Jumping off point to the Inland Sea

Wednesday, October 08, 2014
Takamatsu, Shikoku, Japan

Next was a couple of days at Takamatsu on the middle island of Shikuko .
This is a port city where we took a ferry trip to Shodoshima. This is the largest island in the area. Way back in 1908 the Japanese Government decide to start an olive growing industry since the climate is very Mediterranean.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Ddo_Island

It was an hours ferry ride there & back and it lovely sitting up at the front watching smaller islands go by as we headed towards Shodoshima, naturally we had to have some olive ice cream while waiting for the return ferry.

Next day was a short local train ride around the bay to Iyo Saigo to see the Shikoku Railway Museum, very new only opened this year it commemorating the father of Shinkansen Shinji
Sogō.

It contained one of the first Shinkansen engine carriages very different from the modern ones it that the front was more conventional with a snub nose not the sleek arrow shaped ones of today.

In the afternoon we visited the Ritsurin Gardens which are on the outskirts of Kyoto. We came atthe North entrance which is close to a railway station (of course) and then walked slowly down to the other end of the park. The map gave the impression that it this might take all
day, but fortunately it was a large scale map and it ony took us a couple of hours. On the rather large lake there was a 30min boat trip, Just two to a boat. It would have been lovely but we just too late to take the last boat of the day.

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