Pat's Blog

http://www.its-mo.com/season/illumination/detail/IV3708/

Now here’s a great little winter event in Central Park that’s held in December in Takamatsu. This year it runs through Dec. 18th~25th. Enjoyable, fun for the kids and best of all free. JC packed me off to see this and gave me 100 yen for an ice-cream which I suppose is pretty damn decent of the man considereing I never get any salary …



It started off this year at the Dome in the arcade I wrote about a couple of blogs back. I love the dome, it gives the feeling of ‘plaza’ to Takamatsu and it seems to look bigger and better each time I see it now that more buildings are being replaced in the arcade. There’s always something going on there, such as the night kick off for this year’s Dream Illumination in Takamatsu. A bloke kitted out in Blues Brothers black with a black hat and shades was playing his sax played Christmas carols in a trio and there were candles on the tiled ground and circle area spelling out the name of the event and where. Very pretty … I couldn’t help but notice the girl on piano kept blowing her hands to keep warm.

I arrived at the park just after dark and the lights were turned on and the people started filtering in. The food stalls had started selling dogs, okonomiyaki, and other favorites. These places are colorful and so are some of the characters that run them. (er, hem …)





The centerpiece is the large tree-like set of lights and as the park is on the small side, it’s easy to get around, find a friend, have a beer and a dog and there’s even a food tent where we can take our grub and eat.



Takamatsu’s Dream Illumination has a lot of fairy lights and a maze of the same we have to queue up (alright, to keep the Americans happy, ‘line up’) to go through. It’s good for us all to be children again, even if only for a short while.




The main stage events are the dancing and singing groups, then the Enka singers, on stage quizzes to name but a few. There are also two stages running simultaneously (no easy feat in a small area I think) and this year I saw the Takamatsu Ritsurin Lions Club selling sweet potatoes to raise money.




Still, if you’ve missed this year’s even there’s always next year’s at the same time and it’s a vibrant part of Takamatsu’s social life right in the heart of the city. Please see the map on the link above.
Keep all those cards n’ letters coming in. Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and I’ll see you in January with my killer report on the foreigner who has walked the henro pilgrimage right around Shikoku, not just once but twice.  

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.  

http://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/12601.html

In my younger days as a wine snob, art collector, I always wanted a Jacuzzi, which says an awful lot about my silly side unfortunately. To loll about in a hot tub with some great red and a few good paintings to stare at as the wine took effect would have been heaven. JC would just love this too I’m sure.

The nearest I’ve ever gotten to doing this if you’ll pardon the fantasy and excess, is in the hot spring town of Shionoe neatly set in the Asan Mountains and beautiful nature about 30 minutes drive to the south from Takamatsu.
http://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/english/sightseeing/spot/shionoe-hot-spring-village.html

The above site shows the maps and history of this little town which is fairly easy to get to, if not just a wee bit long for a bus ride but certainly doable and more to the point enjoyable particularly as there are so many ‘onsens’ there (hot spring baths).

I spent an autumn morning soaking in the onsen then went off to see a show at the Shione Museum of Art. The gallery has a permanent exhibition which is a bit lifeless and dated with some tired looking paintings but that’s not why I went as I wanted to see the Italian sculptor Luca Roma’s one man show; INSIDE.




Luca’s theme of ‘INSIDE’ is what this show is all about and it’s playful, meant to be touched and enjoyed. Luca has done work in schools with kids and his work’s sense of tactile playfulness is very creative and unusual.
http://www.thelugh.blogspot.com/

The working drawings on the theme reveal a lot of maturity for such a young man I thought.




The show will be over soon but there’s usually something at the gallery and a quick check of the web site in English will give you the information.

This is a beautiful year-round location within walking distance to hot springs and sports facilities, and the gallery has an annex for kids and parents to enjoy some hands-on art.



One of the works I particularly liked, although it was all a fully representative show of quality sculpture, witty even, was the piece ‘REBORN’



This piece is meant to represent the feeling of being reborn and we are asked to get inside and imagine such a process.
Keep those cards ‘n letters coming in! I’ll be back with more exciting stuff in a couple of weeks and in the meantime, please do check out The Shionoe Museum of Art.  

‘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 …