The Trip To Ehime Via Okayama


The Japanese word Kisei (帰省) means to travel back to our hometown or where our family is.

This new years holiday I traveled back home to Ehime by way of Okayama airport. Ehime prefecture actually has their own airport in Matsuyama, but because Ehime is only accessible by airplane, the tickets always sell out very quickly. So our other option is to fly into Takamatsu airport, which is in the prefecture next to Ehime and take the express train. But the express train actually goes from Ehime to Okayama and you need to change lines when coming from Takamatsu airport.

Thus my decision to fly in from Okayama airport. And lucky me, the tickets to Okayama were super cheap (apparently it has to do with the price competition between shinkansen and flights)! So my kisei this time ended up being a flight (1hr 15min), a bus ride (25min), a train ride (2hr 30min), and a short walk (15min), which I surprisingly enjoyed. Well, maybe not the bus ride. But the view from the airplane and train ride was fantastic!

For those of you who do not live in Japan, to put it simply, going to Ehime via Okayama is sort of like going to New York via Canada (with an emphasis on sort of) ;)

Here are some pictures of my kisei I took on my cellphone:

Getting ready to board with my book and mocha chai latte.
I always melt a little when I see the pilot in the cockpit wave to little kids in the airport.
In the bus from Okayama airport to Okayama station.
Okayama prefecture is famous for the folklore Momotaro.
The JR Kibi line from Okayama station...isn't the train handsome?

My ticket from Okayama station to Kibitsu station.
The great thing about rural lines is that you have time to snack on dorayaki during the train ride.
Okayama has the cutest manhole covers.
Just a short walk from Kibitsu station is Kibitsu Shrine, famous for this gorgeous corridor.
The koma-inu's silly laugh had me giggling all the way home.
After a two and a half hour train ride, I was greeted by a lovely sunset.
You know you're in Ehime when there is an abundance of mikan to eat...good to be home. x

Labels: , , ,