こんぴら 歌舞伎 (Konpira Kabuki) in Kagawa-ken

What a busy weekend! I spent Friday in Matsuyama city practicing for my 運転　免許　試験.

運転 = うんてん = driving
免許 = めんきょ = license
試験 = しけん = test

The highlight of my day was bumping into a good friend who shall remain nameless (because she was trying to lie low that weekend). After a much-needed afternoon of great conversation at an outdoor cafe, I made the long journey back to Ikata Town (a note to my friend - I kept my ears open for those "sniffy sounds" on the train but fortunately heard none). I had a few short hours to clean up my apartment and pack before taking off for Kagawa-ken the following morning.

The trip was excellent. The women I traveled with had me in stitches the entire time. Three are sisters and the fourth is a long-time friend so the weekend felt very comfortable and relaxed. Apparently the area is famous for delicious and cheap udon (noodles) and each woman had done her research as to which would be the best to eat. We ranked potential choices based on a number of criteria including the shop's proximity to our inn, its price, and how hot the chef was reputed to be. In the end the hotness factor far exceeded the others and we traveled out of our way to eat at a shop where the owner was said to be a bodybuilder.
After gorging on udon and tempura we set out for the real purpose of out trip - Kabuki. Here are some pictures of the Konpira Kabukiza (theatre). Because Kabuki can only be seen three weeks out of the year here, there was a real buzz among the crowd and a feeling of that something very special was about to happen. Fireworks were set off prior to the show. Strangers in line engaged in casual chit-chat as they waited to enter the theatre (yes, I admit, that kind of surprised me). I couldn't wait for the performance to begin!

I was lucky I took these photos outside of the theater several hours before the show started because it became really crowded later...


I must say that I enjoyed Kabuki very much and therefore continue my romance with the Japanese performing arts, finding yet another expensive outlet for my intellectual curiousity. Hmm...if I don't make it to Russia this summer I may have to plan a trip within Japan...perhaps Kabuki in Tokyo and then some Sumo (where ever the summer basho is) - anyone interested in joining me?
Oh, I almost forgot. My friends finally managed to get me into an onsen (public bath/spa). They were really sweet and for my "onsen debut" they started me off simply - we just visited the onsen inside our ryokan. There was some talk about having our next trip in Kyushu, a kind of onsen tour. I'll keep you posted.

On the final day of our trip we prepared to climb 1,000 steps and battle the elements (yet more rain) to visit the famous Konpira temple (I recommend going if you are there). Before that, however, we took a slight detour to become "Kabuki groupies". Toshiko had discovered that some of the performers would make an appearance outside the theater (making mochi). Hoping for even just a small glimpse of Ichikawa Ebizo (pictured below in costume), who we all agreed is devilishly handsome, we ran (!) to back to the theatre to watch.
ざんねん! いません　でした!

Ichikawa, Ebizo

We sat in a box like this.

And finally, here is a photo from one of the gardens at the temple. It makes a lovely screensaver on my laptop.