Route 55 (Tokushima to Kochi, via Muroto) June 16, 2009
Posted by Dru in Japan, Shikoku, Travel.Tags: 88 temple pilgrimage, 88 temple walk, ひさわ, beach, buddhist monk, cape, castle, coast, dam, driving in Japan, 英会話, 高知, Hisawa, Hisawa castle, Hisawa-jo, Hisawa-machi, inukshuk, japan, Kochi, Kochi-ken, Kochi-shi, lighthouse, Muroto, Muroto Cape, pilgrimage, riding in Japan, route 147, route 55, Shikoku, skinny dipping, temple, Tokushima, Tokushima-ken, Tokushima-shi, waterfront, Yakuouji, Yakuouji Temple, 室戸, 徳島, 日本
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Author’s Note: Dru’s Misadventures has moved to HinoMaple. Please venture on over there to read “Route 55 (Tokushima to Kochi, via Muroto)” complete with photos. http://wp.me/p2liAm-c1
For the first full day of my motorcycle adventure, I travelled down from Tokushima to Kochi. It was over 200kms for my first day of riding. The first part was very boring. When you drive in Japan, the cities are places you want to skip. There isn’t anything to really see. You just go from light to light seeing nothing new. It took about an hour to get outside of Tokushima and its surrounding suburbs. Once out of the city, things got smaller, yet more scenic. Things didn’t become interesting until I reached the small town of Hiwasa. This is a very small town located about two hours along route 55. It is so small that you will be in and out of this town in less than 10 minutes. There are only a few things to do in this town. The main point of interest is to visit Yakuouji Temple. This is built right next to the highway, and up a mountain. There are many steep steps to reach the temple. I found it to be an interesting temple for its location and how it was built, but the art and basic design wasn’t any different than any other temple in Japan. There is also a small castle in this town and a few beaches where you can relax and enjoy yourself. It is a good place to stretch your legs a bit if you are travelling this way.
From Hiwasa, I would recommend leaving route 55 and heading down route 147. This is a very small road, and the entrance is very easy to miss. It is just past the temple, which can’t be missed. This road follows the coastline more than route 55. There are several mountains along this part of the coast making road construction difficult. Route 55 heads to the north side of these mountains making it easier to drive. However, the views from route 147 are wonderful and you’ll be graced with various types of corners. This is more for drivers to enjoy. There are also several different lookouts, but after one or two, they tend to look the same. Heading further along route 55, there isn’t much to see. However, there are many beaches, dams, and other things to see. If you are travelling along anywhere in Japan, there is one easy way to know if there is something interesting to see. The government tries to help local communities attract more tourists by promoting local attractions. On the road, you will see a large white sign with blue lettering. This is almost always something of interest. Unfortunately, it isn’t always really interesting, so if you are driving around in Japan, beware that some sites may be worth a pass.
The main tourist attraction along route 55 is Muroto. It is the southern most point of the highway. Shikoku has two capes in the south. Muroto is the western one. It is very easy to drive in and out of Muroto. There isn’t much to this cape. However, it is a great place to stop and spend at least an hour. There are a few places to take pictures, and the seawater is extremely clear. The first thing you will see, coming from Tokushima, is a giant statue of a Buddhist monk. Once you pass this large Buddhist monk, you will soon reach the tip of the cape. There are a few places to park, but once you park, it’s a short two minute hike to the waterfront. The waterfront if full of rocks that can make it difficult to walk around. However, because of the remoteness of the cape, it is extremely peaceful. There are only a handful of people around at any time. I would highly recommend a dip in the water, but beware that you’ll need your bathing suit at the cape. There are too many people around to go skinny dipping. If you have time, you can also head up the mountain at the cape and take a look at the lighthouse. It is the largest lighthouse in Japan and it can be seen from over 50kms away. The views from the lighthouse must also be very nice.
After passing the cape, there isn’t too much to see. The road follows the entire coastline up to Kochi. The coast is very beautiful and worth the drive, however, there isn’t too much to do along this part of the road. If you have a chance to rent a car and travel down this way, I highly recommend that you should do it. You will have a wonderful day trip.
このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。
Mutsu and Oma January 20, 2009
Posted by Dru in Japan, Tohoku, Travel.Tags: bluefin tuna, BMW, driving in Japan, East Japan Ferry, ferry, fishing village, Hakodate, Hokkaido, Honshu, japan, kansai, maguro, Matsushima, Motorcycle, Mutsu, Oma, Ooma, osaka, park, Peninsula, riding, Shimokita, Shimokita Peninsula, shrine, tetrapod, tuna
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Author’s Note: Dru’s Misadventures has moved to HinoMaple. Please venture on over there to read “Mutsu and Oma” complete with pictures. http://wp.me/p2liAm-6A
This is Part II of a multi-part series chronicling my motorcycle adventure from Tokyo to Sapporo and back again.
Background: In 2007, I had finally gotten my Japanese driver’s license and a motorcycle. I had been an avid motorcycle rider in Canada before I came to Japan, so after 2 years of no riding, I finally bought a motorcycle and decided to go on a big adventure. I went from Tokyo to Sapporo by motorcycle and ferry. It was an adventure to say the least.
Leg 2 (Mutsu to Hakodate)
On day two, I woke up early and left for Hokkaido. Mutsu was everything I expected, a simple pit stop. There are several routes I could have taken to reach a small fishing village called Oma. I decided to take the main road to be safe as I had to catch my ferry. I stopped at many places along the way and enjoyed this part of my trip a lot. It is the best memories I had. I found a small shrine just outside the city centre. It was built on the side of a hill and very close to the sea. I then took brief stops at various villages along the way for pictures. There was so many things to see and so many interesting and natural things that I took a long time to reach my destination. The villages were technically part of the “city” but they looked independent of each other. There was a nice park and lookout along the way as well. The park looked well maintained, but I was curious as to why it was even there. The lookout allowed me to see some interesting mini islands. They look like rocks sticking out of the sea. If you travel to Matsushima, it’s very similar. The only difference is that there were no holes under the island, but there were lots of tetrapods around.
Once I got into Oma, I got lost looking for the peninsula. Trying to understand road signs in Japan is a nightmare. If you ever drive in Japan, you’ll hate them; even Japanese people hate the signs. The peninsula was nice, but very out of the way. It is the northern most point on Japan’s main island, and a mini tourist attraction. The people seemed friendly, but the wind made it cold. There is a very interesting statue of fists fighting tuna. It’s a symbol of the town, which makes it’s living by catching bluefin tuna. There were a few shops there, but I decided that after taking a few pictures I wanted to head straight to the ferry wharf. Only one question… where was it? The story of this adventure has to be me being lost almost every day that I rode my motorcycle. Once I found it, I relaxed for about an hour and talked to another rider. At the time, I got to practice my really bad Japanese. He was an older guy from the Kansai (Osaka) area and riding an old BMW. Even his bike was older than me. I had a few pictures taken at the wharf and then boarded the ferry.
The ferry was a strange design for me. In Vancouver, the ferry is relatively simple to understand. Follow the lanes to your parking space. This ferry was different. It was a medium sized ferry with a special area for motorcycles. Unlike Vancouver, they actually had tie downs for my bike. Once secured, I rushed up to the passenger area. If you have ever taken a ferry from Vancouver to Victoria, I’d consider that luxurious. This ferry wasn’t good at all. There were vending machines selling old looking things and a small kiosk selling your average ferry souvenirs. There is only one place to rest, and that’s the tatami room. It’s a large open room where you can put your things and lie down. While it sounds nice, it’s far from it. The room isn’t that warm and you are given a terrible pillow. It’s basically a black foam block. You do have the ability to watch TV, but unfortunately, reception is horrible. All you can really do is relax and hope the seas are calm. The ferry ride was short, but I got a little sick on the way. My destination for this ferry ride was Hakodate.
このblogは英語のblog。もし私の英語は難しい、日本語のquestionは大丈夫。
