Shikoku (part 2)

game night

Chinese restaurant for breakfast with traditional Japanese seating

we headed to the beach in a nearby town

Ahh! Beautiful clear water!

Old real-life onsen that inspired the anime onsen in the movie 'Spirited Away'

free foot spa (with real hot spring water)

nearby park

afternoon hour of bowling

Our last day...Tuesday

Chris buying a strawberry and cream dessert crepe

garden with pools

...beautiful flowers

...and waterfalls

...and koi fish

A random Japanese man came up to us asking where we were from, how long we would be here, etc, etc...
we asked him if he could take our picture (Aki wasn't there because she had work)

Chris and Adam saying their goodbyes before we board the plane

Shikoku (part 1)

Chris and I left Friday night on a plane to Matsuyama (largest city on the island of Shikoku). We spent Friday through Tuesday night at Adam and Aki's place in Matsuyama. They showed us a ton of places and we ate lots of really great food. Thank you guys again for having us--we had a lot of fun!

Saturday morning before heading out from their place

cafe with delicious pastries and a person playing a grand piano!

Chris sleepily enjoying the music

transportation up and down the hill to the famous castle in Matsuyama

we walked up the hill to the castle

random stone staircase--not sure where it leads to

tall castle walls--perfect for fending off bad guys

beautiful blossom trees just outside the castle walls

view from the top rooms of the castle

Adam and Chris trying to look tough in their cute hats

game break at a local game center

random picture--I liked the glass bubbles

Chris studying Japanese in the car

Aki--thank you for driving!

We decided to head to the beach even though it was raining

Chris and Adam go after the seagulls with their umbrellas

Clear ocean water

very windy and rainy

Italian restaurant for lunch

just passing by the movie theater
we saw the movie 'Jumper' later that night

Local Onsen / Private spa room we rented for 1 1/2 hours
(Adam and Aki rented a separate room)

spa bath overlooking the ocean while the rain came down on the tarp-roof above us--really relaxing!

our dinner

playing with our sesame seed dessert