Japan Hour: Road Trip On Kotoku Line (Part 2)

Local lines. Trains travelling through beautiful places of Japan that make us feel nostalgic. Season by season, we enquire local residents to find breathtaking scenery, delicious cuisine, and wonderful accommodations. It's a journey to uncover recommendations only the locals know. All aboard to find the home in our hearts. (Home in our hearts) (JR Kotoku Line) This time, the journey takes place on the JR Kotoku Line, in Kagawa Prefecture and Tokushima Prefecture.

Outside the train windows spreads peaceful rural landscape. Lotus fields spread out all around. They walk from a small station, and discover a surprising treasure! Wow, this is beyond what I was imagining. On the journey, our travellers need to rely on people's recommendations.

He scared me! Little-known great places found only through enquiring people. Our travellers eat up local seafood, and other speciality foods. It has the perfect chewiness! -It's incredible. -Isn't it? They also have cute encounters. -No. -Where do you come from? -French! -French! Bonjour! -Bonjour! -So cute.

However... At this hour, the office is... -Is it closed? -It's closed? They face a series of unexpected events! Are you going to take a photo of me? Is it okay? Do I look like the president of APA Hotels? It's an unpredictable two-day overnight journey! Let's get started! All aboard our journey of enquiry and discovery! On the journey of the JR Kotoku Line, our travellers visit a hot spring facility attached to their hotel. Wow, there are many different pools! There are various kinds, like partial baths and full body baths. It looks pretty with the white and blue tiles.

Very nice. There are 13 different types of baths and heated pools here. Water from their private hot spring source is used for the full body baths and bubble baths. There is also an artificial hot spring using natural mineral togoal. It's recommended for people who are sensitive to cold.

(Water slide) A popular water slide is also available at their heated pool. It looks impressive. There's a pool too. Awesome. Water is flowing quite strongly.

Okay, see you later! Oh my god! It's going so fast! That was fast! It was awesome! I see it. Let's go. Lastly, she tries the open-air bath. Look, we are outside. -Hi, Mayo. -Over here.

-Hi. -Where have you been? I was on the water slide. I heard a scream earlier. Was that you? -Did you hear that? -Yes, I did. Yes, that was my scream.

It was very loud. Can I join you? -Sure. -Thank you. I'm coming in. It's nice and warm. Right? -This is... -It'd be nice during the day.

Yes, it would be. This is an open-air seawater bath with purified water pumped from the sea in front of the hotel. The water contains a lot of minerals, and is ideal for skin care. During the day, guests can relax in the bath with a breathtaking view of the Seto Inland Sea.

Kuapark Tsuda, a hotel with a hot spring and exquisite food will be the fifth entry in the guidebook. (Kagawa Prefecture, Tokushima Prefecture) On the journey on the JR Kotoku Line, our duo discovered five entries on the first day. Let's pick up the pace a bit! (The second day) Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

It was very relaxing. -Thank you very much. -Bye. See you.

On the second day, they leave the hotel a bit early. The journey starts from Sanuki-Tsuda Station for this day. Let's check the train timetables first. -Around eight o'clock. -There's only one train per hour. There's one at 8:15 am.

It's a little past eight o'clock now. -It's perfect. -It's perfect. I'm glad.

-We're here. -Here, right? Doesn't this sound intriguing? Shiratori. -That's your partner's name. -Right. -The station has her name in it. -Exactly.

What if there are many people with a long chin there? I thought we should go to that station. (Kagawa Prefecture, Tokushima Prefecture) As the station has the same name as her comedy duo partner Ms Shiratori, they head to Sanuki-Shirotori Station. It looks peaceful. It's a nice station. It's a typical station. Wow, it looks very peaceful.

This place looks very nice. Seriously. This could be on Sanuki-Tsuda's poster. Do you want me to take it? Can you? Come to Sanuki-Tsuda, everyone. (Come to Sanuki-Tsuda, everyone) Was it like a commercial? -Yes, it was. -Really? There'll be two train cars.

On this journey, their time limit is set at 6 pm. (Time limit: 6:00 pm) So cooling. (8:15 am) The second day of the journey of enquiry and discovery finally begins! The JR Kotoku Line connects Kagawa Prefecture and Tokushima Prefecture.

