Kappa Backpackers

The Yodo-line runs right next to the guesthouse

 

Shimanto River, the last clear stream in Japan, only a minute away!
   About 8 minutes walking distance from Tokawa Station on the Yodo Line, Shimanto-Cho’s first ever guesthouse preopened in July. The property, a former abandoned house which the owner rented out, is currently being renovated with major layout changes and new interior design. It is located next to the Yodo Line railroad, which is only a one minute walk from Shimanto River! Time seems to go by slower in this area, which is surrounded by mountains and the river. This time, a CIR and KIA staff member stayed at the guesthouse and gathered information.

Sprawling mountains are only a short walk
away

Enjoy Unique Art: Kaiyodo Hobby Museum and Kappa Museum

The unusual outside of the Hobby Museum.

Go out of your way for it! The distant Hobby Museum

   Get in touch with some unique art in this treasure chest of a museum that boasts the world’s largest collection of plastic models, by the world’s most famous designers! You can appreciate the craftsmen’s masterpieces, enjoy your favorite figures, and even make your own dioramas in a special studio. It’s an experience you can’t have anywhere else.

GENKI Seinenkai Tosaben Musical 2016 － O-Henro ALL STARS －

A photo taken onstage with a selfie stick
at the 2015 Tosaben Musical

   Won’t you add a bit of “GENKI” to your life? Each year, GENKI Seinenkai presents the Tosaben Musical!
   This year’s title is O-Henro ALL STARS. One night in Tosa, known as the “austerity and discipline” section of the Shikoku Henro Pilgrimage, many pilgrims gather at an inn, about to give up on their journeys. But why do they want to give up…?
   In an adventure of tanuki, shibaten, magicians, nosy-parkers, and other “only in Tosa” protagonists and antagonists, the characters will learn about friendship and forgiveness all over again. We hope all of you will join the adventure too!
   Admission is free, but donations are requested. Proceeds from donations will provide financial support for a high school or university student planning a study abroad, so please give generously!

Mutemuka “Local Sake with a Twist”

Entrance to the brewery.
They steam chestnuts in the large stoves inside.

Chestnut Shochu for Rural Revitalization

   In the mountainous region of Western Kochi lies the town of Taisho, Shimanto-cho. There can be found a brewery dedicated to local sake since its inception: Mutemuka.

   Mutemuka, which began as a simple sake brewery, started making their signature chestnut shochu “Dabada Hiburi” roughly 30 years ago. They got their start when the mayor of Taisho at the time asked them if they could help revitalize the town by using locally-grown chestnuts. They heeded the call, got a shochu brewing license, and got to work making chestnut shochu. At first they were committed to only using local chestnuts, but their rising sales outpaced local chestnut production, so they currently do not follow that requirement. However, Dabada Hiburi, which is made from over 50% chestnuts, still uses only domestic chestnuts.

 

GENKI Seinenkai Tosaben Musical 2015 “The Wizard of Tosa”

  

A scene of the Tosaben Musical 2014
 - Hogwarts Tosa Style School of Witchcraft
and Wizardry

   Would you like to add a little “GENKI” to your life? Announcing the annual Tosaben Musical!

   This year’s title is Tosa no Mahotsukai, “The Wizard of Tosa.” It introduces “The Wizard of Oz,” which is not very well known by Japanese people, in Tosa-style. Tamaki, a high school girl from Tokyo, moves to live with her aunt in Kochi, but she misses her friends in Tokyo and just can’t get used to life in Kochi. One day, Tamaki is swept away by a typhoon and lands in a fantasy land called “Tosa.” In this mysterious land, populated by Yuzu people, Washi people, living scarecrows and more, Tamaki must find her way home while learning to speak Tosaben, making new friends, and having a great adventure.

   Admission to the Tosaben Musical is free, but donations are encouraged. The funds collected will be given as a scholarship to a Kochi high school or college student who is planning to study abroad. Thank you for your generosity.

Hiking Courses That Let You Have it All—Hiking, Fall Colors, AND Onsen

   Here we introduce two day trip hiking courses for those people who want a little more out of hiking than just, well, hiking.

Visit Rural Areas involved in Nippon Green Tourism

Shimanto 3 days (15-17 October (Wed.-Fri.) 2014, 3 days/2 nights)

 

   This Monitoring tour is a program in which you will visit the rural areas involved in Green (Agritourism or rural) Tourism, experience the actual lifestyles in these areas such as production activities and food culture, and interact with the local people. An English-speaking guide will accompany you on the tour and help with the exchange.

 

Accepted Applicants: 10

Meet: 15 October (Wed.) at 9:30 at Kochi Ryoma Airport (or at 10:00 at JR Kochi station)

End: 17 October (Fri.) at 16:00 at Kochi Ryoma Airport (or at 15:30 at JR Kochi station)

Tour Organizer: Taiheiyo Travel (Kochi Prefecture)

 

For further information, please see the attached file.

Staying Overnight at Iwamotoji!

Front view of the temple lodgings.

   Four of the temples in Kochi Prefecture that are part of the Shikoku Pilgrimage offer lodging for visiting ohenro-san. For this article, we visited one of those four temples, Iwamotoji in Shimanto Town, where we stayed the night at the lodging facilities for pilgrims.

   Iwamotoji was built in the Tenpyo era (729-749), and it was established as the 37th sacred temple in the Shikoku Pilgrimage by Kukai during the Konin era (810-824). Iwamotoji is home to several historical structures, such as the main temple where the temple’s principle object of worship is enshrined, which is across from the building that houses lodging accommodations.

