JAPAN – CHUGOKUI EAST & SHIKOKU

Day 15 Fri Nov 21
JAPAN – CHUGOKUI EAST (Hiroshima, Okayama, Tottori)

TOTTORI 
Tottori Mingei Museum of Folkcraft. Has pottery, furniture, glass (lamps and windows) and a ecclectic collection of local art. I have seen the best of Japanese crafts and this was underwhelming. 500Y
Shoju Ueda Museum of Photography. The collection consists of over 12,000 works in a spectacular building on a lake. Shoju Ueda (1913 – 2000) was best known for his distinctive, dreamlike black-and-white images with staged figures, taken on the Tottori sand dunes. His photobook Warabe Goyomi (Children the Year Round), contains images of children which masterfully balanced social realism and the playfulness of Ueda’s posed pictures. 500Y

Tottori Sand Dunes are sand dunes outside Tottori and are 14 km long and 2.4 km wide, the largest sand dune in Japan. The sand dunes are part of the San’in Kaigan Geopark, which is part of the UNESCO Global Geoparks.

The sand formations were created when sediment deposits carried from the Chūgoku Mountains by the Sendai River were thrown away into the Sea of Japan. Strong winds then shaped the dunes over a span of 100,000 years. The area of the dunes has been steadily decreasing due to a government reforestation program following World War II. Concrete barriers have been built along the coast to prevent the formations from eroding.
Maximum elevation is 90 meters, creating bowl-shaped depressions called “suribachi” (grinding bowls). The largest of these, sometimes called “Ō-suribachi” (large grinding bowl), rises to a height of 40 meters. On the slopes of these depressions, patterns resembling hanging blinds called “saren” can be seen where sand has collapsed in flowing patterns, alongside striped patterns called “fūmon” (wind ripples) formed by winds of approximately 5-6 meters per second. The surface is not always dry; at the deepest part of the suribachi, there is an area called an “oasis” where groundwater seeps out, sometimes forming a shallow pool during certain seasons.
The Sand Museum displays sand sculptures in temporary facilities. and now the first permanent indoor exhibition space dedicated to sand art, exhibiting works by fifteen international sculptors.
Each yearly exhibit starts in April and lasts until January of the following year. The sand sculptures are then deliberately destroyed and a new exhibit is prepared from January to April. Sand from the dunes cannot be used and comes from a road-building project, and the same sand is reused each year. Only sand and water are used to create the sculptures. The museum’s motto is “Travel around the World in Sand”, and the exhibit is themed around a different country or geographical area each year. Free

Mizuki Shigero Road statues, Sakaiminato. This street is named after the manga artist, with sculptures of his characters & projections at night. I am not much of a manga fan and have a hard time relating to the subject, but the statues themselves are very well done. 

Day 16 Sat Nov 22
JAPAN – CHUGOKU WEST (Yamaguchi, Shimane)

IWAMI GINZAN SILVER MINE WHS
A historic silver mine was discovered in 1526 with minimal environmental impact. This is a cluster of mountains, rising to 600 m and interspersed by deep river valleys featuring the archaeological remains of large-scale mines, smelting and refining sites, and mining settlements worked between the 16th and 20th centuries. The site also features routes used to transport silver ore to the coast, and port towns from where it was shipped to Korea and China. The mines contributed substantially to the overall economic development of Japan and Southeast Asia in the 16th and 17th centuries, prompting the mass production of silver and gold in Japan. The mining area is now heavily wooded. Included in the site are fortresses, shrines, parts of Kaidô transport routes to the coast, and three port towns, Tomogaura, Okidomari and Yunotsu, from where the ore was shipped.