Between Takamatsu, the first station, and Tokushima, the last station, there are 29 stations in total with a route distance of 74.5 kilometres. Their goal is to get recommendations from local residents and create an original travel guide with 10 entries. I'm not sure if there's any place like that, but I'd love to see some animals. -Animals? -Yes.

In 16 minutes, the train arrives at Sanuki-Shirotori Station, four stops away. -We've arrived at Shirotori. -Okay. Since they're at Sanuki-Shirotori Station, let's hope Ms Kawamura can see some birds. (Sanuki-Shirotori Station) See you. (8:31 am) It says Sanuki-Shirotori. I should show it to Ms Shiratori.

-Here's the time schedule. -Yes. It's 8:30 am now. There's a train at 11:30 am. 9:30 am, 10:30 am, so we have three hours. -All right. -It looks peaceful. -Doesn't this side look nice? -Sure.

I see a torii. -Past the torii... -Yes. I see a nice house. Or we could look for someone that looks like Ms Shiratori.

We can look for someone with braids, glasses, who also has a slightly long chin. -With that... -I think that'd be tricky. We could make it an entry. -Do you think it'd be tricky? -I'd be impressed if we found one. There's nobody. Not many people are walking around.

I see an old lady there. -Good morning. -Good morning. Can I ask you questions? -Sure. -Sorry to bother you. Are you working? Are you working in your garden? -Your garden. -You both look familiar.

-Sorry for the trouble. -Good morning. Good morning. We're looking for places that people would recommend around here. Please tell us if you know of any place. We've been walking around.

He scared me! So cute. He's a retriever. So cute. Are there any places the locals like to go, or visitors of this town often go to? There's a pine grove by a shrine behind us.

There, we have the lowest mountain in Japan. Isn't he an actor? -That's right. -Good morning. I wonder how low the mountain is. About three metres. -Really? -That low? That's lower than I expected.

That's why it's the lowest mountain in Japan. -Interesting. -See you later. See you later. Go to the shrine office, and they'll give you a certificate of the lowest mountain.

-I'd love to go, Mayo. -Should we go? -How do we get there? -You see the narrow street? -Sure. -Over there. -That purple one? -Go straight.

Will you draw it for me? Thank you. Go straight from here, and there'll be a corner. Thank you for giving us precious time in your morning.

-He has a watermelon. -Hi again. What's going on? I harvested a watermelon. -From your own farm? -I grew it. That's great. I just harvested this.

I'm going to eat this alone at home. -Alone? Not with your wife? -Is she not going to eat? Do you want me to cut it? Do you want me to cut it? No, I'd feel bad. -That's awesome. -I'll treat you to our watermelon. They are going to cut the watermelon for them. Come in this way. -Thank you for having us. -Thank you for having us.

-Amazing. -It looks great! It has a nice colour. Amazing! -Are you sure? -I'm coming in. -Look at that. -Amazing. Eat the red ones. That's a lot of watermelon! Amazing.

Help yourselves. It's for everyone. Thank you very much. -Thank you very much. -Let's eat. Help yourselves. Thank you very much.

-Eat. -Thank you for it. -It's very sweet. -Is it? There are no black seeds.

No black seeds? Maybe it wasn't ripe enough. Thank you for it. How is it? -It's sweet. -Really? Let's eat. -Can I? -Go ahead. Did you chill it? -It's great! -No, we didn't.

-It's incredible. -It's good, isn't it? It's very juicy. Help yourself and share with everyone too. They gave us watermelon. Would you like some?

-Thank you. -Sure. Would you like one too, Mr Cameraman? Please try it. Thank you very much.

Please thank your husband. -That was great, wasn't it? -Yes, it was. It was great. -What a wonderful encounter. -It was heart-warming. Exactly. I feel relaxed now. They visit a spot the lady recommended.

It's the lowest mountain in Japan. I've never heard of it. -I've never heard of it. -No. Is this it? Yes, this is it. -It looks like it. -We're here. -We are here, Mayo. -We are here.

-Impressive. -Shirotori Shrine. Shirotori Shrine looks impressive. Impressive.

-Impressive. -This is the path to the shrine. It must have been the path to the shrine in the old times. Maybe now too.

