Japan, Day 5 (September 7): Uwajima, Uchiko

After an overnight transit to Uwajima, along Japan’s inland sea, I was up on deck to watch the sun rise… directly over a mountain peak!  As the sun rose and we pulled into Uwajima’s harbor, our ship was escorted by four local fishing vessels that had been elaborately decorated with banners and flags.  On each boat there were one or two enthusiastic volunteers who were waving massive flags, all meant to welcome us to their city. [video]. Read on!

Our ship being too large for their facilities, we commuted via Zodiac into docks in the center of town.  This is a working harbor, populated by fishing boats and by a busy shipyard.  We saw a massive ship from Singapore in dry dock; apparently it is common for Singapore to station (or repair) its ships in Japan because Singapore has very limited space.

While Pam attended a local farm to learn how they cultivate pearls in the harbor, I joined a small group for a hike to Uwajima castle, on a hilltop with a history of fortifications dating back to 941 CE. The current castle was built in 1596–1601 under the control of the Date (dah-tay) feudal lords.  It was in use by nine generations of Date lords until the end of the shogunate in 1889; although much of the castle was demolished as part of the Meiji reformation, this core structure survived.  We followed centuries-old stone paths up through a series of massive stone walls, and then climbed narrow wooden stairs up several stories to reach the top tier, where we enjoyed broad views across the city and around the harbor.

After a short bus ride, we toured the Date museum, reviewing its many beautiful artifacts from generations of the Date family – kimonos, lacquered boxes, paper records, and samurai swords.

After buzzing out to the ship for lunch, and back, we bussed over to Uchiko historic district, a carefully maintained (but still occupied) street of residences and shops, in the traditional architecture.  I particularly liked the “wax museum” – not what  you think!  It was the well-preserved home of a wealthy merchant family (Kamihaga) and, out back, several buildings demonstrating the method of producing of vegetable wax from sumac trees.

Back on board, the evening included a brief slide show about the emergence of baseball in Japan… which (surprisingly) happened only a few years after it emerged in the US, in the mid-1800s.   Dinner was fresh Sea Bream, fish caught in the inland sea by the fishermen who escorted our ship into the harbor earlier today. Such a treat!

Be sure to check out the photo gallery!

This post is part of a series about our Japan trip; the series starts here.