HIROSHIMA
Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park. Very busy on a Saturday with many families. 450Y parking fee.
Hiroshima City Transportation Museum. 3rd floor has a huge model city with moving cars, trains. 2nd floor has models of everything. More for children. I learned little, this was a waste of money. 500Y, 250Y reduced
WoodEgg Okonomiyaki Museum. A factory tour to see how the sauce is made and sample it. Learn the history of the sauce. Free Bizzarium
Izumi Museum. On the 5th floor of a department store, there are mostly abstracts in 2 small galleries. Tedonyosi Irino paints abstract trees. Free 
Ebayama Museum of Meteorology. At the top of a mountain park in the original meteorological station, it has separate videos of lightning bolts, cloud formation (actual water vapour fills the room and then is sucked out through a floor vent. Photos, measuring devices, weather forecasters. Oriented to children. 100Y, 50Y reduced.
Hiroshima Museum of History. Ethnography (household, agriculture, fishing, wool and silk, modern (60s). I expected more on the atomic bomb but there was only a small sign “this was a canned food factory 3.2 km from the epicentre whose steel frame of the roof became bent”!. 100Y. 50Y reduced.
City Museum of Contemporary Art. In an overbuilt, monstrous building, the best were the large granite rocks with fountains and running water. I actually liked some of the art – a great motorcycle, a woman cleaning carpet, and some large paintings. It has the usual bad photography (large prints or ones done with silver gelatin but bad composure, light etc). 350Y, 150Y reduced. The temporary exhibit was 1000Y which I didn’t pay. 
Hiroshima City Museum of History and Traditional Crafts
Fudenosato Kobo Museum, (Brush Makers Workshop), Kumano. About 24 km north of Hiroshima, this was about the local handicraft of making brushes for makeup, painting and calligraphy. Not so interesting and expensive. 800Y
I wanted to visit both the Museum of Art and Prefectural Art Museum in Hiroshima but could not find parking. 
ON Starbucks lot north of Hiroshima
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JAPAN – SHIKOKU (Matsuyama, Tokushima, Kochi, Kagawa)

Day 17 Sun Nov 23
Jojo Temple. In ? prefecture, I saw this temple just before the bridge to Shikoku.
The temple was closed but the gate was open. The highlight was a white stupa with two sweeping red roofs and a Buddhist “spiral” on top. Free

Kurushima-Kaikyō Bridge, Imabari. Series of 3 connected suspension bridges, over 4km long, spanning the Kurushima Strait.
Setonaikai NP. Japan’s 1st & largest national park, established in 1934 & encompassing about 3,000 islands. The bridge passes over the islands. I could see no access off the bridge.

MATSUYAMA
Dogo Onsen. A large onsen with many sweeping roof lines. I wanted to go in but the line up was long.
The Shiki Museum. Extensive historical artifacts & exhibits relating to lauded poet Masaoka Shiki. He was famed for revising the Haiku poem (5-7-5) and the tanka poem style (5-7-5-7-7). All was in Japanese and I didn’t get much from the museum. The auditorium was packed with a crowd awaiting some sort of performance. 500Y, 400Y reduced.
Matsuyama Castle. A 5^th century castle surrounded by a large park that was completely restored. Reach using a short rope way for extensive views. There were samurai swords and weapons. 400Y
Bansuisō. Built in the early 1900s, this French-style mansion had exhibits on the building’s history and architecture, plus scenic grounds. Architectural delight. Free
Saka no Ue no Kumo Museum. This museum had exhibits related to Ryōtarō Shiba’s novel “Saka no ue no kumo.”. Only in Japanese, I got little from this museum as I understood nothing about the novel. Parking was difficult but I walked down from Bansuiso. 300.
Museum of Art, Ehime. In a huge park surrounded by a moat, the park was very busy with a running event. The parking lot was full and I ended up parking on the street next to the museum and turning on my 4-way flashers. Exhibitions included some nice statues and an exhibit of art and photographs of Mount Toshiaki. 340Y, free reduced.
Botchan Train Museum. A replica of the ancient Botchan train. 200Y

Toll 3,000Y

Besshi Copper Mine Science. The mine began in 1691 exploiting one of the largest copper deposits in the world. It was in production for 282 years through the Edo, Meiji, Taisho and Showa eras. There were disastrous fires, floods and technological difficulties. The mine closed in 1973 having reached 1,000 metres below sea level with the min being 1,294 metres above sea level. The total production of copper ore was about 30 million tons and 650 thousand tons of copper.
In a beautiful museum built into the mountain, this was only in Japanese. There were many examples of ore, refined metal, mining tools like drills, powder, a gold ingot, scale models of mines, shoring methods and a 3-D model of the mine on Shisikayima Island. There were many photos of the families working in the mines. Free.

Toll 2,000Y

KOTOHIRA
Konpira Grand Theater (oldest Kabuki Theatre in Japan). This small theatre had a lovely screen of a large tree. The seats were hard to understand, basically a lattice of narrow boards enclosing a one metre square space (did people sit on the floor). A balcony surrounded the theatre. 500Y. Architectural Delights

MARUGAME
Marugame Castle. A 16th-century hilltop fortress featuring panoramic city views & an imposing stone wall.
Genichiro-Inokuma Museum of Contemporary Art. Spacious gallery & library, showcasing the work of Genichiro Inokuma & other Modern artists. Almost all large abstracts, there were three contemporary pieces of collections of discarded objects covered in old photos. Normally costing 1100Y, it was free today as it was a birthday of the museum.

