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Takamatsu

Our next stop was the town of Takamatsu, still on the island of Shikoku, and hardly an

hour on the train from Tokushima, where we spent the last two nights. With a

population of 840,000, slightly larger than San Francisco’s, Takamatsu is also a port city

and while not hilly, it is flanked by 925-foot Mount Yashima, which we planned to

ascend the next day. The afternoon weather was perfect for strolling, so we first

headed for Ritsurin Garden, considered to be one of the most important in Japan, and

designated by the government as “A Special Place of Scenic Beauty”. The garden,

which dates from the early 17th century, is about a third square mile of sculptured

tranquility, artfully-pruned pine trees, meandering paths, and picturesque ponds with

some of the largest and most colorful koi we’ve ever seen.

This golden-hued pine tree in the midst of a sea of green was especially beautiful.

We delight in sampling regional cuisines, and Takamatsu is known for its own version of

udon, the fat, chewy noodles served hot or cold in a large bowl of flavorful broth. We

went in search of what we understood to be the best udon place in town. People are

very friendly and helpful when you ask for directions, and with the help of a shopkeeper

who left her own store for several minutes to show us the way, we found our restaurant,

a small, narrow place in one of Takamatsu’s endless malls. The udon, which came in

several different flavor choices, lived up to its reputation, and the accompanying

vegetable and shrimp tempura were also excellent. The price for the meal, including

two draft beers, was less than the equivalent of 20 bucks!

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Takamatsu’s shopping malls are some of the longest in Japan.

The next morning, we made our way to Shikoku-Mura, an outdoor museum at the base

of Mount Yashima, containing a collection of 33 traditional buildings moved there from

all over Shikoku Island. The heavily-wooded site may be approached across a

precarious-looking vine bridge, which we bypassed, and is laced with a network of stone

stairways and paths and small waterways and ponds.

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Laura paused before climbing this path through a bamboo grove at Shikoku-Mura.

The old buildings, most of which had thick thatched roofs, included single-family homes,

a soy sauce production facility and other small workshops, rice storage houses, and

even a lighthouse. There were few other visitors that morning, and we almost had the

place to ourselves. Visitors could enter many of the old buildings, which were well-

maintained and almost livable. We came away feeling that we experienced an

authentic face of traditional old Japan.

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Crockery storage jugs were lined up outside the soy sauce facility.

From Shikoku-Mura, we caught a bus to the top of Mount Yashima, which afforded a

sweeping panorama of northern Shikoku Island and beyond into the Seto Island Sea.

We enjoyed the view but not so much the lunch, which featured unfamiliar preparations

of strange ingredients. At least the rice and the beer were good.

The view from atop Mount Yashima; central Takamatsu and our hotel are somewhere in

the far left.

Takamatsu is famous for having several of the temples along the pilgrimage of Shikoku

Island, a 750-mile circuit of 88 temples. We saw several pilgrims, which are

distinguished by their white smock-like garment and walking staffs. The Yashima-ji

Temple, number 84, is located on a plateau on the top of Mount Yashima. We visited

the large temple complex, which included several buildings and monuments, but passed

on the nearby aquarium.

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The Yashima-ji Temple on top of Mount Yashima.

For more pictures of Takamatsu, go back to start and click on the Picture Gallery link.