Sayonara

After breakfast Tuesday I took a last power walk around the beautiful castle park, saying goodbye to the swans, turtles, coy, and lone cormorant who reside in the castle moat. We biked over to visit the community library, and I washed one last time in the public bath in the hotel. We met my new friend Tatsui at a well-known sushi restaurant near the hotel and enjoyed the whole experience, including some (maybe a little too much) sake. By end of day we were packed and ready to go home. Early the next morning S, N, and M drove us to the small Matsuyama airport where our arduous return journey began. More than 24 hours later, after an expected 3-hr layover in the Nagoya airport, crossing back over the international date line during the 12-hr flight, and then an unexpected and unwelcome 4-hr layover in Detroit due to weather back East, I was finally back home with my guys (Ben, Wally the dog, and Wolf the cat), perhaps the most tired I have ever been. Nevertheless, in spite of my initial trepidation, I'm very glad I went. Even though we stayed mostly in off-the-beaten-path Shikoku, I believe we got a lot of the Japanese experience, and it was all good - well, OK, I'm still not a fan of eating octopus, but nevermind, I enjoyed so much else, much more than I expected, including the kindness and hospitality of the Japanese people we met. To see more selected photos from the trip, see: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/107215685196650364546/albums/6032348467511677393 (You may need to copy and paste into your browser.)

Iya Valley: Mountains!

Seth had a day off, so all five of us took off by car for the Iya Valley mountains in the central part of Shikoku Island. After an hour or 2 of highway driving, we found ourselves on narrow winding mountain roads, switchbacking up green forested slopes, supposedly wide enough for 2 cars but sometimes having to backup to a pull-off when we met another car. Small villages were precariously perched on the steep hillsides. We stopped to cross a vine bridge, hundreds of years old (but maintained) over a deep gorge with a whitewater stream at the bottom. Pretty exciting and not easy - gaps between the slats across the bridge, which swayed with our weight as we gingerly stepped across and tried not to look down (or looked anyway) at the whitewater rushing far beneath us. We came across waterfalls, a quaint local soba noodle restaurant where we ate lunch, and a small museum devoted to local folk life. This area is known for growing, grinding, and producing the buckwheat soba noodles - our lunch was delicious and the elderly woman who ran the restaurant delighted us. Three women from Tokyo doing a driving tour engaged us in friendly conversation about where we were from and why we were there. We saw a number of tour buses - this area seems popular with Japanese tourists, but again we saw few other Caucasians during the trip. We enjoyed the famous statue of the "peeing boy" who appears to be doing just that out over the edge of the gorge (pix later. ..). Mountain views were nspectacular, especially for us flatlanders. These mountains are very green, too steep even for logging, and much newer than our Eastern US mountains, with sharper peaks. I took many pix the last 2 days, including a photo of a typical vending machine that has 2 rows of various canned coffee: black, light, au lait, many different blends and brands. The Japanese seem to love cold/iced coffee (as well as hot) and it is always good.

Bridges and Bikes

Today may have been my favorite day so far. Now old hands at the transportation system, we took the trolley to the train station, took a train to Imabari, a lovely ride along the coast to the east, then took a taxi to where we could rent bicycles at the start of the Shimanami Sea Route, a series of 10 bridges across a group of islands that separates our island, Shikoku, from the main island. As usual, the bike rental staff were extremely friendly and helpful, both going and coming back, getting us on the right bikes and then getting us headed back to the train station. The route across the bridges and islands is about 70km, and has a separate bike lane. We biked (slowly) across the first bridge (Kurushima Kaikyo, about 6km - you didn't think we were going the whole way, did you?), which soars high above the Seto Inland Sea, affording us spectacular views of the Seto Inland Sea. The bike lane approach to the bridge spirals upward in a couple of curves to provide a gradual incline; however, it was still plenty challenging. Fortunately, we had to stop frequently to take pictures. This is the first place we saw serious bikers, wearing spandex (apparently necessary if you are going the whole way) :-) , and we were all required to wear helmets. We passed a few brave souls walking over the bridge. At the end of the bridge, on land again, we gratefully stopped for vending machine iced coffee (in cans, very common all over, and good) and snacks and rest, then turned around to go back. The weather was sunny and breezy all day, just beautiful, the first time in our whole trip. It was exhilarating. I slept very well that night.

