Golden Week in 愛媛

I'm back from my Golden Week vacation! Quickly, last week I had Wednesday off, so I went back to 河内富園 (Kawachi Fuji-en, Kawachi wisteria garden) with Leah and some of her Japanese friends. We had a great time and it was so nice to go back again so soon! We had lunch at a famous champon restaurant and spent the rest of the day at the natural history museum in Yahata. It was a great day off in the middle of the week!

Friday is when my real vacation stated, though! After school I went home, gathered my things, and met Juha, Kyoko, and Caol at Kokura port. We caught an overnight ferry from the port that left close to 10 PM. We stayed outside for the launch and enjoyed watching Kitakyushu's city lights before finally passing under the Kanmon Straights Bridge and leaving the city completely. The boat had a big room full of mats and everyone was assigned a number corresponding to their sleeping mat. The floor was a bit hard, but it was surprisingly comfortable! We slept until about 4 AM the next morning when the lights were turned on to prepare for our arrival. Since we couldn't check into our hotel and nothing was open that early, we stayed on the boat until about 7 AM when we ventured out for breakfast. We caught a train to Matsuyama city, had some coffee, and went to our hostel to drop off our bags. Our hostel, the Sen Guesthouse, was in Dogo, another area of the city, so we had to take a small tram. Arriving in Dogo was amazing! It's a very famous onsen area because it is the setting for a very famous book called 坊っちゃん (Botchan). The titular character Botchan frequents the onsen in Dogo, making it very famous for many Japanese people. There are many references to Botchan around Dogo including a small train that can run on the tram tracks, a clock tower, and a foot bath. After looking around the area a bit, we went to drop off our bags.

We couldn't check into the Sen Guesthouse early, but they took our bags and gave us some ideas of where to go. We started by visiting Dogo park and it was so beautiful we ended up staying there for a few hours. After leaving the park we walked through a few temples. We started at the Isaniwa Shrine. Shikoku (the island we were on) is famous in Japan for the 88 Temple Pilgrimage. It is a 750 mile long trail through 88 temples all associated with the Buddhist Monk Kukai. Because of it's length many people tour the temples via bus, but some people still walk the Pilgrimage. We were not there for the pilgrimage, but we still decided to visit one of the temples. Although the first shrine we visited was not on the pilgrimage, we next visited the Ishite Temple and it was beautiful! We saw people making the pilgrimage dressed in white robes and straw hats with walking sticks. We burned some incense at the temple before moving on. We found some caves in the back of the temple and followed them out back to a third shrine. It looked a little run down like it hadn't been maintained in a few years, but it was still very nice.

We still had some time before our hostel would be ready, so we walked to Matsuyama Castle. We took a chairlift up to where the castle sat on the mountain and explored for a few hours. Some people were dressed in old gate keeping uniforms and it was really fun! After the castle we headed back to the hotel to check in. We got in and our room was amazing! It was one of the best places I've ever stayed. The owners gave us great suggestions for things to do and we decided on heading to the onsen. Dogo onsen was a bit crowded, so we decided to go next door to Tsubaki no Yu, another bath house. It was a great bath and we all decided on dinner after we met back up. We tried some sushi for dinner in the area and headed back to the guesthouse. We brought a few beers and went up to the roof, where the owners had told us about some hammocks and a great view. We relaxed and hung our for a bit enjoying the fresh air and views of the castle before finally heading to bed.

We slept in the next morning and decided what to do for the day. The owners had told us about a boat festival happening in Hojo/Kashima. Kyoko, Juha, and I all decided to go, but Caol hung back to explore the city more. We took a train out to Hojo and a ferry over to Kashima. The whole trip only took about half an hour, it was very close to the city! The island was beautiful and there were many wisteria flowers blooming. The festival started at the Kashima Shrine where people carried big bamboo springs with flags tied all over it. Children also sat on floats that men carried up to the shrine. Eventually, everything was carried down to the water and loaded onto the boats. Three festival boats were launched. The first carried the bamboo, had people drumming, and had children dancing at the front and back. The second two were not decorated, but tied to the first and carried two お神輿 (omikoshi, a divine palanquin used during ceremonies or when moving temples). We got a small boat just for the three of us to follow the festival boats. By this point, it had started raining, but thankfully our small boat had a canvas roof. The driver of our was very nice and got us really close to everything! He even dropped us off near the train station instead of back on Kashima island like he was supposed to. It was a really great festival and we had a lot of fun!