Look at this. It's a straight path. -Yes, it looks impressive. -It's a straight path. Do you see it? It continues to the back. -It has a serious atmosphere. -It does.

-Please get permission to film. -Okay, we will be back. They go to ask for permission to film. After waiting for 10 minutes...

What did they say? I see a cat. Maybe a bit farther? It's okay. Excuse me.

(Shirotori Shrine) -Look! -Wow, I see it. -There is a swan. -Swan. -It looks a bit scary. -A white bird. It's not exactly a swan. More like a crane. I wonder what this is? Is this some kind of a divine bird? Good morning.

Though it's not a live bird, they got to see an animal. Thank you very much. At this shrine, we heard that there is the lowest mountain in Japan here, which is three metres tall. -We heard about that. Is it here? -Yes. The mountain is 3.6 metres tall.

-It's very low. -It's lower than I expected. -I'll show you. -Would you? The deity of Shirotori Shrine is Yamato Takeru no Mikoto.

His spirit is believed to have come down to this place as a white crane, and that's how the shrine was established. Yamato Takeru no Mikoto is a deity of martial arts. There is a huge arrow dedicated to the shrine. You know... About the lowest mountain, you'll see it over here. It's very low over there.

Behind the gate that you passed, it looks low, right? That's right, behind the torii. In front of the shrine, it's about two metres high. This place is 2.1 metres above sea level. From here, we'll go up to 3.6 metres above sea level.

It's about people's height. That'll be the highest part. Thank you.

From 2.1 metres above sea level, we go up by 1.5 metres. It's a mountain with a pine grove called Miyama, which is on the shrine grounds. It has an area of about 40,000 tsubo. 40,000 tsubo? Right over there is the sea. The Seto Inland Sea. So we're climbing up a mountain now, right? -Exactly. -We're climbing now. -It's not just a path. -I see.

We're climbing a mountain. -Can we stop here? -Here? Shall we stop here? Let's stop here and go to that side. When you go this way, do you see that it goes like this? -That's true? -What? -That side is lower. -It slopes down.

-Does it? -That side is lower than this side. This is the ridgeline. So we're on the ridgeline. -On the ridgeline. -Let's go up on the ridge.

I see it, it slopes slightly. -It's very subtle, but it is at a slope. -Yes. -That's right. -Amazing. Finally, they arrive at the summit. -Could it be...? -It's over here.

Here it is. -Could it be...? -It's written here! The lowest mountain in Japan. This is the summit. This is the summit? Can we go in? Thank you. -We're climbing up. -The lowest in Japan.

Mayo. -Awesome. -We're at the summit. We've reached the summit. Sancho very much! All right, hop.

Thank you for the joke. Depends on who you ask, this is not considered the lowest mountain in Japan. I understand.

And you're okay with it, right? Really? You're okay with that? I'll give you a mountain climbing certificate. Really? We've got more than 20,000 people who did it. I've never been to a mountain that was this easy to climb. -Are you sure? -In Japan, there are many kinds of low mountains.

There are many types of low mountains, and this is one of them. Impressive. The shrine believes that this is the lowest mountain in Japan. It was discovered in 2004. When this area was flooded, they did a survey of the land, and discovered that there is a higher ground that was not flooded.

That's how they found Miyama. In the year following the discovery, they opened the mountain to climbers as the lowest mountain in Japan. It's helping to revitalise the city. Amazing. We did it! We climbed it. Very nice! We're at the summit. It was the easiest climb I've experienced.

-Seriously. -It's impressive. Could we get the mountain climbing certificate? Yes, we'll give it to you. Thank you very much. The sixth entry in the guidebook, Miyama, the self-proclaimed "lowest mountain in Japan". -Let's go down. -Let's go down.

-It's more dangerous when going down. -True. -Let's be careful. -Going down a mountain is exhausting. -You let your guard down. -I'm completely fine.

They go down the mountain to the shrine office to receive the certificate. Here is the certificate. Great. 23,000... -Thank you very much. -23,328.

Oh, I see. -There's a space here. -What is it for? This is for the certificate stamp, but instead of the shrine, there's a souvenir from this place called budou mochi, and you get the stamp at a store named Minatoya, which sells budou mochi.

