Japanese national idol Sakamoto Ryoma, here I come~ Rush to Kochi to chase Ryoma

Author Little Sun's Star and Heart

Honey~

How I hope to take you to chase the dragon horse.

2020.9.24—2020.9.26

Because of the typhoon signal No. 12, I was still uneasy until the day before departure.

At 4 o'clock on September 24, before the sun broke, the road was chased by the No. 12 typhoon in the heavy rain.

Ran to the airport, luckily jumped on the plane. Fortunately, the plane flew fast enough not to be chased by the typhoon.

But my sneakers were chased by the heavy rain,

At 4:15 a.m. before dawn, and only 15 minutes after going out, the sneakers were already wet and declared dead. On a typhoon day, I'm probably the only one who can travel with sneakers on! (weep)

◎Kochi Ryoma Airport and Ryoma passport

Arrived at Kochi Airport at 9 am. Kochi is located in Shikoku, which is below Honshu and above Kyushu.

Kochi Airport, also known as Ryoma Airport, is mainly to commemorate the achievements of Sakamoto Ryoma, a child of the late Shogunate.

Kochi is currently holding a Ryoma passport campaign. (As of 2020) you can get a Ryoma passport if you collect three stamps at various tourist spots in Kochi.

Hold the Ryoma passport to get stamps at various tourist attractions, and the passport will be upgraded continuously. The passport with 96 stamps at the end can leave a name and be praised in front of Kochi Station.

First, rent a car at the airport. If you have made an online reservation in advance, there will be a special person waiting in the airport lobby, and a special minibus will take you to the car rental office (can be stamped).

◎Kochi Ryoma Memorial Hall and Katsura Hama

It takes about 25 minutes by car from Ryoma Airport to arrive at the first stop, Kochi Ryoma Memorial Hall. The museum is next to Guibin.

Guibin is a beach where Ryoma often went to face the sea when he was a child, and it is also a must-see for Ryoma fans.

Admission to the Ryoma Memorial Hall is 700 yen for adults and free for children (with stamps).

The current memorial hall is different from the rigid text description and document display in the past, and now there are more exhibitions combined with animation and tourist experience. Ryoma and his friends at the end of the curtain will turn into various cartoon characters and come out to meet you, which will be vivid and not boring.

Only now the new crown pneumonia is rampant, the bronze statue of Longma at the door, the friendly right hand that used to stretch out is now wrapped in plastic paper, this is to prevent tourists from shaking hands with the bronze statue of Longma and cause infection.

I originally thought that the memorial hall was humorous and let Ryoma carry Teradaya's injury. Later, I found out that it was caused by the new crown pneumonia, and I couldn't help smiling. This scene can only be seen now!

From the top floor of the Ryoma Memorial Hall, you can see the coast of Guibin, and the sea and the sky line.

Guibin is famous for its high winds and waves, which is in line with Longma's ambitious image. You can go to the seaside to experience it. Longma faced the beauty of the sea and the sky and was determined to save the country.

Of course, many restaurants and souvenir shops in Guibin are currently closed. If you want to go to these sightseeing spots after the situation of the new crown pneumonia has improved, you must ask beforehand.

Kochi Prefectural Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Hall

781-0262 830 Urato Castle Hill, Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture

088-841-0001

Katsura

781-0262 Urado 9, Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture

◎Kochi Station

It takes about 30 minutes by car from Katsurahama to Kochi Station. There are three very huge standing statues in front of Kochi Station, namely

Sea Aid Team Captain Sakamoto Ryoma,

Nakaoka Shintaro, Captain of the Army Aid Team,

Takeshi Banheita, leader of the Tosa King Party.

The three are all powerful figures from Tosa (old name of Kochi) at the end of the era. Unfortunately, the three were either assassinated or executed. The times create heroes, and heroes always die like shooting stars, which is embarrassing.

After collecting three chapters, you can exchange for a Ryoma passport at Kochi Station. Take the Ryoma passport and continue chasing the Ryoma.

Next to Ryoma Station, there is a restored model of Ryoma's house, which is said to be the filming location of NHK's 2016 Taiga drama "Ryoma Den". Admission is free. There is a display of costumes, pistols and boots worn by Masaharu Fukuyama, who plays Ryoma, and the signature of Ryoko Hirosue, who plays Ryoma's childhood sweetheart, Kao.

