Matsuyama Castle

Matsuyama Castle (松山城) is definitely the best Castle I've been in Japan. The castle stands proud above the hill, right in the middle of the town. This castle is one of the preserved castle. It is still original, with a little bit of repair here and there because of the fire long time ago. It also offers you a gorgeous view of the city from the top. There is also a place where you can dress up as a samurai inside. And for non Japanese speakers, rejoice ! All of the history and description have very good English translation. It is a very impressive castle.

Matsuyama

There are four main islands in Japan: Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Shikoku ( 四国 = Four Countries ) is the smallest of the four. It is considered to be the forgotten island among the four. People rarely go to Shikoku. Guide books don't bother mentioning about this island. Even my friend questioning my decision to go to this island.

Let me tell you that Shikoku is Japan's hidden gem. There are lots of thing to do here. Some of them are pretty wild, but if you like outdoor, nature, adventures, and willing to spend some time to venture into the inner part of this place, you will be rewarded with amazing scenic views, natural beauty untouched by human.

I only had a few days off to enjoy the island, but I definitely want to go back to Shikoku again.

I will split the Shikoku review into separated posts, starting from Matsuyama.

Teuchi Udon Kuukai

Last month I had a chance to visit to Shuunan City in Yamaguchi Prefecture for business trip. The city itself doesn't offer any interesting sightseeing spot, however the city does have a lot of delicious food to offer.

One of them that I really want to introduce is the Teuchi Udon Kuukai (手打うどんくうかい), the best udon that I've had eaten so far.

Oshino Hakkai

Oshino (忍野) is a small village in Yamanashi Prefecture. The village used to be a lake called Lake Utsu (宇津湖). Lake Utsu used to be the biggest lake surrounding Mount Fuji. When Mt. Fuji erupted around 800 AD, the lava from Mt. Fuji split the lake into two, Lake Yamanaka (山中湖) and Lake Oshino. Later, the lake Oshino dried up, but the eight spring (pond) still remain and they are called Oshino Hakkai (忍野八海).

The spring waters are underground water that flowed down from Mt. Fuji. When the snow melt into water from the top of Mt. Fuji, it got filtered down the mountain through layers of lava, traveling for over 80 years to finally spring at Oshino Hakkai, resulting a very pure, clear water.

The purity of the water is the proud of the locals. It is said that the water is one of the best waters in Japan.

Ryusenji Temple Meguro Fudou

There are probably exist a few thousands of temple and shrine in Japan. It's quite to easy find a temple or shrine close to where you live. One day, I was taking a walk around Meguro and I was surprised to find the Ryusenji Temple (滝泉寺) there. It is also commonly known as Meguro Fudou or Meguro Fudouson (目黒不動尊). It turned out that the temple is one of the oldest of it's kind. It is also the 'Black' temple of the Five Colors of Fudou (五色不動) : White (白), Black (黒), Red (赤), Blue (青), Yellow (黄).

Fuji Shibazakura

I first set my eyes on Fuji Shibazakura Matsuri two years ago, right after I went to Hitsujiyama Park Shibazakura. The harmony between mount Fuji and Shibazakura are so mesmerizing that I promised myself that I will definitely go to this place. Last month, I finally able to visit this place. Unfortunately, the weather was not perfect. No blue sky and a bit cloudy. A shame, but nevertheless it's still a gorgeous place.