Land of the 4 countries

- Never Stop Dreaming -

Friday 18th Sept, sometime late in the evening, I was inputting some last minute information into Facebook while waiting anxiously as each fateful second ticked by. It's usually in times like this, moments before something epical happens, that seconds seem to tick so long it seems like eternity.

Just a couple of minutes ago, the message in my phone quoted me the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) of the rest of the crew and now it was already way past the ETA and they were no where in sight. I grew more anxious as this insane ROAD TRIP was about to kick off from my house. I had been hoping for a road trip since I got my Japanese Driving License so this would be my maiden one. The air was light and cool, there were no evening breezes nor sound of rustling leaves. Just pitch black darkness and the occasional dogs barking in the distance. I did some last minute equipment checks of my gear before shutting the trunk of the car, which would be our main speed rocket for the road trip. As I walked into the darkness in front of my house, the sound of irritating bugs soon filled the air and broke the illusional silence that I had conceived in my head. Every headlight beaming from the cars leading into road that led to my house sent jitters of delight thru me. 2 false signals later, the rest of the crew pulled up, dropped their car and loaded their stuffs into the silver speed rocket (SSR), a 2.0 litre silver Honda Accord chassis model CF4.

We pulled away from my humble mountain stronghold with me in the driver's seat and 2 others as we blazed thru the darkness en route to Matsumoto for another crew. The stench of enthusiasm filled the unpressurized cabin of the SSR but it was most certainly fresh with a decent vibe. We were all excited since this would be one hell of a long drive down southern Japan to a place called SHIKOKU where the all so familiar mountains in Nagano were traded for open seas. In my head, the vivid painting of an infinite clean horizon seperating the sea and the sky was already screening.

Grooving on the winding roads along the bottom of valleys and thru a series of mystifying tunnels, we soon reached Matsumoto Station where we picked up the last member of our crew to total the full strength to 4. From here we head to a place called Komagane(駒ヶ根) still within Nagano Prefecture to crash a party and for the night. The party was held a pretty comfortable house of a middle aged couple consisting of a Japanese husband and an American wife. They were some amazing folks who welcomed us with generous hospitality and tons of booze. Well...they ran a booze store. Crashed at another safety pad for the night at the kindness of a friend before heading out the next morning slightly intoxicated from the previous night or merry.

The sun was bright and the sky was blue and highways all the way from this point on. This was where the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) machine which I had installed earlier on the SSR came in God's grace and sent smiles across our faces. The SSR pulled slowly into the toll gate marked with the white ETC font against the purple background which most of us here in Japan were all so familiar but this was actually the first time we pulled into one instead of the usual "Take-the-ticket-pay-later" routine. Then the "Bing Bong" tone sounded away with some Japanese ramble from the ETC machine inside the SSR before the two little barriers governing the toll raised like erected rods electronically. The joyous spirit in the SSR brought the adrenalin level to the max as the SSR roared into the highways. Watching the red meter gliding smoothly along the outer arch in a clockwise direction until the illuminated 7 was reached, the SSR was already gleaming at a comfortable 110 km/h. Like a scene from the Wangan Midnight Series, segmented white lane markers soon became a white uniform line flickering.

A long journey with regular stop intervals at the various servce stations until the massive traffic jam somewhere near Osaka. Well big cities, what would you expect? Had an oil change while filling up the SSR with expensive red wine because the mechanic said the SSR had no oil in the engine. A hefty ￥8,500 would soon vanish from my wallet while I watched the dark, almost black liquid pumped from the engine before lucid clear oil were poured back. Another ￥20,000 was suggested for the weak battery block replacement when the volt meter flashed a "WEAK" signal when attached to the battery. I stood my ground and decided against the battery replacement. Swapping drivers here and there, we pushed thru the jams, in and outta rain patches before the majestic suspended bridges in the distance embraced our arrival. The scorching sun rays glittered like diamonds on the sea surface...what a mesmerizing view.

From Osaka, we took the highway along the coast in the direction of Kobe. Here was simply one of the most memorable and beautiful part of the entire road trip. The sea was visible while the elevated highways ripped thru the ports, beaches and cities.
Armed with a bible of Japanese maps, a stupid PSP GPS that took ages to work, 4 hot country bumpkins and the SSR, we floated into Awaji Shima via some of the most inspirational creations of man I had seen till date, the assortment of bridges. When we reached the final brdge leading into Tokushima Prefecture of Shikoku, it was already into the late evening and the darkness were lit by the blistering city lights. There was a huge heave of relief since the long, arduous drive would soon end.

Upon reaching Ehime Prefecture, which was on the furthest north-western edge of Shikoku, a good 15 odd hours of some tarmac burning driving sensation had already passed. We were now distraught lost mountain folks stranded in a colorful little town. With much disgust and some love lost, we found the hostel and checked in. Definitely a decent steal because the huge apartment space was more than enuff to accomodate 20 people only robbed us of ￥7,000 which equates to about ￥1,750 a piece. Dropped of the SSR in a rotating tower parking aka Tokyo Drift Style before heading out to a nearby Izakaya for dinner and mind fuel. Turned in around 1 in the morning.

