Kochi Trip
I found out very last-minute that I had yesterday off, and I still felt like exploring, so I started asking people where I should go, and people suggested Kochi, the largest prefecture on Shikoku. Most of it is countryside, but I went into the city because it would be easier to get around and see stuff for the least amount of money and effort. I threw plans together with help from Fujita-san, and I left early Saturday morning for the train station.
I felt sorry for all the attendants I had to harass to make sure I was in the right place, getting on the right train, etc, etc, but I really wasn't sure, and making a mistake would cost me a lot of money to fix. Luckily, because of all that preparation and a little luck, everything went smoothly.
Riding through Kochi was very pleasant, mostly countryside, going right in between mountains and all, and passing by the clearest blue-green rivers I've ever seen. Really really pretty.
Kochi City is a bigger city than Niihama, but it's not nearly as bustling as Tokyo. So while there was plenty to do and see, it wasn't too terribly overwhelming to just walk around. As soon as I got off the train at Kochi Station, I first found my hotel, which was just a block or two away, and then a Catholic church I had seen on my map, also very close by, to check for Mass times. I felt bad I had missed Mass the week before, and besides, I thought it would be fun to compare with the one I go to in Niihama.
The day I arrived, Saturday, I got a bus pass that would allow me to ride a tourist bus an unlimited number of times for the entire day, to a bunch of attractions in the area. It covered several of the places I wanted to go, and more besides, and they handed me a very useful guidebook to go along with it. I used that more than I used the printed-out maps I brought with me!
First stop was Godaisan, a mountain that I'm sure is very beautiful in spring and fall, but at the time, it was a little bare. It was cold in Kochi in general, but it was a little warmer than Niihama, probably pretty consistently in the 40s or so, so while I wasn't bothered by it, it wasn't surprisingly to not see much by way of flowers or leaves on trees. Also in the mountain was Chikurinji, a temple with a fabulous 5-story pagoda and a "treasure house" and a garden that's probably also a lot more impressive in warmer months, but was still nice to visit. The treasure house is a small room with Buddhist figures dating back as old as the Kamakura period and on, so it's more like national historic treasures than gold and jewels treasure. They were interesting to look at, it's too bad pictures weren't allowed.
I had about half an hour before the next bus would come, and conveniently there was a small restaurant/souvenir shop right in front of the bus stop, so I had a quick lunch while I waited. I suppose business is pretty good when they have a lot of pilgrims coming by visiting the temple... but it was pretty empty when I was there.
Next was the Sakamoto Ryouma memorial museum. Sakamoto Ryouma is a famous samurai who was born in Kochi, so there are myriad memorials and statues of him everywhere, not to mention the themed souvenirs with his picture on him (he was around in the 1800s, so there are some actual photographs of him.)... I even saw a pair of boxers with him on them!! It was an interesting museum, they had lots of artifacts related to him and several other influential people connected to him, but since explanations were all in Japanese and it was crowded, I couldn't spend much time learning any real complicated details about everything.
Next was the nearby beach, Katsurahama. Currents are too strong for swimming, so even when it's warm it's not a typically popular beach spot, but it is very beautiful. It was nice to be on an actual ocean beach for once, I haven't been to one for years. The sound of the waves while I walked by the water was really nice.
After that, I was tired out and it would be dark soon, so I headed to my hotel. It's designed for businessmen on trips, so the rooms--at least the single rooms--are tiny, even smaller than a dorm room, but it gets the job done. Staying alone in the room got lonely, though, so I sat in the eating area/lobby while I ate my convenience store bento and wrote. I could people watch as the night wore on, so that was nice. It was a little reminiscent of going to Borders, actually, just holing up in a cafe type area and chilling out. There was manga as well, but nothing that really looked that interesting to me. Nothing recognizable except for old old issues of JUMP and a few Sailor Moon volumes I'd already read.
The next day I did my walking tour, but first I went to church. the mass parts were the same as the one in Niihama, so I already knew almost all the songs and prayers and stuff... I probably startled some people, who probably figured I was a tourist just in from America, and not someone who's already been living on the island for several months. ^^ A few people talked to me before and after the Mass, just greetings, but they were nice.
There's a very large open market on Sundays on a street that leads up to Kochi Castle, my first stop after church, so I went through on my way. Most of it was produce, which there was no point in me buying, because I'd have to drag it all the way home with me before I could do anything with it, but I did eventually buy lunch and a few small souvenirs.
The castle was a lot bigger than the ones I've been seeing lately. Pictures are better than words in this case, it was impressive to look at and the view from the top was quite nice as well.
After that, more walking through the market. I came across a stretch of street called "Manga Street" that had displays of the winners of an annual manga drawing contest at a local school. There were several really cute ones, but unfortunately the glare was such that my pictures of them didn't turn out as well as i would have liked.
My last point of interest was Harimaya Bridge, an old historic bridge in the middle of the city that is famous for... well, I'm not sure, since I couldn't read all the signs, but I think some Edo period couple met a tragic end there or something. I think that's what my English guide book said... anyway. So I got to see that.
Also, people were celebrating their Coming of Age, so girls were walking around with fancy kimonos and hairstyles, and boys were in either suits or hakama. I saw a girl in hakama as well, only they were purple and she had her hair done up too, so it was really cute. ^^ I wanted to take pictures, but since I had been traveling I knew I looked pretty drab, and I was too embarrassed to ask in that state. >.>
I was exhausted by that time, and I was conveniently just a few blocks away from the station again, so I just decided to go home. I could have walked around for two more hours, but it was getting painful, so it was probably good I ducked out when I did. I can always go back again if I really want to.
Overall, it was still depressing to stay somewhere alone, but aside from some stress in getting around and the tiredness, it was a good trip. And now I know how to ride the trains. ^^
I got home, stopped by the manga/game store and found a used copy of FFVII! It took maybe five minutes of staring at it to convince myself I could use it to study vocabularly, and bought it. XD Now I have IX and VII to "study" from, if I ever have the time.
Monday was nice. A friend invited me to go with her and some couchsurfers to do some touring in Kagawa. She came to pick me up around 10:30 Monday morning with her two couchsurfers, Diego and Denise. Diego is an Italian who has been living in Iceland, and his girlfriend, Denise, is German, but she's been working on an organic farm somewhere for a while now. They both spoke English, so we didn't have any problems communicating, and apparently Denise at least has been studying Japanese about as long as I have! Europeans really have to know a lot of languages to get around. Anyway, for a break/vacation, they were couchsurfing and hitchhiking all over Japan. It sounds like they've been everywhere. We went to a temple in Kagawa together, called Zentsuji. It's the headquarters of the 88-Temple Pilgrimage in Shikoku, so it's a big temple, and they have 1000 statues of different monks. The unique part of it is each one is carved to actually look like the monk, so they're all unique, and most of them are rather funny-looking. Some are even rather ugly, with big, floppy lips or bumps on their bald heads, etc. And all are in different poses, with staves, or books or musical instruments, or some other thing that sets them apart from the others. It was interesting to look at all of them! After that we went to lunch at a nearby Indian restaurant, and then dropped Diego and Denise off at a place where they would try to hitch a ride to Osaka. It sounds very exciting, but I don't think I could do it. I got nervous enough waiting just ten minutes for a train to come that I knew would come and I had tickets for. I can't imagine just going somewhere not knowing if I'd be able to get out or not!
And now it's back to work... I'm upping my Japanese lessons to twice a week, so I have to learn to actually study harder and not waste my time and the teacher's... o.O I don't have many three-day weekends from here on, so things are probably going to slow way down from here, but really, I probably should rest a bit.