Today I headed due west, to the other end of the island of Shikoku. I must have covered 150 km, with about 1/3 in the Iya Valley, another 1/3 crossing through small and beautiful canyons connected by tunnels, and a last 1/3 following the urban and industrial corridor that parallels the southern shore of the Sea of Hiuchi. I don't really mind urban, because it is so full of color and loud signs in Japanese, but I was getting annoyed at the drivers, who obviously thought motorcycles belong on the gutter (I learnt way back there that a motorcycle should take the lane, just like a car) and would pass me way too close for comfort.
I kept looking wistfully at the tall mountains to my left, thinking how much nicer it would be there rather than amongst these jerks. In this mood I spied a small sign that depicted a train going through the forest and decided to go investigate. 5 km later I found a big Tori gate that gave access to a tourist development called Minetopia Besshi ... now, where have I heard that name before? I needed a break, so I decided to go in and check it out. It turned out to be a sort of mining museum and looking at the samples on display it suddenly hit me: This is the Besshi Mountain Range, which is the type locality for Besshi-type massive sulfide deposits, which are present in mixed volcanic-sedimentary environments. Deposits of this type form thin, laterally extensive sheets of pyrrhotite and/or pyrite, commonly hosted by turbidites that have been intruded by basaltic sills. These deposits are typically copper-rich and contain some gold.
My curiosity aroused, I studied with care the exhibits, which included a geologic map (in Japanese, of course), where I believe I distinguished four separate terranes obducted unto the accretionary wedge, not unlike the geology of the Klamath Mountains in Northern California and Oregon.
I kept going up and up in this beautiful mountain range, and high upon the canyon I found three or four large dams. The Japanese love concrete, and these dams had concrete curtains that are almost 100 m in height. At the end, the road made a loop and I found myself back at the beginning of the urban strip, and back with the same brand of jerks. It must be something in the water.
I am spending the next couple of nights near the town of Saijo, in a cyclists hostel that is as basic as they get. I am in the flatland very close to the shore, but all I can see around me are boring rice fields (mind you, small rice fields with their attractive farmhouses are fine to look at, but these are large scale operations with no charm). Why exactly did I come here? I am close to the city of Matsuyama, which I will explore tomorrow, and I hope its ancient castle and historic onsen (bathhouse) will keep me entertained for the day.
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