We know Major Tom’s a junkie

There’s late, and then there’s late. We’ve been back in the UK nearly 6 months now and I’m trying to write this post about what we got up to last August! I don’t know how people who write autobiographies remember stories from their childhood. I’m having a hard time remembering things even with the benefit of photos from the trip.

Shikoku

Early August saw us take my first trip off the main island to Shikoku. We knew we wanted to go away somewhere and it came down to a choice between Kyushu and Shikoku. Nozomi was more keen on seeing Shikoku so that’s where we headed. The plan was to fly to the Eastern side of Shikoku (Takamatsu), spend a couple of days there, and then hire a car to go around the island. We couldn’t quite manage the whole island in a week but we tried to cover a few of the places we wanted to go and see.

There’s a small island called Naoshima which you can get to by ferry from Takamatsu. The island has branded itself as the “art island” and has quite a lot to see. There are art galleries and also sculptures and installations all over the island.

We collected our rental car from Takamatsu and headed south to Tosa in Kochi which is the birthplace of Sakamoto Ryoma who was one of the key people involved in overthrowing the shoguns. From there we headed towards the centre of the island to get to an area called the Tengu highlands. We were really looking forward this area. The highlands have some really nice scenery and would have been really nice to go for a long walk if we had the time. As it was, we only managed a short walk before it started to get to twilight. We still had a nice meal, and the stars to look forward to. There is almost no light pollution up here, and the hotel switches off most lights around 8pm. They also have telescopes and set it up to show guests the visible planets. I did try and take some pictures of the milky way but was not particularly successful.

From there we drove to Imabari and returned the car. Now it was time for pedal power. Imabari is in the North-West of Shikoku and part of a route called the Shimanami Kaido which links it to Hiroshima on the main island of Honshu. This route goes across a number of smaller islands all connected by bridges made with cycle friendly access along the whole route. Most people do this route from the Hiroshima side and head to Imabari. However since we were on the Shikoku side of course we went in the “opposite” direction. Back to the issue of not enough time. We couldn’t go all the way to Hiroshima so we planned to stay overnight at one of the smaller islands, and then head back to Imabari the next day. August is pretty much peak summer, and Shikoku was even hotter than Honshu. We’d been feeling the heat the whole time but trying to cycle 40km is a whole different story. We did have our trusty hats that we bought when we went to Oze but it was seriously hot. Also partly our fault for having a relaxed start to the day but we were on a holiday so by the time we collected the bikes and set off on the route it was already around 11am.

Despite the heat we had a great time cycling along some beautiful roads. A little later we tried to find some lunch but were a bit late so just grabbed a quick bite and kept going. We eventually reached our accommodation around 4:30, hot and sweaty. Dinner was from about 6:30 so enough time for a much needed wash and some time to chill. Dinner was a massive portion and absolutely delicious. The couple at the table next to us barely ate half of their’s. Not us though :). Having not even had a proper lunch we demolished the lot. We ended up chatting a bit with the lady who ran the inn and she was surprised that we were planning to cycle back along the route we’d just taken. She suggested a couple of places worth visiting on the way back, and then just handing our bikes along the route and getting the bus. That definitely sounded like a good plan. So we headed to a local shrine first, and then to a salt factory on the island we’d crossed the previous day. It was a really cool place but unfortunately we reached around the time of their lunch break so not much happening on the factory floor. We did however have an amazing salty soft serve ice cream!

We stopped off for another famous delicacy of the island - salt broth ramen, then made our way to the nearest bike drop-off point. Then off on a bus to whisk us back to Imabari. I’d highly recommend doing the Shimanami Kaido, but maybe not in August.

From Imabari we got the train to Matsuyama for the last leg of our trip around Shikoku. Nozomi had arranged to meet up with a printer who lives in the area, so we got taken to a nice restaurant for dinner. The next morning we headed to the beautiful Matsuyama castle. In the evening we went to Dogo onsen which is supposed to be the oldest bath house in Japan. We went there for the history, and it is a nice building but there are nicer places to go for a bath.

Sendai-Yamagata

Not too long after getting back from Shikoku we had a family trip planned. Nozomi’s grandmother is from Yamagata in Northern Japan. Her relatives are still around that area and she hadn’t seen them in a while so we all headed up there so she could meet them. Now that I had my licence I was part of the driving rotation. There were a few of us so we had to take two cars - the people carrier and a small car. Nozomi’s dad and brother took driving duty of the people carrier, while her sister and I took control of the smaller car. The first stop was to see her grandmother’s younger brother. I was a bit unsure about the whole family trip but it was really nice to see them catching up after so long and made the trip North worth it. Of course Nozomi’s family tried to plan a few other things in addition to the family visits. We stayed near one of the rivers (Mogamigawa) that was a key trade route back in the day and took a boat ride along the river. We also went to a famous temple called Yamadera. It’s quite a long trek up a huge number of stairs but really nice once you reach the temple.

In between all of this of course there were more family trips. Quite a bit of smiling and nodding :)

Fireworks

Summer in Japan means fireworks. We’d been to see some fireworks in Hakone in July but it was now time for the fireworks in Kaisei, the town that we were living in. Nozomi’s sister was going to join us well. Like so many things that happen where you live, she had never been to the fireworks since leaving school many years ago. So we all put on our yukatas and headed out to the festival.

Being the summer festival of course there were plenty of food stalls and beer. Food and drink in hand, we found a place to sit eat in the cool evening breeze. Appetite sated, we headed out to the field to find a nice spot from which to view the fireworks. Now I might be biased but I think the fireworks from our town were much better than the ones in Hakone.

A fitting end to August. There’s more to come from September when I get around to it.