Pat's Blog

World of Projection Mapping will finish this Sunday, 18th so if you’re in Takamatsu and have the time it’s a fascinating show at the e-topia kagawa. This is in the Sunport’s Symbol Tower Building West side, 4th and 5th floors. From 10:00~20:00. Please DO look at the two clips below, as they will give you and idea of the high quality of these exhibits. I spoke with Angela Fukutome at the show and she gave me some insights on the pieces. Also, I interviewed digital artist, Joanie Lemercier for this article and learned about ‘digital mapping’ as an art form firsthand.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151739772137591&set=vb.612117590&type=2&theater
(By Sembilan Matahari)
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151739966667591&set=vb.612117590&type=2&theater
(By Joanie Lemercier)



Spatially mapped, projection mapping mimics real environments and through tweaking software shapes can be given the illusion of extra dimensions. Disney had a hand in its development I was told and they’ve used it at Disneyland. Nokia, Samsung and others used the technology to project advertisements on to buildings.
I like it even though I’m a neophyte with technology.



This show will finish on this coming Sunday the 18th. E-topia is easy to find being right across from the Central JR rail station. They have a website but no in English unfortunately. Several of the attendants can speak English so there shouldn’t be any problems if you’re visiting.
https://www.facebook.com/etopiakagawa



This is an excellent month for great art shows in Kagawa, so I hope you’ll catch some of the events at the Triennale.
http://setouchi-artfest.jp/en/



Other bloggers of interest:
http://cathy.ashita-sanuki.jp
http://ogijima.com
http://ww8.tiki.ne.jp/~tmath/home/

Where we are:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Takamatsu


http://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/english/

http://www.my-kagawa.jp/special/visitor/kanko/index.htm

http://www.i-pal.or.jp/profile/topics/kagawas-welcome-card.html

  

Well, the good news for me at least is that ‘Pat’s Blog’ is back and the funding from the Takamatsu City came through. Whew … I was a bit caught off guard, as now we have to write a couple of blogs about art rather quickly. Now fortunately, in Takamatsu with the Setouchi International Art Festival 2013, this is fairly easy to do.
http://setouchi-artfest.jp/en/




We are asked to keep our reports within the Takamatsu area and I will as much as possible. The Spring third of this wonderful festival is now over and I was fortunate to see some remarkable work on the peninsular of land that was an island until 1967, then due to a land reclamation project, the island became connected to the adjacent land. This location has some art projects that were really interesting.
(insert two photos here)
The remarkable Russian artist Tanya Preminger’s “Stratum” part of her “Earth Works” series and Yukie Ohata’s Shamijima art project undertaken by Kobe Design University focuses on the theme of “three whites”. Shells collected from the beach were ground into a powder and used to make a large picture exhibited in the classroom. The life of the sea resides in this work.



http://www.tanyapreminger.com

Preminger’s ‘Stratum’, the construction of which she was heavily involved with, was so fantastic I thought about it for weeks afterwards. Was I walking up, then down but seeming to just be going around in circles. (like much of life perhaps ..)



A quote from a recent interview with the artist;
“The creation of the future, the process of development, is the theme of my project. Development starts from the earth as a symbol of all the basic physical concepts, and yearns to the sky. The sky as a symbol of spirituality. In the project, named Stratum, I only use soil and vegetation. Since the process of creation is a natural process.”



With over 50,000 visitors from overseas at the first festival, the Setouchi International Art Festival is set to become a world-class event. So if you’re in the Takamatsu area you must see some of the art, which will run through the summer and autumn. Pease check the link in English that I’ve posted at the top.




  http://wikitravel.org/en/Takamatsu

http://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/english/

I’ll be back pretty soon with a blog on a recent event in Takamatsu. So please keep all those cards, letters and comments coming in. Until then ..
  

And that’s a good name for this area, ‘The Kagawa Discovery Zone’ on the 3rd floor of the Sunport Symbol Tower near the Takamatsu JR Station.
Quite an enjoyable trip into Takamatsu’s past, replete with reconstructed facades, windows and memorabilia from the pre and post-war periods.



This was a very different time for Japan and also the twilight of the mechanical age as our world was about to enter the electronic one. Japan was to assume world dominance in this area. Sentos (bath houses) were the way everyone kept clean and a common phrase to describe keeping up with the Joneses and the new life was to talk about the 3 treasures. “A television, refrigerator & washing machine.”



We’ve come along way since then and most people have their own baths, numerous televisions and the days of calling on the neighbors to watch TV shows have long gone. I must admit I remember that age and the visiting neighbors, which gives away my age, I’m sure.



I wouldn’t say this was a better age but it was a far simpler one and communications were much more open, numerous and available. People talked to each other freely and as there were no air-conditioners, we often sat on the verandah in summer and made small talk with people strolling by.




In our insulated housing nowadays, we fret about any intrusions on privacy and want a sanitized and homogenized life unaware of all the neuroses and loneliness that comes hand-in-hand with it. Many fret about how we must be ‘more careful’ about the bad world outside. Bunkum … There is far too much unnecessary ‘fear’ in modern Japanese life and while this is good business for the security companies who all profit handsomely by sending a message that we can’t be too careful. It is all largely based on media-fanned fear. Japan isn’t a dangerous country at all.



On display, there’s even a ‘kamishibai’ which were bicycles ridden around by storytellers and with a mini-stage on the back of the bicycle. The storytellers would stop somewhere, kids would gather and a picture story told in exchange for small donations. These stories often had lessons on social mores, manners and responsibilities. Gee, there ain’t too much of that around through the media these days …



Outside the permanent exhibition on the same floor, there are other things to see about Kagawa. There’s even a model of our social camp, Takamatsu and the time taken to visit this 3rd floor of our Sunport Tower Building is well worth it.