That's how it works. The lowest mountain in Japan, the shrine, and budou mochi. You'll get the stamp when you cover all those three. -I see. -That's how it works. -About the certificate... -Yes. Where can we find budou mochi? It'll be on your right soon after you go out of the shrine.

-Thank you very much. -Thank you very much. -Let's get some budou mochi. -Sure. (34 minutes left until the 11:30 am train) Budou mochi. I thought it was made of grapes, but it's not. But it might be something to do with grapes. That's true.

-Excuse me. -Hello. (Minatoya Kametsurudo) -We'd like to get a certificate. -Yes. -The stamp. -Do you want the stamp? About budou mochi... -Do you have it? Which one is it? -I'll bring it right now.

I love collecting stamps. -Really? -Yes. We give a sample to people who visit the store. -For you to taste. -Really?

-As a sample? -Yes. We only give one even if there are two of you, though. (Budou mochi) Budou mochi is a speciality that was originated in the late Edo period.

They wrap sweet red bean paste a thin skin, and steam them on a stick. As it was offered to Shirotori Shrine, which worships a deity of martial arts, it was named budou mochi. Our duo additionally buys a stick of budou mochi. They also got their certificate stamped. -It looks pretty. -It's just a regular stamp. -Thank you very much. -Let's try this.

Great. It's smooth red bean paste. -Thank you for it. -Thank you for it. They are on a stick.

Let's eat. -It's good. -It's good. It's not too sweet. -That's true. -Very good. This is nice. -Especially after walking around. -When you're a bit tired.

-When you're tired. -I like the size too. It's bite size. -Thank you. -Thank you for the food. -Thank you for the food. -Thank you very much. They are back to Sanuki-Shirotori Station. Where do they go next? -All right. -It's 11:30 am now.

-Where do we go next? -Next... -Both of our names have Kawa in it. -That's right. Yes, we are the Kawa Kawa duo. I thought we should go to this station. Awa-Kawabata.

That's true, it has Kawa in the name. -Finally... -Finally, we'll be in Tokushima. It has the word Kawa in it.

My name is Mayo "Kawazuki". I like Kawa. -Mayo Kawazuki. -Mayo Kawazuki. So let's go. -I feel restless. -Why is that? -Let's check the time. -All right.

-It's 12:15 pm. -When is the next train? This one. -Let's take the train at 2:46 pm. -Sure.

Sure. -We'll have two and a half hours. -That's right. They find someone in front of the station. Is he a traveller? Hello. -Are you a pilgrim? -Yes.

-I see. -I see. Good luck! -It's hot so be careful. -Be careful. Excuse me. Excuse me, can I ask you some questions? What kind of place is this? This place is... -What kind of place is this? -Eighty-eight temples.

Is it for pilgrims? -This is the second temple. -The second of 88 temples. (Gokurakuji Temple, the second of 88 temples) This is Gokurakuji Temple, the second of the 88 temples in Shikoku. They sell equipment. You can buy equipment there and walk while wearing that outfit. I wonder if I should buy a hat. -You should. -Can I?

Sorry, I'll go get a hat. It'll be easy to go, but tough to come back. While waiting for some local residents, they go to a store for pilgrimage equipment.

-Hello, excuse me. -Hello. Is it okay if we film this place for TV? Is it okay? Thank you very much. -They said okay. -It's fine. Excuse me. It's so cooling.

(Chojuan) I'm really happy. In the shop, they sell prayer beads, hand bells, and walking sticks, which are essential items for visiting temples. I'm looking for a hat. Do you have them? We have these two types of hat. -You do? -We have one that's all white, and another one with the Heart Sutra written on it.

-I might as well get this one. -Sure, it's a sedge-woven hat. Thank you very much, Mayo. -This way? -It suits you very well.

It looks very natural. As if I had already had it? Exactly. The two buy sedge-woven hats to prepare for the heat. -Thank you very much. -Thank you very much. Thank you very much. -Nice. -It feels different.

Completely different. -It's nice. -It works as a shade. It does. -Sorry about that. -Hello. -Thank you very much. -Thank you for meeting up with us. Sorry for the trouble.

