Ehime

Ehime 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. OK, so I just copied that from the last one. It has been a while ok?

 So here is where we were, Matsuyama 松山, probably the largest city in the prefecture. Also with the most to offer, especially on our power trip through Shikoku. Though I would still love to go back and visit Uwajima!

This is a close up of the area showing Matsuyama. 

So among the things Matsuyama is known for, is what they call the Japanese Machu Picchu according to the Japanese travel books. It was a former mining factory a ways back which was condemned in an accident and never rebuilt. The site for it is rather small but it does offer a beautiful viewpoint of the mountains. The mine was for a prosperous copper vein that they found and were making very good money off of. Still today you can see and even purchase some of the copper ware at the local stores. There even a museum a little ways down the road promoting the copper trade and as well as educating the young ones about minerals and ores. We did go to this museum and I have to admit...I don't think I would recommend it. The actual site is free and less...childish...But still it was a cute thing to do and enjoy.

Next on anyone's list should be to check out the castle. This castle is actually worth going to see. This one is not a reconstruction of its former glory, but is in this case still in its glory. This castle has first has a fun little chair lift up to the castle grounds. There is of course a walk way up, but it is a nice bit of an incline. They actually sell combo tickets for both the ropeway and the castle itself for a decent price. The castle is of course off limits for shoes and they have you remove them at the door and carry them around in a plastic bag about the place in order to protect their beautiful polished wood floors. The castle is certainly smaller than others and with a certain lack of castle grounds, but it is still unique and beautiful and most importantly original. 

And the last, and probably the most important stop you should make here, is to Dogo Onsen. And to some of you, I am sure that sounds familiar exactly not at all, but perhaps when I tell you what it is affiliated with? Ok, the Gibli movie, Spirited Away, used Dogo Onsen as a basis for its movie setting. 

Need some help remembering?

OK, now that we all remember, or realized that we might have missed out on something great, let's move on. This onsen is pretty much in the middle of the city and it is a grandiose affair. It is beautiful. And huge. And is apparently the only public onsen that any emperor in Japan has ever visited let alone frequented. He even had his own rooms at the onsen. To this day, the onsen is still functioning and has people in and out of its doors until late in the evening. Unfortunately I cannot boast that I have had the chance to bathe here as I would simply not have made the last train back to the hotel if I had. I did get to walk all around it and I can tell you there is a little shrine along the side where you can feel just how warm the natural water is.

As you can see, people are coming in and out in the yukatas after a refreshing bath.

Numerous expensive rickshaws just waiting to transport you all around the city for quite a sum!

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.