So until next month, keep all your cards n’ letters coming in. Until then, bye!
  

‘One more? What, before any salary?’

“That’s right”. “Get the story on Yashima, then come back and we’ll talk about ‘salary’ JC snorted…
Yashima? It’s worth another look I thought and besides, the colors are perfect this time of the year.



•The plateau of Yashima is a place visible and easily accessible from Takamatsu and just full of history. But that’s not what I want to write about as it’s also a little known area for some brisk, colorful walks at anytime of the year. At the top, the dreariness of the post-bubble collapse is heartbreakingly displayed with abandoned hotels once occupied with tourists (6 at one point in time,) many small shops a few of which have closed down etc.

A woman in slippers came out of one place and half apologetically offered me a small cup of tea as enticement to come in and look at tourist stuff. Her cat sprawled and yawned on a stool and a TV was on with poor reception that nobody bothered to watch.

•The 84th temple of the famous 88 temple circuit is there as is a wealth of history for Japanese history buffs, pilgrims, and an occasional tourist bus. But let’s not be overly concerned with the glumness of Yashima’s economic plight, rather let’s head off to the north from the car park for a great 4 kilometer walk and it doesn’t matter if you’ve missed this autumn as there’s always next year. Besides, for a good head-clearing this is just great at anytime of the year.



•I climbed up from the road around the peninsular which isn’t difficult at all and takes about 30 minutes. On the way up, the wind peppered leaves through the air and absolutely everywhere on the ground.

•I recommend taking a rented bicycle from the Takamatsu Central Station (200 yen a day) and riding out here, then following the coast until you see the signpost showing the trail to the top.



From the top we can see the long finger of land stretching into the Inland Sea’s eddies, sometimes clashing currents as it all decants into the great Pacific.

•Halfway on this very easy walk, our social camp Takamatsu can be seen on the left. The town of Aji to the right and the coast scattered with little fishing ports. As I kid I always thought these rays from the clouds were the fingers of God… On with the report, sorry.



•A whiff of bracing sea air and away we go. The birdlife here is plentiful and there are some signboards on the trail showing the different types that appear. This day I saw a couple of crows flying at breakneck speed tagging each other not above, but through the dense and swaying trees. I just couldn’t believe such daredevil flying and aerobatic skills were possible.



•What really caught my eye were the changing and strongly contrasting colors everywhere. In the fall, Japan is just a riot of color and so good for the soul and to lighten any burdens we may carry.





•So that about wraps it up and if I’ve not given you as much information as you need, it’s easy to get there by bus, train but I think the best bet is a bicycle to the walking track on the peninsular. The Takamatsu Tourist Information Office at the Central Station will have all the information you’ll need.

•My French pal Sophie Le Berre has a great page on the flora and fauna in Kagawa.
Keep all them cards ‘n letters coming in! I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with more stuff for you so until then, have a great Christmas and New Year and try to get out and enjoy the seasons wherever you are …  

The Falling Leaves as everyone knows is much loved jazz favorite and I think of it and can hear it in my head every season when the leaves change color and fall. This is Jack Frost’s time of year and his palette of brilliant and muted colors is absolutely everywhere. I’d always thought leaves just got tired, died and fell off. Apparently this isn’t so, the tree sends a hormonal signal shutting down photosynthesis and is the English equivalent it ‘get off me.’ Wanting to get a better look at this magic, or ‘momiji gari’ red-leaf hunting. I took all these pictures in the local area recently. Some maple trees are just on fire and a blazing scarlet in some places (see picture below)



Takamatsu has some wonderful areas for viewing the changing leaves; Ritsurin Garden of course has a special light up evening session that has just finished. This is an annual event and with the floodlights picking out the tints of reds, yellows etc., it’s a sight to refresh the tired and world-weary. Spiritual refreshment in fact.



So Jack’s about with his paintbrush and winter is upon us; the bugs have all gone underground, some buried under piles of leaves and the birds are having a hard time pecking into the hard ground looking for worms. When it brightens up a bit, I’ll be blogging about the terrific parks we have here and there are some great ones. It’s always so nice to go the bigger ones, Miroku Park in Sanuki City is a favorite.
http://naturetravel.jp/2index_miroku-e.html



Manno Park is another I’ll be visiting in the Spring. Manno has a lot of stuff for kids, an amazing amount of fun trampolines, swings, bicycle courses etc. and has what is claimed to be the world’s longest slide. Take a look at this from the youtube link. It brings out the kid in me, that’s for sure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1DVwnwjxlo

My own office has what I think is the best location in the world, as we’re almost inside the Central Park here in Takamatsu. I never, ever tire of the views from my windows and think myself very fortunate to look out at anytime and see such beautiful trees.



The other blog I’m thinking about concerns the unique stone masonry of Aji town near Takamatsu.
http://web-japan.org/jvt/en/streaming/wmp/JVT_10-11_NO4_3_EN_256k.asx
So this is an in between blog, just to show some of the color in the city and one or two shots from Negoro temple on Go Shiki Dai mountain near us. This year’s colors are somewhat muted due to the unseasonal weather which is sad. Too bad Jack. See you next year and you can do better then.



See you in a couple of weeks and keep those cards and letters coming in.

  

Fall is here and it’s the perfect time to be out an about, so with camera and fellow blogger Cathy Hirano from Cathy’s Blog (please Google Cathy’s Blog Takamatsu and it’ll come up), we went out to cover one day of the 2 day annual event on October Sunday 16th.

Bushozan is an easy 320-yen commute from Takamatsu Chikko Station, just across the road from Takamatsu JR Central Station and then by the Kotoden train, which is something between a train and a tramcar. A leisurely twenty minutes and we were both at the Bushozan Station and in time for the parade and festivities. The previous evening there’d been a fireworks display.




