senguesthouse-matsuyama

(cont.)

4/24

Another O-henro san that stayed with us that we know we will see again, is Morris Brown.  A retired professor from California, he has been in contact with us from the start.  Just a warm, sincere man with a strong passion for Japan, Buddhism and the 88 temple pilgrimage.  Of course he had some amazing stories of generosity, pain, and all the ups and downs of Shikoku.  He’s been to Japan 15 times and plans on coming again to Japan this Summer, and you guessed it, he’s coming to Matsuyama and a couple of other places in Shikoku with his wife.

We heard through the grapevine, well the Tokushima grapevine (David Moreton), that there was going to be a PBS documentary about the 88 temple pilgrimage.  Upon further research, we learned that it is actually going to be a 6 part series on various pilgrimages around the world: India, Africa, Europe, 2 in the Middle East and Japan.  The Japanese portion is focusing on “walking O-henros” as it attempts to answer the big questions of why people walk pilgrimages and what one hopes to gain from such an experience.  It was a whirlwind trip, following various groups and individuals engaging in a variety of activities related to the 88 temple pilgrimage.  They did however, have time to squeeze a couple days of filming in Matsuyama into their schedule, with a big party night at Sen.  We prepared a truly enormous te maki zushi feast for both the crew and the walking O-henros that were staying that night; it truly was a great night.  It was definitely odd, seeing our guesthouse turned into a film set for an afternoon, evening and morning; but all and all a great, if a tad bit stressful, experience.

We met tons of amazing people that night; the crew, presenters, a hiking group and the actual O-henro san.  In attendance were 3 American walking O-henro (including Barry/Jim), 2 Korean walking O-henro and David Turkington; who was providing the “fixing” services on this particular endeavor.  David Turkington has not only walked the pilgrimage 3 times (a massive feat in itself) but he also created and maintains the best website in English on the pilgrimage. Another person we met during the filming of the documentary who is trying to promote the pilgrimage was Hee san.  A Korean living in Seoul, she was circling Shikoku for the 4th time when we met her, plastering every light pole she can find with O-Henro stickers that she made, directing walkers to the next temple.  Randomly enough, she will be walking in Spain (Camino de Santiago) the same time we will be and I’m pretty sure our paths will cross.

Just the last couple of days, we’ve had 3 other foreign O-Henro stay with us; Justin from America, Joost from the Netherlands and Ken from Australia.  It’s hard to really tell if there are actually more foreigners walking the pilgrimage, or if more are just staying with us, compared to last year, but whatever it is, we are very happy to be part of the support system.  Likewise, we will be going to Spain for the month of June to walk the Camino de Santiago to cross-pollinate the 2 pilgrimages.

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O-Henro extravaganza (part 1)

So, this last 3 weeks or so has been pretty full on in terms of O-henro experiences.  We’ve witnessed O-henro beginnings, endings, documentaries (plus a  massive party) and a huge number of people from many countries putting on the vestments of pilgrimage and hitting the trail.  We’ve met so many new wonderful people, made tons of friends and really reaffirmed why we began the guesthouse in the first place.  We are constantly looking for ways to increase the exposure of Shikoku’s 88 temples to people from around the world, and both March and April have been great months for that.

So, about 4 weeks ago, we got a message from a walking O-henro from Switzerland that was having a foot problem and was wondering if we could help him find a doctor once he hit Matsuyama.  So when he arrived, Nori took him to the hospital; diagnosis-nothing serious but stop walking for god’s sake.  Most people at this point would cash in their chips, thank Kobo for the good run, and head for higher grounds (Kyoto or Tokyo).  Not my boy Mike Pfaff, he decided to rent a car and finish the rest of the pilgrimage in this most 21st century of ways.  I have much respect for this guy who decided not to do the logical thing and quit, and finished the pilgrimage in the way he really did not want or intend to; if that is not pilgrimage, I don’t know what is.

