We're back on the rails for a trip along the Yosan line, Shikoku's main route between Takamatsu and Matsuyama cities. As if the similar names of the termini weren't enough, they should have called it the Takamatsuyama line for extra confusion! Anyway, grab some sanuki udon to fuel up, and we'll be off. I've already posted about the most interesting trains that run on the line, so we'll be focusing on looking through the window, making a few stops for some interesting things near the stations.
Takamatsu (0 km) is a port city on the spectacular Seto Inland Sea. The former castle, with moats, stone walls and a few turrets still standing, is a couple of hundred metres from the station, close enough to feature.
While the main keep is long gone, the grounds offer a nice park to stroll through. The best park in Takamatsu is undoubtedly Ritsurin, but it's not on the Yosan line, so it's a post for another time.
Sakaide (21 km) is the last station before the Seto Ôhashi line branches off, headed for the main island of Honshû and Okayama city. Hourly rapid Marine Liner services do the heavy lifting on the cross-channel route from Takamatsu. The above video (not my recording - I do have one from Imabari, but it's not this good) allows us to hear the "train incoming" melody used in stations where Seto trains stop. The tune is based on an award-winning 1972 song by Koyanagi Rumiko, Seto no Hanayome ("bride of Seto"), which tells of a woman going to Shikoku to get married, and, having noticed it, it's going to be なつかしい for me, a warm reminder of my time in Shikoku.
Utazu (26 km) is on the other side of the junction, and is where the Ishizuchi express services for Matsuyama join with the Shiokaze from the mainland. This shot is technically off the Yosan line, on a train to Okayama, but it gives us one of the better views of the long road & rail bridges.
Just outside the station at Marugame (28.5 km) is a statue of a dog. This is a memorial to Kinako, a labrador that lived from 2002 to 2017. Trained to become a police dog, she was only in service for 2 and a half years, because it took her 7 attempts to pass the exams! Her underdog (sorry) story was followed by the media for a while, and adapted into a film, so she was a bit of a local celebrity.
