Shinkansen to Takamatsu

Really early start (breakfast at 6.30 am) to catch the Shinkansen at 8.30. The bus dropped us at Kyoto station. This is a really busy place: chaotic night and day! We said goodbye to our first bus driver, and Ruthe gave him a little present from both of us. Tips are not the thing in Japan. Ruthe is really generous and has bought presents for all her family and many of her colleagues at school and has even bought a new suitcase to accommodate all these presents.

On the train we happened to be sitting next to our new local guide, a young American man who has lived here for 9 years. He is very nattily dressed and obviously loves Japan. He doesn’t plan to move back to the US. We quizzed him for an hour about life in Japan! His names is Hans.

We had to change trains at Okayama and left the Shinkansen for a regional, slower train for Takamatsu. The route took us over the longest suspension bridge in the world (1.7 kms). We seemed to be on it for ages, going through a NP with lakes and islands on both sides. This bridge took us onto Shikoku Island, one of the smallest of the main Japanese islands. This is the home of udon noodles.

Lunch included a big bowl of udon noodles. They are VERY chewy and fill you up, rather like Yorkshire Pudding! We had no time to linger over our food as we had to jump on the bus to our next destination. This was a workshop for making embroidered balls. These come in various sizes and are filled with rice husks. The design is very geometric and not easy to pick up in 1.5 hours. I didn’t finish mine! My aging brain couldn’t work it out. I spent some time watching the dying process round the back and chatted to the interpreter who was originally from Nepal.

There was another stop on our agenda: no rest for the wicked! This was the Ritsurin Garden. I found a machine that delivered me a hot coffee and thankfully sat down on a bench.

The balls are known as Temari. Ruthe bought two, almost the same, so that we could remember each other and the lovely time we had in Japan.