Last October, we had an American guest (Barry) come through here, that actually heard about us from an article that my good friend Jen Sotham wrote about us in Busan’s gaijin rag, Busan Hap’s.  He was coming to to Japan and thought he might dig Matsuyama and Shikoku.  He ended up extending quite a few nights and even decided to walk 3 days of the pilgrimage.  So, we sent him to temple 44 (about 1 hour away by bus) to walk the magical route from temple 44 to 45 and back.  He was then going to walk back to Matsuyama; 3 days and 2 nights, this is our most recommended route for people wanting to get a slight taste of the pilgrimage.  So, again, it was mid-October and just beautiful weather, until Barry arrived at Kuma Kogen and it started to snow; first snow of the season and he was just caught 100% off guard.  He had to bail on the walk and come back to Matsuyama with more determination than ever to walk the whole pilgrimage.

We get quite a few guests coming through here that say they really want to come back to walk the pilgrimage, and even some that say that they WILL come back and walk the pilgrimage.  As you can imagine, few actually do, obviously due to the time and money restrictions, so when Barry told us he would come back to walk it (possibly with a couple of friends in tote), we took it with a grain of salt.  Oh me of little faith, not 3 months after, he was booking a room here for himself and 2 friends to walk the trail; all of it.

The trio, Barry, Jim and Moni, arrived the very end of March, all three of them just super cool, wonderful people.  They took off the next morning for temple 39 (about 200 kms south of here) with the aim to walk back to Matsuyama then continue on the pilgrimage, ending up back in Matsuyama by the end of May, to pick up their excess gear plus say our goodbyes.  They kinda came back in pieces, first Moni on the morning of the 8th (she was actually just doing a week with her boys), then Barry later in the afternoon, followed up by Jim about an hour later.  As with everyone who walks O-henro, they had stories; from freak snow storms on the mountains, to random people taking them in feeding and housing them to the kilos and kilos of micans that one is bound to receive in Ehime as osetai.  So, we partied it up a bit when they were here, discussed how they were going to continue on their path, and they were involved in a PBS documentary that just to be filmed at Sen Guesthouse while they were here (more on that in the next blog coming soon…).  Obviously their story is not over, they will have all the highs and low of pilgrimage, hike all of the beautiful mountains, pray the sutras and come back and report it all to yours truly.  Even once their pilgrimage is over, these are people we definitely plan to see sometime again in the future.

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February 18, 2013

(cont.)

Later that morning (after a much appreciated breakfast), we headed back to Hatton to board a train to Kandy, also an amazing ride.  Kandy is the old capital, the cultural centre of Sri Lanka and has the country’s most important temple, the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.  There is also a nice central quarter that has a lake that is nice for strolling.  Unfortunately, there is just too much noise, pollution and bus traffic to truly enjoy the city.  The 1 stand-out thing that we did do there, was a trip to the wonderful Peradeniya Botanic Gardens, located about 10 mins away by bus.

Monkeys (and huge bats) frolicking in the trees, a vast array of both local and foreign fauna and an extensive orchid house are spread out over 60 hectares.  Wandering amongst the humungous trees and graceful gardens is a wonderful way to spend a morning or afternoon. And though we appreciated Kandy, and its place in Sri Lankan life and lore, we were very ready to head off for our next destination, the “Ancient cities” area of Northern Sri Lanka.

Our first stop, was at the city of Dambulla, famous for its royal rock temples.  5 large natural caves are painted and filled with over 150 Buddha images about 1/2 km outside of town, about half-way up a small mountain.  It’s a pretty spectacular sight, both the caves themselves and the views from the mountain.

Next, we headed up towards Sigiriya, with it’s oh-so-famous “rock”.  Geologically, it’s a hardened magma plug of an extinct volcano; archeologically, it was both a monastery and a palace at one point.  Whatever it was, it is a now atmospheric site filled with Machu Pichu style ruins, ancient wall paintings, water gardens, lush forests with squawking birds and joyful monkeys and quite a few tourists walking around.  Luckily, we got there at 7am and were actually the first on the rock and had the place to ourselves for a whole 10 mins.  The words “beautiful, amazing, spectacular” to describe Sri Lanka in general and Sigiriya specifically get worn out real quick, so hopefully the photos will do the places some justice.