Oops

(Warning - this post is mainly about family stuff...) Who knew the most dangerous thing I could do in Japan is walk a baby? We took a day off to regroup. After laundry and a power walk through the green and cool of the castle park, we biked to S&N's to babysit M while mom & dad went to a DMV appt. M smiled, Grandma Susan played with him, he slept, he woke up and got fussy, Grandma walked around patting his back, which worked for a while, then he refused to drink the formula Grandma had so carefully prepared and was the perfect temperature, so finally we popped him into the belly carrier and I took him for a walk outside. Heading out, with the baby in front of me, I missed a ledge, turned my ankle, lost my balance, fell/sat down, vaguely aware of thinking in a panic "don't let the baby's head hit the pavement." I thanked God, Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, etc., that this didn't happen. I would have had to commit hara-kiri had he been hurt in any way. He got a little jerked around and cried briefly, but then we walked back and forth and then around the block. Apparently he loves to be outside and moving. He seemed to get calm and relaxed and finally slept. When I got back, his parents were home and I was very glad to see them (and so was their baby!). A few hours later, when Susan and I walked out for dinner, my ankle suddenly swelled up and I was in increasing pain. We ate fast, then Dr. Sis took charge, made me go home and put my foot up, got some ice and made an ice pack, I took 2 Advil, she went out to find a pharmacy for a cold pack and/or ankle wrap, and came back with a version of both. I had also managed to wrench my bad shoulder and had landed on my bum, and through the fog of the pain I was certain that my trip was over and that I wouldn't be able to walk or bike or go anywhere until it was time to leave. But the ice worked quite miraculously after an hour or so, then we wrapped it with this thin sticky pad and I slept well. The next morning I felt cured (almost) but Dr. Sis insists I should keep icing and resting in between outings.

Uchiko, a historic small town

A new adventure! We took the trolley for the first time, successfully, to the train station, where we also managed to buy train tickets, successfully, to go to Uchiko, a small historic town south of Matsuyama. The train ride took us gradually out of the city, through suburbs and then villages interspersed with numerous rice paddies, and then into the green hills and through some tunnels until we arrived at Uchiko at about noon. There was supposed to be a "retro" bus that took tourists around to the hot spots, but we never saw it. We had a map and after wandering around for while, noticing that nothing seemed to be open and few people around, wondered if we were in the twilight zone. Perhaps everything closes for lunch. We finally decided to take a taxi to the far end and work our way back on foot. The taxi driver was friendly and pointed out several of the sites, in Japanese, so we weren't sure what we were looking at. He dropped us at the Kosyo-ji Temple, which is also on the 88-temple pilgrimage. After regaining some peace and calm, we started down through a designated historic district, which, aong other things, contains several residences of former wealthy wax magnates open to the public. We toured one, which also had a museum with very interesting displays of wax making, from sumac tree berries. This was a thriving industry in the early part of the century, but gradually declined after the rise of paraffin wax. We had a delicious and expensive iced coffee in a cafe right in the building, an outpost of modernity and blonde wood (bamboo?), reminiscent of Scandinavia, set inside the heavy dark logs of the original building. The streets were narrow, windy, and hilly, with many homes in traditional Japanese architecture, and lined with vendors of local food and unique crafts. Our final stop was a historic Kabuki theatre (men only, with elaborate makeup), which shows Kabuki only once every 2 years, but is used for other types of entertainment such as puppetry and concerts more frequently. We had an English-speaking tour guide of the theatre, who pointed out the cheap and expensive seats, and the various entrances in the back, sides, and underneath where the actors make dramatic entrances. We would have loved to see a performance, but, needless to say, our timing was off. :-) Apparently we would need to go to Tokyo or another large city where it might be more frequently performed. As an aside, while on the ferry the other day on TV I saw a performance of an all-female troupe, doing musical numbers, with women playing both men's and women's roles. Since they were all wearing similar heavy makeup, the male parts were distinguished by clothing and haircuts. The costumes got more and more elaborate, a over-the-top mixture of Ziegfeld follies, the Rockettes, and 40's musicals. Seth said the stars of this troupe are very famous in Japan.

