Modelling for human tissue testing

Gasp! A non-Japan related post.

The Open University announces a partnership to test human tissue models that could lead to an end to animal testing. (This is relevant to my OU interests...)

Coffee and cake time

I found the wonderful Giaman glass museum - small but with some fascinating exhibits and very well lit. If you go, don't forget to go out through the doors at the end of the gallery and check out the pool!

The cafe upstairs is also worth a visit, with an absolutely gorgeous garden and flowing water pool. Not to mention the Marriage Freres Earl Grey roll cake!

Break time

I stopped for lunch a little early - not because I was hungry, but because I was about to drop from the combined heat and humidity. I ducked into a stylish cafe in the covered arcade and had a delicious fried rice with tiny fish and plum, miso soup with mushrooms, and salad, all followed by coffee. I think I'll find the glass museum and then head back to the guesthouse to write some cards and figure out the best time to head to Hiroshima tomorrow.

All gone

The cafe's weekly special coffee was amazing too. Now, temples!

Good morning

Today's breakfast at a charming cafe housed in an old machiya building in the covered arcade leading to Dogo Onsen.

There is a resemblance!

This one's for David

The chance to play to the Dogo Onsen-Sen to Chihiro link was too good to resist!

Ferris wheel!

I got my ferris wheel ride for this trip, on the roof of the Iyotetsu Takashimaya department store at Matsuyama-shi station.

I'm pleased to report that people in Matsuyama are just as helpful and friendly as the ones in Takamatsu. Two people stopped to offer me directions on the way to the guesthouse, which was most appreciated as I had managed to turn up a road full of what appeared to be establishments of ill repute. Mind you, the hustlers outside seemed more confused by me than I was bemused by them.

Matsuyama castle

It's gone all overcast and breezy. YES!

Matsuyama!

I fell asleep on the train. Completely asleep. I woke up with a start when the conductor announced we were arriving a minute before we pulled in at Matsuyama. I found a big locker for my case, got a (fairly vague) map from the tourist office and stopped into a cafe in front of the station to try to get my bearings and wake up.

It's supposed to be cooler today - meaning 25 degrees instead of 28 - but it doesn't feel like it. Two women in the cafe are complaining about how hot and humid it is and how they get tired quickly.

Anyway, I've nearly finished by very nice iced coffee so let's see what I can make of the day.

On the move again

On the limited express Ichizuchi from Takamatsu to Matsuyama. This morning went smoothly - up, packed and out on time and my reserved seat is in the front row of the first car! I intend to enjoy the scenery, but wouldn't be surprised if I sleep for a bit...

;_;

I pay about 650 yen for these in Zurich.

So what's it all about?

Why do people climb all the way up here? You can buy charms for happiness. I suppose nothing less would do.

I can't see any sign of a bus, and I rested frequently on the way up so I should make it down without incapacitating myself.

The second half is tougher than the first

Still resting

Lunch at the Shiseido Parlour restaurant just over halfway up to the main hall. Smoked chicken croissant sandwich and iced cafe au lait.

Correction

It's only 1,368 steps.
No, I'm still not going all the way. Maybe in the winter. I don't care about all the old people passing me by. Japanese old people are indestructible.

Halfway

I stopped halfway up for water and a sit down. The man at the stall cheerfully tells everyone who passes that they're halfway up and have 420-odd steps to go before the main hall.

I don't think I'll make it all the way to the top. It was cloudy this morning but the sun is out now and it's boiling. I saw signs for an infrequent bus service from the main hall at the station, and I may go for that. Even if I was fit, the heat is too much.

You can get carried up in a palanquin, for a fee!

This one's for you, Mom

Guess what Kotohira is famous for?

Stairs. Over 1,600 of them. Enjoy the photos, and let's not and say we did.

Slow down

I missed the train I wanted to get this morning - I got side-tracked by clearing up my hotel room as I'd done lots of washing the night before and had covered pretty much every available surface with the contents of my suitcase. So, instead of taking an express and changing, I'm on a direct local train to the temple complex of Kotohira-gu (Konpira-san to the locals), staring out the window at the amazing mountain scenery and enjoying the air conditioning.

I saw a man outside the travel agent in Takamatsu Station vaccuming the street outside, something I've only ever seen in Zurich before. There are definitely similarities.

Sanuki udon! Sort of.