Our accommodation there was also quite nice, and very cheap.  In the afternoon of the second day, we rented 2 bikes and hiked another “rock” in the area that had some cave temples and a quite interesting sleeping Buddha. The scramble to the rock part of the hill was good fun and the view of Sigiriya was (dare i say) beautiful.  After, we did a 15 km bike ride with the express wish to see elephants in the wild.  We had a taste when we saw an elephant bathing in a river earlier, and wanted more.  And though we didn’t see elephants on the bike trip, we got to see peacocks in the wild, snakes, 2 types of monkeys, monitor lizards, buffalo, pheasants and a bunch of birds-really very interesting.

The plan was to leave the next morning to Anuradhapura, another former capital of Sri Lanka with ruins, temples, etc…and in fact we were on the bus back to Dambulla to transfer to a bus to Anuradhapura when we decided we needed (last second-style) some more beach time.  So, we jumped on a bus bound for the east coast beach of Nilaveli, near Trincomalee.  The east coast was hit hard by both the 2004 tsunami and civil war, still evidenced by tons of soldiers walking around with AKs and quite a few police check points.  The beaches are what you’d expect in this part of the world, white sand, turquoise water (though rough this time of year).  The hotel was nice and cheap, with almost no one there and the food was very good.  We spent a couple days lounging on the beach, eating our last curries and drinking our last lions (great Sri Lankan beer).

We decided to take an overnight train back to Colombo, which left from Trincomalee, so we spent the afternoon visiting this very interesting city.  We spent a bit of time on a quite interesting beach, backing up to the back of a bunch of buildings, kids and dogs roaming around and staring at us.  Next we walked to the Portuguese/Dutch fort area, which is now heavily guarded, houses a lot of military buildings, and both a Buddhist and Hindu temple.  The fort is pretty amazing, with thick ramparts, centuries old buildings, beautiful, sprawling old trees and deer walking around.  At the very back of the fort, there is a very important Hindu temple perched high on a cliff over looking the Indian ocean stretching on for infinity.  If it wasn’t for all the barbed wire and military personal walking around with heavy artillery it would be a very relaxing, time-machine kind of place.

At 8pm we boarded our overnight train for Colombo.  We wanted to take a 1st class train, with proper sleeping cars and bunks.  Unfortunately, it was sold out (weeks ago I guess) so we had to settle for 2nd class, which should’ve been described as 10th or 30th class.  Not only were the seats uncomfortable and dirty, they didn’t really recline, the lights stayed on all night and we were right next to the bathroom (the closet with a whole cut in the floor emptying on the rails).  Needless to say, didn’t really sleep at all-really really makes me appreciate Japanese trains.

From Colombo we took a train to Negombo and headed back to Villa Shade, the first place we stayed at entering the country.  It was almost like coming home and really made it feel as if our trip had come full circle.  It really gave us time to reflect on everything we did over the past 3 weeks.  I think if we would have stayed at some random place in Colombo before returning to Japan, we would’ve missed out on the closure that we felt we got by going back to a place we really fell for.  Just to top off the trip also, we decided we were going to buy Nori a blue sapphire ring, Sri Lanka’s most famous gem.  Just so happens that our super nice host was a gem dealer who lived in both Germany and Sri Lanka and he recommended an amazing place to buy a ring.  As soon as the jeweler we went to heard that we were referred by him, we got a 25% discount.  The ring is magnificent and will be a token and reminder of the wonderful country that is Sri Lanka.

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February 16th, 2013

(cont.) 

After the rain forest, we decided to head for the very temperate hill-country; famous for it’s mountain gaps, tea plantains and amazing train routes.  The bus to get to Hatputale was a grueling 7 hours, probably only traveling 100 km, but just beautiful-hair pin turn, after dizzying hair pin turn.  Haputale is perched on the top of a ridge, with perfect views of the surrounding country side, we used it as a base to visit Horton’s plain and World’s end.  We also took a pretty amazing hike around the tea plantations, scaring kids and visiting a very well placed Dutch church.