Cathy will explain more about the historical aspects of this great festival and I went mainly to look at the color, samurai sword fights, chambara the staple of all samurai movies, also costumes, hairstyles and pageantry. The locals were clearly in a festival mood and so I’ve tried to capture a bit of this with photos as an incentive for yourselves to visit, so please enjoy them and let me know if you’d like more specific details.






The Daimyo’s (Feudal Lord) times must have been colorful if not a little precarious given the moody samurai strolling about and not taking any cheek from anyone. There’s a strong ambience of things past in Bushozan with it’s beautiful temple, Edo period buildings and of course the Daimyo’s visit to the same of which the parade is a reenactment. A couple of professional actors from Kyoto were there on the day to show swordsmanship in the streets. They were accompanied by a great many locals dressed up in period costumes and including a couple of foreign residents, which was nice to see. I asked them where they’d gotten the period costumes and they’d previously rented from Eiga Mura (Movie Village) in Kyoto but now had another source.

It all looked pretty convincing to me, with guttural insults and curses, loud shouts, grunts all with swishing of swords.





I was very taken in by the Samurai’s use of firearms and couldn’t help but wonder what an awesome sight the first firearms must have been to these people when they first arrived in Japan.




The Japanese quickly copied and then refined them of course and made them a part of their armory. This must have really been a game changer in those times. It’s pretty hard to duck a gunshot or deflect with a sword so it’s my guess that whoever got them first called the shots pardon the pun. No speed loading though with a fizzling rope as the lighter.

The festival is a must see for any foreign tourists, runs a full two days and the parade finishes up in the new and very beautiful Bushozan park.








Please check out Cathy’s blog for more on this and I’ll be back soon so keep all those cards n’ letters coming in! The comments box has been very lonely lately …

  

Takamatsu is full of big and little surprises, one that a great many people don’t know, is the Sanuki Airport Park and as the name suggests, it’s just a little further from the airport. There’s a lot to do here indeed.

http://sanuki-airport-park.com/
Tel: 087-879-8510



I dropped in there in the summer and took some photos. The first thing I saw was the great grass skiing hill and of course rental skis, stocks are all available.




I saw a couple of people belting down this hill at a very fast clip, then grab a tow line back up to the top. What a great way to spend a summer’s day I thought?




As you can see, the facilities are all pretty good, nothing shabby here. All new and well maintained so it could be a very pleasant afternoon for anyone wanting a bit of speed and exhilaration. There is an attached park nearby too and I’ll return to take a more detailed look at that soon for you. Hopefully I can go in to a bit more detail about the park itself then.




There are a great many parks in the greater Takamatsu area, which I’ll cover in the coming months as well. Some wonderful places in fact; unlike anything else I’ve seen anywhere else.

The Japanese and their love of nature never fail to impress and to loll about watching dragonflies hover around these places in this lovely between summer and winter season … well, nothing beats it.



I’ll try to get to Miroku park to show you just how wonderful this place is, and they have guides on hand to explain the flora, fauna and insect life which is quite fascinating.



Just next to the grass ski area is a synthetic-grass hill for kids to slide down on. I had no reservations in trying this myself and I suggest anyone else regardless of age does too …

I’ll be back soon so keep all those cards n’ letters coming in and if you have any questions, suggestions or comments then please feel free to leave them for me and I’ll get back to you soon.

Till the next time.

  

KODOMO NO KUNI (CHILDRENS’ WORLD)
Welcome to the wonderful fun, discovery and adventure of the Children’s World here in Kagawa!
This is such special place for parents and children with a multitude of interesting things to do with ‘flight’ or aviation as the theme throughout the expansive, modern buildings and grounds.




Children’s World has three wings; all located within large grass fields and flower gardens opposite the airport the West Wing, the main Central Wing with its Jungle Gym Tube and the Cycle Center, (adults, 200 yen fee required) and the East Wing. There’s just sooooo much to do for kids here from mountain bike riding with a great cycle 700 meter route around the periphery of the Takamatsu International Airport. The mobile Children’s Center goes around many towns in Kagawa for Kodomo No Kuni





At the entrance and reception area there are explanation brochures in English and other languages for foreign visitors.




Then there’s the Flying Plaza with 5 large athletic play structures modeled on aircraft.
Open from 9:00~5:00 (till 6:00 during summer vacation an closed on Mondays but closed in September for maintenance.
http:www.sanuki.or.jp






So what’s in the impressive main building? Lots of stuff … science workshops with instructors on hand, a baby corner, music studio, computer workshops, air walks, galleries art studios, child raising information corner, and more.




Play structures that climb and twist their way to the ceilings and outside, lots of fresh air and greenery. There’s even a real YS11 propeller plane to play around in. And a Kotoden train car.




My favorite is the Space Theater (capacity 200) which is kind of like a planetarium with a stunning movie theater projected onto a 20-meter dome and enjoy some really brilliant special effects. The have some great movies and the Internet site have the details of the programs and times.





Thank you to the staff who allowed me into the Space Theater to take these photos.

So if you’ve nothing to do when in Takamatsu please take a look at this great place. 3209 Yusa, Konan-cho. Takamatsu City. Keep all them cards n' letters coming in! I'll be back with Cathy in a week or so with more interesting stuff about our great city, Takamatsu. Until then ...

Sanuki Kodomo no Kuni
3209 Yusa, Konan-cho, Takamatsu-shi, Kagawa-ken, 761-1402
TEL(087)879-0500 FAX(087)879-0396
Website : http://www.sanuki.or.jp
  

This is the big summer event in Takamatsu and follows right after the Fireworks Festival held the previous day. The festival is essentially a welcome back for the ancestors who are believed to revisit every time on this day each year. A time to appreciate their sacrifices and a time of great movement throughout the country with people rushing about or going home for the 3 day usually unpaid but usually given a vacation.