My hunt for the area's famous noodles last night wasn't very succesful. There are an awful lot of ramen restaurants, and I normally avoid places with ticket machines outside the door (although I did go to a delicious one in Fukuoka). After passing by some that were empty and didn't look very appetising, and one that only did cold udon and was quite expensive, I was hungry and tired to go for a branch of a well-known Sanuki udon chain when I found it - I'd eaten at another branch in Tottori with Mr Ishii and knew it was quite nice. Udon in hot dashi soup with a soft-boiled egg, with some inari sushi, kara-age (fried chicken), tempura shrimp and fried veg on the side.

Takamatsu

Also pretty at night.

Spin, damn you, spin!

I took a bus out to the port area to go on what is allegedly the world's only ferris wheel on top of a bookshop, kindly assisted by a driver who was on his way back to the nearby bus depot. Other than the driver, we were the only people on the bus the whole way. I saw the wheel from near the station and it looked like it wasn't moving, but I only caught a glimpse of it and convinced myself it wasn't possible to tell with one glance from so far away - they do move very slowly.

Following the off-duty driver's excellent directions (go to the end of this alley - driver stops the bus so I can get a good look at it - and it'll be visible on the left) I got there in no time. Only to find that the opening times I had were for the bookshop, not the ferris wheel. It had closed two hours before I got there and mocked me with its candy-coloured cars and flashing safety lights. No sunset views of the area for me, even though I managed to be there at the right time.

I walked back to the depot, where another very friendly Kotoden driver showed me where to get the bus back to the main station. I may be deluded, but I can't think of anywhere else in the world where I'd feel perfectly happy waiting at a deserted bus stop in front of a bus depot in an industrial port area.

Thirsty work

Sudachi is a local variety of lime, if memory serves.

Ritsurin

It's actually quite tricky to say. (And you all know I'm not inebriated.)

Takamatsu smells like pine and seawater. I like it.

Castle park

The lovely Tamano park next to Takayama station. There's some fierce activity in the moat at times, it seems that sea bream and the like get into the moat when small and grow up in there.

Welcome to Takayama

A cute ao-oni (blue demon/ogre) welcomes you outside the station. I stopped by the tourist office in the station for a map and directions to the hotel, dropped off my luggage and headed back towards the station to visit the charming Tamamo park, built in the ruins of Takamatsu castle. After sushi and a local mandarin juice and salt drink, it's time to put the sunblock on and get moving!

Double decker

The Marine Liner I took from Okayama to Takamatsu. The top deck was first class, with the only reserved seats underneath. I would have been better off with a non-reserved seat for the view going over the bridge (not to mention hauling my recalcitrant case down and up the narrow stairs).

And we're off again

This train looks like it's about to go into hyperspace (and it's only a Kodama). First a short hop to Shin-Osaka, then change to the Sakura to Okayama, then change again to the Marine Liner to Takamatsu arriving about 11:30.

The forecast for today is 29 degrees with 30% chance of rain. Most of what I was planning to see (Ritsurin garden and Takamatsu castle) is outside. I do not want to end up like I was in Osaka on Saturday...

Oh, Japan

Just turned over onto my back to read before going to sleep, and caught sight of the biggest spider I've seen outside of a zoo, right over my head.

I may not be able to sleep tonight.

Comic lawn

The green space in front of the manga museum, full of adults and children reading.

The entry price was higher than listed in the guidebook (even the 2011 edition) and I paid another 200 to see the special exhibition, 105 illustrators exhibiting on the theme of Japan and shoujo - young girls, mostly in an innocent vein, but one image definitely not suitable for children, others very sexualised and one in the broken-back pose needed to show both arse and chest. There didn't seem to be any warnings or age restrictions, which bothered me a bit. That said, most of the work was excellent, some of it was outstanding, and I would have bought the book of the exhibition except it was too big and heavy.

There was also an exhibit on Jean Giraud, aka Mobius. I didn't know he'd passed away in May.

Chin up

I'm in Village Voice. I may not make it to the manga museum at this rate.

Tako taco

Today's lunch at Cafe Salon (which proudly displays a cute "Smoking OK!" sign with a little puff of smoke as the "O"). It said "our version of tako rice" so I assumed it was rice with octopus - wrong. It was taco rice, allegedly from Okinawa where the US bases have impacted on local cuisine. Salad, cold rice, spicy minced beef, mayo and a barely cooked egg. I've ticked it off the list, it was okay but I don't think I'll have it again.

Cafe Salon

I'm in Cafe Salon in the Shinpukan shopping centre, which happens to be just down from the manga museum. Bless its instantly recognisable red facade.

