After stopping by Oozu, we continued on our way towards Kochi. Along the way, we passed by Mezurudaira (姫鶴平), part of Shikoku Karst (四国カルスト). It was partly covered by the clouds, so you can imagine up a difficult drive it was to get there (and down). The roads were narrow and windy, and it was hairy passing on-coming traffic.
Mezurudaira happens to make the border between Iyo (present day Ehime prefecture) and Tosa (present day Kochi prefecture).
And here are some Tosa cows grazing away.
The way to Kochi from Oozu was tedious... the roads were narrow and windy, and the on-coming traffic was speeding along the mountain roads at high speeds as they were used to it, unlike me, a first time traveller along those roads. There were a few times in which I had to pull over and stop the car so that on-coming traffic can go first (the road was too narrow for two vehicles to pass by each other) and we were inches apart. A wrong move and I would have rolled down the side of the mountain, or get flattened against the cliff by a trailer truck. After almost 5 hours of driving from Oozu, we finally reached Kochi, and a sumptous dinner was waiting for us!
We were also fortunate to have a nice view of Kochi Castle from our room.
Kochi is the birthplace of Sakamoto Ryouma (坂本龍馬), a samurai who helped engineered the Meiji Restoration. We took the next day to explore the town, visiting a museum dedicated to him.
Of course, who can miss visiting Kochi Castle?
During our visit, we coincidentally met the Yosakoi Matsuri, which explained the long line of decorated trucks lining the roads. These trucks provide the music for their respective troupes.
At Kochi Castle itself, there was even a nation-wide competition to decide the best Yosakoi troupe.
Mezurudaira happens to make the border between Iyo (present day Ehime prefecture) and Tosa (present day Kochi prefecture).
And here are some Tosa cows grazing away.
The way to Kochi from Oozu was tedious... the roads were narrow and windy, and the on-coming traffic was speeding along the mountain roads at high speeds as they were used to it, unlike me, a first time traveller along those roads. There were a few times in which I had to pull over and stop the car so that on-coming traffic can go first (the road was too narrow for two vehicles to pass by each other) and we were inches apart. A wrong move and I would have rolled down the side of the mountain, or get flattened against the cliff by a trailer truck. After almost 5 hours of driving from Oozu, we finally reached Kochi, and a sumptous dinner was waiting for us!
We were also fortunate to have a nice view of Kochi Castle from our room.
Kochi is the birthplace of Sakamoto Ryouma (坂本龍馬), a samurai who helped engineered the Meiji Restoration. We took the next day to explore the town, visiting a museum dedicated to him.
Of course, who can miss visiting Kochi Castle?
During our visit, we coincidentally met the Yosakoi Matsuri, which explained the long line of decorated trucks lining the roads. These trucks provide the music for their respective troupes.
At Kochi Castle itself, there was even a nation-wide competition to decide the best Yosakoi troupe.
No comments:
Post a Comment