Our first stop is Ritsurin-Koen-Kitaguchi, two stations away. A gentleman here tells us about Kita Rihei Ware and suggests we visit the lady who makes this type of pottery. We go to her workshop and find out more about the business. It got started more than 370 years ago when the lord of the Takamatsu Domain invited founder Kita Rihei to his mansion and got him to make personal pottery items.
After this, we catch the 11.15am train from Ritsurin-Koen-Kitaguchi Station and go to Sanuki-Mure. The next train from here will leave at 1.20pm. A local we speak to tells us about a roadside station called Genpei no Sato Mure. We walk for about half an hour before reaching the place. The park behind the roadside station boasts a panoramic view of Shodo Island and Seto Inland Sea’s Shido Bay.
We go to the neighbouring station of Shido by the 1.20pm train. We ask a passenger about udon noodle restaurants and he mentions Men D. We reach Shido Station in less than five minutes and have until 2.55pm to roam around. We go to Men D, a self-service shop known for its chewy udon noodles made with high-quality flour. For the toppings, it has 17 different kinds of tempura including squid, shrimp and aubergine.
Our last stop for the day is Sanuki-Tsuda Station. We ask a local about lodging and the person suggests a place called Quataraso which is known for its beautiful views of the sea. On the way there, we pass by Tsuda no Matsubara, which is a part of the Seto Inland Sea National Park. It is a famous scenic spot on a white sand beach with around 3,000 pine trees. They were planted near the beach in the early Edo period as a windbreak forest for the Iwashimizu Shrine.