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hikoku, heard of it? Probably not, it is the least visited Island by Foreign tourists and the smallest out of the four main Islands of Japan. Shikoku is divided into four prefectures, which is kind of like different states, although quite small states. The Island is easily accessible, thanks to the many Bridges connecting it to the main Island of Japan. We took a bus over from Osaka, then departed also by bus over to Hiroshima.
Shota and I decided that Shikoku looks like Australia… just a tiny bit, what do you think??
Also because of the lack of foreign visitors there is a lack of Hostel… so Shota booked the next five nights in Budget “Business” Hotels. They were all small, generally smelt of cigarettes and were overpriced for what they were…. Oh and only one place had wi-fi!
The first place we arrived in was called Tokushima…. It was freezing compared to Osaka and a very windy day! So what do we do… oh board a cable car up a mountain! Later that night we left our tiny twin hotel room and ventured out into the city, the river that our room looked out onto was very lit up. So we had a bit of photo shoot and decided that was the highlight of the town, the impressive boardwalk lit up at night.
The second place was Kotohira, a very small country town. It was gorgeous and surrounded by hills that were turning orange and red J We were there on a mission for the largest shrine complex in Shikoku, Konpira Shrine. After 1,368 steep steps…. We reached the top and enjoyed the views. Later we had dinner in a local teppanyaki restaurant, full of the usual Japanese locals, enjoying beer and smoking…. I really hate that smoking is permitted in restaurants. It’s so bad to enter a cosy little café and have to turn around and leave quickly as you can’t breathe from all the smoke!
Third stop, was the amazing town called Awa-Ikeda, another Country town surrounded by huge hills! Or Mountains, although not covered in snow, as we are quite far south. Once there we visited took a bus and walked into Oboke, along the river with amazing views.
Shota enjoying a free footspa...
Ladybug on Shota...
Fouth and final destination in Shikoku was the city of Kochi, where we spent two nights in the worst Hotel I have ever seen…. It was like something out of seventies, complete with ashtray stand. However we had two of the best meals whilst there…. A Korean Dinner, in a funky bar/restaurant and Indian lunch “special” complete with the largest Nann bread I have ever seen.
Whilst in Kochi we were lucky enough to experience a traditional Kochi folk dance… and of course have our photos taken with the ladies after J (such a tourist). The main reason we were even in Kochi, was to visit the Ryugado-Caves, the largest limestone caves in Japan. There a 1km walk that you can do, it takes about an hour, an is very narrow, steep and scary at times! There are lights along the way, but I felt soo claustrophobic! Especially as we were walking along and you could here water underneath you, under you or dripping on you, I never told Shota this, but I was convinced we were going to get trapped inside…
I think the coloured lights make it even more scary....
I have decided as this post is quite long I will post another one with a few pics of the yummy meals we had whilst in Shikoku… as to not bore everyone too much!
xxx
