Wakayama, Shikoku, Okayama: Day 5

I spent most of the day on an island, off an island, off an island. Last Friday, I left Japan's biggest island (Honshu) for the smallest of its main islands (Shikoku), and today I went to an even smaller island off the coast of Shikoku: Naoshima.

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. :)

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.

George Ricky, "Three Squares Vertical Diagonal"

   

Shinro Ohtake, "Shipyard Works: Stern with Hole"

     

Kazuo Katase, "Drink a Cup of Tea"

   

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:

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!

Napping beneath some of the lovely painted tiles

   

The cat wasn't interested, apparently

      
Next I stopped to see a couple of other installations, including one familiar sight:

"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.

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!

Wakayama, Shikoku, Okayama: Day 4

I slept in...and it was wonderful! I took my time getting going this morning. Enjoyed some Wakayama mikan juice that I'd bought a couple of days ago.

    
When I eventually got out of the hotel, I headed for Takamatsu Castle in Tamamo Park. Originally, this spot hadn't been on my radar for places to visit, but I met a Japanese-American woman on the ropeway yesterday who recommended it.

  
I wasn't in time for the kiku matsuri (chrysanthemum festival) she had seen, but there was still one small display left.
  

The castle doesn't exist anymore, but one of the turrets is still there.

A nice, relaxing place for a nap

      
I spent about 40 minutes strolling through the garden before making my way over to the train station and on to my next stop: Ritsurin Garden, the top tourist destination in the prefecture.

   
This garden is huge!  The woman I met yesterday said she'd spent five hours here.  I only stayed for about three hours or so, but there's definitely plenty to look at.

   
It was also a bit more crowded than I'd expected, so today I thought I'd try something different with my photos. I normally take a lot of pictures of structures or landscape, but today I did a little people-watching as well.

Quite a few little kids in kimonos today--I think they must be celebratingshichi-go-san (7-5-3), a rite of passage ceremony held in November.

   

Enjoying snacks and feeding the koi

On a tour of one of the ponds

Playing with the fish

   
Finally, I sat down to enjoy Kagawa Prefecture's most well-known dish: udon noodles.  They were serving some at a food stall in the middle of the garden, so I got to enjoy my yasai-ten udon (udon noodles with vegetable tempura) while taking in the view.

The noodle menu. At the top of the board, they're also advertising the fact that a tremendously popular
boy band (嵐) has also eaten here. (Ono-kun really enjoyed his noodles, apparently.)

Udon noodles in broth, topped with pumpkin, sweet potato, and burdock tempura

    
While browsing through the handicrafts on display inside one of the buildings, one of the sellers told me that tonight was the first night of their annual "Autumn Light-up"--they illuminate some of the trees and other features in the garden and allow admission after dark.  He told me that I wouldn't have to buy a second ticket; I could just show up with the same one from this afternoon.  It sounded like a good idea, and my hotel isn't that far away, so I went back to my room to rest for a couple of hours before going back out again.

The seller had mentioned that the garden has a completely different atmosphere at night, and he couldn't have been more right:

Crowds surrounding the tent where the vendors were selling udon and other snacks.

 

Dango (balls of chewy rice on a stick) was a popular choice

  
I think I liked it better there after dark. In the daytime, the most noticeable color is green, but the illumination really draws your attention to all the other colors.

Koi thrashing around in the pond

   
One of my favorite parts was how the planners had really taken advantage of the pond.  Lights were placed to create perfect reflections everywhere.

      
After nearly an hour, I made my way back out of the garden and caught the bus down to the port. Tomorrow morning I'll take a ferry to a tiny island famous for its art, and I wanted to make sure I knew where to go.

But now that I'm back at my hotel, I've got a little homework to get done before I call it a night.

Which picture was your favorite?  How did my people-watching experiment turn out?  Let me know by leaving a comment, and check in again tomorrow!