Kicking the bucket...list: Day 23 Stripping down in Shikoku

 

The Inland Sea

I'm going to start this post off with a disclaimer - Day Number 23 of my most recent trip to Japan (June-July of this year) was the least interesting (arrival and departure dates excepted) of what was overall one of the most fulfilling journeys I've ever undertaken. The reasons why will become clear as you follow along, but I won't take any offense should you choose to look at something else on the Internet. I can promise, however, that the remaining entries in this series (and we're almost near the end) will be far more interesting. And with that out of the way, what follows is a brief look as my made my way by car from Matsuyama 松山 to Zentsūji 善通寺市. 

Sunrise over Matsuyama Castle 松山城 at 0530 hours. Of the four main cities on the island of Shikoku 四国 (the others being Takamatsu 高松, Kōchi 高知 and Tokushima 徳島), Matsuyama 松山 is probably the one where I would be most comfortable settling down. The largest city on the island with a population of almost 510,000, Matsuyama has a certain retro charm despite its modern-day accouterments. Other than the castle and Dōgo Onsen 道後温泉, there aren't a lot of must-see sights, but the city is a good base for day trips, and comes across as a very liveable environment, one with most mod cons - I have a couple of friends who have spent time there and waxed positive on its atmosphere. It certainly doesn't hurt that Matsuyama is a sister city of the closest place in the U.S. to what I consider to be a hometown, Sacramento, California: 

It was, however, time to leave Matsuyama and move on. Much of the day was spent behind the wheel as my route paralled the sea in many places. I stopped at one abandoned building with a small private beach to admire the view: 

An abandoned scooter:

The only deviation from the route taken that day would be to the Chikamiyama Observatory 近見山展望台 in Imabari 今治. The drive up was on the narrowest road I would tackle on this trip. The absence of concave mirrors meant that when approaching many curves it was necessary to honk to alert any approaching vehicles of my presence - fortunately I didn't encounter any on that weekday morning. I ended up parking at a toilet stop and walking up instead of driving further uphill to a parking lot:

The view from the parking lot took in the Kurushima Kaikyō Bridges 来島海峡大橋, which make up one end of the Shimanami Kaidō Cycling Road しまなみ海道サイクリングロード, with the other being the city of Onomichi 尾道 located on the opposite side of the Seto Inland Sea 瀬戸内海:

Speaking of Imabari*, I had actually visited the city way back in the summer of 1990, traveling there by train from Kotohira 琴平, and only staying long enough to catch a now-discontinued ferry to Hiroshima 広島 . The ferry terminal was the site of where I would have one of my worst meals ever in Japan, in the form of a bowl of rice topped with vegetables that included a weird tuber that I mistook at first for an actual slug, and which tasted like one. Things greatly improved 35 years later when I stopped for a karaage から揚げ set lunch at the Road Side Station Imabari Yunoura Onsen 道の駅今治湯ノ浦温泉:

Having a chat with my friend Steve in Taiwan before getting back on the road: 

The remainder of the drive that day would be through the Japan that most foreign tourists are spared from seeing. Though the ocean scenery from the Roadside Station Toyohama 駅の道とよはま was pleasant enough, most of the three-hour drive was a dreary slog through an endless string of strip malls, industrial complexes, heavy trucks and stop lights (granted, that was largely due to my avoidance of having to pay expressway tolls). It was also unfortunate that this would be the first day of an unseasonal heat wave where the temperature rose above 30°C/86°F: 

Taiwanese restaurants are a not uncommon sight in Japan:

The Kaze no Kuguru 風のくぐる guesthouse in Zentsuji was a welcoming sight at the end of the day. The owner was friendly, my room basic but clean and there was even free use of a washer and dryer, making the hotel great value for the pilgrim 遍路. It's located on a main road about 2 kilometers/1.2 miles from Zentsū-ji 善通寺, Temple 75 on the 88-temple Shikoku pilgrimage 四国遍路, and the landmark that gives the city is name and claim to fame: 

For dinner I walked about 12 mintues to the local branch of the family restaurant chain Gusto ガスト, where I had the shrimp gratin set, plus a Crème brûlée for dessert. And a beer, as I was finished that day with operating a motor vehicle: 

Sunset as seen while walking back to Kaze no Kuguru:

The next day would be my last on Shikoku. I hope you'll still be with me as I visit not one but two temples on the pilgrimage, as well as one of Japan's dozen original castles, before returning with my rental car to Takamatsu, where it all started 17 days previously. 

*A link to an article on Imabari making a silk purse out of sow's ear. The writer would later acknowledge on Facebook that while there's a bit to see there, it isn't enough to call Imabari a standalone destination.