Kagawa Prefectural Higashiyama Kaii Setouchi Art Museum, Sakaide. Tranquil, contemporary museum overlooking the sea, with art by Kaii Higashiyama. Virtually all art was composed of trees in many abstract styles. The location was spectacular, separated by itself in a large park and right on the water. You could see the entire Great Seto Bridge from the restaurant and grounds in the front. To get to the museum pass the enormous cement pillars of the Shikoku Bridge. 500Y and free only if over 65 and a resident of the island.

Great Seto Bridge, Sakaide. This bridge, spanning from Kagawa Prefecture to Okayama Prefecture, is divided into three sections, crossing an island in the middle.
It has two levels, the top for vehicles and the bottom for trains. The entire structure is breathtaking, with views of the surrounding islands and passing ships.

Kotohira Shrine. This tiny shrine is on a busy street with no parking, so I pulled over and parked partially on the sidewalk. It is a Shinto shrine. The best part is a stone sculpture of a coiled snake on top of a square stone block.
Ritsurin Garden. Well-known 1700s garden featuring formal landscaping, ponds, bridges, a teahouse & a boat ride. I was there at dusk and joined a huge crowd. Many were carrying a small paper bag with a light suspended by a stick. The highlight (and what everyone was here to see), were Japanese maples turning red suspended over a small stream and lit from underneath with bright floodlights, ideal for photographs. I took some pictures for the first time in a long while. 500Y but I just walked in.
Takamatsu Castle. Ruins of a castle built in 1590 in a parklike setting, with a moat that uses water from the sea.
Tamamo Pier Lighthouse (Seto Shirube). At the end of a long pier, it is lit red at night. I didn’t walk all the way out to the light.
ON Starbucks. I was woken at 1 am by the police who said I couldn’t park in the lot. I thought it unusual that the manager (or security guy) had not simply knocked on the van and asked me to leave, but had called the police. The police were very polite and translated everything easily. I had to show my driver’s license and passport.

On driving away to find a new place, the left front tire was completely flat. I returned back to an all night fast food restaurant, parked in their lot and asked for some help. A very kind employee was great help and I would have gotten nowhere without him.  
It was illegal to change a tire in this camper’s manual (besides there was no spare tire or tools to change the tire). I phoned the number of roadside assistance (up to 150,000Y was paid by the insurance, but I needed to pay for any repair), but could not reach the number on my phone. The employee phoned the number, gave them the car license number and eventually gave me his phone to talk via an interpreter to the insurance company. The said they would be here in 15 minutes.
When they didn’t arrive, I had him phone again. Over a call lasting at least 30 minutes, they wanted the vehicles inspection certificate (no one was visible) and the address and phone number of Samurai Campers in Tokyo. Then they made a series of impossible demands. They wanted me to find and call a tire repair shop to see if they had my brand of tire (Yokohama, a common Japanese tire maker). I said that was ridiculous as I had no idea where a tire shop was and couldn’t communicate with them anyway, plus they were closed at 1 am. Then they wanted me call Samurai Campers to get a permit to have the vehicle towed. I said that was also impossible. Then they said they would be there in an hour and tow the van to a tire shop. But I couldn’t come and couldn’t sleep in the van until the morning. I said to wait until the morning. I asked if they had the address of the restaurant (amazingly, they hadn’t asked the employee for the address), so I wondered how they were going to find me 15 minutes ago. I explained several times that they would have to look after calling Samurai in the morning and then tow me. It took several attempts for them to understand that this was the only way they could help me.

I waited for my talk at the Nomad Mania travel awards, but had the wrong time (I had made the wrong time change of 10 hours instead of 9), but would have missed it anyway as I was on the phone to the insurance company. I slept fitfully through the night.
In the morning, I got some hot water for a coffee at the restaurant, and eventually  went down to the Starbucks two doors down and got a coffee.
The tow truck finally arrived at 11:15. The driver was a lovely old guy. I was towed to a tire shop. It was a thick screw. I was finished by 12:30. All the workers were Filipinos.

Day 16 Mon Nov 24
Google Maps said that Thanksgiving Holiday hours may vary opening times. But Japan doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, and especially the American dates.

