Kochi

Kochi is one of the four prefectures that make up Shikoku. If you look at the kanji for Shikoku, it is 四国, the first part meaning four, and the latter meaning country. So four countries. Or in this case, prefectures. 

Osaka and Kyoto are to the upper right for reference.

Kochi is a small but lovely place, so small in fact that I got a good number of stares including a comment from a person that they did not get many foreigners there. This is probably because it is out of the way of pretty much everything. It took us three hours of driving through these beautifully dangerous mountain passages, often with a steep ravine on one side of the other bottoming out in a river from which many communities would often build their grounds from. However it is not a trip that many foreigners will travel on their way through Japan. There may be a rail way to Kochi, but it would again be a long and expensive passage, perhaps not so frequently traveled. 

What Kochi does has is a fantastic beach. Though swimming is not recommended and prohibited if caught, due to its strong currents and tendency to carry people away. They are also well known for a particular fish dish popular throughout Japan, called katsuo no tataki. Katsuo no tataki is a type of tuna that is seared over a large flame for mere seconds, just until the outermost layer appears to take on a slightly blackened color, before sliced and served. It is no wonder that it is custom to eat it here with the close proximity of the ocean and all of its fishy harvest at hand. 

As far as people are concerned, the most prized personal Kochi has to offer is Sakamoto Ryouma, whose name might not mean much to many Westerners or perhaps many young people anywhere. But he is famous for bringing about the end of the Edo period in Japan and being a founding father or the Japanese Navy, as well as bringing both westernization and modernization to Japan. 

In fact, at Kochi's most famous beach, Katsurahama, there is a large crowd drawing statue of Ryouma facing westward. 

Other venues special to Kochi are its bright red bridge, Harimayabashi, right in the middle of the downtown area and a rather popular nighttime hangout place. There is also Kochi castle, which I cannot admit to seeing while I was there. It seems like many other castle of feudal Japan, white with a tiled roof, but rather small and unimpressive in structure.

Tokushima

Kagawa, another of the four prefectures of Shikoku, and also on my list of Golden week adventures. 

Again, look to the upper right for Kyoto and Osaka for reference.

Perhaps a few of the people who read this have heard of a little cartoon called Naruto. If in case you haven't, it is no concern that you familiarize yourself with it, though others will argue it is a priority for those interested in Japan. Naruto actually has three meanings. One is that ever so popular character that made a big splash in the world of animation with fox features and yellow hair and an orange jumpsuit. Another is a thing that you will often see being put it ramen. It is a mixture of fish meant(as bad as that sounds, it is a a common food accessory here) that is white with a pink spiral shape in the center of it. It comes in a cylindrical shape which you slice off and eat in ramen. Lastly and most importantly, at least where this post is concerned, is the meaning for whirlpool. 

Tokushima is famous for its whirlpools. 

They have this center for viewing them as well. Underneath a great bridge used as an expressway for cars, they have constructed a sealed in walkway for people to walk out to the center of the bridge and view what was my first, and perhaps the largest one I will ever see, whirlpool. You see at intervals along this bridge there are very thick-paned windows to view the occurrences below, and at the hubbub of it all is an entire room full of of these glass floor panels where many people congregate to best view the whirlpools below. In addition to the glass flooring, one side of the walk is lined purely with glass(or wiring without glass) so the view can fully appreciate the view from the side as well. On the other side are artworks or information about the whirlpools. 

Braver souls than I will venture out into the swirling madness on a ferry boat tour that will actually venture inside the whirlpool and cross it for closer looks. 

Though perhaps I need to clarify what I saw. When I say whirlpool, I was honestly expecting something right out of Pirates of the Carribean 3. This is not the case at all so don't get your hopes up. It is large and wide with what looks like a hell of an under toe, but not so deep. There are actually times at which it is best seen, likely in similar occurrence with the tides, and are posted daily outside the center. I was fortunate enough to see it at a peak time. 

In addition to the tourism the sight provides, it also appears to draw in a lot of fish. From my vantage point above, I saw a good many fishing boats braving the waters for the days catch. Many of them in s slow outward spin and several parked, or landed out around the rick isles. 

An additional obligatory mention for a special matsuri they hold that has a special dance for whichTokushima is very well known.

Kagawa

Kagawa. The one thing you have to do here above all else is eat udon. 

I was actually told that Kagawa is the capital of udon a fact which is recognized throughout Japan, to the point that if you wrote udon-ken (it would typically say kagawa-ken, the prefectural name) on a post card, it will be shipped there. 

So udon. You must eat udon. There are a few well known places that are said to be more famous than others with award winning udon (yes, they give out awards for that). 

There was one I went to, that is said to be the most famous udon shop in all of Kagawa and indeed there was a line already forming (and I was somewhere around 30 or 40!) at 10:30 in the morning when the place did not open until 12. That particular place is usually open only two hours a day, from 12 to 2pm, and they do enough business in that time to be closed the rest of the day. Since this day was part of Golden Week, they took us all by surprise and opened an hour early at 11am. They announced that the first 100 bowls of udon would be the freshest with the best noodles, and afterwards the dishes would be just as good but the noodles would not be as pristine. The dish was simple. And simply amazing. It was delicious. They ask you if you want it hot or cold and will give you the noodles in the bowl and then you sit at one of many of the squashed in tables in the two rooms they have and add your own fixings as you please. I remember the meal being somewhere around 160yen. That is about 2USD for those of you in America. In addition they sell their noodles fresh and packaged by the register, which makes for a good omiyage for those back home. 

