Places we stopped along the way

Hyakusai Shoten

From: Chasing the cherry blossoms across spring Japan

The Hyakusai Shoten noren and the shopfront

A shop on Chichibugahama. Despite the word "bookshop" in its name, it doesn't sell books: it was named for a wish to pass on things that have lasted a hundred years and things worth keeping for the next hundred. Local foods, seasonings and crafts line the shelves, alongside books recording the makers' thoughts. I picked up a jar of Seto Inland Sea anchovies and a booklet titled "A Thank-You from the Seto Inland Sea." The Mitoyo tourism site currently lists not this beachside shop but a similarly named store, Hyakusai Shoten ("hundred-year store"), inside the Shopping Store Imagawa supermarket in Nio, so check before you go.

2686-3 Nio-otsu, Nio-cho, Mitoyo, Kagawa

Sources: matcha-jp.com local-media.heteml.net mitoyo-kanko.com

This moment in the journey

Chichibugahama, where the water mirrors the sky

I also made my way to Chichibugahama, one of Kagawa's most popular beaches. The shallows ran far out to sea, and someone had set up a tripod to photograph the water. I stopped by a "bookshop" standing by the beach, its noren curtain reading Hyakusai Shoten. What it offers isn't books, but local products rooted in the area, along with the stories those products carry.

I picked up a jar of anchovies from the Seto Inland Sea and opened the booklet propped beside it. The cover read "A Thank-You from the Seto Inland Sea," with a founding date of Meiji 45 (1912).

As the sun went down, the tide pools turned into mirrors. Chichibugahama is also called "Japan's Salar de Uyuni," and at dusk especially, the water reflects the beautiful sky. The setting sun and my own silhouette floated on the water a second time.

Watch this scene on YouTube6:55

Read this scene in the full journey