Faced with an increasingly elderly customer base local travel agents like Yuko-san are working to reimagine & revitalize Shikoku's domestic bus tour industry.
Tairyuji(the Great Dragon Temple) is one of very few temples on the pilgrimage which has a documented connection to Kobo Daishi. Everything about this temple is dramatic. From its steep mountain slopes to the epic cable car ride which ascends it to the statue of Kobo Daishi meditating and its stunning architecture, everything impresses.
Kochi prefecture has a long tradition of smoking fermented Skipjack tuna into rock hard planks which are then thinly shaved to create katsuobushi(Bonito flakes).
One of Japan's most renowned surfers, Leki is also one of the countries most celebrated Aizome(indigo dyeing) artist. In addition to traditional textile products his indigo dyed hand shaped surfboards and skateboards are the stuff of legend.
A local farmer carries thatch through the streets of Nagoro village where hand crafted life-size 'scarecrow' dolls outnumber permanent residents nearly 70 to 1. Less than 8% of Japan's total population live in rural areas and most of those resident are elderly.
The wonderfully 'Showa' aesthetic of Takamatsu port blends seamlessly with the period uniforms, friendly demeanor, and corporate culture of the city's Hirai Taxi company.
The departure of tuna boats from local ports on their months long search for skipjack and albacore is cause for celebration.
Allowing for an insight into the nature of 'existence', it is the act of suspending all judgmental thinking. Considered the heart of Japanese Soto Zen Buddhism, Zazen is literally just sitting while allowing words and thoughts to pass without interacting with them.
Surrounded on all sides by the Pacific Ocean and the Seto Inland Sea, Shikoku is a prime destination for year-round paddle boarding.
Often misinterpreted as 'small trees in pots', Bonsai first arrived in Japan in the 6th century and is derived from the Chinese practice of penzai. Bonsai simply refers to trees which have been cultivated or manipulated by hand. They can be created from nearly any perennial tree or sub species with its growth restricted only by the size limitations of its final potting. In the hands of a skilled artisan these living works of art are transformed into life long relationships.
The 'traditional' Shinto wedding ceremony is a relatively new cultural undertaking in Japan with the very first one, Crown Prince Yoshihito's, occurring in 1900. They tend to be somewhat subdued austere affairs with only a small group of friends and family attending.
The art of warayaki (straw grilling) triangular flanks of Bonita tuna so that just the outer edges are nicely seared results in the finest lunch one could ever have.