After a good sleep, we are happy to see the
weather turns better from yesterday. Finishing another morning dip in
open-air bath, we come to Kokuu 穀雨 for breakfast.
Starting with a wake-up juice お目覚めのジュース.
The starter is 季節の小鉢三種盛り.
Next is Roasted Beef Salad with Homemade Dressing
ロースビーフのサラダ 自家製ドレッシング.
The 宝楽焼き has Salt Grilled
Salmon 鮭塩焼き, Eel Egg Roll 鰻巻き卵, Cabbage Rolls ロールキャベツ, Summer Vegetables 夏野菜.
The 郷土料理 has Eggplant
Noodle 茄子素麺, with the noodle from 小豆島 島の光.
The 温物 is Handmade Tofu 手作り豆腐, seasoned with Sunflower Oil ひまわりオイル, and Sea Salt
from Naruto 鳴門のうず塩.
Coming to 御飯 it is 香川県産コシヒカリ 又は 炊き込みご飯. 汁物 is 伊吹産いりこ出汁 こんぴら味噌汁, with 香の物 being 梅干, 白菜漬け, and 根菜彩.
Finish with Seasonal Fruit 季節の果物.
After checking out and saying goodbye to
the friendly staff at Asan Kotonami we drive to Chichibugahama Beach 父母ヶ浜. This is a kilometer long beach in Mitoyo 三豊市, popular spot for
swimmers but when low tide and sunset coincide, anyone can take beautiful reflective
photos.
There is a technique to take the photo, to
position the camera as close to the water’s surface as possible, from inland
facing seaward, and the subject standing as close to water’s edge as possible. Unfortunately,
the weather on the day is not good, with heavy overcast and also quite windy,
so we cannot get any good photo.
Moving on to Marugame 丸亀市, we first go for lunch, picking Syokusai Yumekichi 食彩 ゆめ吉, an izakaya 居酒屋 near Marugame Station.
Seated at the counter, I order 特鮮丼 (1,980 yen), an amazing seafood rice bowl with a huge variety of
fresh ingredients. Apart from that, the set also has steamed egg custard,
salad, appetizers, grilled mackerel, miso soup and pickles. Fantastic in
quality and superb value for money.
Ivy has 焼魚定食 (1,000 yen)
which has a large piece of nicely grilled fish jaw, with the same assorted side
dishes as my set.
With a full stomach we proceed to Marugame
Castle 丸亀城. It is built on top of Kameyama 亀山 rising 66m in elevation,
covering 204,756 sqm in area. The site is surrounded by an inner moat, running
540m east to west and 460m north to south.
大手一の門 is the main gate firmly constructed with large pillars and beams.
It was built around 1670.
Famous nationwide as a castle of stone
wall, Marugame Castle has 400 years of history. The stonewalls were constructed
largely during the Edo Period 江戸時代. 切り込みハギ is one of the stone wall construction techniques, where the stone
has been carved and precisely processed. The joints of the stones are carefully
stacked without any gaps. Some are stacked in regular layers, while others are
stacked randomly.
Climbing the steep slope is tiring
especially in such hot weather. Soon we reach high stone wall 高石垣, on the north side facing Seto Inland Sea, it is over 20m
high. The corner stones are rectangular stones, and combining the long and
short sides alternately and placing the corner stone next to the short sides,
allows for a more solid stacking method, making it possible to build high stone
walls with beautiful slopes.
ハバキ石垣 has the role of protecting the bulging parts of the stone wall by
holding them down from the outside to prevent them from collapsing.
In the southeast corner of 三の丸広場, there is a slightly raised stone wall, the remains of 月見櫓. The view from here is spectacular, with a beautiful view of the
gently flowing 土器川 and 飯野山.
Continuing to 天守, the castle
proper, it is approximately 15m high and has a triple-layered, three-story
structure, making it one of only 12 wooden castle towers left in Japan. It was
completed in 1660 and is the oldest wooden castle tower remaining in Shikoku.
Paying the entry fee of 200 yen each, we go
inside the castle tower 天守. There are some steep stairs to go up, with some exhibits on
display in each floor. At the top floor there are windows looking out to the
Marugame City.
Before heading to the next destination, we
come across a Starbucks in Marutasu, the city’s civic centre. With an open
setting, the store certainly draws a lot of visitors to the centre and we are
able to enjoy the limited time offering Momo Frappuccino once again.
After the short break we continue towards
Shikoku Aquarium 四国水族館. It is the largest aquarium on the island, with four signature
tanks and six zones. The admission fee is 2,400 yen for adult.
Once inside, on the left is the Dolphin Hall, where we
can observe the underwater movements of the dolphins. Going up the stairs is
the pool where one can observe the dolphins very closely, almost can touch
them. There are shows at regular intervals where the dolphins will show off
some amazing abilities and cute behaviours, with the beautiful Seto Inland Sea
as the backdrop.
One zone is showing the sea to the south of Shikoku, the Pacific
Ocean, with the world’s largest warm current, Kuroshio Current 黒潮, flowing through, bringing many migratory fish. Here the sea is
deep, and the seabed slope is steep, especially around Cape Muroto 室戸岬.
Anothe zone shows an area in Kochi Prefecture, the southern part of
Ehime and Tokushima Prefectures, where the water temperature is relatively high, where reef
corals are well developed with many tropical fish living, making it a popular
diving spot.
