OrpheusGrey

*WARNING* Before scrolling through this album, be forewarned! It has officially been rated MA, for Mature Audiences only. On account of graphic, phallic content. If you are at all squeemish, prudish, or just don't like looking at men's naughty bits, then please avert your eyes and your browser! If not, then scroll on!

The first weekend in Feb. was a 3-day weekend, thanks to "Natl. Foundation Day." Nothing happens on Foundation Day (because it's just an excuse to have a national holiday), so we took the opportunity to tour some of Shikoku, the large island just across the Seto Inland Sea from Okayama.

We've been to Takamatsu before so, this time, we made our way to Matsuyama. The most famous thing in Matsuyama is Dogo Onsen. An onsen is a public bath, like the kind you imagine in ancient Rome. The best ones use natural hot springs, have indoor and outdoor pools, or have a variety of different types of pools, showers, and steamers. Dogo is known as the oldest onsen in Japan, and was a favorite hangout of famed novelist Natsume Soseki. He wrote about Dogo Onsen in his most famous book "Botchan." Consequently, Dogo Onsen is a huge tourist atttraction for locals as well as tourists. While it was very nice, it certainly wasn't much different from the run-of-the-mill onsens that populate every city in Japan. It's always nice to have a steaming hot bath midday though.

After bathing for a bit our group of 9 decided to take in the obligatory castle and its vies of the city. Matsuyama castle was only unique in the mode of transportation required for getting to it. There was never more than 15ft. between us and the ground, but the swinging plastic chairs with no security bar or seatbelt still felt a bit dangerous. The castle grounds were nice and we had some good views of Matsuyama.

We left for the small town of Uwajima on the same day we arrived in Matsuyama. There was nothing to do in Uwajima by the time we arrived, so we retired to our hotel for some good-natured drinking and carousing.

The only thing to see in Uwajima is the Uwajima Sex Shrine. The three of us who joined the group late in Matsuyama would have rather skipped Uwajima, given the expense of getting there and the lack of anything worth seeing. But, since we didn't do any work planning the trip, we decided to just go with the flow.

The sex shrine is pretty much what you would expect. A lot of phallic shaped statues, a couple carved or sculpted penises, and a museum filled with things related to sex. Apparently, men visit the shrine seeking help from the gods with sexual problems of all kinds. It was oddly fascinating for about 20 minutes. Four of us passed on the museum and ended up discussing American politics while waiting for the others.

From Uwajima we took a very slow, and thus long, train ride to Kochi on the Pacific coast of Shikoku. The interior of Shikoku is beautiful and the train ride was a great way to see it. We were left wishing it was Spring, because everything was in dull Winter colors.

In Kochi we rushed to catch the very end of the Sunday street market. I was able to get one of the last bags of fried sweet potatoes for sale. Delicious! Then we made another obligatory castle visit. Again, it was beautiful, though it lacked a chair lift.

The last day of our trip we took a bus to the Pacific shore. Only Ludo was crazy enough to go swimming. The rest of us simply soaked up the warm sun and sea air.