Fukuyama would never have been on my radar if it didn’t have a Shinkansen that would take us back to Tokyo after visiting my relatives in Kochi on Shikoku Island in Japan (about 3.5 hours). The Anchor Hotel looked like a cool place to stay and Fukuyama seemed like the best place to stop at the end of our 5 day trip around Shikoku by car. We were renting a car for the first time in this area (we’ve driven in Okinawa before) and weren’t sure how the driving would be. The Anchor Hotel was right near the train station, easily bookable and cancellable with Expedia and it was also near where we could drop off our Toyota rent a car.
A vegan sandwich breakfast at the Anchor Hotel
It might have been the convenience and decor that got me to book but what intrigued me was that our room booking came with breakfast that could also include a vegan sandwich or a hot dog. My husband is vegetarian (and now a bit pescatarian) and on our early trips to Japan it was really difficult to find many vegetarian things (which is why he is now a bit pescatarian) so seeing a vegan sandwich as a breakfast option made me want to check it out. And breakfast was delicious. We were also told that we could order soba (there were only 10 available that day) so two of us tried that as well. One of the guys ordered the hot dog for breakfast because he thought that was pretty cool too.
What to do between Kochi and Fukuyama if you are driving
Maybe I should let you know what not to do first. I spotted rice terraces on Google Maps and decided we had to see them. (I’ve taken my family on this type of fated adventure before in Texas on the Blue Bonnet Trail and I’m thankful they still try to make all my adventure ideas come true) The drive started out well, and we might have even talked about how the driving was better than expected in Shikoku. (Don’t ever talk about how well a trip is going during a trip.) We followed signs we could barely read but seemed to be going the right way. And then the road began to narrow and curveball and we still had a couple miles to go. And then the road became too small for our tiny Toyota Carolla and one of our wheels almost went over the edge and we decided it was best to turn around while we were still alive. I don’t think the rice terraces in this area are good to visit unless your car was smaller than our car.
But we did find a couple great roadside stations. We ate ice cream at one (umatate PA but we actually wanted this one) and it was delicious. It was so incredibly hot in August we ate so much ice cream and drank so many ice cold drinks. We also stopped at another roadside stand (at Imabari-shi Tatar Shimanami Park) and had soba with a water view. The “michi-no-eki” (roadside stands) in Japan could be a tour on their own. Each one seems to have their own specific regional treats and snacks as well as super clean restrooms and sometimes even gorgeous sights nearby. (Like the vine bridge stop we went to on the first part of our Shikoku drive and another one where we ate soba in a 100 year old house)
And what you can do in Fukuyama (we had so much fun shopping in this city)
There is a small mall attached to the Fukuyama train station where you can catch the Shinkansen to Tokyo (we reserved tickets at the JR office at the Kochi train station) and we shopped there for a bit-there are lots of clothing, stationary, household goods and food and it was quieter than shopping in Tokyo. We also picked up onigiris and baked goods for our train ride to Tokyo. There are a lot less tourists in Fukuyama so if you are looking for tax-free stores there aren’t as many. But if you search “Muji store” in Fukuyama it’s in a big mall that is walkable from the Anchor Hotel and there we found some fabulous things and also tax-free tourist shopping at the Muji store (except the workers at the store could not figure out the year on my passport because it was from last century and not in the 2000’s.) You can read more about the tax-free shopping in Japan here but I’ve heard they might not be continuing this program for very long.
We spent a bit of time at the Fukuyama Castle because it was only a short walk away from the Anchor Hotel. We ended up here just at the golden hour so we all took a ton of photos. A short time after we left the castle and were heading to the Muji Store the sky darkened, thunder crashed and rain started to pour. Thankfully we made it to the mall before we got too soaked. It was such a big storm that lights flickered and we saw workers scooping bucketloads of water out of the building but by the time we ate dinner at the conveyer belt sushi across the street the storm was over and we could walk back to our hotel.
And what did we think about our room at the Anchor Hotel Fukuyama?
The decor was perfect the minute we entered. We booked a penthouse room (we have two adults and two large teenage boys). The room had the best bathroom layout ever and the bath was the most luxurious. There was a little patio but it was so hot we stayed inside with the air conditioning. I loved the soft yukata so much I bought one as a souvenir. We had welcome drinks in the lobby area that were really refreshing too.
I’m really glad we visited this city. It feels very different than where we stayed in Akasuka Station in Tokyo where most tourists to Japan visit. I will link the blogs from the rest of our trip on Shikoku here when they post. We also visited this Hello Kitty Apple House on Shikoku that I posted in my instagram and have more about Kochi on Shikoku here.
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
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