We'd like to get some recommendations for lunch around here. This place is the second of the 88 temples. If you go farther east, there's a temple called Ryozenji, the first temple. Right next it, there's a western restaurant named Gen, which is popular. -Gen? -Gen? Would you like me to take you there by car? -Would you do that? -Really? -That'd be incredible! -Would you do that? -That'd be great. -That'd be incredible.

-Are you sure? -Sure. In this area, we have a hospitality culture. It's our pleasure to help people who are visiting the temples. -We're not visiting temples though. -We're not. But you're wearing the outfit. Are you sure? -Shall we go? -I'm glad we got the hat.

Could you hold my baby? Maybe she'd like to be held by Mayo better? So cute. Thank you very much. -Nice. -It's very comfortable. See you. He will take our duo to the restaurant that he recommends.

It's a three-minute car ride. -In front of us, there's the first temple. -The first temple. This is where the pilgrimage...

-Yes, this is where it begins. -It's where it begins! -Amazing. -Next to it is Gen. -Are were here already? -Yes. We often eat here.

-Is that so? -Is that so? We need to first ask if we can film the place. He offered to ask for permission to film for them. Great, thank you very much. -Thank you very much. -They said okay. Thank you very much. -Thank you. -They said okay.

-Thank you very much. -Enjoy. -Thank you very much. -Thank you very much. Ladies first. Hi, thank you for having us. Where should we sit? Over there? Thank you very much.

-This is great. -Yes. I'm glad. Oh, I'm getting dizzy. It was quite... -It was hot. -We walked under blazing sun. -It was crazy. -Wasn't it? This is a western restaurant next to Ryozenji Temple, which is the first of the 88 temples in Shikoku.

I'm curious about this. Giant green peppers stuffed with meat. -It comes with caponata, a tomato dish. -Caponata. -I think I'll get that. -That sounds good. Kintoki Pork.

Kintoki Pork would be good. Pork saute. I might get this. How big are these giant green peppers? The giant green peppers? They're about three times bigger than usual green peppers. -Can I get that? -Go ahead. I'm also curious about the Kintoki Pork saute. That's a brand from Tokushima Prefecture.

They put Naruto Kintoki sweet potatoes in the feed of their pigs. -I'll take that. -Sure. Here are giant green peppers of Tokushima, which are three times larger than usual. They buy them directly from farmers as not many grow them and they're rare. They have subtle sweetness, and since they are large, they stuff an incredible amount of minced meat! Green peppers are first cooked in a frying pan, and slowly baked in an oven at the end.

Thank you for waiting. Giant green peppers stuffed with meat, served with caponata. It is really big. Yes, it is big. Is this one green pepper? -Amazing. -Right? I wonder if this was locally grown.

Thank you for waiting. Kintoki Pork saute. -It looks great. -Nice. I'm glad we came here. -Me too. -Thank you very much. Giant green pepper. -It looks great. -Thank you for it.

It looks great. The flavour of green pepper spreads in my mouth. The meat is seasoned well, and the sauce... -Caponata. -The vegetable sauce is very good too.

They go together very well. -They do? -Yes. I'll try the Kintoki Pork sauté. I'll try the pork. Thank you for it. -It's tender. -Is it?

It's incredible. The fat has sweetness. It's tender and flavourful.

-It spreads in your mouth? -Yes, it's incredible. That was a big bite. The seventh entry in the guidebook, the western restaurant Gen, with their generous and delicious dishes. -Thank you for the food. -Thank you very much. -Bye. -Thank you very much. It was great.

They walk back along the road in the sweltering heat. Finally, they are back at the station. Excuse me. Let's see.

-Mayo. -Yes. Which station are we going next? Yoshinari. Why did you choose Yoshinari Station? When I was looking at the map to decide which stations to get off, I saw that there was Yoshino River nearby. The station was close to Yoshino River. I like rivers.

-Yes, I know. -That's right. Now they'll go to Yoshinari Station, four stops away. It's the nearest station to Yoshino River, which the river lover Mayo recommends.

That's right. So cute. We have the same hat. Same. it's the same. Do you speak English? -No? -Where do you come from? -French. -French.

Bonjour. -Bonjour. -So cute. What is your name? -What's your name? -Name? My name is Simon.

Simon. -Simon. -Simon. -I'm Simon. -Simon! Raphael.