Paper lanterns decorate headstones in graveyards; expectations run high that the summer’s heat will now die down and in the evening people dance in competing groups along the Cho Dori or Central Street. This year there were a couple of ripping thunderstorms just before and this cooled down the streets for the evening.



Living here for so long, one becomes accustomed to the dance but have no doubt that those seeing it for the first time must be taken by the color, energy, loudness of the music, stage presentations etc. This is high-energy stuff, flat-out hard dancing in the heat and people give it all they’ve got and are judged on performance, originality, and creativity. And creative they can be indeed … especially the kids’ groups.



Looking around I saw plenty of foreigners for the party and no doubt at the world famous Awa Dori in neighboring Tokushima Prefecture there are even more. Events like this are meant to be experienced, viscerally if you like, and Takamatsu can accommodate a larger tourist population with the addition of many well-located hotels, some pretty cheap and still others world class. All are pretty good and there’s one to suit a budget so we welcome you in August 2012!
To the west side of Cho Dori (Central Street) is the Cho Koen (Central Park) and here another aspect of the evening takes place with stage performances, contests and the dancing groups tuning up. Some fiddling with hairstyles, adjusting costumes, etc.


The park also has a lot of colorful Yatai (food stalls) selling everything including noodles, pancakes, fried chicken, corn on the cob, and of course my favorite; beer! (see picture number 1) Another favorite food at this time of year is ‘kaki gori’ or shaved ice topped with flavoring. This really is an easy one to slurp, drink, and munch on a summer’s evening. I just love it with condensed milk on top …






  

To get a better overview of the Sunport area in Takamatsu, I went down with camera and took some shots on a typical summer’s evening recently. Twilight time is the best. People are enjoying the breeze cooled by the sea, kids play in the water fountains and in the distance there is usually music floating through the air.






The atmosphere at these times is very relaxed, casual and people do whatever they’re interested in, which is usually exercise. Photography is also popular and the shutterbugs are out in force at dusk. Joggers, skaters, musicians and just people out for a stroll create a cool atmosphere and take in a whiff of tangy sea air with a walk on the promenade. Ah … summertime.













This is a place where kids play, people stretch and exercise, Frisbees fly. Or some just sit quietly and undisturbed. I often see people sleeping out here on the benches and understand it as it’s so inviting with the cool breeze after a typical dog day in Japan’s summer. Speaking of dogs, they’re out there too and people often let the dogs get introduced first, then start up a conversation with each other usually for the first time. This is an interesting new form of social intercourse with the dogs taking the initiatives.



My own preference on these occasions is to relax with a cold beer and preferably one with ice shards floating in it. That’s my idea of Sunport summer evening. There are plenty of others doing the same. Looking out at the Inland Sea this evening, I thought; drop everything, buy a boat and sail off into the sunset.





There are even a few rugged individuals playing touch rugby and they invited me to play. One must think about the heart at times like these even though the spirit is willing.

Keep all those cards n’ letters coming in! Any positive comments are of course welcome in either English or Japanese and I’ll be back soon with another report on interesting things to do in this beautiful city, Takamatsu. Until then …
  

What used to be an old truck & freight depot and hangout for stray dogs and whilst safe, was a place to be a bit leery of at night. More because of the stray dogs than anything else, has been transformed into the Sunport area of Takamatsu. Now so beautiful with its port, promenade, outside restaurants, new station, conference centers, large underground parking, fun fountains for kids to run around in, public auditoriums indoors and outdoors, modern bus terminal etc., etc.,

This is a big modern jewel in Takamatsu’s historical crown and as every modern port does, has now added a truly international flavor to the city with the port and concourse from there all the way to the JR Takamatsu Station. For years I’ve wondered why after almost ten years the port area hasn’t attracted international traffic apart from one or two smaller vessels each year? Apart from the lights of the big ferries plying back and forth which is a beautiful sight, especially in the evenings, it’s been a pretty dull old port, which is ironic, as it’s at the same time a new and very beautiful one.

Things are about to change people, so here’s the scoop on the latest developments at the Takamatsu Port. For the last few months, there’s been a lot of reconstruction activity in the port area with the addition of an extended berth and winching system to cater for larger (hopefully international) vessels.
On my morning jogs I noticed much larger bollards (I had to look that one up) were built this month and a couple out further from the docking area.

I think my Japanese is not too shabby but I had trouble understanding how this thing is going to work? But given the level of Japanese engineering, of course it will and I’m going to report more about it once it’s finished and operating.
This bodes well for Takamatsu’s commercial development given the huge cash influx spending tourists always bring. Is Takamatsu as a city prepared for this? I cannot comment but hope there is sufficient preparation given the huge numbers that turned up for the Seto Art Festival last year. A runway success with triple the number of expected guests.

Sydney alone generates over $260 million from overseas tourist vessels per year; this has to be a winner for Takamatsu as well. If … the Kagawa Government can get their act together, which they can, it will be a bonanza for the prefecture and one I’ve long felt was way overdue.
Keep all those cards n’ letters coming in! The spell check just suggested lattes for ‘letters’ so you can keep lattes coming in too if you want. Cathy and I are happy to be back and blogging for Ashita Sanuki again. Please do write a comment or suggestion in either English or Japanese anytime)
  

Rejuvenating an economy caught in a severe deflationary spiral for many years must be no easy task. A couple of weeks ago, at JC’s behest, I took a walk down Tokiwagai machi for a look-see at the developments and input from the shopkeepers to kick-start businesses there and came away pleasantly surprised.

Exciting initiatives are going on and the place has improved with more people walking about and street vendors selling everything from potatoes to honey, occupying what used to be abandoned areas.





