Roving Japan

Day 38 Photoset

This morning we said goodbye to our favorite family in Japan (And Kobayashi who came over before we left!) We can’t thank the Kanou family for their hospitality enough! They were above and beyond what we could have hoped for. Thank you!

We also have to thank Risa’s uncle Yosuke who put us in touch with the Kanou’s. If it wasn’t for his connection, I’m not sure what we would have done. Thank you Masamura Yosuke!

Now we are finally back on the road to Tokyo, but I’m still not quite 100% so we are unfortunately going to have to forget about walking the rest of Shikoku. Instead, we skipped ahead to Takamatsu via Okayama. We figure that if I can’t walk, we should still try to see as much of Shikoku as possible before moving on, so tomorrow we are renting a car for 3 days.

Today we spent our afternoon in Okayama, home to ‘Crow’ castle and Kourakuen, one of the top 3 gardens in Japan.

Okayama’s castle is nicknamed ‘Crow’ castle because it is one of the few castles that is not white. It is covered in black storm shutters. It’s a pretty cool castle to look at from the outside, but it was totally destroyed in WW2, so today’s castle is a replica.

Inside is a modern building with an elevator, and a small history museum. Almost everything was the standard castle museum faire, but the highlights had to be the awesome replica kimono’s that Risa and I tried on, and the palanquin (kago) that we were allowed to sit in. The kimono’s were especially cool because there was an attendant who actually put the kimono on you. All we had to do was stand there and not move.

Across the river from the castle is Kourakuen garden. The garden was very pretty, and home to several resident cranes. One of the defining features of the garden is the open grassy area. Back in the Edo period, this kind of grassy field was very rare, so it was quite a symbol of opulence.

We had fun walking around and taking pictures, all the while reminding ourselves that this is ONE OF THE TOP 3 PARKS IN JAPAN!!!

It’s kind of funny, because EVERYTHING is one of the top of in Japan. Japan has tons of cultural heritage sites of varying degrees of importance, but all of the sites latch on to the label and use it to sell more tickets. The garden in Takamatsu is supposed to be one of the top 6 gardens in Japan! Not top 3, but hey, its top 6!

Tonight we are in Takamatsu. We can’t wait to see more of Shikoku during the next few days!

Day 37 Photoset

Today was our last full day with the Kanou family. Tomorrow we head to Takamatsu.

Risa took the family dog for a walk this morning and got some nice photos of the neighborhood. It’s very peaceful out here. We will miss the quiet country life!

Mrs. Kanou plays the organ at her church, so since today is Sunday, we asked if we could go with her to church. It was a fun experience, although church in Japan is pretty much the same as church in America. At the end of the sermon, Risa and I had to stand up and introduce ourselves to the other church goers. They all seemed impressed with our trip and wished us luck the rest of the way.

The only part we were sad about, was the fact that Mrs. Kanou didn’t play the organ today! They have a rotation of players, and Mrs. Kanou played last week! Shoot!

This evening we played with some fireworks in the yard, and then I got one last chance against Mr. Kanou at Go. This time I played much better and he was actually worried that the 9 stone handicap might have been too much. But then we got to the middle part of the game and I totally fell apart and was completely destroyed again.

I promised to practice, so next time we meet I can give him a better match.

Day 36 Photoset

Izumi took Risa and I to the town of Onomichi this afternoon where we met up with her friend Tomoko. Tomoko works as an English translator in the auto industry, translating technical manuals. She also works with Izumi scheduling various English speaking events where Japanese people can get together and practice speaking. It was really nice to spend the day with people who speak English!

The 4 of us went to the shrine built on a hill in the center of town. It was a pretty cool shrine, with a cool little gondola/ropeway that ferries you to the top. The shrine had several levels, so even though we went to the top via the ropeway, we still had to go up and down quite a few steps. My foot was ok, but I was still limping a little. The view from the top was worth it though, as we got a great view of the city and nearby islands.

We had an interesting conversation with Izumi and Tomoko about employment in Japan. They both think I should give English teaching a try, and that I should also look into working at an “English Cafe”. Apparently, “English Cafe’s” are little cafe’s where a native English speaker sits at a table with Japanese customers. Then everyone just hangs out and talks. That’s it. Just sit at a table and speak with customers in English about whatever. Sounds good to me! I might look into it.

For lunch, we went into the main part of town and found a little cafe that is owned by Kobayashi’s group. When we walked in, the girl working at the register knew Izumi since Kobayashi had all the employees come out to the farm to help plant the rice in the field that we worked in yesterday. After saying ‘hi’ to Izumi, the girl looked at me and said, “Oh! Scott!”. I was a bit surprised… I was trying to think if I knew her, had we met before? Why does she know who I am? I’m bad with names, am I going to get in trouble for not remembering her? Then she explained that Kobayashi had e-mailed everyone the photos from yesterday, so they all knew me! I’m famous!

Unfortunately that cafe was full, so we said our goodbyes and found another place where we could get some ice cream before heading home.

On our way back home, we swung by the main Izakaya to say hello to Kobayashi. When we went in, we asked for him and the girl at the register turned and yelled into the kitchen, “Kobayashi! Scott’s here!”. Again, I was surprised that this person knew my name. It felt a little strange to have two people instantly know who I am without having to do any introductions.

Kobayashi was just as friendly and happy as he was yesterday. He seemed pretty excited that we came over to see him. He showed us his self-printed news flyer about his restaurant, we chatted for a bit, exchanged numbers, took a photo, and then it was time to head home.

This evening I suffered another beating at Go from Mr. Kanou. It was even worse this time because he spotted me the max handicap of 9 stones. Dang!