1/19 Yawatahama and Ozu

Today, the manager of our dorm, Mr. Sogabe, took my classmate Manu and I sightseeing. He brought another lady who works at the university. They picked us up early in the morning at the dorm. We drove something like an hour or less to a train station, Shimonada Station. The whole drive he played 80's American rock music.  Shimonada station is a very small station in a rural part of the prefecture. It has become a tourist spot, however, because it is extremely close to the sea. So much so, that it may have inspired the train scene in Spirited Away (2001) just as many other things in Matsuyama have. We took pictures, just like everyone else was doing there, and then left.

Up next was the port city of Yawatahama, which is famous for its fresh seafood and ferry to Kyushu. I had been wanting to go to Yawatahama since I discovered the Sailor's Memorial in Point Arena, California. If you go to Point Arena, over by the pier there is a statue and it reads the following:

"This monument is dedicated to the fifteen young men from Yawatahama, Japan who sailed 11,000 kilometers across the Pacific in a 15 meter wooden boat to realize their vision of coming to America, landing at Point Arena on August 13, 1913. Their dreams and courage continue to be a source of inspiration and a foundation of the friendship between the people of Yawatahama and Point Arena."

We arrived to the Yawatahama fish market, and Mr. Sogabe took us inside to pick out what we wanted to eat. We rented a barbecue and whatever seafood we picked out, we got to grill right in front of us. I remember that we at least had shrimp, and sea bream. We also tried sea snail, which was the worst thing I've had in my life. Before I ate it, I didn't want to eat it. But I mustered up my courage and decided to give it a shot because hey, just try it once and you'll never have to have it again. Well this is the one food where I wish I never even HAD to try it. I took a bite of the bottom, and it was alright. I kept going and then it got super bitter. Mr. Sogabe told me that eating sea snail was considered "mature" and something that adults eat. But he also said that he didn't like it either. We ate some rice and some other side dishes. 

After that we walked through the gift shop where I bought a poster of the local dialect. It is notable because instead of saying "arigatou" they say "dandan." Then we walked over to the ferry building, which was famous for being portrayed in the movie Suzume (2022). Some of it took place in Ehime prefecture! Before we left we stopped at a shop and bought different kinds of citrus juices. Mikan, iyokan, and yuzu.

Then we drove to Ozu! This is a little castle town nestled up in the mountains. There really isn't much up there (according to an assistant English teacher from Brentwood), but it was kind of nice to visit. It is a small town, but they do have a castle. The Ozu Castle was the first place we stopped in the city. It was very small, but kinda fun because of its size. After that we went down into the historic neighborhood, one which had oodles of koi fish living in the drains. They wanted to show us a Showa era (30s-80s) styled area, however it was closed.

We finished Ozu and went back home. But on the way we stopped at a ramen place, which was 50's diner themed, and we also enjoyed oden.