Takamatsu

With time before our train from Tokushima to Takamatsu, we scouted out breakfast items and had a hanami (sakura picnic party) by the river. There are still just enough blossoms and there are sitting platforms which are inviting on a sunny morning. Well-fed and aggressive pigeons shared our space, as we watched a dead fish lazily move along the river out to sea. It looked a lot like the fish we ate for dinner last night. Actually it probably wasn't even a cousin, for the fish we had at a little izakaya around the corner was a form of tuna, sashimi that was lightly smoked around the edges. Absolutely delicious.

We admired to the municipality's bento box flower planting and then were on our way.

Takamatsu is a short distance away so we locked our luggage at the train station and set out unfettered for a couple of hours, taking in the Takashime castle, or at least where it was and where portions of it are being rebuilt even now as we speak. Being one of Japan's few castles on the sea, it used salt water for its three moats, and was able to let people in via gates (and out as well presumably), and regulate water levels according to the tides.

There is a rock garden that includes what is called a "river with no water", but pictures speak better.

There was a large field, which in ancient times had been an area for riding and falconry (Japanese history is littered with leaders who love falconry), which is now more quietly used for sakura hanami. Large groups of office colleagues, all dressed in black, ate their lunches together on a mat under the fading blossoms. Women wear skirts, but other than that, Japanese office workers wear identical black suits and white shirts. At going back to work time, they roll up their mats and return to work together. I can't imagine a nicer, more effective and less expensive way to grow team spirit and collegial support for one another than a daily picnic under flowering trees. It's not even that nice a day now - cool and cloudy - but these lunchtime gatherings are ingrown traditions.

Our hotel is part of the Dormy chain, which seems to pop up in every mid-sized or larger town. this one is about 10 floors, with about 15 rooms per floor. The room is very small but quite well appointed, with a desk, a tiny fridge under the sink, and a rod with hangers instead of a closet. We use our suitcases as drawers, and there are even sockets to juice up our various electronics. There is a shower and loo, but that is enough, because this place also has an onsen!

It is an artificial onsen (i.e., not a natural hot spring), on the 11th floor, one for men and one for ladies. Laundry machines are in each - I love that fact that most hotels have laundry facilities for guests to use. The small areas for washing are separated by slim screens, so each person can  sluice away on their stools, with bowls, a wonderful shower nozzle and all the soaps and shampoos and conditioners and razors etc. needed.

There are two baths so soaking in afterwards. The indoor one is a hot as a very hot bath, tiled in blue and seats about 8. There is an outdoor one too, separated by local construction work on the busy street below by a bamboo wall and rather unnecessary bouncy elevator music. It is smaller and hotter, and there is a tiny garden of one maple tree and a few low plants. Ope to the sky, it was especially nice to sit out there as a light drizzle started. There is also a sauna inside should one feel the need to get even hotter.

Warm and clean, we set out to find a place that serves the local beef. What makes this wagyu different is the cows are fed a diet rich in olives. Yes, that's right, I said olives. One of the many islands near here, Shodoshima, has developed a sizable olive industry, complete with a Mykonos-inspired windmill (the Japanese love installing their Western references, as do the Chinese). Olive oil is sold in foodie shops, but it was the olive-fed beef that interested us. The hotel Dormy check-in desk attendant recommended one of her favourite places, Piko Piko, where you order the cuts you want and cook them yourself on a brazier at your table, which we have done elsewhere.

It was hard to tell if the beef we had was actually the olive-fed variety, as the menu was all in Japanese, but thankfully there were photos of the various options and we just pointed, but it was incredibly good. Especially with local whiskey. Life took on a rosy sheen. I was never so happy "going back to olive".