Road Trip on Yosan Line (Part 1)
Japan Hour
Sub Navigation
- Undercover Asia S8
- Manufacturing Ignorance
- Singapore Budget 2021
- In The Age Of AI
- Climate For Change
- Believe
- Remember Our House
- Singapore Green Plan 2030
- There's Something About Orchard
- Singapore Perspectives 2021: Dialogue with Minister of Education Lawrence Wong
- Inside The Probation Service
- Work.Able
- Once Upon A River
- Greening The 'Net
- Remarkable Living 3
- Contact Tracers
- Game Nation
- The Great Escapade
- Ahead Of Their Time
- When Titans Clash
- From Crisis To Catalyst
- Becoming Human Again
- The Pandemic: One Year On
- A Deadly Ascent
- Strangers In My Head
- Into The Vault 2
- Business Unusual
- Beyond the Viral Video
- Wild City: River World
- Disease Hunters
- Wizards Of Tech
- Feeding A City
- Undercover Asia S3
- 23
- Belly Of A Nation 2
- For Food's Sake! 3
- Forgotten Heroes
- Kampong Konkrit
- Rising To The Challenge
- Grounded
- The Longest Day
- Survival: Developing Countries On The Frontline
- Artists Unstaged
- Corridor of Hope
- Deciphering Japan
- The Family Affair S5
- Singapore Votes 2020: The Political Debate
- In Conversation Special
- Coronavirus Pandemic
- GRIT
- National Broadcast
- Why It Matters 4
- Faith Over Fear
- Outbreak Onboard
- Slumfood Millionaire
- #COVID19: The Social Media Pandemic
- CNA Correspondent
- One Of Us
- The Mark Of Empire
- Courage
- Race Against Pandemic
- A Frame In Time
- Carbon Conundrum
- Secret Wars
- Chasing Scarcity
- Undercover Asia S7
- Stronger: The Battle Against COVID-19
- Gadg(AID)
- Food In Our Time
- Tycoons China
- Inside The Child Protective Service
- Politics Of Climate Change
- The Singapore Perspectives Conference
- Borderlands
- In Our Time
- The Next Wave
- One Day That Changed Asia
- The Year Ahead 2020
- Migrants' Diary
- Ships That Shaped Us
- We Are Gen Z
- Crime Science
- Majulah: Symbols For Singapore
- A Billion Chinese Dreams
- CyberPunk'D
- Remarkable Living S2
- China's Growing Appetite
- In Search Of The Frog Boys
- Venturepreneurs
- The Skin We Wear
- The Millennial Investor
- Show Me The City
- Jewel: After Hours
- The Islands That Made Us
- Rishi & Sharul Try…
- Why It Matters 3
- Regardless Of Generation
- The Singapore Bicentennial Conference
- The Negotiators
- Secret Delicious
- Fighting Foreign Interference
- Hawkers In Our Centre
- HT MintAsia Leadership Summit 2019
- Coded World
- For Food's Sake! 2
- The Big Boss: A 21st Century Criminal
- Belly Of A Nation
- #DontForgetMe
- #HuntingHistory
- #Wanderlust
- Aarushi – Beyond Reasonable Doubt
- Across ASEAN
- Aerial Asia
- A Big Little Murder
- Against The Elements
- Age Of Innovation
- Algorithms
- An Astronomical Journey
- Astropreneurs: To The Stars & Beyond
- ASEAN’s Next Generation Leaders (ANGeLs)
- ASEAN Spotlight
- Asia First
- Asia First Encore
- Asian Century
- Asia in the Great War
- Back to School
- Becoming Human
- Becoming Singapore
- Bridging Giants
- Blueprint For Survival
- Bronze: A Forgotten Treasure
- Butterfly Children
- Challenge Tomorrow
- Champions For Change
- Check In
- City DNA
- City of Opportunities
- China on Film
- CNA Leadership Summit: Navigating a Post-Pandemic World
- Coming Clean About Green
- Conversation With S14
- Cool Living in an Eco-city
- Correspondents' Diary
- Cram Course Asia
- Days in Pyongyang
- Days Of Rage
- Days Of Disaster
- Deciphering Indonesia
- Deciphering The Philippines
- Destiny of a Maritime Nation
- Don't Make Us Invisible
- Electric Dream
- Edible Wild 2
- Edge of Space
- Enemy Within
- Every Woman
- Facing Dementia
- Facing Depression
- Fake News
- Finding Singapore
- Fighting Fake News
- Fighting Falsehoods
- Facing Terror
- Food Heroes
- For The King
- Forums
- Futuropolis
- Gangnam Insider's Picks!
