Kicking the bucket...list: Day 21 - Drowning in a sea of sweat

 

Looking out over Matsuyama from the castle 

OK, I'm well aware Japan can get very hot and humid in the summer. I mean I somehow managed to sweat through my first three summers in Tōkyō 東京 in a tiny apartment cooled only with an electric fan (I finally sprang for an air conditioner when a coworker with connections was able to get a deal on one for me). But I wasn't expecting it to be this uncomfortable in the middle of June, in late spring and during the rainy season. The times are definitely a-changin'. 

My original plan for this day was to go to Dōgo Onsen 道後温泉 as the forecast was calling for a 100% chance of rain on Saturday, compared with "only" 75% for Sunday. However, the Sun was shining at around 0600 when I woke up to use the bathroom. The sky had become overcast by the time I went downstairs for breakfast but not threatening-looking, so I changed my plans, opting to soak in indoor hot springs the following day. However, nature works in infuriating ways - once I left the hotel in the morning it started to rain: 

My first destination of the day would be Matsuyama Castle 松山城. The ropeway station that takes visitors up Mount Katsuyama 勝山 (132 meters/433 feet) to the castle was 25 minutes on foot from the hotel. On the way there I was passed by a Botchan Train 坊っちゃん列車 taking its passengers to the onsen:

I got up to the castle by using the ropeway. By the time I snapped this photo soon after reaching the top I'd started to sweat profusely in the humidity:

Before heading up to the castle entrance I made a short (unfortunately downhill) detour to Shinonome-jinja 東雲神社 (1823) on the eastern side of Katsuyama. The shrine is noted for its Takigi festival - held in April, Noh plays are performed in light cast from flaming torches 薪能 (having seen it performed in Matsumoto 松本, I can attest that it's far more entertaining than the standard version performed in indoor theaters). However, the shrine turned out to be so close to the ropeway station that I might've been better off just walking up...: 

...except for that humidity. The now-longer uphill walk only resulted in even more perspiration: 

Reaching the castle. Finished in 1628, Matsuyama-jō is one of a dozen Japanese castles deemed to be "original", though the five-story donjon was rebuilt as a three-story structure in 1820 following a devastating lightning strike 36 years previously - the Edo period 江戸時代 was a time of peace, which probably explains the lack of urgency when it came to reconstruction. Even knowing the three lesser donjons are all modern-day reconstructions, Matsuyama Castle remains an impressive fortress:

My hotel is the cream-colored building in the center:

The interior of the main donjon houses a museum displaying calligraphy, old maps, painted screens and samurai armor, among many other items:

The views from the top floor of the donjon, including of the Seto Inland Sea 瀬戸内海 in the distance. The breezes at the top were a welcome (though all too brief) respite from the stuffiness of the enclosed floors below:

After visiting the main donjon, it was time for a snack break, consisting of vanilla and red bean soft cream + a draft beer:

Walking down on the backslopes of the castle in the direction of my hotel, with the sweat continuing to roll down from my brow: 

At the bottom of the steps I entered the Ninomaru Shiseki Tei-en 二之丸史跡庭園, a series of gardens built on the site of the outer citadel of the castle, which fell victim to fire in 1872. A display of mikoshi 神輿, portable shrines frequently carried around during festivals: 

These modern-day pathways and pools represent the floor plan of the former citadel:

This sign explains how a Russian gold coin was found when the great well above was excavated. The coin most likely came from a Russian POW: 

By this point I was such a sweaty mess that I returned to the hotel to take a shower and change my clothes, before going out to the Iyotetsu Takashimaya いよてつ高島屋 department store for a late tonkatsu 豚カツ set lunch:

There was still time to do some more sightseeing, so after lunch I walked back to the area around the castle, passing by these turtles relaxing in the former castle moat:

The Ehime Prefectural Government Office 愛媛県庁本館:

My destination was the Bansui-sō 萬翆荘, a French-style villa built in 1922 for Count Sadakoto Hisamatsu 久松定謨, a descendant of the daimyō 大名 of the Iyo-Matsuyama feudal domain 伊予松本藩:

Art exhibitions and concerts are held on the first (ground) floor, where entry is free of charge (there was a recital taking place at the time I popped in). There is a charge to visit the upper floor:

This model represented the best view of the villa, as this angle can't be seen from outside: 

Two portraits of Emperor Hirohito 昭和天皇. The then-Crown Prince stayed for a couple of nights in the villa in 1922:

A portrait of the Count in all his pre-Occupation finery:

The best view I could get of the exterior:

Cooling off with an Iyokan IPA at the Ōkaidō Brewery, a small beer bar on the first floor of the Matsuyama Mitsukoshi 松山三越 department store: 

Try as I might, 2½ months after the fact I can't recall what I did for dinner on the evening of my twentieth day in-country. I suppose it can be chalked up to age-related memory loss, especially at it also happened to be my birthday. With my wife back in Beijing 北京 and my daughter finishing up at college in the U.S., I'll admit to feeling pangs of loneliness at times that day, no doubt exacerbated by the heat and humidity. Still, all things considered it had been a good outing, part of a trip that was meeting (and in many cases exceeding) virtually all of my pre-journey expectations. And I would be reuniting with Shu-E and Amber in just over a week's time. 

So, if you like, wish me a belated 誕生日おめでとうございます, and join me for Day 22, when it was still hot but a bit less humid, and without a single drop of rain.