The menu is at least correct in French, and they've just played a disco version of Ave Maria so I forgive them.

Edit: Corrected the name of the shopping centre. Beams is one of the shops on the ground floor.

Police Rangers!

I'm not even sure what some of them are doing, especially the one with the chainsaw.

The Peel

The number for the police hasn't changed since the Heian era.

Lying low

Sitting in the combined Cafe du Monde and Mister Donuts in Kyoto station (smoking, of course) with my maple spice cafe au lait and steamed mugwort bread (far tastier than it sounds) writing thank-you letters. I still feel off after yesterday - whatever heat-resistance I had seems to be gone and I think I'm not sleeping well. I'd blame the heat, but I think it's also that I've lost the ability to sleep on a futon.

So today is cards, manga museum and taking things easy. It will also help me recover from spending way too much yesterday!

Wipeout

Kodo were amazing. Seriously considering trying to get a ticket for their concert on 4 June, the night before I leave.

Too hot. The trains were rammed and I stood from southern Osaka to Kyoto. Lights out in more ways than one.

Bang the big drum

Got to the venue for Kodo's concert, after getting off at the wrong station. Wolfed down some onigiri and sandwiches from the konbini next door, now just waiting for the curtain to rise. ^_^

Everything British is cool

Cool and cute

Tokyu Hands is full of keep-cool gadgets as Japan approaches a summer with no nuclear reactors. Some areas are being asked to reduce energy consumption by 20%.

Places I'd normally expect to be fairly heavily air-conditioned, like department stores and museums, are almost warm. I want to find a cold-water onsen and sleep in it tomorrow...

I bought myself a special cloth that you soak in water for a few minutes and it then feels cold for hours. They had several brands and lots of fashionable scarf designs.

Spring special

In a cafe in an underground shopping mall. The non-snoking seats are full, so I had to sit at the edge of the smoking section, but as the only division between them is the colour of the chairs, it's much of a muchness.

The Museum of Oriental Ceramics was having a special exhition of German porcelain, which had pieces imitating Japanese and Chinese wares, absolute tat (monkey orchestra in period costume) and amazing sculptural works. But I didn't go there to see European ceramics, so I was more interested in the miniscule permanent gallery of Japanese ceramics, equally small gallery of Korean art, large display of Chinese works and an amazing donated collection of snuffboxes.

It's far too hot. And the Kodo concert is tonight.

Challenge time

I'm in Osaka. I have a map. Let's see how lost I can get...

Castles never looked this cute

Shiromaru-hime (round white princess) is the Himeji Castle character.

Wrong way

Despite me being endebted to them, the Matsumotos showered me with gifts - a brooch, a folding fan, a pen and compact mirror with the cute Himeji character on them. The new teacher in charge of the exchange also gave me gifts. I have some catching up to do...

Crouching tiger hidden castle

Himeji castle is under repair and under wraps until 2015, but still worth a visit. There's a special exhibit where you can get inside the scaffolding and see the workmen restoring the walls and roof.

I'm now hopelessly endebted to the Matsumotos as well as to Mr Ishii. Not only did they put me up and take me everywhere, they also showered me with gifts.

Now on the Hikari back to Kyoto. In this super-advanced train, next to the on-board vending machines, there is a traditional crouching-style toilet. With handrails, of course, this is a tilting train...

School lunch

Another thing I didn't know - Japanese primary school teachers eat school lunches. I ate with them yesterday.

I was up and speaking Japanese in cars, roadside stations, schools, toy museums and homes from 8am until 10pm. My concentration came and went, but I made it. And I got a paper lei and origami carp from the infant school next to Mr Matsumoto's new school, and got to see his old school where he ran the exchanges I translate for.

Plum juice. I think.

Bought from a beer vending vending machine machine in the ryokan. Not alcoholic and very nice!

Washoku

Traditional Japanese breakfast at the ryokan. Now to pack and get ready for the drive to Hyogo Prefecture.

Bath time

Looks like it's just me in the ryokan again tonight. I watched the sun set over the harbour from the hotter of the two baths. I have a very nice yukata too.

And of course

Ge-ge-ge no Kitty.

Boo

I'm not sure if that's a ghostly piece of toast or something else, but that's me at Yonago Kitarou Airport.

More home centre madness

Because that's what little boys in Japan do,apparently.

Home center madness

If your short pets are going to be on the furniture, you may as well make use of the storage space.