Throwback Thursday: Okayama 2022 Itinerary (2D1N that became 4D3N)

I’ve visited Okayama a few times, but I’m back, particularly in Kurashiki, to accompany a friend who wanted to go sightseeing and shop at an outlet mall.

This was an interesting trip where I had to take an impromptu nenkyuu (leave of absence) because of an unfortunate event.

Anyway, here’s our itinerary:

Highlights

• I’ve been to Kurashiki in Okayama a few times already, but this was just my second trip to Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarters. This time, I went with my sister’s former colleague. Despite being here for a second time, I still enjoyed my time.
• The Momotarou Museum was a trip. We had a great time here, partially thanks to staff who were enthusiastic at showing us the various tricks in the museum. There was also a random Japanese lady visitor who urged us to do the mirror flying trick when she saw us taking a selfie in front of the mirror. She even supervised our “flying”.
• Shopping was our main purpose of going to Mitsui Outlet Store. We had fun shopping. We got there at around 6pm because we spent some time in our hotel room after dinner. Then, at around 8pm, the staff at Nike, where we were at, told us that it was already their closing time. We paid and then left.
• On our Day 1, it rained when we were indoors and always, the rain had stopped every time we had to go out. Miracle!

Not-so-highlights

• It was very cloudy in the morning on our first day. Thankfully, it became a bit sunny in the afternoon, so we went back to the places we’ve been to in the morning and took better photos of the scenery. Thank you, Sun.
• We planned to go to Bicchu Matsuyama Castle observatory to see the castle “floating” on the clouds. The 24hour livestream of the place however, showed that there would be no clouds. Thus, we changed our itinerary to Lucky Cats Museum. When we alighted at the designated bus stop, we were supposed to take a taxi going to the museum. However, it was all a lie. There were no taxis around. The bus stop was along a huge highway where only buses and private cars pass by. We had to walk a considerable distance to and from the museum, so we decided to just skip it and go back to the city center. Bummer. I wanted to see lots of lucky cats, paint my own lucky cat, and buy a cat souvenir.
• I wore a pair of waterproof sneakers that badly hurt my feet. I actually had band aids throughout the trip.

A Different Kind of Highlight

We already said our goodbyes after we had lunch (after our failed attempts to Bicchu Matsuyama Castle and Lucky Cats Museum). I had to go back home to Kagawa, while my friend had to visit someone in Hiroshima before going back to her home in Ehime. I knew that a typhoon was approaching and would land tomorrow, but I didn’t worry about any travel interruptions. After all, I was able to ride the Marine Liner that would take me back to Kagawa. However, when the train reached Kojima Station (still in Okayama), we were informed that all modes of transportation leaving the main island were cancelled because of the typhoon. I had no choice but to go back. I was stubborn, so I alighted the train and waited for a new one. Eventually, a saw a train station staff and asked him for details. He then informed me that all services had been cancelled and there’s no way for me to get back. By this time, I already knew how hopeless I was because the wind had picked up, and the sky turned gloomy.

I also realized that I was stranded tonight until tomorrow. I could only hope that the weather would be pleasant on Tuesday for the trains and buses to resume. Well, even if I had a car, I would still be stranded because I read online that even cars were not allowed to pass by the Seto Ohashi Bridge that connects Okayama and Kagawa. Anyway, there were no nearby hotels near Okayama Station which made me panic a little bit. Fortunately, there was a vacant room at the hotel where I just checked out a few hours ago. I booked a room, hopped on the train, and bought food before checking in at the hotel. I also informed my supervisor at my Tuesday school about my situation. I thought about lying at first, but I figured that there was no harm telling her the truth. A typhoon and being stranded on another prefecture were valid reasons anyway.

The weather was pleasant the next morning, September 19th. It was gloomy, but it only rained occasionally. I was lazy to go out, but I had to. I went to the konbini and bought food that would sustain me until tomorrow before checking out. As for the rest of the day, I just stayed in my hotel room, watched Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on TV, watched various Youtube videos on my phone, chatted with my friend who was now stranded in Hiroshima and another friend who was stranded in Tokyo. The only time I got out of bed was when I had to eat, go to the toilet, and shower. Whatta life.

To be honest, I kind of enjoyed being a sloth for an entire day. I had no chores to think about. My only worry was what if transportation would not resume on Tuesday because the roads and train tracks had been damaged. Nothing was for certain even until midnight. If I remember correctly, one of the main reasons for travel suspension were storm surges which are dangerous.