Dogo Onsen Public Bath, or, How to Get Really Clean

The oldest public bath in Japan is Dogo Onsen, about 400 yrs old, a popular Japanese tourist spot. We bravely set out on the free bicycles available from our hotel, and just followed the intra-city trolley line to get there. We first visited a nearby temple, Ishite-ji, which was lovely and serene. I sat for a few minutes in the temple meditating. We observed a group of henro doing the 88-temple pilgrimage, recognizable by their white clothing, rice-paddy hats, and walking sticks. The group did some chanting while we were there. Afterwards they were very friendly, assuring me via gestures that it was OK to take pix on the temple grounds. Other visitors threw some coins into the offering box and rang a large bell, and lit incense or candles at various shrines around the temple. We saw no other Caucasians at the temple. We then found our way to the bath, via an entrance walkway lined with souvenir shops on both sides. The drill: first remove your shoes and put them in a locker at the entrance, then pay, including renting soap, washcloth, and towel, then enter the women's bath area, put your clothes and gear in another locker, then enter the bath itself and squat on a low stool in front of a sink along the side and scrub yourself thoroughly with soap and rinse well, and only then step into the very hot water of the hot spring bath, where you can only stand it for a few minutes. A highlight was an cheerful old woman who offered to scrub our backs while we were washing and included some skillful back and shoulder massage that felt great. This whole experience is very traditional Japanese and I have no regrets about doing it, but, honestly, all for a few minutes in a hot tub? Then by the time we biked back to the hotel I was all hot and sweaty again and ready for another bath!

Hiroshima

The next day we traveled to Hiroshima to visit the Peace Park. It began with a relaxing 3-hr ferry ride among numerous mostly uninhabited small islands in the Seto Inland Sea that separates Shikoku Island from the main island and Hiroshima.

The Peace Museum describes the history and politics leading to dropping the "A-bomb" and was relentless in describing the subsequent devastation, and then the gradual rebuilding of the city and its commitment to become a model for world peace and the extinction of nuclear weapons. Our spirits were lifted by the various memorials such as the 1000 cranes, the Peace Bell, the Atomic Memorial Mound (which contains the ashes of about 70,000 victims), the A-Bomb Dome, which partially survived the blast and stands in memory, and the Flame of Peace, which will only be extinguished when all nuclear weapons have been destroyed.

A Traditional, and Artful, Japanese Meal

The highlight of Sunday was lunch at a fancy Japanese restaurant hosted by Nagi's parents, and attended by her sister and spouse, brother & spouse & 3 kids, as well as all of us. It was an exquisite Japanese meal. We sat around a traditional low table, but thankfully with space to dangle our legs underneath. The lunch consisted of a seemingly never-ending sequence of small plates and bowls served to us, including soup, sashimi, tempura, and numerous other very artfully arranged small plates with a variety of vegetables and seafood combinations. I loved (almost) everything! There was some gift giving and appreciating. Nagi's parents do not speak English, so much translation and gesturing took place. I was sitting across from Nagi's father, who grows oranges, and he politely and helpfully gestured to help me figure out the appropriate way to eat everything. They were lovely people, we enjoyed it very much, and were grateful for the opportunity for this experience.

