With Mt. Fuji behind us we travel to the small town of Marugame on the island of Shokoku where we stay with Brian's friend Ian who is teaching English in the town. It turns out he's a great host and we began to get some insight into the lives of people teaching over seas. As I talk to the people I think it is a bit of a lonely life, they certainly come to know an area well but do not have the constant interaction we have been lucky enough to have thus far. There is a group of teachers in the area, mostly American an English girl and an Aussie. I spend a few hours chatting to Mariko a Japanese girl who also teaches english in the area. She has travelled quite a bit and speaks English well. She is able to provide a lot of information about the various things we had been seeing. Our first night turns into a ruckus party after the "few drinks" we had decided to have turn into a few more. Late in the evening Alex the English girl tells us "We are the most exciting thing thats happened in Marugame in months."
On his weekend Ian takes us to a beautifull Shinto Shrine on the mountain side in Kotohira, a nice temple in Tzenjuki and teaches us a little history in the area, check out the story of Kobe Daishi if you are interested. We decide to move on to Osaka to be our gateway to the area of Kyoto for more shrines and temples.
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