![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/Naoshima.jpg\" "\\"Naoshima\\""){kind=spacer}
<\/a>Welcome to Kagawa!\u00c2\u00a0 We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re Japan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s smallest prefecture, home to less than a million people.<\/p>\nBut just because we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re small, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think \u00e2\u20ac\u0153little\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of us.\u00c2\u00a0 Our small size is actually a great advantage because it means all of Kagawa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s treasures are well within reach!<\/p>\n
Coming to Kagawa, you have to know the word \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Sanuki.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Kagawa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s old-time name that everyone still uses.\u00c2\u00a0 Most people here speak Sanuki-ben: a dialect of Japanese only to be compared to the thickest Cockney or rural Arkansas accents.\u00c2\u00a0 Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be intimidated, though.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy to learn and fun to use!<\/p>\n
Kagawa is also super famous for Uchiwa.\u00c2\u00a0 You know: those flat promotional fans that have the names of banks, cell-phone companies or out-of-office politicians on them?\u00c2\u00a0 Kagawa makes 90% of those babies – a staple of Japanese culture.\u00c2\u00a0 There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a couple of museums in Marugame City where you can learn about the flat fan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s grand history and even try your hand at making one yourself.\u00c2\u00a0 Back in the day, people bought uchiwa for souvenirs because they were cheap, light-weight and easy to pack.<\/p>\n How about the birth-place of Kukai, the man who brought Buddhism to Japan and established the 88 Temples of Shikoku?\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in Zentsuji.\u00c2\u00a0 I really like this place because of the shrine at the spot of Kukai\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s birth.\u00c2\u00a0 To get to it, you have to walk through an underground tunnel in complete darkness.\u00c2\u00a0 After paying your respects in a small meditation room, travel back into the light amidst the images of bodhisattvas on your own journey into enlightenment.<\/p>\n Still not impressed?\u00c2\u00a0 Then maybe you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d like to climb the tallest, original, in-tact, ninja-proof castle walls in all of Japan! \u00c2\u00a0Marugame-jo has stone walls 60 meters high.\u00c2\u00a0 The keep at the top is the real deal and still houses swords, spears and armor.\u00c2\u00a0 There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a well at the top of the Castle hill that has its own history.\u00c2\u00a0 Grab a guide book at the bottom to get onboard the ghost story.<\/p>\n To tell the truth, the coolest thing I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve ever seen in Japan was right here in Kagawa.\u00c2\u00a0 The festival at Konpira-san in Kotohira (just down the road from Zentsuji) was well worth my effort.\u00c2\u00a0 A procession of guards, dancers, musicians, lantern-bearers, miko, priests, and courtiers descend from the mountain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 1300+ steps to bring the goddess of the sea and her golden palanquin to Earth for a single day.\u00c2\u00a0 Aside from being hauntingly beautiful, it was also an amazing feat of strength.<\/p>\n<\/a>The most important Sanuki experience is Sanuki Udon.\u00c2\u00a0 We have a saying: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If you stand on a mountain and throw a stone, it will hit the roof of an udon shop.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 We live<\/em> on udon here, most people eat it at least three times a week; some people eat it every day.\u00c2\u00a0 We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re also famous for mikan (Japanese oranges) and olives.\u00c2\u00a0 But don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t put mikan and olives in your udon; not even the most hard-core Sanuki-jin do that.\u00c2\u00a0 Try tempura, raw egg, or gyuudon<\/em> (beef-udon) instead.\u00c2\u00a0 My favorite is kitsune<\/em> udon: udon with golden-brown tofu (it was the only thing on the menu I could read when I first came to Kagawa and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still awesome).<\/p>\n<\/a>So what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cool in Kagawa, besides food and fans?\u00c2\u00a0 How about the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest sand sculpture: Kanon-ji\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Zenigata? (golfing not permitted)\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s by the beach and sports an awesome look-out point from which you can see the Seto Inland Sea in all its sunset glory.<\/p>\n