Kagawa

Kagawa（香川）is the smallest prefecture in Japan, and is known for Sanuki Udon（讃岐うどん）, arguably the most famous/best type of udon noodles.

Went to this prefecture thrice, in 3 consecutive summers. The 1st time was to Naoshima（直島）, an island in the Seto Inland Sea, well-known for its modern art museums, sculptures and architecture. It seems to be really popular among local university students, either as a solo trip or with friends, and Ando Tadao's fans of course. Not to be missed is the huge pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama, Naoshima's icon indeed~

Took a night ferry to Takamatsu（高松）, capital of Kagawa, then transferred to another day ferry to Naoshima. Didn't enjoy the night ferry due to the ports being not so convenient, the ferry being not so clean, and not having a proper place to sleep :S Return trip via bus was better for me, though more expensive of course.

Most people travel around Naoshima via rental bicycle. Though there are many undulating hills, so cycling is actually pretty tough. There are a few museums-- Chichu, Benesse House, Lee Ufan, Ando, all designed by famous architect Ando Tadao.

Art House Project is a collection of abandoned houses, temple and shrine that have been converted into art installations and venues for contemporary art. They are situated in Honmura（本村）, a small port town on the eastern coast of Naoshima. It was fun cycling around and checking out the different art.

I Love Yu（湯） is an interesting public bath house that has art everywhere. Was one of the first to enter when it opened for the day, so managed to sneak some photos :P

There is a 007 museum near the port. As it was summer, had a good time sipping beer and listening to live rock music performance under the sun! The only pity was that there wasn't enough time to cover all the museums.

A trip to Kagawa would not be complete without eating Sanuki Udon. The small shop just opposite the station sells pretty decent Sanuki Udon~

My 2nd trip to Kagawa was combined with Tokushima（徳島）, the prefecture just beside. Went to Shikoku Mura（四国村）, an open-air museum that exhibits traditional houses, relocated here from all over Shikoku.

The restaurant just outside serves good Sanuki Udon, and there is a nice cafe nearby too~

Also went to Ritsurin Koen（栗林公園）, a landscape garden that is deemed to be as good as the top 3 landscape gardens in Japan. Personally I'd rank Kenrokuen（兼六園）1st and Kairakuen（偕楽園）2nd. No 3rd for me as wasn't too impressed by Ritsurin Koen and Korakuen（後楽園）:S

Perhaps the weather was too hot when I was there. Had to eat ice desserts to continue to stay outdoors.

My 3rd trip to Kagawa was just for Marugame Castle（丸亀城）, 1 of the 12 original castles in Japan, in order to complete the list~

Kagawa may be small, but it consists of many islands that can be pretty fun to explore.