Day 15: Takamatsu, City by the Sea

We left Matsuyama behind today to go to our shortest stay of the trip (2 days), a smallish town along the coast of Shikoku called Takamatsu. The trip between cities only took two and a half hours, which was really nice after the long journey to Matsuyama a few days ago. The scenery along the way was really beautiful, just like before. I'm really growing fond of having the sea so near! One thing I've noticed in Japan that I did not know before is that there are bamboo forests EVERYWHERE. I just assumed there wasn't much bamboo, since it is native to China, but how wrong I was. Now I can easily pick out bamboo's light-green, fluffy top amongst evergreens. :)

When we arrived in Takamatsu, we went straight to our hotel and were able to check in early (the fact we hardly spoke two words to the guy who checked us in was a bit amusing). The hotel room is very large because it has the capacity for three people. There are so many nice things in the room, like free green tea that I'm drinking right now, and a good working aircon. :P It was a little cooler today, I think because Takamatsu is right beside the sea. Anyway, this afternoon we walked across a large plaza to do some shopping, then picked up dinner at a konbini.

About six-thirty, we walked from our hotel about six minutes to the ferry port, which was bustling with people. Another ten minutes brought us to the Takamatsu Lighthouse, known for its red glass casing. It was quite pleasant on the way there because there was a cool breeze, but coming back it was pretty humid and there was no breeze to help.

Hard to believe we have been in Japan two weeks already. There are so many observations I want to write about, but I'll save that for a post after we get home. ^_^