hanging around ehime

I had a four day break this past week so I decided to hang out in Ehime-ken, another one of the four prefectures (states) that make up the island of Shikoku. Ehime lies in the northwestern part of the island and, from my experiences, it seemed to be a bit different than the areas in Tokushima that I'm used to. Rika showed me around the capital city of Matsuyama and we took the ropeway up to Matsuyama Castle, a place that I would love to visit again. From the top of the castle there is a 360 degree view of the entire city and on a clear day you can see the mountains that surround the area in the distance. Fortunately, we had really nice weather that day but unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera with me.

Another incredible draw to Matsuyama is the Dogo Onsen. This was a place that I've heard a lot about from Japanese people who have been there. Here is what it looks like from the outside:


The whole area caters to people coming to or from the onsen (public bath) and there's a nice relaxing feel as you walk around. The building is about 800 years old (I think) and the sides of the second floor are not enclosed which lets you feel a nice breeze as you sip green tea after emerging from the natural spring water. I could have spent a long time in this area without a doubt.

The long weekend was also full of great meals like this one (below) that we had at a really small restaurant in Matsuyama. Rika had heard from her mother that this was a good place so we both ordered an 11 course meal that included a variety of traditional Japanese dishes and some really smooth sake to wash it all down. The chef prepared the food directly in front of us as we watched him create what would be our next dish. My possible favorite was the shrimp and sashimi dish served on ice (2nd picture, below). One of the best meals I've had in Japan, I'd say...and that say a LOT.



The next day, we rented a bungalow near some good hiking spots in the west. There was an amazing tea house next to our place that we hung out at for a bit before we went back to make dinner. This room kind of looked like it would be in a Stanley Kubrick movie or something...


For dinner we made Mexican food and I was happy to be the first one to introduce Rika to the wonders of homemade guacamole.


The hiking we did the next day was a bit surreal. We drove up to the highlands (called 'tablelands' here) and trekked above the tree line to the top of a mountain as the clouds slowly made their way across the sky.



At the top, a man emerged from the trail wearing a huge backpack and, while taking it off, he unfolded a parachute as he attached its cables to harnesses on his shoulder straps. We knew he was going to attempt to catch the wind and fly off but it was still hard to image what that would actually look like right in front of you. But, as quickly as he had came, he pulled the cables and the wind caught the chute and carried him up into the air. He circled the mountain top for about 20 minutes and then landed right near his tent on the side of the mountain. As we were leaving he was about to take off once again, this time with a different parachute.


So, I feel like I have grown accustomed here to a point where I can really explore and do the things that I want to do with my free time. Being in year number two (as opposed to one) also has its benefits. Even with this being true, though, living in Japan will never be 'normal', but I kind of like it that way.