◎ヒロメ Market (hirome ichiba)

Introduced by the staff of Kochi Station, we went to the Hirome ichiba Market (hirome ichiba) next to Kochi Castle at noon. This is a bit like the Shilin Night Market moved indoors. You can freely choose meals from various stores and take them to the eating area to eat.

When you come to Kochi, you must eat

Bonito のたたき (charcoal grilled bonito).

This is a dish in which the surface of the bonito is grilled with charcoal fire, and the inside is still in the state of sashimi. The outside of the fresh bonito has the aroma of charcoal fire, and the inside is sweet and soft. It is dipped in salty-sweet sauce or eaten directly with salt. All flavors are delicious. Kochi people will roll up a lot of garlic slices and eat it. The amount of garlic flakes is jaw-dropping.

In the market, there are still selling attempts that require a little courage.

fried whale and fried eel,

Since ancient times, the Japanese have had the habit of hunting whales and eating whales. My old man said that when he was a child, whales often appeared in school lunches, which was not surprising. Protested by environmental groups in recent years, the number of whaling has been reduced, but for research purposes or previously caught stocks, although small, can still be bought or eaten in specific areas.

The taste of whales is obvious to everyone. It is red meat. It looks like beef and horse meat. It has no fishy smell and no chewiness like cows and horses. After frying, it will appear amazingly black.

Honestly, it's not delicious.

Another startling ingredient is sea eel.

This hideous-looking, leopard-like large moray eel, called utsubo, is usually found in aquariums. Unexpectedly, people from Kochi even ate the fish in the aquarium and screamed, which really surprised me.

The taste of the moray eel is not bad, as long as you don't pay attention to the stripes on its surface that look like leopard skin, and don't imagine the hideous expression of the moray eel.

If you are afraid to try whale meat and conger eel, there are also many choices of fried chicken, udon noodles, rice balls, fried rice, and ramen in the market.

It is worth mentioning that the prices in the Shikoku area are very cheap. Order a bowl of tofu skin udon noodles and a potato croquette for only 300 yen in the tourist area ヒロメ Market (similar to Shilin Night Market in Taiwan). When I paid, I was shocked and thought I heard it wrong.

The bonito set meal is about 1,000 yen for a small portion, and the fried whale and fried conger eel are also about the size of a paper cup, and a cup is 350 yen. Given its rarity, it's not expensive.

ヒロメ Market

780-0841 2-3-1 Obiya-cho, Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture

088-822-5287

◎National Treasure Kochi Castle

When visiting the city in Japan, you must have superhuman physical strength.

The high and low slopes and the road of Yu Huihui, which were used to defend against the enemy in the past, have now become a pain in the feet of tourists.

The steep slopes are like climbing a mountain, and there are free walking sticks at the entrance of Kochi Castle for those with weak feet.

During the Warring States Period, the most powerful thing in the Shikoku region was

Changzong my family. (The surname is Changzong my department)

In 1600 AD, after the war of the world, the Tokugawa family took power and entrusted the territory of Tosa (the old name of Kochi) to the Yamauchi Ichitoyo clan. The Yamauchi Ichitoyo clan began to build the city in 1601.

In modern times, the feudal vassal was abolished and the county was established, so large and small cities could not escape the fate of being demolished, burned, and dumped. Only Kochi Castle was rebuilt after it was burned down in 1727, and it still maintains its appearance in the 18th century. The historical value of the buildings in Kochi Castle is important, so it is designated as a national treasure. It has survived modern wars, civil strife, natural disasters, earthquakes, etc. It still stands firm, so it is also called "Lucky City".

◎Ryoma Lodge - Nanshui

This hotel is small in scale. It is a medium-sized hotel rather than a hotel. But it is well known among Longma fans, and it is a must pilgrimage place for Longma fans.

Because its gimmick is that this hotel is built on the birthplace of Longma, which is amazing!

The equipment in this hotel is not very good, but because it is located in the birthplace of Ryoma, the price is very high, 10,000 yen per person per night.

