Imabari

The adventure in Shikoku continues! This time we left the mountains of Kajigamori with Imabari our destination. 

Japan has this thing where cities often have the same name as the prefectures (think states in Australia) that they are in. For example, Hiroshima City is in Hiroshima Prefecture. Imabari wasn't exactly like this, but Imabari City is very different to the general area of Imabari. We had booked an AirBnb that was advertised as "in Imabari" and maybe it's on me for not doing more research, but we were not really in Imabari at all. Well, Imabari City at least. 

On the map above, I put the star in the general location of where we stayed. Imabari City is actually on the other side of that tip of the island. It wasn't a big deal, but where we ended up was a pretty tiny village. Before we get to the tiny village though, we had a full day of driving first. 

We left Kajigamori and stopped in at the waterfalls we tried to walk to from the top of the mountain the day before. The path from the carpark at the bottom was much more manageable and we had waterfall success. 

We trucked on with our day, aiming for a swimming spot at a river running through another gorge. Though difficult to find a park and then a place to get down to the water, we ended up at a little spot just off the main road. The water was so clear and cool it was perfect to be in. The girls and I climbed down the weir to swim around the bottom section in the photo below. Steve enjoyed being in up to his knees before retreating to the shade once more. 

I could have swum there for hours, but we got hungry, so went to a little cafe for lunch and continued our journey. 

We honestly could not get over just how beautiful Shikoku was. Everywhere we drove was amazing view, mountains, green fields, blue rivers. I can't imagine what it would be like to come back in winter when the mountains are covered in snow! I did navigate us to a second waterfall for another break in our driving, but it was almost as heavily touristed as the vine bridge was back in the Iya valley. There were five carparks, but each only had space for six cars, and were already full. 

As we were inching our way up the congested mountain road with everyone else wanting to see this waterfall, it started raining. We were lucky enough to find a park, so we got out and put on raincoats, hoping for the best. It was not to be. The rain was coming down so hard we were soaked in minutes, so after using the facilities and Steve getting a quick coffee from the vending machine on the side of the road, we went back to the car to continue our journey. 

Navigating the mountain road in the heavy rain was tough, but it didn't last; just on the other side of the mountains was clear blue sky and beautiful day. We got into our Imabari house in the evening after a grocery shop. This place had a desk and chair for Steve to work at, so we were there for a whole week. It was a pretty good place, though the carpark was down the street and the street itself was only 2m across. Driving through that was stress central for Steve!

The next day (Sunday) we went over to Matsuyama, which is the capital city in the prefecture. We did the usual touristy things, trecking up the hill to the castle and eating shaved ice at the top to cool off. 

Matsuyama is a port city, and again, the views were amazing. Steve and I just kept enjoying them, but the girls were so over it. Inconceivable! 

I love the way these trees are supported. We wandered down the Main Street and had an unconventional lunch of pancakes at a restaurant called the Flying Scotsman. I may have picked up a few more kimono things from a second hand store while my loving family waited patiently. Then back to Imabari to get ready for the week. 

For all that where we stayed in Imabari was a tiny strip of a village, it was also a short ten min walk to some pretty perfect beach. Again, can't get over how picturesque it was there. 

The whole "town" was full of traditional Japanese houses with their beautiful tiled roofs and garden walls. Almost everyone we saw was over 60years old, and it was the quietest place we stayed. Possibly even rivalling our two nights in the mountains. We could see so much evidence of the aging population and people leaving the small towns for big cities everywhere. 

Across from our house were two others that were obviously abandoned. One you could see broken windows and rooms full of leftover possessions, and the other had a partially collapsed roof with a tree growing out of it. Sadly in these old areas there is not much that can be done, because the streets are to narrow to get in any kind of demolition or renovation equipment. 

Since Steve had a desk to work at and we were here for a week, it was time for our holidays to start wrapping up and face some reality. This meant it was time for me to home school the girls. 

We had done some Australian school work back in Tokyo, when their teachers sent assignments through. Now I sat down with them every day and we worked through English, Maths, Science, Digital Technology, and Humanities as well as a hefty amount of Japanese. For the most part home schooling these girls was easy, because I know mostly what I'm doing and because they want to learn. Not to say every moment was rainbows and sunshine, but we got the job done. 

Investigating what happens when light passes through glass

I broke things up with outings, including a walk to our local park, which was probably the biggest thing in town. Set on the side of a small mountain, this park had lots of winding paths, a clock tower look out, statues of the zodiac animals, the biggest play equipment we've seen in Japan and some stunning views. Pretty lucky for us to be right near it, so I guess I don't mind that we weren't in Imabari City after all. 

Along with the big play equipment was an enormous roller slide. Japanese parks often have these in varying lengths, but this was the longest we'd seen. It took a full min and a half to slide from top to bottom, had tunnels, turns and twists galore. 

Entry to the roller slide

I really enjoyed being at the park with the girls, and it took me back to all the park trips I'd done with the kids when I ran a family day care back in the day. This was exactly the kind of place I would have taken the kids to if I were running a family day care here in Japan. 

So lucky to have been able to hang out with my girls like this. We watched a few eagle/raptor type birds just hovering in the air over the park for ages. Shikoku was the place we saw the most of these, all over the mountains from Shodoshima through to Imabari. Possibly the coolest wild animal sighting that we had. 

Our week here was pretty mundane as far as tourist travel goes. Steve was working, the girls and I were homeschooling and I was starting to get my head back into work mode as I addressed a bunch of email and to do things that I needed to catch up on. We didn't go out much (there was really nothing much to do in the village except maybe the beach and the park) but just got on with life. 

Morning walk around the rice fields

The last day we were there (Friday), we drove out to this lookout over the water. Down the hill was a beach which we went to. Rachel promptly got into the water and started catching things. It was beautiful and a great way to end our Shikoku stay. 

That night we went out for dinner at Otousan's (Dad's) which was a small shop with an old Japanese guy making the meals on his own. He looked a little worried when we came in, but relaxed when I read the (entirely Japanese) menu to the girls and Steve. The food was delicious and huge and the owner thanked all of us for studying Japanese so hard. 

Now, onward to the end!