-Raphael. -Raphael. This is Mayo. That's Japanese. Sorry.

It's three o'clock and the lights are already on. Wow, great. Look what he's doing. See? So cute. Goodbye. Bye, thank you.

Thank you, bye. Bye. So cute. I can barely see them now. Bye. Let's check the time schedule.

Around four o'clock. Four o'clock. 4:22 pm.

Maybe the 4:40 pm train. -Sure. Let's do the 4:40 pm train. -4:40 pm. -We have one and a half hours. -That's not a lot of time.

I see someone by the station. Excuse me. This street is a bit confusing.

But if you follow this street and circle around... Follow the street. There'll be a large intersection. Another intersection. Turn left at the intersection.

-At the intersection... -Yes. -Turn left. -Turn left this time. -Then there'll be a bridge. -A bridge.

It's a bridge called Shikoku Saburou Bridge. Shikoku Saburou Bridge? Do we get a nice view from Shikoku Saburou Bridge? -Can we see the river? -Yes. -You can see the river from the bridge. -Okay.

Or if you turn left before the bridge, you'll be on the river bank. -So we can see the river from there. -Exactly. -Thank you. -Thank you very much.

They head to the recommended Shikoku Saburou Bridge. -Good luck! -Thank you! Hello! Hello. -Good luck! -Thank you very much. -Here, we turn left. -We turn left.

-Then we should see the bridge. -Yes. Which one is it? It's written there. -Shikoku Saburou Bridge. -You're right. It's the right way. -I'm relieved to know that. -Me too. -Mayo. -We made it.

Yes, I'm glad we made it. Shikoku Saburou Bridge. -We've arrived at the bridge. -Yes. We did it! Thank you very much.

Yes! -Thank you very much. -Since we're here, why don't we... -go to a spot with a better view? -Yes, let's go. Yoshino River flows east to west from Kochi Prefecture to Tokushima Prefecture.

It is about 194 kilometres long. The vast catchment area of the river covers 20% of the area of Shikoku! Isn't it pretty, Mayo? -This feels nice. -Very nice. This is worth the long walk.

We walked quite a lot. The eighth entry in the guidebook, Shikoku Saburou Bridge, with a breathtaking view of Yoshino River. We're back.

Great. Yoshinari Station. All right.

All right. Here's a map. Where are we going next? Next station is... Tokushima, which is our final destination. -Tokushima? -Tokushima. Does that mean it will be our last station? Yes. At our last station, we need to get two points!

-Two points. -Good pronunciation. -Two points. -Yes. All right. -We have about an hour. -Yes. Oh my god! We need to find two entries. We need to enquire someone.

We need to enquire right away. Excuse me. Can we ask you some questions? Let's stand over here. Sorry, but...

we're currently traveling on a local line. Is there any spot that you'd recommend around here? -Around here? -It can be a spot you two often go to. Or it can be a store that you like to go to.

-Is there anything? -Do you have anything? If you want something nearby, the churro shop would be good. -Where is it? -What is it? -Churros. -Churros? Have you gone there yet? No, we don't know. Do you recommend it? It's on the corner over there. It's a store specialised in churros called Chu Chu Churros.

-A specialised store? -Churros? Yes, there's a store for that. -Do you two often go there? -Yes. Are they good? -Yes. -Yes. -It's right there. -How do we get there? -It's on that corner. -It's very close. -Thank you very much. -Sorry for asking you suddenly.

You helped us a lot. Thank you. This is it! Are you all right? Excuse me. -They said okay. -They said okay. -I'm so happy, Mayo! -They said okay! -I'm so happy. -All right. -Sorry for visiting so suddenly. -Which one would you like?

They find a store specialised in churros which opened in 2012. Churro is a deep-fried confectionery stick which is commonly eaten in South Europe and Latin America. You have many different kinds, but which one do you recommend? So we're a store specialised in churros, and these are the ones that are in a form of a stick like this. Below that, we have combos with ice cream and churros. During this season, we recommend these.

You can get sudachi sundae, which is a speciality of Tokushima. We also have churro sundae with Naruto Kintoki sweet potato. -Kintoki is famous here, isn't it? -Yes. -Amazing. -What should we get? For me, since Tokushima is known for Naruto Kintoki sweet potatoes, I'll get the Naruto Kintoki one. I'll get the sudachi (Japanese lime) sundae.