We left the guesthouse at around 5am (by van)to get to the park, which is a high-altitude plateau, right at sunrise, and what a strange sunrise it was.  With mist clinging to the cliffs above us, and to the valleys below, filtering the light into bizarre colors and rays, it was really a very other-worldly scene.  Once arriving to the park (a Unesco site), we took about a 4 hour hike, which culminated at “World’s end”-which is a cliff with a view that extends all the way to the ocean, 250 kms away, obviously breathtaking.  Along the way, we passed a massive waterfall, roaming hoards of elk, odd dwarf trees and all sorts of beautiful birds.  Really though I think the most interesting and enjoyable aspect of the trip wasn’t the individual sights, it was the bizarre atmosphere that existed throughout the area.

Our next stop was the town of Ella, about 20 kms further in the mountains from Haputale.  Because we just missed the train, we decided to take a tuk-tuk there, which ended up being a very beautiful ride, past a couple huge waterfalls.  Ella is at the cusp of a tourist explosion, so the little village is in a building frenzy, which didn’t really fit into the general atmosphere of the surrounding countryside.  Luckily, right outside the guesthouse/cafe area, there are never-ending green tea plantains, nice hikes and the view, dubbed “Ella gap” is spectacular.

After our night there, we took the train to Hatton and-Nori agrees with this statement- this was by far the most beautiful train ride I’ve ever taken; must be one of the great train journeys in the world.  Though it took 6 hours to do 80 kms, every inch had jaw dropping views of tea plantations, village life, jagged mountains, pine forests and wild rivers.  I probably took over 500 pictures (keeping only 30).  At one point I had to just put the camera down and experience it all-really because I knew that the pictures would only do a disservice to to the majestic landscapes.  Our final destination was Dalhousie (via Hatton) which was going to be our base for the hike to Adam’s peak (Sri Pada).

We procured our accommodation, which ended up being the office of the guesthouse because they double booked for that evening.  To see the sunrise from the peak, it is recommended starting the hike at 2am; so we went to sleep nice and early.  Unfortunately, our office room had a little rat (didn’t realize this was included in the price) so I didn’t really sleep at all.  We left at 2pm, had a milk tea, and started the pretty intense, 3 1/2 hour (5200 stairs in total) in complete darkness.  There are tea stands along the way to both relax and warm up (it’s very cold).

One thing that is almost impossible to put in words is the experience of witnessing the sun rise from Adam’s peak.  It’s odd, we take the sun for granted and we have all witnessed a sunrise (or two) in our lives, but something about witnessing the sunrise from Adam’s peak, makes it seem like a miracle. It starts from the faintest glimmer of light, and you are looking, looking at this one point and it’s starting to change color and getter lighter ever so slowly.  You know what’s coming, and you are waiting, waiting, and when the sun does finally crest, it’s not what you expect at all.  I don’t know if it’s the expectation, or the locale (which is a major holy spot for 4 religions) or the hike to get there but I’ve never witnessed anything like that in my truncated life.  Of course, after the sun does rise and make everything colorful and light, you realize where you are and how beautiful it all is.

Another amazing feature of Adam’s peak is that, as the sun is rising, on the other side of the mountain (facing due west) a very big shadow is cast of the mountain over the surrounding land, slowly racing towards the base of the mountain.  The hike down is very hard on the knees and too beautiful for words (at least mine), with awesome views, temples, pilgrims and more than a couple cups of milk tea!

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Sri Lanka, a tear drop shaped island located off the south east coast of India is a country of extremes and contrasts.  From the perfect beaches and rain forests of the south, to the tea plantations and high mountains of the center, to the ancient cities and ruins of the north; Sri Lanka is blessed with both natural beauty and man-made treasures.  Of course, even though we sort of knew what Sri Lanka had to offer, we were completely blown-away by the variety and depth of the landscapes; not to mention the genuine friendliness of the people and deliciousness of the food.

Probably the best choice we made in terms of accommodation for the 3 weeks we were there, was the 1st and last place we stayed in Sri Lanka; Villa Shade in Negombo.  We believe it was both the best introduction and conclusion to our trip we could have asked for.  One of our focuses of this trip was to check out other guesthouses and hopefully learn from them; what they got right and what they got wrong.  Villa Shade was definitely in the former.  Perfect, personable hosts, awesome rooms and common space and one of the nicest house gardens I’ve ever seen.  Negombo itself is a bit tricker; though we enjoyed it and the beach was damn nice, there wasn’t too much holding it all together.  We might not have given it enough time because there definitely are interesting sights-Dutch canals and an old fort (now being used as a prison.)

