We made it down to Takamatsu (on Shikoku) after dark and stopped in to a random restaurant to grab some dinner. It was a yakitori restaurant and we soon realized that we had been in one of these before a couple weeks early. It was apparent when the English menu came and chicken gizzard was first on the menu. We ordered what we thought would be the safest bet but I'm not really sure which part of the chicken was on top of my rice bowl. We left there and started hiking up a nearby mountain to a view spot. From the top we could see the entire city lit up for the night. I was surprised by how big it was. I was expecting a more rural island for the 88 temple pilgrimage that circumnavigate the place. We found a flat spot and started to set up our tent just as snow flurries began to swirl around us. Once we got in, the snow came down harder but we were warm and cozy inside. The next morning we woke up to birds checking out our tent and a gorgeous view of the city in the day time.

Unfortunately, my cold had gotten much worse and I was puffing my inhaler every few minutes between coughs to keep breathing. We hiked down from the mountain and went to a Starbucks to get wifi and figure out our next plan. The area of Shikoku we were in was highly developed and the pilgrimage in this area was mostly road walking. After the Te Araroa and the CDT, pavement road walking is extremely unappealing. We looked into getting to the more rural areas but our only possibility would be to rent a car. After going to 4 different places that had no cars available, a woman told us that we couldn't drive in the country anyways without an international license. Slightly defeated, we found the closest wifi to figure out a new plan. The place happened to be the lobby of a really nice hotel but they let us sit and gave us the wifi password without question. Feeling worse, we decided not to camp that night. My parents found an amazing place nearby that would have a great view of the city and would keep us warm enough to recover.

Now we just had to get there. We picked up some medicine and jumped on the JR train to get closer. When we got to the station there was no way to get up to the hotel on top of the hill. The station master, who was one of the most jolly people I've ever met and spoke no english, tried everything he could to help us. We were hopeful the whole time because he laughed at almost anything. Finally he found a taxi that would come out if we waited about 20 minutes. So we did and the taxi showed up to take us to the top of the hill where we could check in and get a good night's sleep. The next morning we woke up and went down for breakfast at the hotel. It was a traditional Japanese breakfast complete with tiny grilled Fish with eyes, the back half of some other fish, and something that looked like a banana but was NOT a banana.

We tried almost everything but I agreed with Moose when he said it was hard to be daring so early in the morning.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing and trying to fight this cold. I sat in the bathroom with the shower on trying to steam out the sickness while pounding on my chest like I was the wolf of wallstreet. It seemed to help. The next morning we woke up and, slightly reluctantly, went down for breakfast. This day it was delicious salmon and a few other mysterious plates. We packed our stuff and headed for the shuttle down the mountain. As we walked to the stop, a small orange cat whose tail had been mangled by something came out into the walkway meowing up a storm. I couldn't help but reach down and pet him. We were running late so I said goodbye and started to walk away as he lunged forward and wrapped his paws around my leg.

I wanted to cry or stuff him in my backpack but I had to walk away to catch the shuttle. We ran into the jolly station master again who helped us with our tickets and we boarded the train back into town. That evening we took a bus to Kyoto and watched the sun set over the island. We also got to see some amazing whirlpools as we crossed the ocean back onto the mainland and Japan. As we drove into town, temples popped up everywhere. It seemed you couldn't go 5 minutes without seeing another one.

We woke up the next morning and walked through the city to an area with tons of shrines connected by pathways. The pathways were tunneled with pillars covered in japanese characters and we spent the afternoon navigating through them and the hundreds of other people. We tried tirelessly to get a picture without all of the tourists but it was impossible.

When we left the area we were spit out to an alleyway filled with food vendors yelling at the passersby. The food smelled amazing and we tried to guess what everything was as we walked down the lane. The next morning we woke up and headed to the bamboo grove on the edge of town. Again it was swarming with tourists but we managed to get a shot or two.

After that we grabbed some food in town and headed for the monkey park. After a steep climb up we came to the summit that was covered in Macaque monkeys.

It was one of the coolest things I've gotten to experience. They ran free all around the people and sometimes would hiss if you stared at them too long. (See video below)

We stayed for a long time before heading back into town for the night. The next day we took a bus back to Takamatsu and caught a flight back to Tokyo. Now we head to Hokkaido where we will do some skiing as it borders northern Russia and attend the fire and ice festival.

Video by Moose