Thankfully, the typhoon had passed. The trains resumed operation the next morning, and I could finally go back home!

Throwback Thursday: Kochi 2022 Itinerary

Kochi is one of those places where we weren’t motivated enough to visit. Hence, when we saw a mascot convention called Gotouchi Character Festival in Kochi on a weekend, we instantly decided that it was the time to finally visit the prefecture.

Here is our itinerary:

Highlights

• We went there to attend the Gotouchi Character Festival in Susaki, Kochi. It was my first time participating in that kind of event. I feel like this is something that could only happen in Japan, so it’s nice to have this kind of experience.
• There were dancing and talking mascots.

Not-so-highlights

• The weather was cloudy but a little humid. Thankfully, it didn’t rain.
• I had forgotten everything about Kochi Castle. It’s probably the least memorable castle I’ve been to.
• Bringing coins is a must when traveling to Kochi. Outside IC cards don’t work here, so it’s necessary to buy train tickets every time you need to travel.

Throwback Thursday: Osaka, Nara, and Mie 2022 Itinerary

Summer break! Sexy Zone concert!

We did the impossible where we crammed three prefectures in a single day (July 31). It was actually easy for us because we’ve been to Osaka a few times and have seen most of the tourist destinations already.

Here’s our itinerary:

Highlights

• What a loaded and busy trip! It was tiring but very fun.
• We watched Sexy Zone’s summer concert!!! I was glad that the members had good hairstyles. Also, I know maybe just two SZ songs, but I still enjoyed their concert a lot. Like with KAT-TUN, Sexy Zone also used lots of water in their performances. I remember thinking that they looked like they’re enjoying splashing water while dancing.
• It was my first time entering a Catholic Church in Japan. It didn’t feel like a church, to be honest but still good.
• There were very few people at Nandaimon Gate and Todai-ji in Nara. Because of this, we took our time sightseeing and taking lots of good pictures.
• Ise Grand Shrine is said to be one of the most sacred places in Japan. I may not share the same faith as the Japanese people, but even I did feel its importance and sacredness.
• A lot of the illumination at TeamLab in Osaka looked better in pictures and videos than in real life. Still, they looked really good.
• I went to the Philippine Consulate in Osaka to have a document authenticated. The staff allowed me to enter the consulate 5 minutes before the office hours. I was there for about 10-15 minutes, maybe?

Not-so-highlights

• The deer scared me. They had huge and seemingly pitch black eyes. I wanted to feed them, but I backed out when I saw their eyes. lol
• Transportation in the deepest inaka (countryside) in Mie was a hassle. The train schedules were few and we had to wait for long periods of time for the next train to arrive. Better plan your activities carefully to avoid wasting time on waiting for trains and buses.
• The queue at TeamLab was too long. I wish the company had sort of crowd control or a limit to the number of visitors.

Throwback Thursday: Fukuoka 2022 Itinerary

Our main reason for going to Fukuoka was to attend Sexy Zone’s concert. We wanted to go somewhere different as an excuse to visit another prefecture besides the usual Osaka schedule. Plus, it was conveniently scheduled at the beginning of the school summer break, so were more motivated to go.

Our plan was a weekend trip, but we had to take a halfday nenkyuu (leave of absence) because we wanted to spend the night in Okayama to catch an early schedule of the shinkansen to Fukuoka. On this particular day, it was suddenly announced that the concert was no longer happening because one of the members had COVID-19. It was a bummer, but on the other hand, we were able to spend more time sightseeing in Fukuoka. We were not that disappointed because we’re also going to the Osaka stop of the concert the following week.

As for our itinerary:

Highlights

• I guess we were kinda lucky that there was no queue at Dacomecca Bakery. It’s a famous bakery in Fukuoka that has branches in some areas in Japan like Tokyo. I didn’t restrain myself much and bought a few bread that I could eat until tomorrow for breakfast.
• There were so many Buddha statues in Nanzoin Temple, but the main attraction there was the giant lying Buddha which was said to the biggest lying Buddha statue in the world. Also, there were only a few people there, so we were able to take good pictures.
• I had no expectations with Canal City Mall, so I was genuinely surprised at how much I liked going there. It reminded me of Ayala Malls with all the greenery and the overall vibe of the place. I felt like home. I felt like I was in the Philippines.
• While we were there, we saw a local-based female idol group. It was my first time seeing a Japanese female idol group in real life. It’s actually fascinating to watch them sing and dance with their shiny costumes. I once again had realized how distinct (real) JPop groups are compared to their KPop and Western counterparts – from presentation, music, and costumes.
• Kushida Shrine was just on the other side of Canal City Mall. We were ready to give up going to that place because the directions given by Google Maps were quite confusing. I’m so glad we were able to visit it.
• Fukuoka Tower was nice. I think though that this place was really geared towards couples, more than Tokyo Tower and Tokyo Sky Tree.
• If Canal City Mall reminded me of Ayala Malls, the Mitsui Shopping Lalaport mall reminded of SM Malls. Again, I felt like I was in the Philippines.
• I had a picture of a huge Gundam statue! Having a picture with the Gundam in the background screams “Japan!!!” already.
• It’s my second trip that required me to ride the shinkansen (the first was last year to and from Hiroshima)!!!

Not-so-highlights

• The breads sold at Dacomecca were tasty, but I think they’re a bit overhyped.
• I know that Kishida Shrine is a sacred and important place. However, it’s so much prettier in pictures.

MyHeritage Results: Estimates and Matches

Expanding the family tree that I made in 2012 was the reason for my renewed interest for our family history. Since both sides of my family were not interested in genealogy, I naturally had a lot of unanswered questions.

• What were the names of my ancestors?
• How did they live their lives? (obviously won’t be answered by DNA test kits)
• How accurate were the stories of us having certain ethnicities?
• Where do our distant relatives live in the present time?

As I mentioned in my previous post, I chose MyHeritage because that’s where I built my family tree. There’s already a sense of familiarity in using the website, so I didn’t hesitate to buy a kit. I briefly considered AncestryDNA, but I was worried that the Japanese customs might be too strict and would return my package. I also thought that sending a cheek swab was safer and less risky than sending a tube of saliva (NOTE: I did end up buying an AncestryDNA kit shortly after shipping my cheek swab to MyHeritage lab).

MyHeritage Timeline:

I understand that this could vary among people, but here’s how mine went:

• Kit Ordered: March 12, 2023
• Kit Shipped to Japan: March 13, 2023
• DNA Sample Shipped to MyHeritage Lab in Texas, USA March 27, 2023
• Sample Received at the Lab: April 5, 2023
• DNA Extracted: April 6, 2023
• Microarray Processed: April 18, 2023
• Raw Data Produced: April 19, 2023
• Results Available: April 21, 2023

The entire process was fairly smooth, and I didn’t encounter a single problem from ordering the kit to receiving the results.

My Expectations

I was pretty sure that I’d have around 10-12% Chinese because of my great grandfather on my mother’s side.

Like other Filipinos, I was also told that we had Spanish ancestry from a distant past. My grandmother on my mom’s side had grayish eyes and a sharp nose. Meanwhile, a number of relatives on my dad’s side have sharp noses, and they have always claimed that their grandfather was fluent in Spanish. Had I not expanded our family tree, I would have expected at least 3% of Spanish in my DNA, but I did, so I decided not to expect anymore. In the end, I only expected Filipino and Chinese to come up in my results.

Ethnicity Breakdown

According to MyHeritage, I only have three ethnicities. There are:

Well, there’s Filipino and Chinese as expected. I am just skeptic about that 1% Finn ethnicity. I read online that having a trace Finn percentage on MyHeritage could mean Northeast Asian ancestry. I would just add this to Chinese and Vietnamese, making my East Asian percentage to 4.9% rather than 3.9%.

DNA Matches

I had watched numerous videos of people showing just how many matches they have on MyHeritage. I was actually expecting to have no matches at all because I don’t think any of my relatives have taken the test.

Lo and behold, I have 70, and almost all of them live outside the Philippines. They’re also all distant matches. The closest match is a 2nd cousin of one of my parents. The other matches are at least 3rd cousins, and our most recent relative was a second great grandparent.

I am thankful that MyHeritage has made it convenient to see how each DNA match is connected to the users.

Here are some screenshots related to DNA Matches:

DNA Matches Homepage

Probable Relationship with a DNA Match

Ancestral Surnames

Shared Matches

Family Tree Comparison

Shared Ethnicities and Genetic Groups (NOTE: I still don’t understand why MyHeritage didn’t assign me to any genetic groups. There are a few Philippine-based groups on MH.)