After Negombo, we took the train to Galle, hands down the nicest city we went to Sri Lanka.  Galle has a super interesting story which is plainly read in the old streets, ramparts, churches and massive trees which live within the city’s massive walls dating from the Portuguese and Dutch eras.  It really does feel as if you are in some old Dutch city from the 1600′s, not in the middle of tropical, South Asia.  Every single building is in it’s original state (or restored) and there are a slew of wonderful guesthouses, cafes, galleries and museums to add some focus to your wanderings.  Our guesthouse was housed in one of those old Dutch buildings, right next to a cricket field abutting the city’s 5 meter thick walls-crazy sunsets every night.

As hard as it was to leave Galle, it was time for our 1 “splurge” of the trip; the 3 night resortish stay on the southern beach of Talalla.  This was our real treat to ourselves for our first year of operation at Sen.  Talalla retreat is in such a good spot, beautiful open-air rooms, huge pool and on the prettiest stretch of beach that I have seen in a long while.  We had a great time swimming, lounging at the pool and exploring the area.  The thing is, it really felt like a retreat from Sri Lanka, the one thing we did not want to retreat from.  The staff were these cold white people, with the Sri Lankan staff in a sort of servant position, very much in the background.  Food was the worst in Sri Lanka (and the most expensive) and the other guests were as cold as the staff (mainly Scandinavian families with kids).  Next time we will just stay at a little guesthouse/homestay when we go to the southern beaches…lesson learned.

This came to the end of our pre-Sri Lanka planned portion of the trip, so from then on out, we were sort of just figuring it out as we went along; mainly from the advice of locals and other travelers.  Our next stop was the Shinharaja rain forest, staying for a couple nights in the busy market town of Deniyaya.

Shinharaja is the largest tract of rain forest left in Sri Lanka, and we had an amazing trek through the jungle, spotting amazing animals and birds, flicking off leaches and swimming in natural pools under waterfalls.  The canopy was thick and the sounds were all around us-really an amazing place to visit.  The rest house in Deniyaya was pretty interesting.  Built during the British era, this is pretty much the only place to drink in town, so it sort of doubled as the place to hang out for rich locals (the president’s sister and her husband were there one evening).  The room was huge, by far the biggest room we stayed in, but cold water showers and not exactly clean, though not out-right dirty either.  The highlight is definitely the view from the massive columned porch overlooking the rainforest-plus the food was great and very cheap.

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December 24th, 2012

Japanese beer, probably being one of the most underrated of the world’s brews, is highly varied and is of very high quality.  Unfortunately when people (not too familiar with Japan) think of Japanese beer, they think of Asahi super dry.  Not that I have anything against Asahi, it’s just where Japanese beer begins, not where it ends.

For those who know me (and how dare you claim to know me!?!?) know that I like me some beer.  Anytime the wife and I travel around Japan, we ALWAYS try the local brew, which there usually is.  In Matsuyama it is Dogo beer-which is awesome and comes in 4 varieties; stout, amber, weizen and kölsch.

Every variety is very, very good, it doesn’t hurt that the brewery is a 2 min walk from Sen Guesthouse (has pretty remarkable sake also!)…It does cost about ¥550 a bottle ($7), which is fine if you are in a city for a day or 2 and feel like splurging on a sick brew.

For the habitual beer drinker though, I am squarely in that camp, ¥550 a bottle is a bit much; luckily there are great mass produced beers-my favorite being the premium varieties of Suntory and Ebisu (brewed by Sapporo).  Ebisu makes a seasonal amber beer,  琥珀 beer, which I love.  Also, round this time of year, both those produces make a black/stout beer.  So I decided to have a (reverb voice start now) half and half showdown, featuring my favorite beers and there black/stout beer counterparts.

