#shikoku

[cynikoii]

It kind of looks like he’s walking on air in this photo…

[jmfenner91]

Inktober Day 08 - Hike I don't think I shared it here yet, but I'm officially doing the Shikoku pilgrimage in Japan next spring!!! It's been a lifelong dream! I can't wait to go hike the island & visit the 88 temples. It's a 2 month long, 750 mile walk. So excited, but also intimidated! I am going to make a graphic novel diary of the experience & am in the process of putting together crowdfunding thing for it, so keep eye out!

[coelasquid]

By baby boy Ranger is one year old!

[ohm2449314]

[sergio-quatraro]

[wilderun]

Robin!

[merpmonde]

Joyful Train updates

First, some news. The 500 series Shinkansen (best train ever!) is currently being withdrawn, and there have been photos of one set being scrapped. This is going to continue into 2026, and with that, the retirement of the Hello Kitty set has been announced for next Spring (likely at the change of timetable on 1 March). If you want to see it or ride it, time is running out!

I had planned to talk about other Joyful Trains today, so the news fits in somewhat. There appears to be no end in sight for these however.

We've covered the Anpanman Trains previously, specifically the one operating from Okayama. Above is its counterpart starting at Takamatsu - the Shiokaze and Ishizuchi expresses join together at Utazu before running together to Matsuyama.

The whole train is decorated, mostly rather moderately, and everyone gets a themed welcome announcement (link to YouTube video, not my recording). Like the Hello Kitty train, there is one carriage where things get crazy: this is a reserved seat carriage, which I didn't visit as I was using a non-reserved rail pass. But I did see through the windows at a terminus station, and it's full rainbow inside! The seats used in that carriage were also on display at the Shikoku Railway Cultural Center in Saijô.

The museum had a whole exhibit on Anpanman trains, including boards showing all the decorations used since the scheme's inception in October 2000. Last time we checked, JR Shikoku were celebrating 1 million passengers, now we're on the 25th anniversary!

The very first Anpanman train was a 2000 series tilting Diesel multiple unit, JR Shikoku's first tilting train, introduced in 1990. This comes full circle with our previous post, where I noted that the two 2600 series DMUs are the next trains to join the Anpanman fleet. This has been done, I've seen some pictures doing the rounds.

One 2000 series Anpanman train still runs between Matsuyama and Uwajima, on the Uwakai express service running in tandem with the Shiokaze/Ishizuchi trains from Okayama and Takamatsu, and "tandem" is the correct term: the trains, in very similar livery, connect with each other at Matsuyama. I wasn't aware of this particular train when I arrived off the ferry from Kyûshû, but nothing says "welcome to Shikoku" like an Anpanman Train coming to pick you up!

[japanwords]

Three Japanese place names

This was a commission for client who spent a wonderful year living in Japan and wanted to remember the place where she lived.

She lived in the small town of 波方 Namikata,

which is in the municipality of 今治 Imabari,

which is in the prefecture of 愛媛 Ehime.

Japanese addresses are written with the largest area first (the prefecture), and then by order of decreasing size.

Traditional Japanese writing is from top to bottom and then right to left.

I wrote this in the traditional way, so the prefecture 愛媛 Ehime is on the right and is read first, and moving to the left is the municipality 今治 Imabari and then finally the small town 波方 Namikata.

I was pleased to meet her because I have never met anyone who has lived in Ehime before. It's a very rural prefecture in Shikoku (one of Japan's main islands).