Matsuyama – KotsuKotsuLife

Weather: rainy

Today Usagi-chan and I did some sightseeing. We started at the Tourist Information centre near Dogo Onsen where we got a pamphlet for museums which gave us a discount for going to different museums/galleries. One gets stamps at the different places and if one gets enough stamps one can get a free gift. The gift varies depending on where you claim the it. I showed it at the Museum of Art and they were going to give me a beautiful and expensive looking art book… but it also looked like it weighed a lot, so I had to turn it down.

Usagi-chan and I boarded a streetcar and headed to Matsuyama Castle. Apparently Matsuyama is big on haiku…maybe it is all of Ehime as there have been a couple of temples where one can submit one’s own Haiku. I mention this because apparently one can also submit one’s haiku masterpiece on the streetcar.

Matsuyama Castle is on top of a hill in the middle of the city. One can get to the top by walking, taking a cable car or a chair lift. Regardless of the rain I chose the chairlift because CHAIRLIFT!!!

The Castle was pretty impressive and the view despite the rain was spectacular.

Next Usagi-chan and I went to the Saka No Ue No Kumo Museum because the English write up said that it showed the Meiji Period lives of three brothers… I got an English pamphlet explaining the museum… but EVERYTHING in the Museum was in Japanese….apparently these brothers were famous writers and intellectuals.. so LOTS of written things not many visual things and again let me emphasize that EVERYTHING was in Japanese. Very glad I got a discount for the ticket. The building was interesting.

Next was a visit to Bansuisou. This is the second house of Sadakoto Hisamatsu, the lord of Matsuyama in 1922. It was built in a Western style and the stained glass is supposed to be spectacular.

After that went to the Museum of Art. No photos. But I was surprised at how low they hung the paintings… I had to stoop to look at them properly and I’m not very tall. Not sure if they did that on purpose so it would be inclusive of children and Usagi-chan.

We then went to Iyotetsu department store and to the roof where there is a Ferris wheel. I didn’t understand the ticket machine and ended up buying a ticket for the clear car on the wheel… it was windy and besides Usagi-chan, I was the only one in the car. Not going to lie: it was a bit freaky.

Clear car on a Ferris wheel on top of a department store.

I did see, from the Ferris wheel, a kids ride section on the roof of the department store. None of the rides were operating, but there are often kids rides on the top of department store roofs (or at least there used to be).

Tomorrow I’m back to doing the Henro.

Weather: cloudy turning into rain in the afternoon.

We (the motley crew aka Makio’s dog pack) met in the lobby at 7:30am to start off on our 6 temple day. Makino is the lone Japanese guy (from Fukuoka) who is kind of like our lead dog.

The first temple was easy: it was across the way from where we were staying. Temple 46 (Joruriji). The temple looked amazing with the light from the threatening rain clouds. Everything had a beautiful green lushness to the garden.

Next was Temple 47 (Yasakaji). It was 1 km away so easy walk. Again the light made the garden and flowers stand out.

After Temple 47 we went to Monjuin (one of the “extra” temples.) I was in a good conversation with Lari (an Aussie and her partner Hedley where the ones I met yesterday) and nearly walked by the temple (which had a giant, hard to miss Kobo Daishi). This is the place that the first pilgrim left from trying to find Kobo Daishi to ask for forgiveness.

Temple 48 (Sairinji) was a temple where there is a Jizo in a middle of a pond where it will grant each person one wish.

Temple 49 (Jodoji)… by this time I was hungry… so kind of rushed through this temple.

After Jodoji we stopped for ramen and Aly (American from California) and I shared a plate of gyoza. Although, it was quite heavy and kind of felt tired after lunch it hit the spot. We soldiered on to Temple 50 (Hantaji). The grounds there were spacious and seemed to have plants and trees that would bloom and make the place beautiful regardless of the season.

After Hantaji, we walked a bit faster to try and get to Temple 51 (Ishiteji) before the heavens opened up. Ishiteji was more like a temple in Kyoto. It was huge! We managed to get our prayers done at the two temples and I explored a cave/ tunnel with Allan and Sam (American professor of Japanese history and son who just graduated high school) before it started to rain.

Ishiteji is where I said goodbye to my travelling companions. They are staying closer to Matsuyama Station and I am staying closer to Dogo Onsen. I was sad to see them go as they were a nice group to walk with and it was nice to talk with and relate to their travel stories. I hope I might be able to see them again.

I went to Dogo Onsen after checking in ( got some kind of coupon from the hotel to let me into the Onsen for free.)