By the time we went back to the hostel it was almost dinner time. We meet back up with Caol for dinner and then went back to the hostel. The owners were showing a moving and we wanted to see it! We watched 思い出のマーニー ( Omoide No Mani, When Marnie Was There), a Ghibli Movie that currently had an exhibit in the Matsuyama museum. The movie was great and it was really nice hanging out with the owners and some other people from our hostel. We were getting up early the next morning, so we decided to head to bed after the movie.

The next day we got up early and headed to Dogo Onsen. It was packed because of the holiday. Although most Japanese people know it from Botchan, Dogo Onsen was also the inspiration for the onsen in Spirited Away. The bath was beautiful and the inside does have a bit of an otherworldly feel to it. After the bath we took the tram into the city center for lunch and to see the museum. The exhibit for the movie we'd seen last night was prominently featured. The exhibit was incredible! The had perfect scale models and even entire rooms you could walk through from the movie. Throughout the exhibit there were projections of the characters that would only play for a few seconds every minute and it really felt like you were in the movie. It was one of the coolest exhibits I've ever seen and I'm so glad we went!

After the museum we went back towards the castle. We didn't go all the way back up, but we walked along the shopping street we'd missed earlier. Everyone was pretty tired so they caught the tram home, but I was still enjoying the nice weather and decided to walk. It took almost an hour at my leisurely pace, but I saw some small shrines and got side-tracked walking through a park. I finished up all my souvenir shopping on the way back and it was almost sunset by the time we got back to the hotel. We sat and talked with the owners for a while before decided to head up to the roof to watch the sunset. A bunch of other people staying in the hotel came too and we all had a great time! We met another guy from our room and after the sun was down headed out to dinner with him. We went back towards the city center and found an amazing Indian restaurant. We walked around for a bit before heading back to the guesthouse. We played cards up on the roof for a bit longer before bed.

Our last day in Ehime we decided to take the train an hour south for another festival. Ikazaki is a very small town, but they have a huge kite festival every year. There were hundreds of kites and even a giant kite that had to be lifted up with a crane! Caol and I helped hold the rope for the giant kite and tried to help it fly. After the giant kite flying, all the smaller kites came out. There is a big kite fight as part of the festival and all the kites had gagari, a cutting tool, attached to their strings. The kites would fly into each other and try to cut each others strings! It was the first time I'd ever seen a kite fight and the festival was really amazing!

By the time we got back to Matsuyama City, it was getting late. We decided to take the bus to one last onsen before we had to leave. The onsen was only ten minutes away, so we had just enough time. This last onsen was also amazing! The baths were outside and they had all different baths, almost like a spa. There was a Jacuzzi, mineral bath, and even private tubs. It was the perfect way to end the trip. We grabbed our bags from the guesthouse when we finished and had dinner near Matsuyama station. We got back to the ferry a little early and found our spots. We again went outside to say goodbye to Ehime, but went to bed pretty soon after we left the dock.

Yesterday was also a day off for me, but I mostly slept and cleaned. I had such an amazing Golden Week, but I needed a bit of a rest! Today and tomorrow I'm back at Asakawa, but Saturday I will take another ferry to Korea. This one is much shorter and will just be a one night trip! I'll let you know how it goes on Monday.

Golden Week

Sorry this post isn't going up on Monday like it normally does. Last week was the Golden Week holiday in Japan. So I had last Tuesday off (4/29) as well as this Monday and Tuesday (5/5 & 5/6). I had a nice relaxing break and although I didn't get much traveling done, it's a huge traveling week in Japan and is usually a very expensive and crowded time to travel, I had a great time!

On Tuesday I started my vacation with a trip to the 河内藤園 (Kawachi Fuji en, Kawachi Wisteria Garden). I went with Leah to Yahata station where we met up with some more friends of ours. We caught a free shuttle to the gardens and spent the day walking through tunnels of wisteria and admiring the flowers up close. It was not quite fully bloomed when we were there, but it was still breathtakingly beautiful. It was a great start to the vacation and was incredibly relaxing and fun to walk through these gorgeous gardens.