Thank you very much. It's famous. Since we're now in Tokushima. The store makes every piece of churros to order! Though wheat flour is commonly used for churros, they use rice flour from Tokushima instead to make them fluffy. Their popular churros are crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside.

-Thank you very much. -Thank you very much. Here is sudachi sundae, and here is Naruto Kintoki sundae. -It looks great. Thank you. -Thank you.

Mayo ordered churros combined with the speciality sudachi and ice cream. The one Ms Kawamura ordered comes with a lot of Naruto Kintoki sweet potatoes on ice cream. It looks great.

-Let's eat the churros. -Let's eat. How is it? Churros are still warm. They're freshly fried. Ice cream tastes great with them. The sourness of sudachi...

helps in this hot weather. That's perfect. I'll try the sweet potato sundae now. Very good. Very good.

It has gold dust on it. Oh yeah! Gold dust. Incredible. I like the gold dust. It makes it look luxurious.

-It's seriously good. -It really is. Very good. The ninth entry in the guidebook, Chu Chu Churros. They have one entry left to find to accomplish their goal! -That was great. -All right, we need one more. -We're almost done, and it's raining now. -At the very end.

Yes, it's raining. -Let's use umbrellas. -Yes. We need one more. -Let's go this way. -Sure. (40 minutes left until the time limit) They have 40 minutes left until the time limit. To find the 10th entry in the guidebook, our duo starts to enquire people again.

-Let's see. -I hope we'll see someone. Hello. Can we ask you some questions? Sorry. Is she your friend? Were you planning to meet up on bikes? You were meeting up on bikes? Is there any place that you'd recommend? -Any place? -Any place we should go? Any recommended spot near Tokushima Station that you often go to? Is there a place you think we should go? -Poppogai. -Poppo...? A place called Poppogai.

Where is it? Poppogai? I see it. It's a shopping street with many different stores. -Is that so? -Yes.

-Does it have a retro feel to it? -Exactly. What kind of stores are there? There are clothing stores, and udon noodle shops. There are also karaoke joints.

-Has it been there since the old times? -Yes. -Poppogai. That sounds cute. -Poppogai. -That's something only the locals know. -That's true. -Do you often pass there? -Yes. Do you? I passed the street to go to elementary and middle schools.

-Really? -You passed Poppogai to go to school. It used to be where trains were. -I see. -I see. Poppo probably comes from the train sound. -Poppo. -Yes, probably.

-Like the train sound "poppo". -That's right. That sounds nice. Yeah, it'd be nice to go there. So where is this Poppogai? It's over there. -You can see it. It's below there. -I can see it.

-It's written so. -There's a 7-Eleven. -There? -That's the entrance. It's written there. So that's Poppogai. -Thank you very much. We'll go there. -Thank you.

(30 minutes left until the time limit) They have 30 minutes left until the time limit. -It's here. -We're here. It's written here. Poppogai. -Poppogai. -Poppogai. -It looks cute. -It's a cute shopping street.

There's a drawing of a train. Where is it? I see it. So Poppo comes from the train sound. -Let's go in. -How should we get permission to film? They can't afford to fail at getting permission now.

They visit the office of the shopping street to ask for permission. -Let's ask. Excuse me. -Excuse me. We're visiting this area on a journey on local lines. At this hour, the office is...

-I believe it's closed now. -It's closed? I'll show you the chairman's store. -The chairman's? -The chairman's? Do you see the store with a yellow signboard on your right? -Yellow. -That's the chairman's store. -Okay. -Please ask him.

Thank you. Thank you very much. -Sorry for visiting suddenly. -No problem. They'll directly ask the chairman of the shopping street.

-How will they say? -Excuse me. Excuse me. We're filming a TV show here. Sorry for visiting suddenly.

We'd like to get permission to film the entire shopping street. -Would that be all right? -Sure. -Are you sure? -Thank you very much. Thank you very much. -This is the chairman. -Yes, I'm the chairman. -Sorry to bother you at work. -Sorry for the suddenness.

Sorry. First of all, how did Poppogai get started? This land used to be owned by JR. Then the land was bought by various investors.

