Temples and Gardens

Being the scholastic one in our couple hood,  I do have the need to provide more context to Marcel's description of our Shikoku adventure:


Shikoku, the smallest of Japan's 5 main island is known for its coastal beauty, the friendliness of its inhabitants,  and the excellent taste of the sanuki udon (noodles),


But its main attractions are the 88 temples and the beauty of Ritsurin Gardens in Takamatsu.


First: the famous noodles: Our friend Tomomi took us to a factory, owned by the same family for over 100 years, where noodle making machines are being manufactured. The market is mostly in Asia, but we have been told that just recently a chinese couple came from Montreal to train and purchase one of these sophisticated machines, to be installed in their Asian restaurant in Montreal.


Second: the temples:For more than 1000 years pilgrims have walked clockwise  around Shikoku's 88 temples. This 14oo km journey is Japan's best known pilgrimage and its oldest tourist trail.

Third: the divine Ritsurin Gardens: Nothing pleases my eyes and soothes my soul, more that a Japanese garden (well, except seeing my kids, husband and friends..) Ritsurin- Koen in Takamtsu is definitely  one of the most beautiful grades in Japan. It dates from the mid 1600s  and it took more that a century to complete.  We spent there an afternoon, and how thrilled I was to discover that on the week on our visit, it was also open at night. So after brief rest here we came back, to witness the magical beauty of a lit garden.


Next gardening report: after we visit the garden in Yokohama (Dec 10)


Piki