We continued our relaxing day by spending an hour at the onsen, hot springs. There was an onsen close to the gardens, so we walked the short distance between the two. I have only been to some smaller onsens since arriving in Japan, but this onsen was huge! I don't know about the boys area, but the girls had about thirty shower heads for before the baths, two large indoor baths, an outside bath with a small alcove area, a steam sauna, and a heated wood rest area that could fit about ten people laying down. It was a bit chilly out, but we all opted for the outdoor bath. We became so relaxed on the rocks that we almost lost track of time. We had to dry of and get dressed again very quickly so as not to be late! We finished the day by going out to dinner in Kurosaki. Masato, Leah's boyfriend, gave us all a ride home and it was a great start to the week!

Although Golden Week is normally a consecutive holiday, this week the days fell slightly differently. Although I had a vacation Tuesday, I had school again for the rest of the week. I'm still visiting various schools, but thankfully this week I've been in Minami Kokura. It's not so far from my apartment, so I'm able to bike to and from school. It's only about fifteen minutes each way and I pass a Trial (a large discount store kind of similar to target but with a full grocery store as well), so it's great for grocery shopping on the way home! Despite my convenient placement, I was eager for the weekend. This weekend, as I said before, was a four day weekend with Monday and Tuesday off as holidays. It was a great long weekend!

On Saturday I met my friend Emily in Mojiko. Despite the crowds, we were able to get on a ferry rather quickly and were able to cross the bay and land in Shimonoseki within fifteen minutes. Although Saturday (5/3) was 憲法記念日 (Kenpou Kinenbi, Constitution Memorial Day) in Japan, the festivals in Shimonoseki were a weekend long celebration of こどもの日 (Kodomo No Hi, Children's Day), a holiday that fell on Monday (5/5). Shimonoseki was proudly flying fugu and koi fish flags. Koi fish flags are the traditional decorations always flown on Children's Day. There was a boat parade as well as performances from various school groups and Emily and I had so much fun! We of course visited 唐戸市場 (Karato Ichiba), the fish market. Since it's become Spring, the top of the market is now open. There is a field of real grass on top of the building where Emily and I had a sushi picnic, watched the boat parade, and generally enjoyed the sun. We eventually went back down to the wharf for ice cream and to catch a ferry back to Mojiko. After taking a train back to Kokura, we met up with Juha and Kyoko for dinner and drinks. I ended up meeting Dave, Patrick, and Fumiko at Dave's apartment for video games.

Sunday I had a relaxing day at home. I left my balcony door open all day for some fresh air and did some Spring cleaning. I scrubbed and washed every inch of my apartment. I biked to the grocery store and 100円 shop for some things I was missing around the house. It was the first time I bought exactly enough stuff to fit perfectly into my bike basked. Usually I miscalculate and either have room so my groceries bounce around or I have an extra bag I have to hang off the handle bars. Sunday, though, everything fit exactly without having to squish anything or put anything heavy on top of the eggs. It seems kind of trivial, but trust me is was incredibly satisfying. On my way home and I stopped to grab some flowers for my newly cleaned apartment. It was a relaxing, but very productive day. That night my friends Kikumi and Junko came over for dinner. Kikumi brought some ingredients for hand made gyoza and spring rolls. I'm excited to start learning how to cook more Asian food!

Monday was also uneventful. I relaxed at home in the morning and met Caol in the afternoon. We stayed outside in the afternoon enjoying the day before going to Booties for dinner. Booties is a popular Irish pub in Kitakyushu that is known for its fish and chips. They use ふぐ (fugu, puffer fish) for the fish since puffer is a very famous food in the area (although mostly famous in Shimonoseki). Caol, being from Ireland, is pretty picky about the food and Guinness there, but he loves the fish and chips there. After dinner we went to karaoke and sang the night away.

Tuesday, the last day of my holiday, I spent with Leah. We met for lunch at an udon restaurant down the street and talked for hours. She had gone to Busan, Korea for a few days and said it was packed! Although Korea doesn't have a Golden Week like Japan does, they still had a long weekend. She said she rode the most crowded bus of her life there, but still had a great time.

Next year for Golden Week I will try and make more plans. Hopefully the days line up better as well. Despite not going on a big trip I still had a great, and much needed, relaxing time. The relaxation will continue this weekend. Leah's friend Ryo has a house in Oita with a private onsen. I have many friends in common with them, so I was also invited. We will drive down and spend the night! The next day I'll head back to Kitakyushu to meet Juha, Kyoko, and some other friends for an 梅酒 (umeshu, plum wine) tasting. I can't wait!