Walking Takamatsu

　　　Yoichiro came to visit today. Originally from Chiba, he has lived in Nagoya, Takamatsu　and Hiroshima. Now he lives in Tokyo. He lived in Takamatsu for nine years. He moved away three　years ago. He visits two or three times a year. After dinner, I asked him to　talk about Takamatsu.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　M(e): What brings you back?
Y(oichiro): My dance group is going to Kouchi. (Yoichiro is a member of a Yosakoi dance group in Takamatsu. He showed me some fancy moves.)
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　M: How is Takamatsu different than other cities? ( He had to think about that for a while.)


Y: There are more bicycles and beauty salons in Takamatsu. There's a lot more udon.
M: Is Takamatsu udon different than the udon in other cities?
Y: It's chewier and the soup is different. And it's cheaper.
M: Tell me a Takamatsu story.
Y: When I first came to Takamatsu, I didn't know anyone. For four months, the only people I met were at work. On weekends, there was nobody to talk to.
One night, my boss took me to a small izakaya. There I met a woman from Canada named Karen. She was very friendly. Karen was an English teacher at Geos. That night I started thinking that I should study English.
So, a few days later I signed up at Geos. Karen wasn't my teacher. My teacher was Marcus, from Ireland. Marcus was also very friendly. One night, after class, he invited me to join him for a beer. We went to a small restaurant in Fukuda Machi. It was called Sea Dragon. Marcus introduced me to some of his friends and they were all very friendly.
I began to go to Sea Dragon every Saturday night. I met so many people. It was like a snowball rolling down a hill. I made many, many new friends, all different types of people　from Japan and from many different countries. I was really happy.
M: Thank you for your time.


I was at Sea Dragon that night 12 years ago. Now, everybody knows Yoichiro.  

　　　I went to I-Pal today. It's in the nourth-west corner of Chuo Park (check out the new lawn in Chuo Park!).
Today was very hot, so it was nice to slip inside. I-Pal is well air-condished.
I went there to see a friend. He wasn't there, so I made a couple of new ones.
　　　I asked them what "I-Pal" stood for. "I" is for the Japanese "ai"- "love", and "Pal is for the English "buddy". What a nice name for a government office.
Do check it out. There's a library, CNN in English, there are classes for nine different languages and every third Friday, you can talk to a lawyer (reservation required). They also distribute a guide explaining the do's and don's of life in Kagawa. 　
  

　　　Sometimes I just walk across the street and go swimmng at the city pool. It's in Hamano Chou. The Loop Bus will drop you off right in front.
There's no deep end, but it's still a lot of fun. The water flows around the pool. You can pretend you're a great swimmer.
There are some rules.  

　　　This is a manhole cover depicting Nasu No Yoichi of the Minamoto clan shooting down a fan from the mast of a ship with a single arrow. It was the 18th batttle between the Minamoto clan and the Taira clan in the Genpei War. The year was 1185. The Taira, who controlled the emperor and ruled Japan, were losing the war. They lost the 18th battle as well, the Battle Of Yashima. Most of　them escaped, only to be defeated in the 19th, final battle.
　　　One princess of the Taira did not escape with the others. Instead she fled to Takamatsu. She must have been terrified and, in those days、 it would have been very　difficult to reach the small town.　What's a princess to do?
Alone, penniless, an outsider, she couldn't understand the local dialect and noone could understand her.
What she did was trade her kimono for some more practical work clothes, a pair of comfotable walking shoes, a wooden bucket and some fish. She was born samurai, but placing the fish in the bucket and the bucket on her head, she became the first itadakisan. She waked through the neighborhoods and sold fish to all the wives. She became quite popular, married a fisherman and her daughters carried on the family business,　as her great-great-great-great-great...granddaughters do today.
　　　　The word "itadaku" means "to be crowned with." It refers to the top or cap. A long time ago, people held their rice bowls above their heads and said "itadakimasu" to show humility before they ate. The Taira princesss, samurai, survivor, was crowned with a wooden bucket filled with fish.
　　　　　There is a very interesting blog with pictures of itadakisan at this site:
http://udoncafe.ashita-sanuki.jp/e140898.html　.
Remember, these women are descendent of samurai. They are very good with their knives.