Round 1, Ebisu amber, and Ebisu Stout (in pictures):

It was probably the richest half-and-half I have ever drank.  Extremely dark and creamy-the black beer was pretty over powering and covered up the flavor of the amber almost completely.  It wasn’t unenjoyable, but sometimes mixing 2 good beers together does not create a great beer…

Round 2, premium half-and-half (Suntory premium malts, and Suntory premium malts stout)-

Suntory premium malts is the beer we serve at Sen Guesthouse’s bar-in my opinion one of the best, and most consistent non-micro brew beers in Japan.  Their seasonal black/stout beer is again, probably the best non-micro brew stout beer in Japan; rich and malty without being too sweet or overpowering.

Hands down winner in the show-down was the premium malts combo-frankly pretty surprised, I thought the Ebisu pair was going to be really good-and it was ok, the beers just didn’t mix too well.  The Suntory combo was delicious and one of  the best half-and-half I’ve ever had (way better than Bass/Guinness).

I dare any of you beeries out there to come up with a better half-and-half, as I myself plan to do in the near future (maybe a Dogo half-and-half…)

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December 21st, 2012

The Dogo area of Matsuyama is known for many things: it’s 3000 year old history thermal water (onsen), famous glass, literary and art museums,  Dogo Onsen honkan, Yuzuki castle ruins (Dogo Park) along with it’s oh-so-expensive onsen hotels.  What Dogo has not been famous for are it’s bars, up until now.  With the opening of Wani to sai, Dogo can now correctly boast that it has one of the most interesting and unique bars in Matsuyama.

Located in the (now defunct) old red-light district of Dogo, at the base of the steep stone-staircase leading to the important Isaniwa shrine, wani to sai couldn’t have opened at a more opportune time. The area itself is littered with crumbling, beautiful old wooden merchant buildings and brothels evoking a murky past; massive stone toris demarcating the many shrines and temples in the area.  This neighborhood oozes with both times past, present and a prospect for the future that is easily felt.

Opened by Takahiro in mid-2012, this self-styled “circus bar” is an intimate and warm dive bar that features interesting cocktails, European beer, high-end wine and low-end shochu- literally something for everyone.  Wani to sai also serves very good ramen and yaki-niku domburi. The night that my wife, some of our guests from Sen Guesthouse, and I went there, we had both dishes and they did not fail to deliver- everything was extremely good!!  Also, everyone that orders a drink, is given a tsukidashi, a complementary “starter dish” served at most izakayas, which was also excellent.

Takahiro-san has had a very interesting life, and it plainly shows in both his character and the decor/ambience of the bar.  After graduating high school, he left for Italy to study visual arts.  After meeting a street performer from Colombia who specials in marionettes, puppets controlled from above using strings, he decided that’s where his passion lay and quickly started learning how to both make marionette puppets and how to “bring them to life”.  He stayed in Europe for a total of 8 years, both Italy and other counties, as a street marionette performer, before moving back to Japan a couple of years ago.

His interests and experiences clearly make themselves apparent in wani to sai.  The walls are decorated with circus themed, low-brow, abstract art and various “oddities” that he has collected from all over.  He also has a couple of his marionette puppets on display and if the night is slow, and the music is good (which it always is) you just might be able to convince him to bring one of his friends to life.

With the addition of wani to sai to Dogo’s (dare I say it) burgeoning art scene, both locals and tourists alike finally have an authentic place to hang their hats, have a proper drink and bit to eat, and, more importantly, meet some interesting folk (both foreign and Japanese alike).

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December 2, 2012

Shimanami Kaido is one of the most memorable things you can do in the greater Matsuyama area.  Quite a few of our guests have done it, and most of them have done it in one frantic day, 80kms of spectacular scenery.

After doing the ride ourselves 2 months ago, we are convinced that the best option for biking the bridges is to either spend a night on one of the islands, or to do a day trip from Matsuyama.

This post is about the be the latter of these 2 options:

From very near Dogo Onsen station (7 mins from Sen) there is a bus that goes to Omishima (Miyaura-Ko), one of the Islands that the shimanami kaido passes over -2 hours, ¥1600.  From there you can rent a bike, and follow the bridges back to Imabari (38kms).  This is such a good option for people staying at our guesthouse and we highly recommend it, the quickest and cheapest option actually.