Chromosome Browser

I saw matches of Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese ancestry (without a drop of Filipino in them) with a 4th-5th cousin relationship. According to MyHeritage, our most recent common ancestor was a 4th great grandparent who lived in the 1840s. Unfortunately, I only have one set of grandparents in my tree from that generation, and they were Filipinos.

I honestly don’t know how I’d be able to trace these ancestors since it’s over a hundred years since our last common ancestors. Also, since I can’t find any more records online, there’s no way for me to even check if the ancestral surnames of my matches are even related to mine.

My Thoughts and Realizations

1. While I wish for a better and more specific ethnicity estimate, I am satisfied with my matches and how easy it is to explore our connection with each other.
2. Seeing how far in the past my matches are and how little Chinese I got, I am inclined to think that our Chinese ancestor was not in the recent past. My great grandfather must had been a Tsinoy and not a full or even half as what we had been told.
3. I needed more information. I’ve mentioned earlier, I also bought a kit from AncestryDNA, and I have just gotten my results yesterday! Also, I uploaded my raw data to other DNA companies such as Family Tree DNA (FTDNA), WeGene, Living DNA, and GEDmatch.

Bucket list Checked: Tracing My Roots (Sort of)

Disclaimer: This may be a dull read, but my recent favorite topic is genealogy. Learning about my own and other people’s back stories is what consumes most of my internet browsing time since March.

A Few Years Ago: Watching Random DNA Videos on Youtube

One of my most ambitious items in my bucket list was to trace my ethnicity background. I had seen a few videos of people reacting to their ethnicity results; however, DNA companies didn’t ship to the Philippines, so it was impossible to purchase such kits unless I go overseas and have them shipped from there. Of course, that would be too tedious and impractical, so I learned to just accept that this would be in my bucket list, forever unchecked.

2023: Learning More about My Genealogy

Fast forward to 2023 in Japan, a few days before the spring vacation, I found myself deskwarming more and more because the teachers were already preparing for the school year to end. Thus, I had very little thing to do, and my mind was already occupied to my upcoming trip. Out of boredom, I decided to open my account on MyHeritage to see if I could improve my family tree there. I had that account since 2012, and I know that I haven’t opened it since then. I only had my immediate family up to my grandparents in my family tree because I had no further information beyond them.

At home, the only videos that I watched were of those concerning genealogy which led me (after many years) again to DNA testing kits. The more I watched, the more I became enticed to purchase a kit myself. I checked a couple of websites, and I was relieved to see that most of the DNA companies ship to Japan. They may be a bit expensive because I had to send them via EMS, but I still bought them because I wanted to feed my curiosity.

On a side note, I was also surprised that some companies also ship to the Philippines now; however, there are some extra steps for people living in the Philippines before shipping their DNA samples back. Sigh, I wanted to buy DNA kits for my dad and aunt (mom’s sister), so I can have more information on both my parents’ sides. But yeah, it’s going to be a tedious process. For now, it’s only me in my family who could do it.

Anyway, I ended up purchasing a kit from MyHeritage simply because that’s where I had started building my family tree. While waiting for my kit to be delivered here in Japan, I started interviewing my dad and aunt if they remember the names of their grandparents. My dad could only remember his grandparents on his dad’s side. Those names (my great grandparents) were all I needed to start my interesting and time consuming search of his ancestors.

I typed their names on FamilySearch.org, and lo and behold, I found a record of their marriage certificate. That in turn, introduced me to my 2nd great grandparents. From there, I had to dig more until encountering a brick wall which I think wouldn’t be solved unless I go to Bicol and personally sift through old church documents. The furthest I could trace back were a pair of my 4th great grandparents on my dad’s side. I had to be careful in adding names though because of the following: there were spelling inconsistencies, names in the 1880s were presented in Spanish order (first name, surname, middle/maiden name), and the birthdates for my one set of great grandparents made them too young to be wed and have children.

Besides these direct ancestors, I also realized a few things that are particular to my dad’s side while making the family tree:

• how particular surnames were connected to us. I sometimes heard those surnames when I was a kid but never made the connection.  
• with my dad’s confirmation, learned the town where his family originated. Same province but different town.
• in old stories, they said that my father’s grandfather, my great grandfather, was mestizo or of Spanish descent because he was fluent in Spanish. However, I couldn’t find traces of Spanish ancestry from the ones that I have researched. Also, based on the timeline, he was born during the American occupation in 1905, seven years after the Spanish colonization. I guess my great grandfather could speak Spanish because his own parents had spent their childhood and teenage years during the Spanish occupation.
• my father still remembered his great grandmother on his mother’s side, but he could only recall the face and the nickname he used to call her.

