclaimer below
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Kicking the bucket...list: Day 3 - Reaching Shikoku
Sumiyoshi Taisha
It was time to leave Ōsaka 大阪 on the morning of my third day in-country, but not before doing a bit of the sightseeing. For decades I was aware of a Shintō shrine 神社 in the city known as Sumiyoshi Taisha 住吉大社, but hadn't given it much thought despite my many visits over the years to Osaka. Recently, however, a blogger I follow online began posting on Facebook numerous photos of the jinja, proclaiming it to be their favorite; interest piqued, I reread my guidebooks and found Sumiyoshi Taisha to be prominently featured. Learning it was only twenty minutes away by streetcar from my hotel sealed the deal, and so after checking out I found myself taking the Hankai Uemachi Line 上町線 from Tennōji-eki-mae 天王寺駅前 to Sumiyoshi 住吉駅:
Founded in the early 3rd century and dedicated to the kami 神 of the sea and sea travel, Sumiyoshi Taisha serves as the head of all the Sumiyoshi jinja in the country. Though the oldest buildings "only" date back to 1810, the present structures are faithful replicas of the originals, showcasing architectural styles that predate the Buddhist architectural forms that would later arrive via China:
A preserved camphor tree クスノキ 19.8 meters/65 feet high and 7.9 meters/25.9 feet in circumference. Called the "couple kusunoki" 夫婦楠 it's around 800 years old:
All told it was an interesting shrine to visit. However, having stepped foot inside literally thousands of jinja over the decades I wouldn't go so far as to single out any one Shinto shrine as my favorite, and that includes Sumiyoshi Taisha. When it comes to shrines, my preference remains for the smaller, local jinja, with the ones found at the foot of mountains or standing like small islands in the middle of rice paddies being the most atmospheric.
After visiting the shrine, I returned to my hotel to retrieve my bags and then took the subway to Shin-Osaka Station 新大阪駅. With a bit of time to spare before my Shinkansen 新幹線 bullet train would depart, I decamped to a nearby MOS Burger モスバーガー for a quick lunch:
My route had me traveling first on the Shinkansen to Okayama 岡山駅. From there, I changed trains to the Marine Liner マリンライナー rapid service. This was a train that I had taken way, way back in the summer of 1990 when I traveled from Kyōto 京都 to Kotohira 琴平 on the island of Shikoku 四国. With the exception of a day trip I had made to Sakaide 坂出 in late 1997 (also from Okayama), that one night in Kotohira (the purpose of which was to visit Kompira-san 金刀比羅宮) had been the only time I had set foot on Shikoku prior to this trip:
This craft beer I purchased in-between trains at Okayama Station helped set the mood:
The Marine Liner takes travelers over the Seto Inland Sea 瀬戸内海 via the massive Great Seto Bridge 瀬戸大橋. Completed in 1988 the 13.1 kilometer (8.1 miles)-long bridge was the first rail/road connection between the islands of Honshū 本州 and Shikoku. I remember well the great fanfare the accompanied the opening of the link; I also recall feeling disappointed that I couldn't see much from the train as I made my way to Shikoku that August in 1990. The view is still restricted but I did take some short videos (plus a few photos) as the train made its way to the smallest of Japan's four major islands:
And so it was that in the middle of the afternoon on my third day in Japan I arrived at my first stop on Shikoku, the city of Takamatsu 高松 (population 414,000), capital of Kagawa Prefecture 香川県 (one of the four that constitute the administrative makeup of the island). The momentous occasion was celebrated with a snack break at the station's Mister Donut ミスタードーナツ outlet, to which I would return several times during my four-night stay in the city:
With time remaining in the afternoon before the first dinner pangs would be felt, I made my way from the hotel back to the station area, and to the Takamatsu Symbol Tower 高松シンボルタワー, where I checked out the (free) views from the 29th and 30th floors:
The views from the equally free outdoor terrace on the 8th floor were also pretty nice (as well as a haven for local smokers):
Back on the ground I went for a walk where I was reminded Takamatsu is a port city:
Kitahama Alley 北浜アリー is a former warehouse district that has been converted to a shopping center of cafes, galleries, shops and the like, but most of the businesses were closed:
Probably the first of the countless number of udon うどん restaurants that I would come across in Shikoku. By far the most popular dish on the island, I would find myself at times while driving desperately looking for something other than these noodles to eat for lunch:
Feeling tired at the end of a busy day, for dinner I settled on a Matsuya 松屋 gyūdon 牛丼 restaurant near the hotel, completing a Japanese fast-food triumvirate that began with MOS Burger and included Mister Donut. Dinner when traveling solo in Japan can be a challenge at times, as many restaurants in the evenings are filled with couples, coworkers, families, friends or other such groupings, making the lone diner stand out (especially when that person is a foreigner). Which is where chain restaurants like Matsuya step in to feed the hungry traveler:
The Matsuya was located in the Hyōgomachi shopping arcade 兵庫町商店街, one of at least eight in the city, and Takamatsu lays claim to having the longest shōtengai in the country. Covered shopping arcades are a vestige of an earlier time in Japan, and I would come across several while traveling through Shikoku. Sadly, most of them have clearly seen better times, though the reason this particular shopping street looked quiet was probably due to the fact it was a Tuesday evening:
And so my first evening on Shikoku ended quietly as I did laundry back at the hotel. The next three days would be spent exploring Takamatsu and some of its surrounds, before I would rent a car and began a circuit of Shikoku that would last for 2½ weeks.
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