Shimanto Pork Donburi Strip in Shimanto Town

The Shimanto Pork Don with balsamic
vinegar with its addictive taste.

We want you to enjoy the “Food” in Shimanto Town
   When you hear the name “Shimanto” the first thing that comes to mind might be the Shimanto River or the popular tourist establishment, the Kaiyodo Hobby Museum. Shimanto is not only rich in tourist destinations, but is also a treasury of food. The town’s society of commerce and industry decided to bring more tourists to the area with the proposal of the “Shimanto Pork Donburi Strip” which started in November of 2012 in preparation for the completion of the Expressway to Shimanto which was completed in December of the same year.

Genki Seinenkai Tosaben Musical 2013 “Tosa Wars”

A scene from Tosaben Musical 2012 "Ekin in Neverland"

This year’s theme is “Star Wars”!
   Luke has been forced to do strict study by his workaholic father so he can get a good job. One day, he decides to run away to his grandfather’s house in Kochi. Luke’s grandfather decides to show him “Star Wars.”
   When he falls asleep, he dreams that he is in the Star Wars universe. There, he joins the rebel forces, who are fighting against an evil corporation working to destroy the countryside. In order to become stronger, Luke must become one with his roots and master the “Tosa” power. Will he be able to save the countryside?

Enko Sumo

   The frog-like, turtle-like water goblin known as the kappa features in folk tales from all over Japan, including Kochi, but here they are also known as enko. Legend has it that one of these enko used to inhabit the Iyoki River south of Kubokawa.

   One day, some children went to the river and called, “Enko, enko, come out! We’ll give you cucumbers!” Enko absolutely love cucumbers, so it came up out of the water. After giving it some cucumber and eggplant, the children challenged the enko to a sumo wrestling match. The enko was small – about the size of a 5-year-old child – but used its quickness, slipperiness, and incredible strength to easily beat all the children.

Hand-Made Soba

   Imagine how satisfying it would be to make your own soba, and be able to take it home to eat. There is a place in Kochi that lets you do just this.

 

   About 40 minutes by bus from JR Kubokawa Station (Dosan Line) you will find “Hokushin no Yakata,” a small building standing inconspicuously next to a mountain hot-spring hotel. You can make your own original soba noodles at this Japanese-style wooden house. Add water little by little to local buckwheat and flour, mix and knead until the dough is as hard as your ear lobe. Roll the dough with a special bar, and when thin enough, fold it into four and then cut evenly.

 

Make Japanese Sake in Kochi

   For those who are tired of just drinking Japanese Sake, why not try making your own?

 

   Let me introduce you to a sake brewery which offers sake-making lessons, starting from the production of the raw-material - rice. Mutemuka in Taisho, Shimanto Town offers this course, beginning with rice-planting in May all the way through to bottling in December. The participation fee is ¥20,000. For more information, please call 0880-27-0316.

Website: http://www.mutemuka.com/ (Japanese)

 

   The Kochi Youth Hostel reportedly offers an opportunity to experience sake-making. Please contact the hostel at 088-823-0858

Website: http://www.kyh-sakenokuni.com/english.html (English)

Taken from vol.28 PDF

Onsen after climbing mountains

★Befukyo Onsen★
   While at the hot spring take in the views of the Shikoku Mountains like Mt Ishizuchisan, Mt Tsurugisan and Sanrei which is 1893 meters high.
   Address：452-8 Befu, Monobe-cho, Kami City
   TEL：0887-58-4181 Entry fee：¥600 for adult
   Web：http://www.befukyou-onsen.com/ (in Japanese only)
  Access: 1.5 hours by car from Kochi City via national road 195. About 45 min from JR Tosayamada Sta. by JR bus, then 35min from Odochi bycity-run bus and get off at Befukyo Onsen Mae.

Kinoko-gari: mushroom hunting

   Now make no mistake about it, I’m a kinoko fan. I remember coming to Japan hoping to go on what they call “kinoko-gari”, which, like hunting for animals, you hunt for mushrooms. I used to daydream about the day I would get to see the beautiful Dictyophora indusiata, or as they call it here the “Queen of Mushrooms”. While everybody has an obsession about one thing or another in Japan, mine undoubtedly has to be kinoko.

Roadside Station Shimanto Towa

This large billboard with the logo attached
 acts as a landmark for the station

   Another roadside station we went to conduct an interview at was “Shimanto Towa,” located in Towa, Shimanto Town. “Shimanto Towa” opened in July of 2007, and currently has about 150,000 visitors annually, which is almost 50 times the population of the town it is located in. With some of the foremost tourist facilities in the area, the appeal of “Shimanto Towa” lies in its proximity to the nationally renowned Shimanto River, as well as in the love and care that has been put into the various local foods from the mountain (chestnuts, tea, etc.) and river (sweetfish, eel, etc.) served by the passionate staff that work there.

My Best Onsen in Kochi - Matsubakawa Onsen

   We don't have many hot springs in Kochi compared with other prefectures. But I believe that the quality of the water here is as excellent as that of famous onsen resorts such as Dogo in Ehime Pref. and Beppu in Oita Pref.

Budo-gari (Grape Picking)

   Various kinds of grapes are cultivated in Kochi, including Campbell, Kyoho and Berry A. If you want to pick grapes, then go to either of the following places:

Shimanto Taisho ‘Ayu’ Festival

fishing with flaming torches

   This festival is locally run by townspeople, featuring the fish ‘ayu’ – one of the natural blessing provided by the Shimanto River. So come along and experience delectable Ayu-based cuisine. Plus, you can’t miss the nearby demonstration of traditional fishing methods – including fishing with flaming torches!