Direct paternal ancestors that I was able to identify

My aunt, on the other hand, remembered both sets of her grandparents except for her dad’s dad (my great grandfather). No one alive right now remembers his identity, not his face nor his name. He left for China before my grandfather was born, and he never came back. When I was kid, I was only told that he was a Chinese person who died because the ship he was on sank. Recently though, I was told that he was deported from the Philippines. Whichever the reason for his father’s disappearance, my grandfather was given a totally unrelated surname. In fact, his surname was from the priest who christened him as a baby. Maybe it was uncommon for an unwed (I assume) woman to give her surname to her baby that’s why they thought it was better to have a stranger’s surname instead. I honestly don’t know.

In contrast to my dad’s side, I didn’t find a single record on FamilySearch.org that was related to my mom’s side. So yeah, anything beyond my great grandparents’ names is a huge brick wall. Again, this needs more time and personal visits to churches and probably town halls to acquire the information that I need.

Here are the things I realized that are particular to my mom’s side while making the family tree:

• just how big her family was.
  • I have always wondered why I have nieces and nephews who are the same age as me. My mom is one of the thirteen children in her immediate family, and she’s the sixth youngest. Despite my mom being a middle child, my siblings and I are the second to the youngest bunch among our cousins.
  • A cousin (among other older cousins), who is the son of the 4th eldest among my mom’s siblings, is the same age as their youngest. Confusing? In other words, this 4th elder aunt, who is my mom’s sister, welcomed two babies in the same year – one was her own baby and the other was her youngest sister.
• became more confused about my grandmother. Her deep set of grayish eyes and hook nose are a mystery to me. I grew up believing that she had distant European roots because of her facial features. Even her maiden surname was not part of the original Spanish surnames given to Filipinos. I wonder where her features and surname were from. Since there are no available records online, I am left with nothing to work on; thus, a brickwall. Her father’s first name was very Filipino, so he’s a local.
• realized that my grandfather’s parents were probably not married. My great grandfather went back to China while my great grandmother was pregnant, and (I was told) that she herself remarried. Thus, my grandfather had half-siblings. My problem though is that my aunts and uncles didn’t care to remember their half-aunts and uncles. They didn’t even remember the name of their grandmother’s legal husband.

Direct maternal ancestors that I was able to identify

Other Things I Had Learned after Doing the Family Tree:

1. People back then married as early as 15 and 16 years old.
2. I now know the names of some of my great and 2nd great aunts and uncles.
3. The older generation in my family wasn’t interested in genealogy. Maybe it’s because they lived very simple lives that for them, nothing was extraordinary to keep track of.
4. The people in my family tree were real. I was surprised when my father called my mom’s mother as, “Mama” when I showed him our family tree. To me, people from the 3^rd generation away from me are just names, but to my parents, aunts, and uncles, they were their own grandparents who they had interacted at some point in their lives. Since people back in the day married young, they might even have met their great grandparents like how my father still remembers one of his great grandparents.
5. Except for my estranged Chinese ancestors, I can safely assume that all my other ancestors from my second great grandparents had lived in the same island province since the late 1880s. It’s surreal to think of my ancestors living during the Spanish, American, and Japanese occupations.
6. In relation to the previous item, I also assume that my ancestors were mostly farmers and fishermen. I still remember some stories told by my parents back when they were still kids. Also, I have some farmer and fishermen older cousins who I assume followed their parents’ footsteps.
7. Doing genealogy in the Philippines is difficult because most of the old records are kept hidden from the public due to the privacy law.

Phew. I didn’t expect this post to be this long, but overall, I am pretty glad that I was able to have more information about my ancestors. I think that digging a bit deeper into one’s own genealogy provides more context to the relationship between family members and helps us understand how certain things have happened and how they affected the next generations.

Lastly, I received my results from MyHeritage two weeks ago, and I also uploaded my raw data to other websites. I’m going to share those some other time. For now, I’m ending this post here.

*Almost* One Year Has Passed

I haven’t posted here on this blog since March 31, 2021. It’s March 19, 2022 now.

There’s so much going on these days, and if I have some free time at home, blogging is the last thing I really want to do.

