This time I'm headed to Shikoku (四国). It's one of the four main islands of #Japan, the only one I haven't been to.

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My favorite tourist guide recommends visiting Ritsurin Garden, Shikoku Mura and the island of Naoshima 🤩

#Japan #Shikoku #ChatGPT

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But I'm staying with friends of friends, and for tomorrow they organized a day trip to Shōdo Island (小豆島) for a "Sōmen Summit".

No complaints 😋

somen-summit-2023.com/

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The ferry will take us from Takamatsu to Tonoshou-cho (土庄町), the town of Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san.

#japan #anime

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The ferry staff took care of our road bikes with white gloves. They even added cloth padding to prevent scratching the frame against the metal rail. 😲

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The entire ship is themed after Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san. Being featured In a popular anime series brings a lot of tourism these days.

#anime #japan

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The Shōdo island is known for its olive trees, something that's not portrayed in Takagi-san's anime (or I didn't notice).
#anime #japan

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We hit another Takagi-san location, but we're on the opposite side of the arches, with the red and white tower behind. #anime #takagisan #japan

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After climbing a steep hill, we arrive at the Sōmen Summit 🥵

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I didn't think of videoing us while catching the sōmen carried by flowing water, so here's some stock footage of this popular Japanese tradition:
youtu.be/OPiQ5nZ_olg
#japan

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Before leaving, we hit another location featured in Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san 😁

#takagisan #anime #japan

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Ah, forgot to mention another highlight of this trip: matcha kakigori (shaved ice with green tea powder).

I like it with adzuki to contrast the bitterness of matcha, but since they didn't have it, I indulged with condensed milk 😋

#japan #dessert

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My friends photographed my attempt at catching a big lump of sõmen with tongs 🍜

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First manhoru (*) of the week spotted. This one is in たかまつし (Takamatsu city).

(*) Japanese man hole covers #japan

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@codewiz

Oh, my…

I became a vegetarian after my time in Japan, so I enjoyed okonomiyaki, sushi and all the rest while I lived there.

Now I lament that I will miss those flavours forever, and wonder how much I will enjoy food when I come back to visit.

Your post gave me hope, hehe.

@tripu All you need is super nice friends who'll make vegetarian versions of any Japanese dish, even if they clearly disagree with vegetarianism 😅

(I'm so lucky, yes)

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