The approach to Matsuyama-Jo

Here is the approach to the castle. You can either take a scary looking chairlift up or you can climb up the mountain. We chose to climb up because it wasn't that bad of a walk and the weather was decent. Here are the huge castle walls.

Some information about the forest above, if you would like to read.
Below is the beginning of the path

BIG spiders again! They were EVERYWHERE! Below a view of the steps we'd been climbing up.

Finally, I see the castle! It's a nice one, not as big as Himeji, but this is my second favorite castle that I've visited. I would recommend it if you're in the area.


A fantastic view of Matsuyama city. Pretty sweet and we're not even to the top yet!



It's the "boobie" door again like we saw at Himeji. I'm going to keep taking photos of these things!
Below: I just thought the gutter was really cool.


Still not to the top but the view is getting better and better. This city is considered small by Japanese standards. It is the largest city on the island of Shikoku which is the least habited island next to Hokkaido (where I will be going in about a week!!!). Looks like quite a nice size from up high though. After visiting places like Osaka and Tokyo and Fukuoka though it seems quite small.

Matsuyama Castle Garden

Long time, no post, I know. My brother is here, plus I'm still working so things are a little hectic at the moment. I started loading these photos ages ago, but never got around to finishing. Anyway, more from last September. This is the garden at Matsuyama Castle in Shikoku. If I can remember correctly some of these first pictures are from a teahouse out front. I thought the little origami people with drawn on faces were really cute! Below is a model. This garden looks like a maze shape with lots of pools. It's supposed to be similar to the layout of the castle. Honestly, I can't remember exactly, it's been so long.

Above: Dolls.

Above: Me hanging outside the tea house.
Below: The first peak at the garden.

There was no one there. Very nice and quiet. We were there early in the morning, so that could have been why. Also it was a weekday and not a holiday for most people which helped. One of the few holidays I have where everyone else in Japan isn't off around site seeing as well.


Here come the fish!






There were LOTS of dragon flys swarming about. I love them! So many different colors and they eat pesky bugs!
Markian posing on some stepping stones.

There were a lot of little waterfalls.
This was the best thing there. This really huge old castle well. A guy was working in it which really helps with the scale and you can see how crazy big it is.

A view of the garden from a little higher on the mountain.

mmmm....unripe mikans I'm guessing. Japanese oranges. Quiet tasty and popular in this region. I ate mikan ice cream in Matsuyama and it was good stuff.



Above: A reconstruction of the well you saw earlier.
Above: A view of Matsuyama City. Ferris wheels are so cool to look at, but I HATE riding them! I love coasters, but those things freak me out!

Heavy Lifting

I took a video of this team of guys practicing for a festival that would start the week after we left Shikoku. They have to lift up this heavy portable shrine and carry it and then push another team down. Here in the video they are practicing against a mattress in a pick-up truck. I found it rather interesting. They were practicing on the covered shopping street after most of the shops had closed down. Many people stopped to watch and cheer them on.

The Fertility Shrine, Taga-Jinja

First off, if you're prude and offended by fertility figures stop reading now. I had debated whether or not to post some of these photos because of certain people who read this blog, but then I thought people could get over it. We went to a fertility Shrine in Uwajima. Above is a huge cemetery that we passed before we got there. Below you can see the entrance to the fertility shrine.

The guardian statue looks like he's laughing and covering his mouth. That's what all the old people that were lurking around were doing. This place had tons of old people and they were laughing and pointing at everything. It only made me laugh harder. This stuff was pretty prude though compared to what was inside the building next door. There was a giant sex museum with fertility figures and a history of sexual things from really early on to the present from around the world. I wasn't allowed to take pictures in there unless I paid $20 or something for a photo permit, so you'll have to do with what I took outside at the shrine.


We ran into a young couple who wanted their picture taken with the giant wooden phallus. Since I took their picture, they took ours in return. I felt all awkward and our picture kinda shows that. haha




Then we decided to be stupid and take dumb photos with it. I mean how often is it you get to see a giant wooden phallus? It was hard for me to stop laughing long enough for the picture to be taken. The old ladies were watching us. They wanted their picture taken too. They kept laughing and pointing at everything.

Look it's a fox! Inari!





So yeah that's the fertility shrine. It was very amusing. I haven't seen anything like it elsewhere. Below are flowers I saw outside of the shrine when leaving. I like purple.