Sunday was another bright sunny day which left the entire Saturday of driving in the past. We stayed right next to the famous Matsuyama Castle which was nothing more than a silhouette amongst the powerful lights the night before. We decided to check out this castle before collecting the SSR and moving on. Nothing to difficult to achieve since the steep walk up this castle was quite simply like the snapping of our fingers after we scaled the menacing Fuji San. Watching other Japanese mount the single ski lift up and down the castle, we could only imagine the old, disabled or young beging justified while the rest, they simply had ￥500 to burn while we had calories.

Impressive castle albiet a little crowded. The sandy flat plains leading to the castle provided a really good shutter chance since the rich deep blue cloudless sky was a perfect backdrop for the white castle. Recharged myself with a bottle of mikan juice before heading inside the castle. Inside the castle, there were numerous relics, katanas, samurai armors, etc encased in glass cabinets to relate the story in both simplified English versions and detailed Japanese versions. 3 floors thru some rustic but charming architecture before me and J ventured out to try the samurai replica suits. A pity I was dressing up J who had red hair and a beard, I didn't have the chance to don the samurai suit. J looked fantastic in the red samurai suit since he resembled a character in The Last Samurai movie. All the while J and I had 2 lovely Japanese ladies watching us while I kitted J up and fired my 5D. Of course the lovely Japanese ladies kneeled patiently and cheered, clapped and snapped away when J was done. Just at this time T strolled in with A to complete our crew. I kitted T up with another brown armor which was sadly broken and had the 2 clashed in front of those 2 Japanese ladies. *Sigh* I could only play the sad role of the photographer, director and service staff.

Leaving the sacred castle grounds, we headed to Dogo Onsen which was presumably one of the oldest and most popular onsen in Japan. To put everything a bit crudely, the onsen was actually meant to be our first bath since being on the road from late Friday night. But to our shame and much to our disgust, it was a Sunday and the tiny roads leading to the onsen were packed with throngs of visitors. No parking space and long vehicle queues had us bailing the onsen. The only consolation was to take a one last memorable view of this rustic town of Matsuyama City crawling with cool trams like San Francisco and lined with history rich architectures.

So it was back on the roads again to find a decent onsen for a refreshing bath which took a little too long since leaving the bustling city, only sparsely populated rural villages resembling Nagano surfaced occasionally. Finally we pulled up to an onsen spot as indicated on the "Bible of the Japanese maps" only to find out that it was no longer there. In the end, we explored the help of the locals, drove thru a series of insane Initial D style, narrow, fauna ridden, winding roads at the bottom of a beautiful valley before diving into anxiety after the next operational onsen was spotted. The rejuvernating shower cum onsen perked everyone up and pushed us back rudely into the roads. At this point, I really really felt like taking a snooze but the hopes of finding our dream beach was far stronger. Left and right, up and down and finally after the last insane uphill and down hill thru Initial D styled roads, one of the most beautiful sunset greeted me as I pulled into the silent town by the sea. Too bad I was driving so no pictures...I really wondered why I was always the one driving when beautiful sceneries were served while A was always driving into a massive traffic jam and leading us out. And T would soon to be the driver to lead us deeper into the realm of the unexplained. It was beautiful cruising along side the little fishing port with the water level at equilibrium with the road we were travelling on while watching the last dying light of the sunset disappear behind the cliffs.

The designated camping spot was unfortunately closed because it was full but nonetheless, we chomped down our dinner before heading out in the dark to other camping spots. Round and round we toured the dfferent fishing ports in the dark before ending up in some strange sleepy creepy woods. The paved tarmac roads crept away inches by inches as we pushed the SSR uphills. The vegetation was getting thicking and the roads were getting thinner on the verge of being consumed by the vegetation. The twisted branches, super narrow roads hugging on the side of the cliff with no guard rails and the occasional mysterious shadows appearing and disappearing. This route tested the limits of T, the driver...It was creepy as hell. In the closing moments before the four adventurous young Indiana Jones copycats saw their lives flashed before their eyes, they summoned the God of courage and harness their will, put forth all their faith in T and worked their way out of the Ghostly Mikan Forest as team.

Continuing the search for the camping site, the second one camping spot was closed as well apparently full but Lady Luck shone down on us in the embodiment of gazillion stars. The third camping spot was a national park beside a tiny pond just metres from the sea. Though it was dark, the reflection of the stars in the sky and the orange incandescent light bouncing off the roads and buildings made the pockets of tents across the pond on the smooth grass patch visible. We pulled up, unloaded and sneaked under the cover of the darkness into an open spot by the pond to pitch our tent. I hauled my tripod and a almost 87% juiced 5D for some starry photography by the pond. This would contribute one of the most beautiful pictures of the entire journey, of the night skies with the milky way partially visible.

Morning greeted our lazy asses each day as we grew more lethargic to move on. Drove past more tiny towns to head further down southern Shikoku till we reached Kochi Prefecture's beaches. It was another long day of driving thru more mountainous roads and beautiful beaches. Just as we reached a scenic beach boasting surfers, the camping sites were already filled and was presumably charged a fee. Well we preferred free lodgings so we picked up some BBQ groceries from a nearby supermarket and then settled in a isolated, maybe haunted beach some good driving distance from the crowded one. We didn't know why this stretch of beach was abandoned with a few pathetic fishermen and a couple dining romantically in dusk.

