Roadtrip[pin‘

One of my best friends came over to visit from Korea, where he’s been living for several years. Dom fed and housed me for six weeks whilst I looked for work in Seoul, so I figured it was time to pay back some big favours.
Still living with my boss at that stage, it was a good excuse to leave Kagawa and make true the title for this blog. A trip to the local sports store provided camping equipment, the local information bureaus provided a vague assortment of maps, and after practicing my Japanese on everyone I knew, by asking them their favourite place in Shikoku, we headed east, first stop Tokushima City and the famous Awa Odori Festival.
Of course, the first stop is never as intended and a whole host of ‘combini’s provided sumptuous snacking, whilst back roads tempted limitless distraction. Stopping to admire the mountains and bamboo forests, one of the first things noticed was the near decadence of the scarecrows working diligently in the paddies. Lifelike figures push wheelbarrows, bend over crops and sometimes ride bicycles; an admirable feat in a rice paddy! Many wear scary Japanese masks and all are outfitted with attention to detail, yet another example of the Japanese preoccupation with perfection. No Worzel Gummidges here.
A windy road up a mountainside ended up at a Spirited Away style tunnel, which went nowhere. An incredibly creepy energy grew in the tunnel and Dom swears he saw something. We both got kinda spooked at about the same time and bailed rather quickly. It’s easy to see where Miyayashi gets his inspiration.
Another winding road led us to an abandoned house, perched on the edge of the mountain, commanding sumptuous views that would probably be snow-capped in winter. It was securely locked with all the belonging still inside, patiently waiting for the owners to return. Any other country and it would have been broken into and trashed long ago. Apparently there are many of these houses in Tokushima Prefecture, their owners long gone to the cities in search of profitable work. I’ve heard said houses may be bought for about 2 million yen if said owners can be tracked down. An interesting option for a mountain retreat. I’d only considered South East Asia before.
Hiking up the hillside, the territorial smell of macaques filled the nostrils. My cautionary fear of monkeys, engendered by vicious brutal Thai varieties, was quickly abandoned as we glimpsed arse after arse disappear into the bushes ahead of our arrival. I’m not sure about camping with packs of reasonably large monkeys around though. Maybe leave a pile of spiky chestnuts, of which they are especially fond, away from the campsite.
On arriving to Tokushima we encountered the maddest car park. A space where they load your car onto an elevator and stack it above a bunch of other cars. No driving involved. Just some crazy hydraulics. See picture below. Its like storage compartment for cars. Drive yours onto a lift and they take it away into the hemispheres above, and then file it in its own space. I was completely amazed. One spends so long in a country that you think nothing can truly surprise you any more and then you find a car park. Dom had to drag me away to the festival.