A small bakery in Takamatsu station were offering a 390 yen breakfast set so we thought we'd try it. A huge slab of toast was served with a tiny chunk of butter. With it came a small salad, yogurt and a coffee. Not the greatest breakfast set we'd come across but that slice of toast was a beast and tasted incredible, much more butter was definitely needed though!
Our destination today was Kotohira which could be reached by train.
First impressions were good, this was just the train station!
Kotohira served a stunning ice cream too!
Our reason for visiting was to climb to Kompirasan, Shikoku's most popular shrine.
We were happy to walk to the top but there were other options if you weren't feeling so energetic and had the money to spare!
Reaching Kompirasan Shrine involves walking up 1,368 stone steps. The shrine is dedicated to sailors and seafaring.
If you're feeling energetic you can climb an additional 583 steps to the inner shrine. Most visitors only go as far as the main shrine but we just had to climb further to see what was at the top!
Finally we made it to the inner shrine in the blazing heat. Be sure to bring a drink with you though as there are no vending machines up here!
The climb to the top rewards you with incredible views.
Back at the bottom I noticed this tomato drink in a vending machine so decided to try it. It wasn't as thick as tomato juice and was so refreshing, just what was needed after such a hike!
What we really craved was a beer though. We sat back and watched people starting their hike up the steps with an ice cold Sapporo. We couldn't resist sharing a piece of cake too.
Back in Takamatsu we'd found a huge department store. The best place to check out in these places is always the basement food halls.
I really fancied some Sushi and this selection from the department store food hall was delicious.
We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the huge network of shopping arcades.
Ella was very tempted to buy this cup and saucer set in a Totoro store.
Walking through these Pachinko and slot arcades is quite an experience. Really noisy inside and as smoking is allowed, very smoky indeed!
This evening we went for a curry inside one of the many restaurants which lined the shopping arcades.
I chose a pork katsu curry served as standard and thoroughly enjoyed it. My wife ordered a vegetable curry but decided to turn up the heat by ordering the hottest on the menu, spicy level 10. The person serving us looked very concerned about this though and talked Ella down to spicy level 7. This was excellent advise as even level 7 was ridiculously spicy!!
Back at the hostel we planned where to visit the following day. We'd read about a place on the edge of Takamatsu which sounded interesting and just like today involved a bit of a hike. With this in mind we climbed inside the dorm pods and got a good nights rest.
Click here for Day 18
Yashima
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