We contemplated for a while and let the darkness roll in before we smuggled our loot under the cover of darkness once again. Started a decent campfire away from pesky public attention at a desecrated section of the beach beneath the roads. It was all good until a strange rotting stench choked our brethenly senses. Hunger and the constraints of time forced us to go forth. Just as we were about to sink our vicious teeth into the juicy slabs of unprofessionally cooked meat, the dining couple we past earlier appeared outta nowhere. For once we thought we were replaying the roles of 4 innocent foreigners about to be brutally but ironically murdered by this strange couple but lewd thoughts proved to be the victor. The BBQ was a mentally bad torture since we were joined by some disgusting looking beach bugs that came to life from some alien inspired comic book. These bugs came in weird and sizes and were devouring a harmless piece of newspaper we had left on the beach. In the darkness with only headlamps, dinner was done and we took a nice break on the stone wave breakers watching the waves crash in while discussing various Tsunamis scenarios. Some brotherly but non gayish love here and there...

The storm clouds soon gathered and started drizzling while we staged the tent in magical speed. J and I opted for the protection of the SSR while T and A chose the tent. Bugs were the worst of any forms of existence so the SSR was by far a much better choice besides against the bare elements approaching quickly. Though a bit confined to move my body, the rain and the comfort of the SSR cradled me and J till the morning.

To wake up to another beautiful sunrise was quite an experience. We drove to the packed beach we past earlier and the rest of the crew went for a swim in the sea or ocean or whatever you want to call it. I, I chose to explore more photography time doing some decent stills and moving frames. Though the magical colors of sunrise and sunset were no longer present, dull gloomy grey scenery were still good for me. This was already Tuesday and we had only 1 more day of adventure before going back to work. By noon, we were already heading towards the direction of Awaji Shima bridge. Once again we needed a decent onsen for a refreshing bath so this time round we picked a superbly refine onsen/hotel by the sea near the one of the famous 88 pilgrim temples, Yakuoji (薬王寺). SHIROITODAI was the name of this really beautiful blue hotel by the sea. The open air onsen will have you face the vast open sea to calm all you senses and this hotel/onsen gets the thumbs up from me.

From this hotel you can see a strange looking building resembling a castle on one of the peaks of the surrounding hills. Definitely smaller than a regular Japanese castle but the architectual screamed everything resembling a castle! So a quick check on the net revealed that this was indeed a castle. The name is HIWASA Castle (日和佐城) but unfortunately the link provided in wiki is in Japanese only which means that this is more of a local castle than an internationally reknown one.

Hit the roads again after the relaxing onsen, nice view, etc and stopped for a hearty sumptous lunch of a steak over steam rice. The restaurant was abruptly named in a weird deviation of the English word, "Wood Works" or something similiar. But strange names aside, the presentation of a log cabin with a Tomahawk Chief for the design on the menu, the food was surprisingly good. Thick slabs of juicy steak with the semi-liquid fat attached to it. Yuuuuummmmmmmmy!

The long journey back and out of Shikoku began shortly after lunch but soon we found ourselves exiting the last stretch of bridges without trying the famous Udon of Shikoku, what a shame, what a pity. Then we pulled into a service area on Awajima Shima to grab some last minute souvenirs before heading for the big cities ahead. The highway to Kobe / Osaka began to pile up as more traffic funneled into the narrow dual carriage drive way. We mingled with the rest of the other suckers for a while before pulling off the nearest exit in Hyogo Prefecture. Then we dumped the car at a random parking space, grabbed out necessary gear and took a public train into Osaka's bustling Namba araa to get aquainted with my feminine pals, A and N. Despite being a last minute inconvenience to sneak up on them in Osaka, they, A and N were still so welcoming as we hit a sushi store. No Lady Luck this time and we were turned away since they were fully packed. In the end, it was a nearby Izakaya that saved the day as we Nagano Boys, tired and starving, chomped down plates of food and emptied glasses of booze. Karaoke succeeded our dinner immediately and once again the Nagano folks emptied more jugs of booze while dishing out some ridiculous tunes to tickle the funny bones of A and N. Great party I would say but ALAS!, A and N left to catch the last train outta town and we went on to another watering hole beside the capsule hotel that were supposed to be our Osaka's crash pad. Some slick action blending in with the locals, a pizza and more booze, we were smashed and sank deep into the tiny capsules.

Wednesday, 23rd Sept, the last day of the long 5 day vacation had finally come to an end. With still some crazy music ringing in my ears from the wild night of partying the night before, I woke up to the sound of my watch alarm and shook the reast of the crew at 0830am. Moved out and grabbed some breakfast from a convenient store and then back to the road. Somehow the ride back from Osaka to Nagano didn't seemed that far as compared to the first day. Ate our final dinner at one of the random service stations along the highway before reaching our destinations and dispersing into the darkness.

Great Road trip nonetheless...

WOW!