We spent a while last night looking at the options for Teshima. The island is smaller than Naoshima, but the museum looks amazing and it also has art installations. However, it has even more limited ferry and bus service. Instead, we decided to stay in Takamatsu and spend more time going to destinations on the electric railway.
Our slower morning started with clean clothes. We try to travel light, so it was nice to have these AirBnb nights to wash everything. The machine automatically adds detergent, washes, and dries. The cycle takes several hours but it was helpful to not have to be around to switch the loads.
The train to our first stop, Shikoku Mura Museum, passed through some lovely residential areas with greenery and a river. The whole vibe of Takamatsu is much more laid back than the big cities. A lot of people get around on bike, clothes are more casual, and there were more families with young children.
Shikoku Mura is a fascinating place. It is a museum of culturally significant buildings from around the Setouchi region. Some buildings were moved whole, while others were labeled, disassembled, and reassembled. There was an audio guide and the occasional video helped bring the buildings to life. The most powerful videos were from the people recalling their childhoods growing up in these very houses, or working the sugar, soy sauce, or paper preparation jobs whose artifacts were displayed.
In addition to the historic buildings, there was a delightful art museum, designed by Tadao Ando once again; an unsteady rope bridge that would never pass American insurance standards; a cafe, which was a historic building itself, serving up tasty sandwiches; and a garden, with an impressive water feature. Other than the inescapable heat, this was a great outing.
From the museum we rode the bus up to Mt. Yashima. The main draw was Yashimaru, a twisting observatory that was built during one of the Setouchi Triennales. The view was outstanding. While I took way too many photos of it Ned and Soren did the sensible thing of sharing a tanuki cupcake in the air conditioning.
We headed back to town for dinner and ended up at a tiny place that had just what we needed. I’m really happy we spent today in Takamatsu instead of heading out on the ferry. Kyoto was awesome, but I wish I’d traded at least one Kyoto night for another night here. We’re headed to Osaka tomorrow, our final stop before the trip home.
(16 304 steps)
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