(with black meat whale and hideous moray eel dinner)

If it is not the love of Ryoma, there are many other choices in the hotel.

The late Tokugawa hero Sakamoto Ryoma was born in Uemachi, Kochi (formerly known as Tosa) in 1836. His birth family was a branch of the rural wealthy Caitaniya (which specialized in cloth, oil, etc.), and his family was well-off. His great-grandfather used a bit of a pipe to qualify as a lower-level samurai from his businessman status.

In the turbulent times, Ryoma broke away from the Tosa domain to which he belonged and established Japan's first trading company "Kameyama Shanchaka", which was later famous as the Sea Aid Team. His brains and negotiating skills later contributed to the great cause of the Sachang Alliance (Note 1) and the return of the great government (Note 2). An important figure in modern Japanese history.

(Note 1) Sachang League:

The two most powerful domains at the end of the Tokugawa period, Satsuma domain and Choshu domain. Because of the frequent civil wars with each other, the cooperation between the two feudal lords was of great significance to Japan's later strong development.

(Note 2) Repayment of major political affairs:

Tokugawa shogunate returns real power to the emperor

The Nanshui Hotel itself is not built on a large scale. In order to give full play to the characteristics of being built in the birthplace of Longma, the stairwell from the first floor to the seventh floor displays the history of Longma in the form of portraits and calligraphy. From the first floor to the seventh floor, seeing the sore neck is also an interesting experience.

In addition, all books and videos about Ryoma are rented free of charge to hotel guests. I borrowed the DVD of "Sakamoto Ryoma and Nakaoka Shintaro" from the historical program "Historical History" and watched it in my room with great interest.

Next to Nanshui, the Ryoma Lodge is now a hospital. Interestingly, the hospital building is also called the Sea Aid Building.

On the other side of Nanshui, there is a monument to the birthplace of Sakamoto Ryoma.

In the evening, for dinner at Nanshui, grilled bonito, conger eel sashimi and fried whale appeared again.

The vicinity of Nanshui is the place where Ryoma grew up after an hour, so there are many attractions about Ryoma.

Like the old mansion of Ryoma's childhood friend Kondo Nagajiro (member of the Houhai Relief Team), and the former site of the Sakamoto family's mansion.

You can walk diagonally across the Nanshui to the "Ryoma Health Memorial Hall". In addition to the historical introduction and display of Ryoma, there are also participatory animations you can enjoy. Just use the castanets to give the Ryoma in the animation. come on. Ryoma will have a different ending!

Ryoma Lodge Nanshui

1-7-12 Kamemachi, Kochi Prefecture

088-873-2181

In Kanto, restaurants will ask, do you want rice or rice with five grains? But in Kochi, the restaurant will ask,

Do you want plain rice or bonito rice?

Bonito rice cooker is made by cooking bonito nuggets, wild vegetables, soy sauce, mirin, etc. together with white rice in an electric pot. The taste is salty and sweet, and you can eat several bowls without any side dishes.

Last but not least, Kochi sells this! !

A sweet shop in Taiwan, a cup of precious milk is 650 yen. The taste is good, but everyone still have enough to drink in Taiwan and come back!

After eating Taiwanese desserts, in addition to eating and thinking, why do I have to come all the way to Kochi to drink Taiwanese precious milk? Under the puzzling, the sweet taste is also quite satisfying.

While drinking precious milk, I thought about Ryoma Sakamoto, who is said to be a big man with a height of nearly 1.8 meters and a weight of nearly 1.8 meters. In addition to being tall, he is a bold and talented person.

Unrestricted thoughts like the waves of the Kochi Katsura sea,

Uncontrolled, as free as Kochi Katsura Osora, with the power of action like a gust of wind,

In the old era, there was a huge wave leading to a new era, and many characters at the end of the curtain were swept away, and they were the key figures in the road that brought Japan to modernization in one breath.

Times make heroes, and heroes complete the times.

If Mr. Sakamoto Ryoma also had a chance to let him drink Taiwanese precious milk, he should say "おいしいぜよ" (too good to drink)!

(Finish)

2022.1 Addition and rewrite issued in Matt City

2021.10 Ruffian State

2020.9 Pathfinder