Okayama Area
On leaving Beppu, having taken our suitcases there and stowed them in lockers at the railway station, we took an express train back to Kokura, on the bullet train line between Fukuoka and Honshu, and changed to a bullet train for the trip to Okayama. While we stayed in Okayama, it was just a base for day trips to Kochi and Tomo No Ura. Originally the second day was intended to be to Matsuyama to visit the castle, but we changed plans at the last minute.
Kochi
Kochi is near the bottom of Shikoku, two hours odd from Okayama by express train. The main reason we went there was for its Sunday market - and yes, we went on a Sunday. The market covers a number of blocks of the road leading to the castle, taking up one side of the divided road (the two lanes on the other side become one lane each way for the duration). The majority of stalls were selling fresh or preserved fruit and vegetables, and a variety of other foods, but a few were selling souvenir type things. Which was just as well, as I found that morning that I'd left my cap on the express train back from Beppu, and managed to buy another one at the market (although from one of the few shops that were open along the route).
The Sunday market:
Note the castle in the background:
Eating soba noodles in one of the stalls (I think the woman in the background is eating udon noodles, going by the size and colour):
A busy arcade off the market street:
Quite by chance, we came across this display of fancy food arrangements, which pretty much turned out to be the highlight of the day:
A lone entertainer near the food displays putting up a show of some pretty energetic drumming:
The main door to Kochi castle grounds:
The castle is a relatively small one and a modern reconstruction. We didn't bother paying to go inside the building:
A few blossoms were starting to appear around the castle:
The train back to Okayama sitting at Kochi station:
Tomo No Ura
Tomo No Ura is a small port village on the Seto Inland Sea (the channel between Honshu and Shikoku). It is accessible by a half-hour bus trip from the Fukuyama bullet train station not far from Okayama. It's main attractions are the port, the village itself (scenic in an old-fashioned sense), and a number of small temples around the town and bordering hills. It only really requires half a day for a look around, and is the sort of place that's just interesting to wander around on a sunny day.
The welcome sign near the main bus depot:
Wandering the streets:
The port from close up:
And from a small hill in the middle of town where there was once a castle:
And again from the Ioji Temple back up the hill:
The Ioji Temple grounds:
A blossom tree along the lane leading to the temple:
Japan 2008 - Part 5
