At the first temple
Breakfast on my final morning at the Iyanoyado Kazuraya 祖谷の宿かずらや:
As it was a nice morning I had dessert and coffee on the patio:
Standing in front of the
ryokan 旅館. I have nothing but positives to say about this place - the service was excellent, the tatami mat room was large and came with a good view of the valley, the onsen baths were relaxing and the meals were delicious. And best of all it was less than ten minutes on foot to the
Iya no Kazura-bashi 祖谷のかずら橋 vine bridge, which I visited before driving off on my next adventure:
The bridge comes into view:
The 50 meter/164 foot-high Biwa-no-taki 琵琶の滝 waterfall, close to the bridge:
The exit of the bridge. To get to the entrance I had to cross the concrete road spanning the river, then pay a fee at the gate:
I had to wait for a large, "boisterous" group of Taiwanese tourists to make their way across before I could venture onto the bridge:
Finally it was my turn to cross the vine bridge, one of only three left in the Iya Valley 祖谷渓, and the only one in Nishi Iya 西祖谷. The bridges originally date from when the defeated
Taira 平 warriors fled to the area. Made of
shirakuchi (mountain vines) and bamboo, they were designed to be easily cut down to block pursuers. It would be much harder to chop down the present bridge as it's been strengthened with steel cables:
Ayu アユ (sweetfish) being grilled. A pity I was still full from breakfast:
Walking down to the river. The water looked inviting though the temperature that morning wasn't really warm enough to convince me to change into my trunks and go for a dip. Had my itinerary brought me to the Iya Valley later on in my trip, however, things might've been different:
Brussels has its Manneken Pis. The Iya Valley has its own Peeing Boy Statue 小便小僧. Apparently this lad has been urinating into the valley below since 1968. The inspiration behind this statue is that local boys in the past supposedly used to do just this from this exact spot. It certainly is in a more dramatic location than its Belgian counterpart:
National Route 32 was a more challenging drive compared to National Route 439, which I'd
successfully tackled the previous day. But at least there were places to stop and admire the scenery:
It was with some sense of relief that I made my way out of the mountains and onto relatively flat ground. My destination was the city of
Tokushima 徳島, capital of its namesake prefecture. Avoiding toll roads meant it would take more than two hours, but I didn't mind. My main concern was finding somewhere to have lunch that wasn't udon noodles うどん.
Sanuki udon 讃岐うどん is a dish associated with Shikoku 四国, and throughout the 2½ weeks I drove around the island I would pass numerous eateries advertising the noodles. However, after
overdoing it in Yashima 屋島 I still wasn't in the mood for more, so I kept my eyes open for other establishments. And, fortunately, there were. On this day for lunch I had a fried horse mackerel set アジフライ定食 with a melon soda (I was driving, after all) at the
Road Station Sadamitsu Yūyūkan 駅の道貞光ゆうゆう館. It was high in volume/low in price but my wife rightfully pointed out I was eating too much friend food on this trip:
The view of the Yoshino River 吉野川 across National Route 438 from the road station:
Shikoku is famous for its
88 temple pilgrmage 四国遍路, and seeing the
henro 遍路 (the pilgrims on their way to and from the various temples) walking alongside highways would become a common sight as I made my own way around the island. Not counting the young Czech woman I spoke with at Yashima-ji 屋島寺 on Day Four, I spotted my first
henro (easily identifiable in their straw hats and white garments) as I approached Temple One,
Ryōzen-ji 霊仙寺:
The main hall. Ryozen-ji is called Temple One because it was the first temple that pilgrims would visit after arriving in Shikoku, after having paid their respects to
Kōbō Daishi 弘法大師 at
Kōya-san 高野山 in Wakayama Prefecture 和歌山県 (see
here and
here for my visit to Koya-san in 2007):
What the fashionable
henro is wearing this season:
Being the first temple on the pilgrimage (though it isn't a requirement that pilgrims have to do the circuit in numerical order), Ryozen-ji had a shop onsite selling all the items a
henro needs. In addition to clothing, the pilgrim should also carry a
kongōzue 金剛杖 (colorful staff) and a book to be inscribed with beautiful characters listing the names of the temples and the date each one was visited (every temple on the pilgrimage has a
nōkyō-jo 納経所, an office for doing just this).
As I was not planning on visiting all 88 temples I didn't feel the need to go full henro. However, I did pick up this book, which was useful in providing descriptions of the 14 or so temples where I did pay my respects to Kūkai 空海:
While sitting in my rented Toyota Corolla and getting to leave, I watched this couple that I had seen a few minutes earlier in the temple and the shop. Once finished at Ryozen-ji, they changed out of their
henro outfits before getting back in their car and driving off. I found this amusing at first, but as I continued with my travels I quickly learned that many pilgrims actually travel in this manner.
I arrived in Tokushima mid-afternoon and after dropping off my car at a nearby vertical rotary parking garage I checked into my room at the
Agnes Hotel Tokushima アグネスホテル徳島:
Still not in the mood for udon, I instead found myself hungry for some conveyor-belt sushi 回転寿司. Fortunately there was a branch of
Sushirō スシロー not far from the hotel. Unfortunately, thanks to both the COVID-19 pandemic and a spate of
"sushi terror" pranks, the experience at these
kaitenzushi establishments has undergone some significant changes. Gone are the days when you watched the plates of sushi go by, then reached out to take a dish from the conveyor belt. Now, everything is ordered in advance via a tablet at the table. While the food is still good it does take some of the fun out of the experience.
Crossing the Shinmachi-gawa 新町川 on the walk back to the hotel:
Before reaching the hotel, however, I heard what sounded like festival music being played. Following the sounds of drums and flutes, I came across this group at a park rehearsing for the
Awa-odori Matsuri 阿波踊り. This festival is held every August 12-15 and is the biggest
bon 盆 dance in Japan. Every evening I would hear and see groups getting ready ahead of time, and though I was a couple of months too early for the fun, I would visit the
Awa Odori Kaikan 阿波おどり会館 exhibition hall during my stay in Tokushima:
For a nightcap I enjoyed this
Paddle Brew Saison beer while relaxing in my room. I like to think I earned it after the day spent driving from the Iya Valley to here.
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