This entry was posted on 2001-04-17
Shikoku (Takamatsu and Shionoe Onsen)
Well, it's official. I've been on all four of Japan's major islands. Hokkaido is the furthest north. It is known for its endless landscapes and Sapporo, its largest city and a well known brand of beer. Honshu is the main island. It stretches from Aomori (in northern Tohoku) to Yamaguchi-ken (just west of Hiroshima). It's home to Tokyo, Kyoto, the Japan Alps, and Fujisan. Honshu is the most visited and most populated island. Kyushu is the southernmost island. Fukuoka/Hakata, Kyushu's largest city (once two cities, now merged into one) is a large Asian hub. Kyushu goes as far south as Kagoshima, home to a large (and active) volcano. Nagasaki (the second a-bomb city) is in Kyushu. Shikoku, the island that I visited today, is the smallest and least traveled of the four main islands. After seeing it, it amazes me how many people simply skip over Shikoku. It has lush green forests, beautiful mountains, a circuit of Buddhist temples, and arguably the best onsen in Japan.
Getting to the island took about two and a half hours. I transferred from the shinkansen to an express train at Okayama. The shinkansen doesn't cross the bridge to Okayama. Instead, it continues west to Hiroshima and eventually winding up in Hakata. I thought that the train that connects Okayama and Shikoku would be tres cool. The bridge is very well known and is one of the longest bridges in the world. When the train to Takamatsu pulled into Okayama-eki, I was surprised and disappointed. It looked like a converted subway train. There was not even a barrier to prevent the loud noise from seeping in. And the ride was bumpy. Oh well.
But crossing the bridge into Shikoku was beautiful. We passed a bunch of smaller islands, most of them mountainous and covered in dense forest. The bridge itself was pretty marvelous as well. It reminded me a bit of the Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo-bay.
I got off the train at the last stop, Takamatsu, one of Shikoku's largest cities. To be honest I wasn't sure how I was going to spend my day. At that point I was hoping to catch an early enough train back to Okayama so that I could walk around Okayama's famous garden. I thumbed through Lonely Planet's chapter on Takamatsu a bit. Nothing really interested me.
But then I saw the tourist office. Asking about a nearby onsen was worth a shot, right? I mean, if Shikoku is so known for its onsen, why not try one out?
The women in the office were really friendly. They didn't even try to speak English with me. That was a welcomed change. Of course I was having a hard time deciphering Shikoku-ben (a new ben for me!), but I understood that there were three well known onsen in Kagama-ken (Takamatsu's prefecture), the best one being an hour away by bus. The question...should I catch the next us, soak for two hours, and hurry back to the city to catch a six o'clock train? Or should I just walk around downtown Takamatsu a bit, catch an early train, and view the garden in Okayama? Gardens vs. onsen. Decisions, decisions. I love them both. On one hand, Shikoku is said to have some fabulous onsen. On the other hand, this garden in Okayama is supposed to be one of the three best in Japan (Kanagawa, and (I found out) Mito have the other two of the three "great" gardens).
Since it was my first time ever in Shikoku (and getting to Okayama is relatively easy, and I will be back in Japan one day soon!), I opted for the onsen. Man, was I glad that I did.
The bus ride was an hour long. A half an hour was spent getting out of the (ugly) urban sprawl of Takamatsu. The other half was through beautiful forested, winding, mountain roads. It almost reminded me of the bus ride from Miyazaki-shi to Udo-jingu, along the Pacific coast. Of course, this time I wasn't traveling through coastal areas, but the roads were similar.
Exactly one hour later (the Japanese are sooo precise!), the bus pulled into Shionoe Onsen city, its terminus. As I was getting off, I asked a woman (who I figured lived in the town) where a good onsen house is. She was really nice. She not only rambled on about how Shionoe has a diverse array of onsen houses, but she brought me to a map in the center of town and pointed out where the baths are. I opted for one with a rotenboro and a soba shop. She actually walked me there so that I wouldn't get lost (true, it would be hard to get lost in such a tiny tiny tiny city, but it was still really kind of her to walk me there).
The onsen was beautiful. I liked it better than the onsen at Kakunodate, hence making it my favorite onsen in Japan. The indoor bath was made of fine cedar. In fact, everything was made of wood. No metal or concrete. And the rotenboro was made of stone. The people (both Japanese tourists and locals) were very friendly. And the natural spring water was healing and soothing. After yesterday, my feet and legs were really hurting. The onsen erased a lot of the pain. I soaked for a good hour or so.
When I could no longer take the hot water (onsen usually consist of piping hot water), I got out of the bath, dried my hair, and walked around the town. Unlike most onsen towns in Japan, Shionoe was not overdeveloped. In fact, at one point that was aggravating because I could not even find a postcard to send!
But the scenery made up for that small inconvenience. The town itself is located along a river, in deep, green mountains. Scattered along the river were small footbridges. There were trails up the mountains, but I did not have time because I absolutely could not miss the bus back to Takamatsu. After seeing such beauty, it baffles me why so many travelers skip Shikoku. It really is a travelers' paradise. It's not in the least bit touristy, and the natural scenery is gorgeous. In fact, the town of Shionoe was not even mentioned in Lonely Planet (I plan to write a letter to the publisher when I get home).
The locals were extremely friendly. I guess it's not everyday that they see a foreigner. Some smaller children stared and giggled.
Coincidentally, as I was thinking of Will Ferguson and his book Hokkaido Highway Blues (Ferguson hitchhiked from southern to northern Japan following the sakura), and thinking how this was the type of open road he liked to hitch on, a car pulled up beside me. The man inside (who looked really honest and non-sketchy) asked me if I wanted a ride back to Takamatsu. I thought about it for a bit. Sure, it would save me the bus fare back. And I'd go directly to the station without making stops along the way at major shopping complexes. But at the same time a) I am paranoid and b) I did want to explore Shionoe a bit more. My bus wasn't due to depart for another half hour. I thanked the man for the generous offer and told him that I wanted to find another onsen (I needed a good excuse). As the car pulled away, I kicked myself. I could've practiced Japanese with someone who obviously knew no English for an hour. And I could've gained local insight into Shikoku. Damn, Karen. That was a real missed opportunity.
But it was also funny. I didn't even have to stick my thumb out and someone still offered me a ride.
I hiked around the town for a little while more. Gosh, it's amazing that this place is less than 2 hours away from the bright lights of Osaka, but on the other hand, it's soooo far away. Shionoe is a different world from Osaka, Tokyo, and even Kyoto. It's unlike any place I've been this time around in Japan (it had a different feel to it than Kakunodate). Though I love Tokyo, I am really having great experiences in these off the beaten path towns (Kakunodate and Shionoe). Too bad the sakura weren't in bloom...
I did manage to catch my train back to Okayama where I transferred to the shinkansen to Kyoto. As I watched the businessmen board the train, leaving behind them a busy day at work, I thought to myself, "wow, I just spent the day in the middle of nowhere, with no worries." What an amazing feeling.
Tomorrow it's back to Tokyo for the remainder of my stay here. Yes, I am ready. I am ready to kiss the Kansai area goodbye. I am ready to party in Shinjuku and Shibuya again, to go out drinking in Ikebukuro, and to return to the most powerful city I've ever been in. Of course I'll take daytrips. In fact, I plan to find if the northern sakura are in bloom yet, and if so, venture back to Tohoku. There is an onsen in central Honshu that interests me. And of course, I still have not been to Tokyo Disneyland (I am such a sucker for Disney theme parks!)!
Goodbye, Kansai. It's been...well, interesting. I am ready to move on. And I have a gut feeling that I won't be back to the Kansai area for a loooong time!