Day 2 : Kotohira to Tokushima
Posted on | June 13, 2007 | No Comments
Original Date : 4/29
I didn’t get a very good nights sleep because it was really cold. As I got up in the moring I was really, really cold. I had a lot of trouble putting the tent together because my hands were shaking. After leaving there was a sign on the road indicating that the current temperature was 2C and all I had were a few shirts and a pair of shorts. I got under way as soon as possible. Just down the road there was one of the longest tunnels that I have ever ridden through at over 3000m. There were no other cars in it as I passed through.
The first stop of the day was Udatsuno old town where lots of old buildings still remained from the Meiji era. I always love just walking through these old towns. Additionally there was a special low height bridge.
As I continued along the path towards Tokushima, I came across these naturally formed pillars of stone (sand, dirt?) that have existed in their current form for a long time. It was quite a spectacular site. They are called Dochu in Japanese.
After a day full of cycling on smaller back roads I arrived in Tokushima just in time to see an Awaodori festival. I always enjoy watching the dancing and listening to music.
After having dinner near Tokushima station, I headed south to find a place to camp. Along the way I passed by Japan’s shortest naturally formed mountain called Mt. Benten. At 6.2 meters tall it is not a hard climb. There was even a small shrine on the top as is the case with most mountains in Japan.
I found a camp site, but it was really expensive (1000yen) and it looked like it was going to rain so I went and camped under a nearby tsunami evacuation structure. It provided full protection from the wind.
There was one other person staying there as well. He was walking the 88-temple tour for 2 months and was about 2 weeks in. It was really interesting listening to his experiences so far.
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