NARUTO 
The Naruto German House, Naruto. Museum dedicated to the daily lives & experiences of German prisoners in Japan during WWI. 300Y
Ōasahiko Shrine. Rebuilt shrine on an ancient site at the foot of Mt. Ōasa with a huge camphor tree & nearby trails. When I saw the main Shinto shrine, there was a service. The priest chanted while he hit a drum. No audience participation here.
Naruto Whirlpools. Seen by boat or from nearby viewpoints, these large tidal whirlpools appear between high & low tide. I was there at exactly the right time and could see all the whirlpools without paying for the observation deck (on the bridge about 45 m above the water) or the museum.
Otsuka Museum of Art. Vast museum with over 1,000 reproductions of famous works like the “Mona Lisa” & “The Last Supper.” The price was also vast 3,300Y, one of the more expensive museums in the world, more than the Louvre or Hermitage – and for reproductions.

GO TO KANSAI EAST

TAKAMATSU
Kagawa Museum. 
Seto Inland Sea Folk History Museum.
Shikoku Mura. Outdoor architectural park showcasing historic buildings from the Edo to the Taishō periods.
Art Museum. 

TOKUSHIMA
Tokushima Castle, Stone remains of a fort built in 1585, alongside a statue of its 1st lord & a castle history museum.

SHODOSHIMA
Sodoshima Dai-Kannon.
Shodoshima Windmill. Mediterranean style park & olive grove with a Greek windmill, museum, restaurants & gift shop.

Military, War and Police Museums
Mutsu Memorial Museum, Suo-Oshima. War museum displaying artifacts from the sunken Mutsu battleship, along with models & aircraft.
Science, Technology and all Industry and Mining Museums: Besshi Copper Mine
World of Nature:
Akiyoshidai Quasi-National Park. Expansive grassland with a network of hiking routes, limestone formations & vast underground caves.
Ashizuri-Uwakai NP. Vast, 113.45-sq.-km park with gorges & forested mountains, plus beaches for scuba & snorkeling.
Setonaikai NP. Japan’s 1st & largest national park, established in 1934 & encompassing about 3,000 islands.
Niko Buchi. Waterfall. Stairs lead to this waterfall-fed pool known for its blue color, set in a gorge & considered sacred.

Caves, Sinkholes and Saltmines
Onigashima Island Cave. Island cave decorated with vividly colored demon statues & hundreds of metal figurines.
Ryugado. Cave network with narrow passages & colorfully lit rock formations, plus a small museum & bird park.
Lake Nakaumi, Large brackish lake with small, scenic islands, abundant waterfowl, fishing spots & lookout points. Shinji
Dogo Onsen.
Pedestrian and Historical Bridges: Miyoshi: Iya-no-Kazura Bashi
Shikoku Automobile Museum, Noichi. Exotic & vintage cars, including Lamborghini & Ferrari models, in a polished showroom.

OKUNOSHIMA ISLAND
DARE
Poison Gas Museum. The Dark Side: 

Bizzarium
Cat Island (Aoshima), Ehime. Ferry trips are available to this fishing village where cats outnumber people by a large margin.
Nagoro Doll Village. Isolated village with scarecrows representing former residents, including a classroom of “pupils“.

Railway, Metro, Funiculars, Cable Cars
Kagawa: Yakuri Cable
Okayama-Kagawa Route (Seto-Ohashi Line)
Unpenji Ropeway
Kurushima-Kaikyō Bridge, Imabari: . Series of 3 connected suspension bridges, over 4km long, spanning the Kurushima Strait.
Great Seto Bridge, Sakaide: This bridge, spanning from Kagawa Prefecture to Okayama Prefecture, is divided into three sections, crossing an island in the middle. The entire structure is grand and breathtaking, with stunning views of the surrounding islands and passing ships.

Road – National Route 439 (Tokushima-Kochi)
Castles, Palaces, Forts
Imabari Castle, Imabari. Accessed by chairlift, cable car or foot, this restored 17th-century castle is surrounded by a park.
Marugame Castle, Marugame:  A 16th-century hilltop fortress featuring panoramic city views & an imposing stone wall.
Ōzu Castle, Ōzu: Quaint, 14th-century castle, much of which was rebuilt in 2004, offering scenic river views.
Uwajima Castle, Uwajima: Only the 3-story keep remains of this circa-1596 castle atop a hill, open to visitors.

Villages and Small Towns: Tokushima: Kamikatsu