The swimming behaviour of migratory fish
traveling through the ocean is exhibited in a 650 cubic metre tank 綿津見の景, the largest in Shikoku. The raising of skipjack tuna, which are
considered difficult, and the dynamic aquascape that symbolizes the
Northwestern Pacific is shown.
We can see a school of hammerhead sharks
from below in the shark shadow aquarium 神無月の景. Looking up
through the 4.5m diameter round window, there is an overwhelming sense of
reality and the appearance of the wild.
The Seto Inland Sea Zone showcases this
largest inland sea in Japan, on the north of Shikoku. Due to its
characteristics as an inland sea, the shallow depth, calm winds and waves, it
is home to approximately 400 species of fish.
As exemplified by the Uwa Sea 宇和海, the coastline is intricate, and rivers flowing from the mountains
bring in nutrients, resulting in abundant plankton, and so farming of oysters,
pearls, sea breams etc. is actively done. It is also home to many migratory
fish, as they enter the Pacific Ocean to the south.
The Naruto whirlpools occur at the border
between the torrential currents in the center of the Naruto Strait, one of the
world’s three major currents, and the calm currents on both sides of the
straits. Here the tank simulates the whirlpools from the underwater observation
boat.
Shikoku’s rivers boast an abundance of
water, such as the miraculously clear Niyodo River 仁淀川, Shimanto River 四万十川 and Shikoku’s largest river, Yoshino River 吉野川, and are home to
many creatures that can only live in a clean water environment.
Additionally, on the Seto Inland Sea side,
where rainfall is low, many reservoirs, including Manno Pond 満濃池, have been built since ancient times as a drought countermeasure,
and over the years a unique ecosystem has been formed.
In the Active Zone there are various
exciting experiences interacting with living creatures, including feeding time,
how sea lion, penguins and otters live and play.
Before leaving we also go to the Museum Shop
to check out the souvenirs. We end up purchasing the mascot of the aquarium, to
bring back home, as our new member of our stuffed toy family.
Then we drive to Kotohira 琴平, to check in the ryokan we are staying on the night Kotohira Kadan 琴平花壇. It has a long history, founded in 1627 during the early Edo Period
as an inn along the approach to Kotohira Shrine.
Kotohira Kadan was opened in 1905 by
Genjiro Miyoshi 三好源次郎, the 16th generation owner, as a culinary inn with
individual rooms, bringing hospitality to many famous people who came to visit
the shrine. Its 400-year history as an inn is now harmoniously combines with
modern architecture.
Seated comfortably at the hotel lobby, we
relax and enjoy the panoramic view of the Kanakura River 金倉川 flowing below, with the area surrounded by old pine trees. The
staff then leads us to Sansuikaku 山翠閣, the completely renovated section
opened in July 2019.
Walking up the steps from the main
building, passing through the Japanese garden, the entrance has a great design
that is well-integrated with the garden. We have booked the Japanese-Western
Room C, located on the second floor with garden view.
The room is spacious, totaling 50 sqm, with
the Western-style section having comfortable beds and a writing table on the
side.
The Japanese-style section is of 8 mat, with
a relaxing low sofa to enjoy a peaceful and quiet time. Altogether the room can
accommodate up to 5 people in maximum.
Through the make-up room is a rather tiny bathroom,
and that in turn leads to the open-air bath on the terrace. One thing to note
is that hot spring quality is the special Radioactive Springs 単純弱放射能冷鉱泉.
With a partition in the terrace, by opening
it one can access from the open-air bath. The panoramic view of the Sanuki
Plain 讃岐平野 and Asan Mountains 阿讃山脈 brings joy and a sense of tranquillity to the mind. This room, with
dinner and breakfast for two, costs 66,000 yen per night.
After taking a good bath and relaxing in
the room, it is time for dinner. Just outside the Japanese garden of Sansuikaku
is Bangkunmei, offering traditional Thai massage to guests.
Dinner is served in Main Dining Room
Keyaki. There are both table and counter seats, and we have a table on the
window side looking out. I start by ordering a bottle of sake, 綾菊 純米大吟醸 at 12,100 yen. This sake is very good, rich and with high fragrance
of rice and also a nice acidity. It is the best sake I have in this trip.
The appetizer 前菜 includes five
kinds of seasonal delicacies: もずく酢 (Mozuku seaweed with vinegar), オクラとモロヘイヤのお浸し (Soaked
okra with Moloheiya), 鮎甘露煮 (simmered ayu fish), 枝豆 (Green soybeans), and 丸十レモン煮 (sweet potato called ‘Maruju’ cooked with lemon).
The Sashimi 造り has three kinds of
seasonal fish including 鱸の洗い (slices of Japanese seabass washed to tighten the flesh), 間八 (greater yellowtail), and 蛸 (octopus).
The Suimono 椀物 is 玉蜀黍の冷製スープ (sweet corn cold soup).
The Yakimono 焼物 is オリーブ牛と彩野菜の石焼 (stone-grilled olive beef with colourful vegetables).
The Futamono 蓋物 is 長芋饅頭の餡かけ (steamed yam bun with thick sauce).
The Shiizakana 強肴 is 鱧すき鍋 (hot pot with pike conger).
The Oshokuji お食事 has 御飯 (rice), 赤出汁 (red miso soup), and 香の物 (pickles).
Finally, the dessert 別腹 is cake and warabi mochi. A highly satisfying dinner.
