“Holidays are the shutdown landmines of foreign travel. Somehow, I always miss upcoming celebrations until they block me out of my favorite restaurants.” – Old Sean
Lockouts
I’m on my last week of my Japan tour, slowly working my way through the country with gradually declining steam.
I’ve hit all of my major points of interest and landmarks. I did the tourist loop of Osaka, Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Fuji. I’ve checked out mildly more obscure cities such as Kobe, Toyama and, briefly, Okayama.
And now it’s nearly time to wind down and handle the last few things before heading.… somewhere.
Not China, of course. Though I’m employed there, it doesn’t look like a return to my life in Hohhot is in the cards. The Coronavirus lockdown has made the cities an endless chain of ghost streets and house arrests.
Nothing about it screams: “Return home for a life of happiness.” There’s also the matter of an extended Spring Festival Holiday, which has effectively slashed my paycheck into a mere third of its former amount if the rumor mill is to be believed.
I’ll have to head back to China eventually. I left a lot of stuff there. But for now, I’m in no hurry to return to the rapidly closing nation.
As such, I plan on transitioning to Vietnam for a short time to rally and figure out my next few steps.
An Extra City Day
After finishing my major tourist loop of Japan, I took a trip to Takamatsu, staying there slightly longer than anticipated.
Takamatsu was supposed to be a rather long day spent mostly visiting Naoshima, a famous art island located near Okayama. However, true to form, I happened to sail into town on a semi-national Holiday.
Setsubun, which is the lunar calendar’s seasonal division between winter and spring isn’t strictly a national holiday, but it meant that the majority of Naoshima’s famed museums were closed.
Realizing I’d be in town for a while, I puttered around the city, sampling various foodstuffs and generally being a bum. I occasionally ducked back to my hostel where I flirted (poorly, in English) with the hotel desk manager and continued to take period naps in my wooden cubby-bed.
Food in Takamatsu
That being said, there are some nice places to grab a bite in Takamatsu. However, I sadly can’t supply the name as it’s fully encoded in Japanese lettering, which remains beyond me. But they make a mean seafood noodle option and they have unlimited, fresh baked bread for just over three dollars.
I gorged myself, grabbing two still-hot culinary options every time the trey was passed. There was matcha, breadsticks, chocolate chip, scones, flaky pastries, unleavened and a half dozen other types of carbs all waiting for me to scoop up.
The only lettering in English that I could find was by the name Hokuroku, located down the main shopping street near the kaleidoscope ground artwork, but that might refer to the restaurant located above.
Right across the street from that was a fantastic bubble tea shop, which again, defies an accurate English name. The address, however, is 4-2 Marugamemachi, Takamatsu, Kagawa.
With that, directions are somewhat supplied.
Feeling overtly round, I retired for the night and planned out my ferry ride to visit Naoshima Island the next day.
So until then,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written February 3rd 2020
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