Eating in Takamatsu

[Kuma]

Apart from Himeji and Ritsurin Koen, I'm not planning on paying admission anywhere.  Hence the willingness to ditch Kurashiki.

Speaking of Himeji, and slightly off topic, If you're only at Himeji for one day, please save time to tour the beautiful garden next to Himeji-jo.

We spent way too much time looking at the castle, and as a result had to quite literally run through the garden to see it, and it was on a par with the "big three" in our opinion.

It also looked like there might be a tea-house in there, if anyone knows of it?

...I really must try making that tempura soft-bolied egg too. (just to stay on topic )

-Rob.

[helenjp]

This site says that entrance to the Koukoen Garden is 300 yen, entrance plus tea at the Soujuan teahouse i is 500 yen. English

Mori Seimenjo, in Hiroyuki's list - I think that's a good'un, and I think you should be able to see noodles being made.

P.S. Takamatsu has a very special place in my heart, so please forgive me if I seem to be pushing it. Himeji is (along with the black castle down in er, um, Kumamoto in Kyushu) spectacular, and this is a good time of year to visit - being on flat land and open, it can be awfully hot and stifling in mid-summer. Although there is a bit of a technopolis between Kobe and Himeji, there isn't a lot going on apart from the castle. Okayama seems kind of non-descript, but really it's been a busy part of Inland Sea trade for a long time, and people from Kyushu and Shikoku families settle there too. I've always wanted to take time to explore it - I imagine there's plenty of interest, if you are interested in real life! Kurashiki...it's pretty and I enjoyed my visits very much, but what I really enjoyed were the galleries. The canal area is only a small part of the town, and prices (cafes etc) were expensive there even back in the '80s.

[MoGa]

I posted after returning home after a long day and before I had something to eat. After I had some supper in me things seemed a bit brighter. They still do.

Thank you for the encouraging posts. I certainly don't feel pushed into visiting anywhere, but it is nice to have that intangible gut feeling given some substance with your comments. I'm not usually such a nervous traveller, but this is a convalescence trip different from any other I've ever been on and I can only barely justify the cost of taking it.

It's very kind of you to scan the udon map list, I value your opinions immensely and will be adding them to my own list. Takamatsu remains firmly on the itinerary.

And that's a great additional incentive to get up and check out of Osaka extra early to enjoy the Himeji Castle gardens. Thank you Kuma San.