Then this shopping street was built. It's the prime location by the station. So they wanted to take advantage of the land. (Tokushima Station) As it is right by the JR Tokushima Station, Poppogai is visited by many residents of the city.

It's an arcade shopping street which was founded in 1971. On a street about 160 metres long, there are 25 stores total, including cosmetic shops, cafes, and clothing shops. Which is the oldest store on this street? -Which one? -The oldest one is... Kendojaya is the store of this shopping street's founder. -It used to be a cafe. -I see. It was a cafe, but now it's a restaurant that serves local dishes.

Local dishes. The founder has passed away, so his wife took over the store. -Now she runs it. -Great. We have Tokushima Ramen. Now it's famous, but originally we had Taraiudon, as it says there.

-Taraiudon? -It's the oldest type of yudame udon. They soak udon noodles in hot water. -They put them in a wooden container. -Really? -You take noodles from that? -Yes. Yes, you take them from the container. -Nice. -It's unique.

-It's... -It sounds interesting. I'm curious. We'll go check it out. -Great. -Thank you.

Thank you very much for the great information. -You helped us a lot. -Thank you very much. Bye. -Let's go ask. -Yes. -It's the oldest store on the street. -Yes. That's what they said. Kendojaya.

There are dolls. -Let's ask if we can film this place. -Let's ask. -Excuse me. -Excuse me. This is the fateful moment. Can our duo get permission to film?

-They said okay. -They said okay. Inside, there's a person who looks like this. She looks exactly like this.

Thank you for having us. The other customers are fine with it too. -Thank you very much. -Thank you.

Hello. Ma'am. -The doll outside... -That's me. I knew it. -It looks exactly like you. -It's me.

If you open up the room over there, you'll see that we have many dolls. You look familiar. My name is Mayo Kawasaki. -Mr Mayo Kawasaki? -Yes.

You were skinnier before. I've been in showbiz since I was 13. -That's right. -That's long. -I was very skinny when I was a kid. -That's right.

When the Poppogai shopping street was founded, this store was a cafe. But now it's a local cuisine restaurant. Let's try their speciality taraiudon noodles. -Here you go. -Look at the steam.

-Here you go. -Look at that. (Taraiudon noodles, 700 yen) They're really in a wooden container. That's true. Taraiudon is a local dish from Awa City, Tokushima Prefecture, which originated in the late Edo Period. In areas where forestry was popular, men who worked in the mountains carried udon noodles in a large tub and shared with everyone.

That's how the dish got started. Thank you for it. -It's hot. -Be careful.

-How is it? -It's incredibly hot. But the noodles are chewy. They're slightly different from Sanuki udon noodles. Thank you for it. It's hot! -It's hot, isn't it? -Yes. -It's very good. -Isn't it?

-They're very good. -The noodles are soft, but also chewy. Would you say that even if you weren't being filmed? Yes, I would. They're really good. The tenth entry in the guidebook, the Poppogai shopping street. They've successfully accomplished their goal. Thank you very much for the past two days, Mayo.

-It was fun, wasn't it? Nice work. -Yes, it was fun. How did you like the trip? We took the train from Takamatsu Station to Tokushima Station. I was really excited about this trip. More than anything, Emiko, you have such a kind personality. -No, that's you. -That's not true.

I'm touched. -But this time, we were lucky. -Yes. -I had a lot of fun. -Me, too. Thank you very much. We ate a lot of great food until the end. The journey on the Kotoku Line was full of charm. Thank you very much! Finding new places through new meetings.

With those many meetings, making warm memories. To everyone who helped us on this heart-warming journey, thank you very much! On the guidebook that they created, there are Rihei Ware and its surprising tradition, a break at a garden that feudal lords loved, a view of great islands on the Seto Inland Sea, authentic Sanuki udon noodles, a relaxing hotel with a panoramic view of the sea, the lowest mountain in Japan, giant green peppers stuffed with meat, a breathtaking view of Yoshino River, popular sweets in Awa, and a shopping street with a Showa-like atmosphere. They made a lot of great memories on this journey of the JR Kotoku Line, and discovered 10 wonderful places through enquiring people. Subtitles: Iyuno-SDI Group

2021-09-09 06:45

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