The name of this game is ‘reinventing businesses’ and that’s exactly what they’re doing and it’s great to see the spirit of Japanese inventiveness taking hold at last.
One of the open events to both welcome shoppers and show Christmas goodwill were this little group dressed in Santa suits, offering something delicious called ‘soba gome soup’





I asked this lady about this and she said it was soba, chicken and mushroom, radish, carrot, fried tofu, leaks and soy-sauce with mirin (sweet sake) and a pinch of salt. Usually I never ask questions when there’s free food handed out and this was the exception. I did ask for a second helping and she was kind enough (or felt pity enough) to offer another.

Tokiwagai machi has had it’s heyday but what’s going on there at the moment is a spirited fight back against the gloomy economy and a few savvy entrepreneurs like Nakashita san, the owner of Breezers Square who’s one of the people dreaming up new ways to reenergize the arcade. I wanted to remonstrate with the staff about the missing possessive apostrophe in the “Breezers” but the people were so nice I didn’t. Does it really matter anyway?





http://www.brsq.net

Breezers Square is hard to describe as there’s always something different going on there and its usually free. Anyone can drop in, check the place out, use the Internet, use the facilities or lounge around and just talk. There’s a list of upcoming music events, fashion shows and displays of unusual brand-made goods.

Open 11:00~21:00

Just along from Breezers (without the apostrophe,) is an FM radio station. Another initiative to draw people and the studio itself can be seen from the street. Dozens of kids were outside listening and watching and I felt a bit of a fool hanging around with them peering in and trying to look cool. Get lost, their faces clearly said …





There was a bloke there selling ‘namubrouchez’ (name brooches) which were one of the first things I remember about Japan and I haven’t seen them for years. Here he is just around the corner in another arcade a day later. The battery in my camera had run out, so I couldn’t get a picture of him on that day.





This is all positive and bodes wells for Tokiwagai and I came back after this little blog feeling a lot more upbeat about the arcade’s future.
Keep all them cards n’ letters coming in! I’ll get back to you I promise and if you’re in town take a look at the developments going on here.
  

Lots of books have come out in the last few years on the Henro Pilgrimage of the 88 temples and I’ve read a couple and they fall way short of the classic; ‘A Japanese Pilgrimage’ written by Oliver Statler. Somewhat dated, it is not only a book about Japanese culture accurately and sensitively crafted but the spiritual journey of the American author also and his struggle with his inner darkness.

A rambling, impressionistic portrait, thoroughly researched and it's a great read still … the best if you can get a copy, and puts to shame some of the recent knockoffs in the bookstores these days. Alan Booth (‘Roads to Sata’. ‘Looking for the Lost’) was another author, walker, rambler, with this same wonderful quality in a more recent context. These are three books well worth reading.

JC’s been off my back lately and let me have a shot at a small part of the Henro Trail that I know well on Goshiki Dai (the plateau of five colors) close to Takamatsu. About 400 meters high and right on the border of Takamatsu and Sakaide City, the Goshiki Dai plateau is accessible by rental bicycle (get an electric one, they’re great!) only if you have strong legs. The trail itself is a bit tricky to find so you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled for the Sakaide sign which I took a picture of for you and its right about there on the right, the trail starts.







The trail markers are in Japanese but easy to figure out as they’ll point you towards Shiramine Temple 3.1 kilometers away. This is a great trail anytime of the year and wanders up and down two big gullies. Watch out for the leaves, as they can be slippery.



On my ramble I came across a group of school kids and a teacher staying at a nearby youth training camp facility and they were very intent on practicing their English.

It was and is an easy walk and there are signs to guide the pilgrims on the way.



My colleague and friend Chris McCabe took a group of foreign residents on a Henro walk here recently as a part of his Facebook, K-FUN activity
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kagawa-Foreigners-United-Network-K-FUN/288078602287





People of all ages, all walks of life take this path weaving through the remote, mountainous and at times lonely interior of Shikoku. A time to meditate on the great mystery; the meaning of birth and death. Pray and reflect on oneself. (Something I’m often asking JC to do …)

Here are a few of the people I met on the Goshiki Dai plateau and at the Negoro temple right near the start of this path.





Tim’s Takamatsu page has the best shots I think.
http://www.timwerx.net/albums/negoro/index.htm

Keep all those cards and letters comin’ in. I’ll be back soon with a report on the Takamatsu Winter Festival which starts this week. I’ll also be taking a deeper look at the henro trail in January and have lined up some classy photos and an interesting foreigner who’s walked it in its entirety. So don’t go away and have a happy holiday season.  

‘One more? What, before any salary?’

“That’s right”. “Get the story on Yashima, then come back and we’ll talk about ‘salary’ JC snorted…
Yashima? It’s worth another look I thought and besides, the colors are perfect this time of the year.



•The plateau of Yashima is a place visible and easily accessible from Takamatsu and just full of history. But that’s not what I want to write about as it’s also a little known area for some brisk, colorful walks at anytime of the year. At the top, the dreariness of the post-bubble collapse is heartbreakingly displayed with abandoned hotels once occupied with tourists (6 at one point in time,) many small shops a few of which have closed down etc.

A woman in slippers came out of one place and half apologetically offered me a small cup of tea as enticement to come in and look at tourist stuff. Her cat sprawled and yawned on a stool and a TV was on with poor reception that nobody bothered to watch.

•The 84th temple of the famous 88 temple circuit is there as is a wealth of history for Japanese history buffs, pilgrims, and an occasional tourist bus. But let’s not be overly concerned with the glumness of Yashima’s economic plight, rather let’s head off to the north from the car park for a great 4 kilometer walk and it doesn’t matter if you’ve missed this autumn as there’s always next year. Besides, for a good head-clearing this is just great at anytime of the year.



•I climbed up from the road around the peninsular which isn’t difficult at all and takes about 30 minutes. On the way up, the wind peppered leaves through the air and absolutely everywhere on the ground.