- Get Real S17
- Going Places
- Going Underground
- How To Raise A Super Baby
- In Conversation
- Into The Vault
- India on Film
- Inside the Storm 4
- Indonesia’s Game Changers
- Inside The Children's ICU
- Inside Our Factories
- Insight
- Inside The Cryptokingdom
- In Search of Umami
- In Pursuit of Magic
- I Remember The Fall Of Singapore
- Johor: A New State of Affairs
- Japan Hour
- Just Like You
- Kashmir: A War of Stones
- Land Unlimited
- Law of the Land
- Love in A Time of Change
- Life Lines
- Luxe Asia S5: The Ultimate Access
- Made in Singapore
- Market Insights
- Maverick Politicians
- Money Mind
- National Service - The Beginning
- National Service - The Transformation
- Neighbours: Singapore-Malaysia Relations
- Nepal's Child Brides
- The New Silk Road
- Once a Refugee
- On The Red Dot
- Our Tiny Superheroes
- Palu: A Month After
- Perspectives
- Parliament Specials
- Asia Tonight
- Power And Piety
- Powering the Future
- Power List Asia
- Raffles Revealed
- Raffles: An Icon Reborn
- Real Deal
- Rebellion In Marawi
- Refugee Chef
- Regardless of Class
- Regardless of Race
- Regardless of Religion
- Roar!
- Savouring The Future
- Slackers, Shockers, Suits and Superheroes
- Singapore Food Stories
- Singapore Reimagined
- Singapore Mosaic
- Game Changers Singapore
- Singapore Tonight
- Singapore on Film
- Singapore After Dark
- Smart Cities 2.0
- Specials
- Super Octogenarians
- Start-UP S6
- Talking Point
- Taking Singapore Forward
- Tapestry: The Heart of ASEAN
- The ASEAN I Know
- The Big Questions
- The Dark Web
- The Family Affair S4
- The Great Migration
- The Last Rites
- The Past Beneath Us
- The Successors
- The Terror Trail
- The Truth About Fake News
- This is What I Hear
- The Traitor Within
- This Weekend
- This Side of The Border
- Tipping Point
- To Live
- Trash Trail
- Undercover Asia S6
- Unusual Suspects
- Vanishing Foods
- Vice & Virtue: 1800s Singapore
- Walk This Way
- When We Play
- Wild City: Forest Life
- Wild City: Secret World
- Whiter Shade of Terror
- Why It Matters 1
- Why It Matters 2
- Work Is A 4-Letter Word
- Don't Call Us Poor
- Don't Call Us Beaten
Bookmark
Japan Hour:
Road Trip on Yosan Line (Part 1)
(Updated: )This week, we will travel along the JR Yosan Line, which links Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture and Uwajima in Ehime Prefecture. It runs along the Seto Inland Sea. Built in 1889, the line initially connected Marugame and Kotohira and was operated by Sanuki Railway Co. Worshippers would take the train to the shrine complex in Kotohira.
We will ride on the local line from Kanonji Station in Kagawa to Matsuyama Station in Ehime. The journey will span 37 stations and cover a distance of 138km. Our first stop is Niihama Station, 10 stops away from Kanonji. On the train, we chat with a passenger who tells us about the Akagane Museum, which displays the works of Japanese artists. It also has the Akimatsuri festival’s taiko drum float which is about 4m tall.
We reach Niihama Station after about an hour. Our next train departs at 11.30am, which gives us 1.5 hours to visit recommended spots. We head to the museum first but unfortunately, it is closed on this particular day. We then ask a group of ladies to suggest another place and they mention the Sousaku District, where there is a combined commercial facility with cafes, hair salons, pet shops and other stores. They recommend we visit a famous shaved ice shop which uses locally made syrups of different flavours. One of the women offers to drive us there. However, when we reach the place, we find out it only opens at noon.
So we return to Niihama Station and catch the train to Iyo-Saijo Station, two stops away. We meet a student on the train and he tells us about a train museum near Iyo-Saijo Station. At Iyo-Saijo, we have 2.5 hours until our next train leaves at 1.55pm. We go to the Shikoku Railway Cultural Museum, which has several trains on display, starting with the 0 series. It showcases trains which were active during the Showa period. An example is the DF50 diesel railcar, the only one left in Japan which has been preserved in operating condition. Another is a 0 series bullet train which was originally built in 1976 and continued operating until 2000.
Saijo City has been known as the Water Capital since the Edo period. There are around 3,000 spots called Uchinuki where spring water gushes from the ground. The water from Mount Ishizuchi and the Kamogawa area is drinkable and the locals would bring containers to fill with the water and take them home. We head to one such spot to taste the water.
Next, we take the train to Nyugawa, which is five stations away. We have to catch the 4.10pm train from here, which gives us two hours to explore the area. We ask some local residents to suggest a place for lunch. One of them is kind enough to show us the way to Udon Shop Tanuki. It has been around for about 40 years and the meat udon and tanuki udon are popular. The restaurant makes its own variety of thin noodles; the flour and water are adjusted according to the season and temperature.
After lunch, we head by train to Imabari, four stops away. Imabari is known for its towels. It has been making them since the Meiji period, boasting over 100 manufacturers within the city. They make about 60 per cent of the towels in the country. We want to spend the night at Imabari and have to look for a hotel. One resident we talk to suggests Kokusai Hotel, so we make our way there.
Tips:
1) Check out a commercial facility in Sousaku District with its various cafes and shops when you visit Niihama
2) A must-see attraction in Saijo City is Uchinuki, where spring water gushes from the ground