EXPLORING JAPAN’S HIDDEN IYA VALLEY The Iya Valley is what Japanese people call tooi inaka (i.e. the deep countryside); this is rural Japan at its most inaccessible and rustic. This is also Shikoku at its most spectacular. The Iya Valley is geographically in the centre of […]
ALL THE COLOURS & FLAVOURS OF THE HANA HARU FESTIVAL IN TOKUSHIMA! We celebrated all the abundance and joys of spring today, along with most of Tokushima! Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to the Hana Haru Festival (i.e. Spring Flower Festival) of 2015! One of the reasons […]
VIEWS OVER TOKUSHIMA FROM EYEBROW MOUNTAIN Leaving Takamatsu behind, we caught the train to our next destination today: Tokushima. This is another of Shikoku’s urban centres and our base for the next couple of days. It’s a really cute little city, built along the Yoshino River, with Mt […]
TWO TEMPLES, 1,368 STEPS & A COUPLE OF VERY TIRED CREAM PUFFS Following yesterday’s successful outing to see Yashima-ji we decided to venture a little further afield and visit 2 more of Shikoku’s pilgrimage temples: Zentsu-ji and Konpira-ji. Both were impressive in their own way – Zentsu-ji for […]
TEMPLES OF THE SHIKOKU PILGRIMAGE One of things Shikoku is famous for is the Shikoku Henro (i.e. Shikoku Pilgrimage). This 1,200km loop takes pilgrims around the entire island, visiting each of 88 major temples dotted around the isle. We contemplated doing the Shikoku Pilgrimage this trip but opted […]
Wandering Soles 