Tokushima Ramen and Onomichi Ramen
Riding the regional ramen boom, styles like Onomichi, Tokushima, Kitakata, Wakayama and Sapporo ramen have all become popular. The local character is nice, but they’re not especially outstanding in taste…
Riding the regional ramen boom, styles like Onomichi, Tokushima, Kitakata, Wakayama and Sapporo ramen have all become popular. The local character is nice, but they’re not especially outstanding in taste…
After striking out at Nakamura, I headed straight to Yamashita nearby. This is another famous shop where the line never stops. I suspect it’s probably the best-known name in the whole Sanuki area. You ca…
Shikoku is famous for its pilgrimage route around 88 temples, but Konpira-san isn’t a temple at all. It’s a shrine called Kotohira-gu. When I told people I was going on a trip to Shikoku, lots of t…
Ritsurin Garden is one of the must-see sights in Takamatsu. It’s right in the middle of the city, and since it looked small for a park I went back and forth on whether to bother, but I had some time left…
The first thing that comes to mind when you think of Matsuyama is Dogo Onsen, said to be the oldest hot spring in Japan. So it was the very first place I headed when I got to Matsuyama. A full view of Dogo Ons…
On the morning of day three of my Shikoku trip, the first place I went after arriving in Matsuyama was Dogo Onsen. After parking at the hot spring, I could see Matsuyama Castle way off on top of a mountain. I&…
About 10 km from central Takamatsu is the filming location of “Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World” (Sekai no Chushin de, Ai wo Sakebu). I really enjoyed that movie, so I went to have a loo…
Takamatsu, the hub of the Sanuki region, has a beautifully done-up harbor. That’s because most of its traffic with the mainland goes by boat. It’s only about 10 minutes from downtown, and I have to…
In Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku there’s a place called Naruto. In the strait between Shikoku and Awaji Island the currents create whirlpools, and they’ve built a walkway for sightseers right abo…
The Sanuki region of Shikoku, today’s Kagawa Prefecture, is famous for udon. In that small patch of land there’s an udon shop practically every time you cross the street.. A few years back an udon …
Here’s part 2. I only split it in two because the photos are so large; there’s no real difference in content. Here’s one of those pointless shots everyone takes everywhere. Spring is here. …
To welcome the spring of 2007, I spent two days in Kyoto on April 7-8 for some cherry blossom viewing. After going for the autumn leaves last fall, I’d told myself I had to come back in spring too, and w…