It is a very fast paced business that gets people in and out in under 10 or 15 minutes. They have your food in front of you practically before you even sit down! 

Other important things to do in Kagawa-ken is to visit Kotohira and the famous Kompirasan. Kompirasan is a shrine. Not just any shrine, but one of the few shrines that most all Japanese people will make a pilgrimage to at some point during their life. A couple of the others include the great Geku and Naiku shrines in Ise as well as Asakusa's shrine and temple. Kompirasan is known for its golden charms bringing luck and prosperity as well as for having a great many steps. It actually measures out to a proud 1,368 steps up the mountain. Practically a mini mountain's worth of climbing. And people were saying the Batu caves 200 steps was a feat worthy only of the strong hearted! Along the way, there are many points at which you can grab one of the many free walking sticks that are provided for travelers on the way up. They are present at the dozens of stalls more toward the base of the mountain, where you can return them on your way down the mountain. 

As with many of the older and more popular shrines, there is an inner and outer shrine. The main hall and area of the shrine is located at a half way point in between the two and is the point at which most people end their journey. The inner shrine is still a ways hike up the mountain a bit for a smaller, quieter, more peaceful forested setting. 

This shrine is also really well known for its dog. It isn't the same as those shrines that are dedicated to certain animals or anything like that, but this one is personal. A true story based on the dog that once lived there at the shrine. You see, since this shrine has so many steps, it makes it very difficult for the elderly, feeble, and sick to make it up to the top to pay homage there. The shrine maidens and workers employed the use of a dog to send down its charms and receive their less than able bodied patrons money. They would do this by training the dog to run up and down the stairs for patrons (exactly how they accomplished that I am still a bit foggy on...I think a bell might have been involved that a patron would ring to signal that they were present and unable to make it to the top) with a little pouch tied round it neck. I know some people will think what if the person didn't pay the dog, or paid him too little or what if the person needed something other than a charm. Well I can't tell you all of that since that was all the explanation in English had to offer. 

Today, there is no dog. He died some years back, but a statue to his significance remains. As to the feeble and elderly who would like to see the main hall and are unable to make it? They hire a palanquin. Pretty much those little carriage platforms that you see nobility being pampered in and carried by people. The one offered here is a much less elaborate set up, but still uses man power to transport a person up and down the stairs at a very handsome fee.

Harie

Harie is a beautiful area as a part of the city of Takashima rather near to Lake Biwa.

Kyoto is towards the bottom of the lake for reference!

This district became quite popular after being featured in a drama and making the list of Japans cleanest and most beautiful cities that ought to be preserved list for quite a few years running. 

This town is especially unique because it is a natural water spring. A spring far, but not overly far, below ground contains the purest water in the country. The water preserved there in the underground caverns is approximately 200 years old! Pretty much Edo-period water there. Anyways, this town has several pipes leading to this untainted underground source. They have to be very careful in this procedure as to not taint the water when introducing new elements. They are very proud of the water pureness in this village. They explained to me on my tour that normal water in a bottle, or from a filter will contain something like 150 elements or contaminants, and to the public, that is considered clean water; however their ancient water from underground contains less than 10. I can't honestly comment on whether that is good or bad, not knowing what specifically the elements are, but I can say that it is pretty impressive. 

The water streaming from these pipes is at a constant 13 degrees Celsius, which might sound cool to you, but in the winter that is actually quite warm. So no matter the time of year, the water streaming from the tap is always refreshing. In the summer you will see the central stream full of brilliant green baikomo grass with its little white flowers and sometimes a fish or two darting between them. You will also see kids playing in the center stream, holding races on home made rafts or catching fireflies. The water is a very central part of this community. 

In addition to a type a central well, many houses have their own personal taps that they call kabata. These kabata formerly used to be all outdoor, though more modern homes have been building them indoors. They are normally constructed in close range to the kitchen so that the distance to fresh water for cooking is relatively close. There will be drying racks and shelving for cookware, and of course the ever-present carp. The kabata for a sort of pool of water about the size, or perhaps a little large than a child's' inflatable swimming pool with a grated exit leading to an aqueduct that runs alongside every house in the area, and will eventually filter into the rice patties nearby and from these to the Harie river and on to Lake Biwa. The exit is grated to keep the carp inside, and others out. Pretty much just to maintain their populations and per capita location. 

The town employs the use of carp to help keep their water clean. That is right those giant Japanese fish. These fish will apparently eat anything, and everything for that matter. And in doing so, there are no mosquitoes, no pollutants, and no insects. Additionally in each homes individual kabata, they keep them as a sort of family pet and dish cleaner. You see, when the family finishes a meal, the put the dirty remains of their cookware in the kabata to be cleansed by the carp, who will scavenge all remaining morsels.   

But being a part of their community is not as easy as it sounds. When you join this community, which is in itself no easy task, you pledge yourself to uphold the community's preservation of their naturally clean water.  This means that any dirty business must occur down stream. This is exactly why the rice patties are at the ends of the aqueducts and not in the beginning or middle; because it taints the water with mud. So all vegetable washing or muddy kid rinsing must either be down down stream or in a shower. Yes, they do have plumbing and running water, but for the most part the people there will only use it for toilets and showers and such. Others there actually draw up water into a pump system to be used inside the household. 

In addition to upholding the communities customs for preservation, a few times a year the main canal and aqueducts are thoroughly cleansed and raked clean of the baikomo and any other vegetation or pollutants. A task that requires the entire communities involvement. One cannot so easily get out of this duty as they hold the right of home ownership over the individuals and tell them that they may remove them from the community if they cannot participate.