  

　　　In the U.S., there are regional accents; someone from Boston sounds different than someone from Atlanta, but we pretty much understand each other. Compare that to the differences between American English and Scottish English. You ken?
In Japan, there are many dialects, hougen, each with its own sound , unique words and expressions. In Takamatsu, Sanuki Ben is spoken.
　　　There are no pictures in this blog, because it's about a castle that no longer exists. This is fitting, because I heard this story in a bar that no longer exists.
There used to be a castle in Takamatsu, Tamomo Jyo. I don't know what happened to it. I think it moved to Marugame. Today, there is a park and there are a few old buildings. Admission is charged, so you must pay to see where the castle used to be.　Tamomo Jyo was located at the northern end of Chuo Street, next to the Inland Sea.
There was a feudal lord and there were feudal ladies. There was intrigue- feuds! And there were feudal soldiers to protect everyone.
There were enemies, other feudal lords that would send their soldiers to attack the castle. Today in Takamatsu, there are still many streets that aren't straight; you have to suddenly take a　right and then a left. This was planned, to slow down the enemy on horseback.
　　　　Feudal soldiers, samurai, were posted all around the castle in case of a surprise attack. The main threat lay to the south, so around the southern circumfrence of the castle, the smartest and bravest and strongest samurai stood guard to protect their lord and his ladies.　Around the northern circumfrence, staring into the sea, were posted a bunch of idiots.
This is why, even today, hokko, which litterally means "to look north" is　the Sanuki Ben word for idiot. The castle, the lords and ladies and the samurai　are all long gone. Only the crooked streets and a few hokko remain.  

A Canadian friend, down from Osaka and walking around Sunport, said, "Wow, you have benches." He told me that public spaces in Osaka did not have benches because of the many homeless folk who would set up camp.
In Takamatsu, we have more than benches, we have benjyo, public toilets all over the city.
Some of these toilets are very nice, much nicer than what we have in our apartment. As an American, I especially appreciate not being treated like a criminal when I feel the need　to heed the call. No keys attached to hubcaps to haul!
Here's a toilet behind Symbol Tower.
　　There's a women's room, a men's room and a room for the physically challanged. That last room you can lock and it's easily big enough for eight people　to, I don't know, study English.
There are several high-tech toilets around the city.
There are also many much more humble toilets all over the city. Almost every park has a can. Most of these toilets are of the Japanese type- no seat, and before you commit yourself , you should check the supplies. Nice that people hand out little packs of Kleenex on the arcade.
Finally, almost every convenience store has a public washroom. You don't have to ask for permission and you don't have to buy anything.
　　  

Takamatsu is known locally as "convenient" because nothing is that far away. You can walk anywhere, or ride your bicycle, or take a train. I like wallking around Sunport, down the arcades, down the small streets and through the parks. Today, I ran into three friends.
Sometimes, I like to "go take a hike." It's good to get off the asphalt and into a woods. In Takamatsu, that convenience is Shiunzan- Mt.Shiun.
Mt. Shiun is the smaller of the Takamatsu Twin Peaks- Mt. Mine and Mt. Shiun. It's unpaved. It's not a wilderness, but the trees are unpruned, there are a　lot of insects, and it smells good. It takes less　than a 12 minute walk from either MacDonalds to get to the bottom of.
I always start at the Shintou shrine that's right next to the Ritsurin Kita Guchi J.R. Station.

　　　
　Walk up the stairs, take a right, and feel the temperature drop. You'll find a few different trails. I usually take the switchback trail to the top then walk the ridge. You won't get lost.