The Tale of Four Cities (Part 2): Kochi

After around six hours of traveling by bus from Osaka, we arrived at Kochi Station. Kochi Prefecture, the smallest and least populous of the four main islands of Japan is situated on the South coast of Shikoku Island. We were greeted by our host, Prof. Satoru Ishizutsu from Kochi University. He was a pleasant and friendly man; neither too forward nor too distant. 

He escorted us to our accommodations, where we gratefully rested our weary feet and body, even if it was just for a moment. Afterward, we continued on with our main purpose: to visit Kochi University's people and facilities.

The next morning, we have a chance to explore Kochi. We went to a beautiful beach called "The Dragon Beach", named after it shape. The temperature by then had dropped to 1 degree Celsius, making us very grateful when we had a taste of onsen by soaking our feet in hot spring near the beach. 

Satisfied with the onsen, we continue to fisherman village to visit local tsunami evacuation tower. A 30 meters tall tower consisted simply of metal and reinforced concrete. This tower is among measures taken by the government to decrease the number of casualties resulting from earthquake and tsunami in the area. Though we weren't allowed to enter the center, we still had an amazing view of the dark blue Pacific Ocean from the neighboring building.

Fisherman blue camp and Pacific Ocean at the background

"It's such a beautiful, but dangerous ocean." I heard my mother say.

On our way back from the beach, we made a small detour to the riverbanks of the Niyodo River. The river is crystal clear and looks blue during the day time. Its mystical blue colour is called "Niyodo Blue". 

That cleanest river in Japan, have succeeded to attract many tourists including us with its amazing clarity and distinctive colour. Another important site not to be missed in Kochi is Statue of Three Samurai from Tosa: Takechi Hanpeita, Sakamoto Ryouma and Nakaoka Shintaro, who devoted themselves to modernizing Japan in 1800's.

Niyodo River

During our three-day visit, my group and me had the pleasure of meeting with five Indonesian exchange students that were studying in Kochi University: Jasslynia, Vivi, Andre, Renno, and Ericson. Being exchange students, they were involved in quite a number of social activities, like teaching at the local schools and harvesting vegetables at farms, and even helping out at a recycling center.

Preparation of Indonesia Night at Satobito Cafe

For all the comforts of Japan, however, they admitted that they greatly missed Indonesian food, particularly the spicy ones; something I myself was beginning to miss. Fortunately they were given assignment to arrange Indonesian night every month at Satobito, a cafe specifically designed for students of Kochi University to learn about business and management. 

They have to sell tickets to other students to attend the Indonesia food dinner along with fun programs like games, singing and dancing to introduce Indonesian culture. Every month, their ticket for Indonesian dinner always sold out!

Halal Beef

Acquiring Halal foods in Japan was not easy; most of the time, the only way to get them was to buy them from an online shop. Fortunately for us, Prof. Satoru, Masu (Kochi University's student) and the exchange students were gracious enough to make us halal dinner for two nights in a row, with Okonomiyaki for the first night and Sushi for the second night. 

We were having fun to prepare the food together. Suffice to say, we ate our fill heartily. That night, I was given the honor of delivering my impressions about Kochi and Japan in general.

Dinner served with halal soy sauce

Kochi was quiet, compared to Osaka anyway. For some reason, I felt as though it was designed to handle more people, which is quite the foresight in part of the city's developers. 

It has a tram system that was originally designed to carry logs from logging camps directly to factories, as well as the usual complement of buses and trains and subways. 

On our last day we tried public transportation when we visited AEON Mall. We took a tram line passing by Harimaya Bashi, a bridge famous for its tale of forbidden love.  Though it may be small, its vivid red colour and quaint design captures one's attention immediately, just like Kochi; small, yet charming and memorable among other places in Japan...

Harimayabashi

 TO BE CONTINUED: KYOTO