•I recommend taking a rented bicycle from the Takamatsu Central Station (200 yen a day) and riding out here, then following the coast until you see the signpost showing the trail to the top.



From the top we can see the long finger of land stretching into the Inland Sea’s eddies, sometimes clashing currents as it all decants into the great Pacific.

•Halfway on this very easy walk, our social camp Takamatsu can be seen on the left. The town of Aji to the right and the coast scattered with little fishing ports. As I kid I always thought these rays from the clouds were the fingers of God… On with the report, sorry.



•A whiff of bracing sea air and away we go. The birdlife here is plentiful and there are some signboards on the trail showing the different types that appear. This day I saw a couple of crows flying at breakneck speed tagging each other not above, but through the dense and swaying trees. I just couldn’t believe such daredevil flying and aerobatic skills were possible.



•What really caught my eye were the changing and strongly contrasting colors everywhere. In the fall, Japan is just a riot of color and so good for the soul and to lighten any burdens we may carry.





•So that about wraps it up and if I’ve not given you as much information as you need, it’s easy to get there by bus, train but I think the best bet is a bicycle to the walking track on the peninsular. The Takamatsu Tourist Information Office at the Central Station will have all the information you’ll need.

•My French pal Sophie Le Berre has a great page on the flora and fauna in Kagawa.
Keep all them cards ‘n letters coming in! I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with more stuff for you so until then, have a great Christmas and New Year and try to get out and enjoy the seasons wherever you are …  

The last few months have seen some tough times for the ferry operators in the Inland Sea. Rising fuel prices have hit them hard as have cheaper rates to use the Seto Great Bridge and a general decline in inter-island commutes overall.




This is sad, every island needs as many lifeline arteries as possible and Shikoku isn’t an exception. I use these spacious, well-equipped passenger-vehicular ferries as lot as part of my work visiting schools to give talks and can say they are truly a great and relaxing way to travel. We can even lay down on a carpeted floor and have a nap if we wish. How cool is that? I can’t think of many other ferry services in this world that allow napping without trying to charge for it.




This acute financial situation has given the Shikoku Ferry Company http://www.shikokuferry.com/ and the Kokudo Ferry Company http://seaagent.com/companies/ship_manager_operator/company_profile/Utaka_Kokudo_Ferry.html a chance to combine most services and both have acceptable English translations of ferry timetables.


Without Japanese they’re easy to understand with the departure times from Takamatsu on the far left, the Shikoku Ferry services in red and the Kokudo’s in blue. These ferries run to Uno in Okayama (one hour) and from Uno one can catch a train to Okayama City and the Shinkansen lines which run through a lot of Japan.



Both terminals are centrally located and accessible on foot to the West on the coastal road from the JR Takamatsu Central Station and less than ten minutes away.



I interviewed Mr. Matsumoto from the The Shikoku Ferry Group which run regular vehicular and passenger services from Takamatsu to Shodo Island (two ports:Ikeda and Tonosho) not including high speed ferries, at regular times throughout the day and early evening. He said that these timetables are unlikely to change in the near future as both companies had worked out an agreement on this prior to publication.


When I visited the offices to talk with Mr. Matsumoto, I nearly had a heart attack. There right in front of my eyes was JC’s picture large as life. There he was enjoying an ice-cream in the publicity material (a free one no doubt) and in another sitting back enjoying what was most likely a free lunch. With wine! Drinking on the job … this was a big shock I can tell you!



Anyway, please let’s all use these wonderful services as they are super reliable, fast, (one hour to Shodo Island and one hour to Uno) clean and it's important that they be patronized by us all no matter what the financial situation is.

Please keep those cards letters and comments on Pat’s Blog coming in! We’ll get back to you I promise and in the meantime, in between time, have a cool and great summer please …


  

KITAHAMA ALLEY

（北浜アリー)
http://www.kitahama-alley.jp/

The call came through at around 2:00 am. U-n-g-g I answered?

“JC here … I’ve been thinking. The sculpture article was so-so. I want something with some zip”. “Something interesting to make the blog hit counter belch smoke with hits.” “Really make the number counter move.” “This just might secure your job at Ashita Sanuki Blogs for next month.”
It was there that I sensed a weight in his voice that made me wake up.


Something to make the blog hit counter spin? Break the spring in the old machine? Then it could only be an article about Kitahama Alley I thought? Never one to be too preoccupied with matters of nomenclature I decided to investigate this north alley place, and so in the morning I went out in the heat, the incredible heat on the old bicycle with camera and did it.





Kitahama Alley is just that, an alley in the north beach area of Takamatsu a remnant from the Showa period. Conceived in 2001, It’s a concept developed from some old and abandoned warehouses tacked together with wrought iron, brown and rusting corrugated metal roofing materials, dark, unpainted woods etc. Throw in some colorful plants and flowers and the effect is quite wonderful for an atmosphere of an earlier era in the old dock area of the new city. The place is a real trip, full of quirky little coffee shops, restaurants, bars, hairdressers and even a wedding reception and planning company.

www.sara-izara.com
http://www.machi-koto.com/shopdata/index/id/5271449ebad2812b


I interviewed a couple of people there about the concept of Kitahama Alley and they said it was inspired by The Fisherman’s Wharf area in San Francisco and New York’s Pier 17.


It’s a cool way to spend a few hours on a date I think? There are interior shops with some unusual products and a furniture shop with a lot of interesting East Asian and African furniture. And South East Asian food. This is a great place to kill a few hours on a Sunday for sure.




Kitahama Alley has quite a full event calendar so be sure to check the top link for the music and art exhibition events.

The area is so easy to find and ten minutes on foot from the central JR rail station. A Google map search will soon bring it up and all one has to do to get there is follow the road across from the station to the east, following the harbor line for a few minutes and it’ll be on the right.