However, I still like fangirling and reading books/listening to audiobooks. Nothing has changed on that part. I just wish I’d be more motivated to update this blog since I’ve had this since 2008. I’ll try to at least post my favorite books read in 2021 because it’s such a good reading year for me.

Before I end this post, I just want to share some things that have happened in 2021:

• My mom passed away in January. The first half of the year was especially difficult for me because I live alone in a foreign country without any of my family members near me.
• From July (or was it August?), I started traveling with my friends across the country. We’ve been to at least five prefectures here in Japan, and I realized how traveling is a perfect way to release some stress while truly enjoying oneself.
• Studying Japanese was once again taken for granted, but I think I did better than in 2020. In fact, I finished answering the N5 mock test right before the winter vacation! I’m pretty confident about my N5 writing, listening, and grammar skills. My speaking level remains low, but I’m lucky that JLPT doesn’t have a speaking test. 🙂
• The Philippine National Election is in May 2022. I follow the campaigns of the political candidates despite being overseas. I’ve registered for overseas voting, so I’m glad that I get to participate in the the election. Seriously, following the local news about the upcoming election is so time consuming because part of that is reading about other people’s varying opinions.

So there you have it! As I’ve said, I’m pretty much preoccupied with fangirling, reading, and those mentioned above.

Till next time!

My 1st Year in Kagawa Part 3: Places of Interest

Despite the fact that Kagawa is the smallest prefecture in Japan, it is packed with places of interest that I think are also popular among the Japanese.

For this post, I’m classifying these places in two – places I’ve been to and places I want to visit.

Places I’ve been to:

Ritsurin Garden – is one of Japan’s most beautiful traditional gardens. It’s so beautiful that it received a 3-Star Michelin award.

Megijima Island – is an island associated also known as “Onigashima” or “Land of the Ogres.” This came from the legend “Momotaro,” where a Japanese young boy fought the ogres in this island. Besides the ogre displays, this is where people also go if they want to go to a beach. The beach here is quite famous, but for it’s okay for me. I want to go back to this place because I admit I’ve seen very little of this place. I haven’t been to the oni cave yet!

Nao-shima / Nao Island – is an island littered with art works. I really wasn’t expecting a lot when I went here because I’m generally impartial towards art. However, surprise! I actually enjoyed the entire time I was there.

Shodo-shima / Shodo Island – is another popular island that has numerous places of interest.

• These are:
  • Angel Road – A sandbar appears between islands. According to the legends, if you cross this with your lover, you are guaranteed to stay together forever.
  • Olive Garden – This is where you can find the oldest olive tree in Japan. It celebrated its 100th year in 2019. There is also a Greek windmill here, and it’s said to be the setting of a popular anime movie, “Kiki’s Delivery Service.”
  • Marukin Soy Sauce Museum – An old soy sauce factory, this place has since then been converted into a museum. Here, you can see how soy sauce was made in the past. They also sell products with soy sauce in it – from bread, to donuts, to ice cream.
  • Twenty-four Eyes” Movie Studio – As the name implies, this was a location shoot for the movie, “Twenty-four Eyes” in 1950s. Though I couldn’t connect to the setting and movie references here, it still is a nice place to visit because you can see how a Japanese village looked like during the 1950s.

Busshozan – is a town in Takamatsu City that is famous for its onsen, the Honenji Temple, and a park most famous for hanami (sakura/cherry blossom tree viewing).

Yashima Mountain – is a mountain that has flat top. Historically, it’s famous because this is where a battle between clans took place. Currently, however, people go here for hiking, for Temple 84 of the Shikoku Temple Pilgrimage, and its top view of the neighboring towns and the Seto Inland Sea.

shopping arcades – My favorite is the Marugamemachi shopping street. You can shop, eat, and be entertained here. It’s also a very clean place, and since it’s covered, you don’t have to worry if it’s raining.

Shionoe – is a mountainous town just outside Takamatsu City. It is famous for its onsens and firefly festival. Since this place is rich with mountains and trees, this is also a wonderful place to visit for its sakura festival (spring season) and momiji festival (autumn season).

