Tokushima 徳島 - Takamatsu 高松

5th October - 6th October

Our bus ferries is to the ferry port of Wakayama after breakfast through light industrial urban sprawl. So far at least, there has not been much variety in the view from our seat of travel but we hope for better things as we head towards the island of Shikoku where only 1% of all tourist visitors to Japan reach.

The tour group is beginning to fragment now, splitting into small groups which, as is typical I think, are generally defined by nationality. In this case there is splinter group of spinsters that include people from both sides of the pond. Representing England, we join the Manchester family and upgrade to the longe chairs at the front of the boat to catch up on more zeds that were inevitably lost on the concrete futons last night.

As Tokushima came into view through the sea mist we wondered if the skyline of industrial looking architecture was the reason for the scarcity of visitors. Uh oh!

A short local bus ride took us to our next hotel adjacent to the train station that we would be leaving from the next day. We were reunited with our large bags and checked in. The contrast between this hotel and the last could not have more extreme. This one has the feeling of comfort and style whereas the last was more like confinement and bile. A quick lie down on the comfortable twin beds was nearly it for the day but we pushed on to get lunch at the next door Coco Japanese curry house. It’s a tough life but someone’s got to do it!

The Coco Curry House is a chain restaurant that features in pretty much every town in Japan. There is a limited choice of dishes with the variation coming in the form of a sequence of choices; first there is the bas dish which is rich ( you get to pick how many grams), then it’s which sauce; beef or veg or chicken, then it’s the chilli strength from 1 to 20 and lastly its if you want something on the side like breaded chicken or gyoza or two frankfurter sausages. Mmmmm! Out of five of us our chilli strength ranged from ‘normal’ (about a 3 on their scale) to 8 which was my choice. When the food arrived the waiter said the number in English to identify whose dish was whose. It was a little disconcerting when he laughed after saying ‘eight’ and I quickly realised why. My eyes were watering for the rest of the afternoon and later the jet cleaning toilet was left on for some time 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Then, in what felt like a bit on an infill activity, we were taken to the theatre to watch some dancing. The dance that we watched represented a tradition dating back for more than a thousand years and was entertaining and skilfully executed but when I tell you that some of the audience that were invited to join in made almost as good a fist of it as the professionals you will understand why it left us with the feeling that it was all a bit lame.

A cable car next to the high point of the hills to the south of the city to watch the sunset. This was good and the views spectular. I was starting to feel the beauty of this country and to understand the balance and order of the Japanese way of life.

We were still full from lunch so just picked up some snacks from the 7/11 and turned in early.

More and more like Nepal with every temple that we see

We woke up the next morning to a whole new world! I’d had a perfect nights sleep, the sun was shining and the breakfast was epic!

A puppet show doesn’t sound that great and when we looked at the itinerary before the tour I hadn’t picked today’s morning activity as a particular highlight and so we were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed it.

The theatre was small and there were only a few other spectators there outside of our group. The venerable owner and puppet maker introduced us to a puppet and demonstrated how it took three people to manipulate it. The breadth of emotion that could be conveyed was remarkable with many moving components in the face, hands and body of the manikin. The puppeteers are dressed in black to be as inconspicuous as possible to focus your view onto the puppets.

We were treated to a performance that lasted around 20 minutes and featured the story of a girl searching for her parents having been abandoned at an early age to foster care. She comes to a house where she is welcomed in by a woman who, of course, is her mother. The problem is that the mother is about to be arrested for an undisclosed crime and feels that it will not help her daughter to reveal her identity. Angst and wailing ensue until the child leaves. Then filled with remorse, the mother decides to go after her daughter. Alas that was the end of the snippet from an epic tale that we would be seeing today and it left us, unlike the dancing yesterday, wanting more.

The museum of puppetry and the spectacular 300 year old garden finished off a great visit.

Back in town lunch was rushed but we just managed to fit in a ramen at a small and popular local restaurant. Best yet and for under 1000 yen each!

A local train to the next city - Takamatsu. Another reminder of how every Japanese worker seems to take pride in their job came with the train crew who dealt with their routine with the seriousness and pomp of a military parade. The driver saluting the workman on building sites as we passed, the ticket collector saluting the passengers at the end of each march of the carriage and the ticket collector at the end of the line bowing low to each hallowed passenger leaving the station.

There was only time to dump bags in our new room before heading out to the nearby Ritsurin Gardens - a huge complex of lakes, bridges, artificial hills and tea houses spread over 75ha constructed as a strolling garden for the royals from 1625 to 1745 in the location of a river bed.

I was by myself as Pauline had stayed at the hotel to recover from an upset stomach (clearly the ubiquitous miso broth was taking its toll). I could have trailed around with the rest of the group and learn from Patrick’s undoubtedly broad wisdom but was growing a little tired of one particular member of the party who rather enjoyed knowing more than everyone else and who was unable to resist telling us all so in a loud whining Californian drawl so went off to explore alone. (you’ll spot who I am talking about in any of the group photos as the wincing person that might well have a sharp stick permanently stuck in her arse. In case we do forget who she is, we are able to check on the group WhatsApp where she regularly posts a picture of herself in front of any given sight of interest. The only good thing about her loud irritating voice is that you hear it before you see her so there is always a opportunity to make a hasty retreat)

Left to enjoy the gardens at my own pace and space I marvel at the splendour before me, the meticulous attention to detail with every blade of grass and every tree. From my own efforts at home, I am acutely aware of the vast number of man hours involved in maintaining such a place and occasionally I see smartly dressed workers quietly clipping at shrubs and trees with almost microscopic precision to ensure slow grow.

I am wrapt with awe and can’t get enough of the endless views of tranquil water disappearing around the corner ahead drawing me ever onward to see more. I methodically pack new ideas for my own garden into the part of my brain that I use for that function in the hope that they will meld with the other ideas already there to come out eventually again in a form that I can then incorporate within my design.

We were to meet at the garden exit at closing time and after a wonderfully calming two hour stroll I wandered back there to join the rest calm and enlightened. No amount of loud droning on from a certain faction could spoil my mood and we headed back to the hotel on the local bus.

We ate at a yakatori restaurant local to the hotel which was next to the train station in the middle of town. The style is similar in concept to tapas with loads of small plates of food coming out of the kitchen in rapid succession and in any random order. Patrick ordered way too much as usual. It felt like we were eating for hours! The bill was split at the end and even with several beers it was only 3500 yen each (£17.50). It’s feeling way cheaper to travel around Japan than in Europe.

We had expansive views from our hotel bedroom

What a great day and definitely the best of the tour so far.