Please go and take a look. And don’t forget to keep all those cards and letters to pat’s blog coming in! Leave a comment and we’ll get back to you for sure!

  

Eagerly, I rode my bicycle over to my editor’s office down by the docks to pick up the next assignment. The usual bustle, tapping sound from the overworked typing pool. A few secretaries filing their nails, ship’s horns in the distance. “Come in” said JC. “And keep the door open” I sensed something terse and amiss as usually he says zilch, rolls his eyes and asks when I’m leaving.


“We want another article on more specific aspects of the arcades.” ‘Terrific’ I said. “And not like the pile of rubbish you wrote last time either …” JC barked. “We’re a quality outfit here and going international on the Net.” “And another thing, no more hitting on coffee shops for free drinks and lunches either …” “Otherwise it’s no summer bonus!”


OK, it’s true, I do love the Dome area in Takamatsu. The concerts, street life and gradual evolvement of an old European concept of a ‘plaza’ as it takes hold in this culture. And it's from the center of it that we're taking our bearings for all points North, South, East and West. Facing north, to the direct right is Katahara Machi. Look left and west, it's Hyogo Machi and behind (and just a little in front) to the south it’s Marugame Machi.

Dome


Easy … Let's imagine a stroll south down along the revamped Marugame Machi from the new plaza culture of our Dome and we'll see some great shops. Akasiya (photo)on the left right across from Shunpu Do (photo) the bread shop and what great bread it is too. They supply the French loaves to quite a few French restaurants around town I heard. Akasiya is an udon shop by day and izakaya (Japanese pub) by night.

Akashiya


Shunpu Do

Just before this, and the first turn to the left from our dome is a small side street with a shop selling traditional Japanese craft-ware, well worth a visit and named Mingei Fukuda (photo).Back to the dome, turn right in to Katahara Machi and a hundred meters along on the right we can see a very unusual coffee shop-restaurant Rubiy Shokai

http://blog.livedoor.jp/rubiy/
Tel: 087 897 2600

Ruby Shokai




My free lunch and it was pretty good too. Ruby Shokai have some quirky stuff for sale also art exhibitions and including one of contemporary Kagawa products by young designers.
http://madeinkagawa.net/index.html


We’re back at the dome and about to head west. Let’s continue 400 meters and come out of the arcade, cross the second set of lights, walk another couple of hundred meters past the supermarket and we’ll see another unusual little coffee shop-restaurant, Sibayo (photos). Now this is a real little trip into the past. No air-conditioners, old wooden floors and certainly no wi-fi unless you hot-wire your laptop and peddle very hard on the treadle sewing machine? Love it …


Sometimes it’s nice to actually ‘not’ have wi-fi and take repose in the things past from another era.
http://sibayo.com

Shibayo

Sibayo is also a kind of sewing school and they make crafty stuff, which I liked.


Wi-fi access seems limited to the usual places in Marugami Machi, Starbucks and of course Mc Donald’s. My office has free wi-fi available and pretty central.
http://www.i-pal.or.jp/en/


I’ve heard one can get a free ride upstairs at the seating area in the dome outside of Kinokunya bookstore. I can’t recommend Starbucks for much other than wi-fi. Their pastry cakes taste and look like wet cardboard dunked in sugar water frankly…


Let’s get our bearings from the lovely dome again and look west, go along Hyogo Machi again and at the first signal, on the right the coffee shop-restaurant New Ginza

New Ginza
(good coffee here) (and at Bouquet on Kencho Mae Dori, where they really do have siphon-drip made coffee)

Bouquet
turn right and to the JR Central Takamatsu Station where we can see the bicycle rentals and parking. Be careful parking your own bicycles here as they’re taken away often and one has to pay a fine to get them back. Pity, I’d rather see the cars towed away and the bicycles left. Anyway there’s a real labyrinth under the station area with signs in many languages explaining how to rent and park bicycles .




There’s a calendar of events under the dome with the schedules written all in Japanese only unfortunately. (photo) If one asks, people are usually kind enough to explain what’s on and when I was there, Love Notes from Tokyo were doing their Jazz meets Hawaiian (sic) thing. It was good music if not a little weird at times. The trumpeter sounds so much like Chet Baker and when I talked to him about it, he said he actually owns Chet Baker’s trumpet. I’m guessing Chet had a few so he owns one of them at least.



Turn left at the same first signal along Hyogo Machi at the intersection of Chuo street and a few kilometers to the south is Ritsurin Park. The buses are frequent as it’s a bit far to walk I think.  

Ask any young Japanese person 20 or so what their 3 favorite activities are and ‘shopping’ will almost certainly be one. If not number one... Who knows, maybe 1,2 &3? And it’s the nature of shopping that this article is about, as it’s changing so rapidly from just a decade or so ago.


The long, covered shopping arcades so uniqe to most Japanese cities are in trouble. Some in really big trouble as people’s shopping patterns have changed and so have the ‘shotengais’ in recent years.



I remember years ago, people would train in from places like Sakaide and Marugame for a day’s shopping in Takamatsu. People now seem to prefer the out-of-town shopping malls and these malls are springing up in the countryside, sometimes with a Warner Mycal theater as a further incentive to make a day of it in a mall.


To find out more, I interviewed one arcade shopkeeper and there was a certain weight in his voice as he looked into the distance and said; “s-a-a-a-a-a-a.” His wife looked at her shoes, said nothing then shuffled off glumly.

S-a-a-a-a isn’t really a word but a long exhalation used when answers to problems just aren’t there. Collectively, as retailers, they’ve tried to bring people back to the arcades by implanting people themselves in them, which is a pretty smart idea. That is to say building apartment complexes right in the middle of the old arcades in the hope that there will be some life brought back to the inner city’s CBDs.