Clockwise from top left: Ritsurin Garden; torii from Naoshima; pagoda from Busshozan; torii from Twenty-four Eyes Movie Set, Greek windmill from Olive Garden, and view from Yashima Mountain

Places I want to visit:

• Kankakei Gorge (Shodoshima) – A gorge is a narrow valley between hills and mountains. Kankakei Gorge is one of the three most beautiful gorges in Japan, and a popular activity to do here is to watch the autumn foliage while riding a cable car.
• Nakayama Senmaida Terraced Rice Fields (Shodoshima) – When I was a child, I thought that only the Banaue Rice Terraces is the only terraced rice field in the world. However, as time went by, I realized that it’s not the only one, and that Nakayama Senmaida Terraced Rice Fields is one of those.
• Kotohira Shrine – This is Shikoku Region’s largest shrine complex. The staircase leading to the shrine itself has over a thousand steps, so the journey itself is tiring but fulfilling.
• Bonsai Center – Bonsai is majorly produced in Kagawa, mainly in Kokubunji and Kinashi Towns.
• 88-Temple Pilgrimage – In Shikoku Region, we have a temple pilgrimage activity where you visit all the designated 88 temples across the region. 22 of the 88 temples are found in Kagawa. One of these temples is in my town, but I haven’t seen it yet. I’ve only been to one – and that is Temple 84 in Yashima.

I know that I’m still missing a lot of interesting places, but I haven’t been to Kagawa long enough to discover them.

My 1st Year in Kagawa Part 1: Basic Info and Udon

I arrived in Japan on August 4, 2019 as part of the JET Programme. However, August 7 is much more special because that’s the day when I started living here in Kagawa. That means me publishing this post today means that it’s my anniversary here!

To be honest, I do think that not much is known about Kagawa because it’s not what people think when they hear of Japan.

As an introduction, here are some quick facts about Kagawa:

• it is found in Shikoku Region;
• it is the smallest prefecture in Japan;
• Takamatsu City, its capital, is the biggest city in Shikoku;
• it is said that Kagawa receives the least amount of rain in the country;
• it is also said that Kagawa has the least amount of earthquakes in the country;
• people speak Sanuki-ben, a variation of Kansai-ben; and lastly,
• Japanese people usually associate excellent udon with Kagawa.

Speaking of udon, people in Kagawa are quite proud of their udon, commonly known as Sanuki udon. Kagawa mascot is also an udon-brain eating character. It looks freaky at first because it eats its own udon brain, but you get used to it eventually.

For someone like me who hasn’t eaten udon outside Kagawa, I have no point of comparison about Sanuki udon being the most delicious in the entire country. What I can attest to is that cold udon and kare udon are my favorites. It’s been almost a year since I’ve last had cold udon, but I still remember how refreshing it was to eat it. As for kare udon, I just had it in February, and the moment I chewed on the noodles, I knew that it would be an instant favorite. Kare udon is a bit messy to eat especially when you first eat it, so make sure to always have a napkin with you.

kare udon with side dish

I don’t know in other prefectures, but I find that the udon sold here is quite cheap. I guess it also depends on where you eat it, but generally speaking, you can buy a bowl of udon for as low as 300 yen (or maybe cheaper).

So yeah, you can’t say you haven’t been to Kagawa if you haven’t tried Sanuki udon. There are a lot of udon restaurants here, so you really won’t have an excuse of skipping it.

My First Year in Kagawa Part 0: First Impression

Today marks the first year of arrival here in Kagawa. Truth be told, I wasn’t particularly thrilled when I first learned about my placement. First, I didn’t know a thing about it, and second, upon reading, I discovered that it was an “inaka.” I’ve been a city girl all my life, and I was too used to that convenient lifestyle. Sure, I have no problems traveling to the countryside and staying there for a few days, but living in one? Nope!

So imagine my inner self quietly freaking out when I first saw the rice paddies in between houses, and for me, nothing screamed “INAKA” more than those. However, over the year, I discovered that it’s really not that bad. I live in the outskirts of the city, and despite seeing the mountains, rivers, and the rice paddies as part of everyday life, it still has the conveniences of an urban life. Kagawa has malls, restaurants, home centers, convenience stores, laundry shops, etc. It’s also worth noting that Takamatsu, as the capital city, isn’t cluttered with people and various structures. There’s a balance between nature and buildings.

I just wish that Kagawa would install additional street lights because it gets pitch black in some areas at night (especially during winter). If they do this, then they wouldn’t require people to use flashlights or wear reflectors at night. Problem solved! I also wish that other food delivery services to not focus in the city center. I only have Demae-can as an option in my area with very limited food option.  

Other than these two, I’m quite satisfied where I am now.