Another option is to start from Imabari.

So either from JR Imabari, or Sunrise Itoyama-recommended (at the very start of the 1st bridge- and near JR hashihama st.) rent a bike (¥500 + 1000¥ deposit, which you get back if you return to the same city from which you rented) and start the adventure.  At that point, it is pretty much up to the cyclist on to determine how far they want to ride.

To get back to Imabari are 2 main options, either drop off the bike at a “return-a bike” center, for example after 20 or 30kms, and take a bus back, or put the bikes on a ferry, return to Imabari and leave the bikes there.

For the bus option:

Near all of the “return-a-bike” places, there are busses that you can use to get back to Imabari.  You forfeit the 1000¥ deposit, and local busses in Japan tend to be pretty expensive, but there are quite of few of these places on the “recommended routes”.  For example, from Hakatajima IC(22km) and Omishima IC (30km) back to Imabari.  There are other places both before and after these 2 places that would be possible also.  Another bus option would be to take a bus from either JR Matsuyama or JR Imabari to Omishima (Miyaura-ko), rent a bike there and ride back to Imabari (38kms to Sunrise Itoyama + 5kms to JR Imabari) via the Shimanimi Kaido.  It’s also possible, from Omishima (Miyaura-Ko) to leave the bike, and take a bus all the way back to Matsuyama (2hours, ¥1600).

What most of our guests have done, and what I personally recommend is to take a ferry back to Imabari.  It’s actually cheaper to do it this way because, the ferry is usually cheaper than the bus, and for a small fee (~200¥) you can put the bike on the ferry and get the 1000¥ deposit back when you return the bike.  It is also quite a beautiful ride, and you get to see another side of the area (more fun than driving back over a portion of a route you just biked…)  Also, the ferries all make at least 1 stop on the way at other ports, so it’s interesting to see these little rural Japanese ports.  The bus option is a bit more flexible though.

So, some example courses are:

To Kinoura-ko port (on Hakatajima) it’s 28km from Sunrise Itoyama, there are 9 return ferries to Imabari (14:25, 16:40, 19:20pm).  To Munakata-ko port (on Omishima) it’s a 48km ride (from Sunrise) and there is 1 ferry back at 19:00.  For the truly hardcore, there is also a ferry back from Hubu-ko port (Innoshima) to Imabari, 52kms (16:50, 18:45).

The best place to stay mid-Shimanami Kaido is Setoda  private hostel -http://ww7.enjoy.ne.jp/~ymdymd777/eshimanami.html – located on the island of Ikuchijima, located on Sunset Beach.  It’s exactly halfway, 40kms from either way, it’s cheap, 3000¥ per person, private room (without meals, + 1200¥ for dinner, 600¥ for breakfast) and it has a really nice,  hand-made Onsen overlooking the beach.  The building/rooms are in need of a new coat of paint, but all and all a great place to stay, they even speak a bit of English.

There are tons and tons of places to see on the islands, from super interesting museums: Omishima`s contemporary art museum, and Tokoro museum; Ikuchijima`s Hirayam Ikuo museum; Oshima’s pirate (Murakami Suigun) museum, to amazing shrines/temples: Omishima`s Oyamazuimj jinja; Ikuchijima`s Kosan-ji.  Sunset beach, is a pretty nice summer spot, and Innoshima has a pirate castle (Suigun-jo).

For more information, please visit JapanTourist for a huge selection of articles written about the Shimanami Kaido, and everywhere else in Japan

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November 28th, 2012

I got the idea to make a introduction video for Sen Guesthouse several weeks ago after trying to think of a good/simple way to explain to people about the guesthouse.

I had to learn 2 new pieces of software, Imovie and Garageband…luckily both these programs are super user-friendly and surprisingly powerful.  Though it is definitely not professional and could use a lot more work, I feel at least it does give an honest look at our guesthouse.  Please feel free to contact us to give us some feedback!

Nori is planning to do a Japanese version soon.

And…while you are watching it, might as well go ahead and “like” it and share it with anyone that you feel would enjoy it and/or benefit from it!

Thanks guys…

Matthew Iannarone

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