This is hardly just a Japanese phenomenon as CBDs in many of the world’s cities struggle to evolve and change with the fickle nature of shoppers and shopping trends. Many foreigners living here I know do a thing called ‘a Costco Run’. Costco is a major discount store in the Kobe area and ridiculously cheap. So much so, one can go broke saving money buying up so much ‘cheap stuff’. Walking in to one of these giant no-frills warehouses is bare-bones shopping and I’ve left with arms full of some pretty useless stuff just because it was ‘cheap’. So how can the shopping arcades possibly compete?


The future of the shopping malls lies in creativity I think. In other Japanese cities, university students along with savvy business entrepreneurs are being asked to create think tanks to come up with ways to attract customers back.



Some of the older arcades (see photo of Marugame city arcade taken on a busy Saturday) now resemble ghost towns and that’s precisely what worries the Takamatsu arcade retailers.

photo:Marugame city arcade


We wish them luck as trends and fashion cycles do come and go. So it may well be with people once again attracted back to the shopping arcades through creative new projects like the beautiful glass dome area in the Hyogo machi - Marugame Machi forum area. This is a revamped arcade and a great space for concerts and evening events. It’s really quite beautiful. I’ll be writing more about this area and some of the more unusual coffee shops in town soon.



  

When my editor asked for another article not in the usual trajectory of mediocrity but in my better breezy style, I happily picked up my pen on the Tamura Jinja (shrine). This is one of the most popular places of worship for people in the greater Takamatsu area, especially at New Year. Shinto shrines, not to be confused with temples (although until the Meji period they’ve often shared locations) (and they’ve borrowed freely on temples’ designs) are most easily identified by the large ‘Tori’ gates at he the entrances, usually stone stairs lined either side with ‘Toro’ stone lanterns all leading to the ‘Honden’ or main hall.

Tamura Jinja


It's important to remember that when visiting, these are considered sacred places and should be treated with if not veneration then respect. You'll see a ‘Chozuya’ or Temizuya area near the main hall and this is for you to rinse your mouth and clean your hands before offering a prayer. A small bell with a red and white tassel dangling down is yanked. One then claps one’s hands three times, closes the eyes then bows forward and offers a personal prayer. Custom requires a small offering of coins to be tossed into the offertory box at the front.


Around this area, there are many small wooden plaques with prayers or wishes. Usually for safe pregnancies, luck with examinations, speedy recoveries, divine interventions, unrequited loves and loves lost, these mustn't be touched as they are still just that; other peoples' prayers. On the lighter side, I saw a dog on that day in front of hundreds of people frantically burying a sausage in the main grounds and probably stolen from one of the nearby vendors. No guesses needed to know his prayer …


The pieces of paper tied onto the branches of trees are from the New Year period also. These are the second and third rate draws from the shrine's fortune readings and are considered best left at the shrine where they were first taken. The first rate luck-for-the-year draws are of course taken home and treasured.



I've always liked Tamura Shrine for its atmosphere of peace and quiet and the photos I've shown here are from the last New Year's celebrations when throngs descend on the place at all hours day and night and a few lucky ones like myself were allowed into the main hall to receive a blessing and a small sake cup with the Year of the Tiger's tiger on it. We were poured a small thimbleful and had to be content. (photos)




There is much to learn about the shrines as intermediaries between the ‘Kami’ gods and we mortals. The Kami Masters in the past were considered as holy men capable of miracles some people say, and accomplished many with the assistance of purification rites on believers. There are believers today who say this was commonplace.
Tamura Jinja in Tamura Cho to the south, is well worth an afternoon stroll and is ten minutes by bus from the Takamatsu Central Bus Terminus right out front of the Central JR Station.

  

Some time years ago, I visited Negoro Temple near the top of Go Shiki Dai (the five colored hill) near Takamatsu. First impressions are always lasting and more than the temple, I can’t forget the huff-and-puff effort of the bicycle climb from Takamatsu itself. By the time I arrived even my bike was exhausted.




Negoroji (the suffix ji means temple) is temple number 82 on the 88-temple circuit of the Shingon Buddhist sect (the esoteric school) that the white robed pilgrims circumambulate the island of Shikoku as a part of their practice that is expected to be completed once in a believer’s lifetime. Believer or not, it’s well worth a visit especially in the fall as the place has some incredibly beautiful maple trees in the grounds. The temple grounds are in a miniature valley that visitors descend and then ascend at the other sides.


But the real attraction for me to this place is the history, the thousands of candles, deities, miniature Kannon samas placed in row after row by devotees (the goddess of mercy and in my book, the very same Mary of the Christian church) and its place in urban legends as it has a big reputation for ghosts! Wooooo Woooo … Apart from the statue in the lower grounds of the ‘Ushi Oni’ which legend has it was/is a bipedal critter with big tusks, and membrane wings (yikes … ) big fangs too … It’s a scary looking statute for sure and legend has it was slain by an archer who donated the horns along with a picture he painted of himself and still kept by the temple.




but it’s the green public telephone box outside the temple grounds that frighten me. Many people had told me stories about making calls from this phone box at night and ghosts appearing outside and looking in. Deceased relatives answering on the other end etc. I had to try this myself, worked up the courage and did one night.


To keep this within the editor’s word-limit guidelines, I’ll cut it short as upon arrival by car late on a winter’s night, (I was far to scared to go on my bicycle of course) I left the engine running, went in and made a call … and it was then I had one sudden, cold, lucid thought. A distant and deep voice was none other than Abraham Lincoln who answered and I can tell you I was shaken up! All right, I made that up, he didn’t answer at all but it was one hell of a creepy experience and yes, I went cold but although I didn’t see a spirit with icy blue eyes radiating hate and torment, but there definitely was some weird presence for sure, as I was told there would be.



Try this for yourself if you dare.