A Castle and a Festival

Very full day! We can't believe we've only been here 3 days. We walked to the Matsuyama Castle, the main tourist site in the city, as much a fort as a castle, originally built in 1600s, added to or reconstructed each century since, sitting on top of a hill, now in the middle of a beautiful park with numerous walking trails, and around which the original city was built. It was about 98% humidity as we slowly trudged up the hill along with numerous Japanese tourists. It was a pleasant surprise to find English translations on many of the displays. At the top one can see views of the city out the windows of the main building, and tour a small museum about the various lords of the castle. Back at the bottom we visited the Shinonome shrine, so beautiful, quiet, and peaceful. Hot and tired, we looked for lunch places and stopped at one of the very few we have seen that had English signage outside: "fish and chips". The woman at the counter enthusiastically greeted us, and seemed incredibly grateful for our patronage, as there was no one else there. My fish sandwich and Sue's fried chicken were pretty awful, but we had great iced coffee and enjoyed people-watching and were apparently much appreciated. After a brief recovery enjoying the hotel's A/C, we set out for a Saturday festival which takes place along 2 long streets in an L shape which are permanently closed to traffic, covered, and lined with many shops and eating establishments on either side, with special food kiosks and entertainment for the festival in the middle, offering a variety of local delicacies and wares. Perhaps the most interesting, and, frankly, creepy, was a kiosk filled with small cages and open boxes containing live, 3-5 inch long black beetles. One assumes people buy them for pets. The Japanese certainly have a complicated relationship with nature (think shark fin soup, dolphins and whales, and what I recently read in the guidebook about captive "trained" cormorants that catch fish but can't swallow them so that the fishermen who have ringed their necks make them cough up the fish into the boat). Later we had a delicious dinner at home at the compact apartment of the "kids", during which Great-Aunt Cathy got to dance with 3-month-old Minato. What a sweetheart!

Biking and bathing in Matsuyama

I woke up at 4am with a my usual travel migraine, quickly popped a couple of pills, took an excellent hot shower, got coffee from the lobby and yogurt from the 24-hr mart in the hotel, and found that the free wi-fi runs fast this hour of the morning. After getting another hour or 2 of sleep, I met my sis for a sumptuous buffet breakfast, $7 for all you can eat: juice, coffee, tea, miso soup, rice, soba noodles, tofu in various forms, pickled condiments and cabbage salad, even cold scrambled eggs, but alas, no cereal. .. I tried a little of most everything, though. We then checked out free bikes from the hotel (one-speed but sturdy, with baskets) and Seth, Sue's son, took us on a bike tour of the small city (pop 500,000). We shared bike lanes on both streets and sidewalks with plenty of business people and uniformed students. No one wears helmets or spandex, people ride in all variety of outfits, including dresses and suits. It would be hairier if the car drivers weren't so tolerant and courteous. Everyone waits for the lights to change to walk, ride, or drive. Later in the day we indulged in our first onsen bath - the hotel provides a robe and slippers with the rooms, and everyone walks through the lobby to the baths. I took about 4 short naps today and am trying to stay up long enough to go out to dinner with the kids after Seth gets off work at 9:30pm.

Day 1 ... Which is actually Day 2, since I left on Day 1 and during the trip passed over the International dateline. The 13-hour trip from Detroit to Japan apparently involved no night at all, we just kept following the daylight, left at 3:30pm Wed, arrived around 5pm Thursday, with a short, prop flight to catch to Matsuyama. When I arrived at the gate in Detroit and looked for my sister Sue, whose son and Japanese wife and new 3-month old baby we were going to visit, the vast majority of the waiting passengers were Asian, presumably mostly Japanese. It was already interesting! The Nagoya airport was surprisingly quiet and unsurprisingly efficient. We had to collect and recheck our bags, and at the baggage claim, 5 young uniformed staff lined up and announced (presumably since it was in Japanese) the bags were arriving. And then they politely bowed at the bleary-eyed travel-weary passengers. I am grateful that all my planes were on time, that I survived the trip, and that no bags were lost! After the final leg, awaiting us in the small airport in Matsuyama were a broadly smiling Nagi and a sleeping Minoto in his stroller. She drove us to our hotel to check-in. We knew we were now in non-American tourist territory as the hotel has no English signage, not even its name outside on the street. The room is spare but inexpensive, clean, and comfortable. The hotel has 24-hr quick mart, at least one restaurant, a coffee machine downstairs for $1 a cup (and it is good!), and its own oncen, a spring-fed bath, which we are looking forward to using. The hotel seems to cater to businessmen, my room had complimentary men's pajamas and a trouser-pressing machine - although they did give us women's pajamas down at the front desk - however, so far we are the only women I've seen. But it feels quite safe and friendly.

Just Testing While Anticipating

I waited until the day before leaving for Japan to pack, but am nearly done. We're leaving for the airport at a civilized hour. I just created this blog so am testing. More later ...