Pilgrims

What is famous in Shikoku? I don't know much of Shikoku because I was born and grew up in a different place other than Tokushima. The first time I came to Tokushima, I checked a tourist guide book and tried to find features of the place I was living in. According to the book, Pilgrims' temples are the most famous in Shikoku. There are 88 pilgrimage temples in total on this island. The famous monk, Kookai associated his new religion and made those temples under his beliefs, so people who admire him or tried to discipline themselves visit all 88 temples. Some of these pilgrims will  walk across Shikoku, while some drive and some use train. Shikoku islanders are very hospitable to  those people.  I am an agnostic and my husband is a christian. However, everyone can enjoy going to the pilgrimage temples without being Buddhists. Tokushima is home to temples 1 through 23. My favorite is Kakurinji (鶴林寺). You can find stone guideposts there that were placed there in the 1300s. That is amazing. Isn't that beautiful, that we can share time with such old era relics in the form of the stones? And Kakurinji is located in the mountains, it is a little hard to get there, but trees and vegetation are phenomenal. I appreciate that I could come here and live. Shikoku rocks!

Lotus Root

My husband and I went to Naruto (鳴門市) to dig up lotus roots. In Asian countries, many people eat them. They are actually one of my favorite vegetables. But, every time I see them at the supermarket, I hesitate in buying them. They are VERY expensive! … So when I heard that there was an event where we could dig up some lotus root, as well as take home however much we dug up, I absolutely thought we had to go and we did go.

..Dude… It was very hard digging them up. I didn’t even imagine they grew that deep in the mud and clay. It took one hour to dig up just one full root from the soil. All of my clothes and shoes were caked with mud.

That night, my body was totally dead..but  we ate a special dinner made with lotus root. They are very healthy and good for digestion, as well as good for relieving sore throats and fatigue. I learned that I shouldn’t have complained about the price of lotus root at the supermarket. I definitely learned that I have to appreciate a farmer’s hard work.

Extravagant Soup

My husband brought Ise-Ebi (Japanese Lobster : 伊勢エビ）home with him. Seems like he got it from a fisherman around his work. Sometimes it happens here in Tokushima. We live next to the Pacific Ocean, so the fishing thrives. There are so many nice people here. We often get many things from them. We appreciate their kindness, and feel very lucky to be here. Ise-Ebi are known as an auspicious food in Japan. We eat them in new years day or on some special occasions. So it is a little weird to cook Ise-Ebi on such an ordinary day like today. Also, I didn't know how I should serve it. Well, I finally settled down to making Lobster miso soup.  It is a super extravagant soup to me, but it was really good.

A Snail Island

There is a small island (I don’t know if I can call it an island since it’s so small) close to the beach in my town. The island is too small, so I don’t think anyone lives there. I always thought the island looked like a snail, so I’ve been calling it “The Snail Island” since I started living here. The other day, I told my neighbors about it. One of them said it looks like a whale, so they call it “The Whale Island”. Well… They could say that. But to me this island has always looked like a snail. What do you think?

A cafe

Surprisingly there are no Starbucks here in Tokushima. That is actually a big shock to me. Don’t get me wrong... I am not either a big fan of coffee or trying to praise the enormous chain coffee company. It was just shocking to me because Starbucks are always around me – just like street lights or billboards. Since Tokushima doesn’t have Starbucks so many small, private coffee shops are around. Every single café has high quality coffee, various munchies and relaxing atmospheres. They are all sophisticated.

 I went to one café with my husband. The outside of their building looked like ancient ruins. It seems like the building was rubble from after being in a fire. We were actually scared and hesitated entering the place. But, our fears were utterly groundless. The interior of the café was amazing. We learned that we shouldn’t judge something by its appearance.

Tokushima

 I was born in "Fukuoka (福岡県)" and grew up in "Yamaguchi (山口県)", Japan. I lived in the U.S. from the time I was 24 until I was 30 – six years. Now, I live in "Tokushima (徳島県)". Everyone asks me why I am here. My answer is always the same, “ I don’t know! ”

I don’t have anyone that I know here in Tokushima. My husband got his job and is asked to work here by his company – so I live here with him. The company asked us where we wished to go and live. They would try to make our wish come true as much as possible. We chose Fukuoka which is my hometown. At least that was close to Yamaguchi. But, a couple of months later the company announced that we were going to Tokushima.

『...Tokushima?』 I couldn't remember where it was located at that time, so I checked a map of Japan. I found it in "Shikoku (四国)",  one of Japan's major islands, which is located just under the main island of Japan. I had never imagined that my husband and I were going to be placed there. There was nothing I could do. We had to go.

Now, we have been in Tokushima for almost three months. To be honest, the customs here are so different from my hometown or the United States – so I am still trying to get used to being here.