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| Leaving the port at Takamatsu |
The trip required an early wake-up time in order to get to the port, but the ferry trip only took 50 minutes.
After arriving, I rented a bicycle for the day for just JPY500, or about $5. It's been a while since I've ridden a bicycle, so I'll admit that I was kind of nervous. The roads were very narrow, there was quite a bit of uphill cycling, and to top it all off the seat was too high and unadjustable, making it hard for me to stop without losing my balance...but I came out alive. :)
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| My rented bicycle next to one of the sculptures: Kimiyo Mishima, "Another Rebirth 2005-N" |
The island is known for its art museums and the outdoor sculptures scattered around. I had intended to start the day at one of several museums, but when I got to the first one they announced that the galleries were more crowded than usual, so they were instead offering timed tickets. What this means is that you wait in line for a slip of paper that tells you when you can come back and buy an actual ticket. I was in line before 10am, but was told to come back between 10:45-11:15. I spent a while admiring the wildflowers lining the road up to the museum, but in the end I decided to just keep going.
I cycled down the road to a parking area where I had to leave the bike in order to walk further on to many of the other sculptures. My hour-long stroll took me past several installations, plus some very pretty coastline.
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| George Ricky, "Three Squares Vertical Diagonal" |
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| Shinro Ohtake, "Shipyard Works: Stern with Hole" |
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| Kazuo Katase, "Drink a Cup of Tea" |
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| Karel Appel, "Frog and Cat" |
Before turning back to pick up my bike, I stopped to take some shots of the island's most well-known piece:
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| Yayoi Kusama, "Pumpkin" |
Back on the bicycle, I headed toward the "town center" on the other side of the island, about 15-20 minutes away. Again, rather than stepping inside the museum, I opted to just enjoy the town itself before heading back towards the ferry.
Before dropping off the bicycle, I stopped at a few spots near the port that I'd skipped earlier in the morning. One was a public bath called "I♥湯", pronounced "I love yu" (yu means "hot water"). Not interested in a bath myself, I was content just to take a few photos of the outside, including some lovely painted tiles...and the cat and goldfish!
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| Napping beneath some of the lovely painted tiles |
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| The cat wasn't interested, apparently |
Next I stopped to see a couple of other installations, including one familiar sight:
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| "Red pumpkin" |
And then back on the ferry at last. This time, even the ship's design echoed the island's famous pumpkins.
An hour later and I was back in Takamatsu again, with just enough time to catch a rapid train to my next destination: Okayama.
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| A sculpture at Takamatsu port |
My first stop here was dinner. I found a place offering an Okayama specialty: hiruzen yakisoba, which is similar to the typical Japanese yakisoba though this style has a different, sweeter sauce as well as bits of sauteed chicken. A very satisfying meal to end the day with.
What's in store for tomorrow? Be sure to check back to find out!
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