A land of contradictions, short on self awareness and long in missed opportunities… Shikoku feels a lot like the awkward child that you love dearly who can never quite seem to find their way. A land perpetually handicapped by an endless stream of well funded poorly executed and uncoordinated government initiatives beholden to no masterplan that wreak havoc on its sensitive environment. Perhaps one day there will be a concerted effort to restore the 88 temple pilgrimage with a focus on the quality of the journey between temples, so one isn’t largely strolling alongside busy streets, highways, and fence lines or overwhelmed by explanatory signage, neon traffic cones, and plastic vertical banner supports. Still, between the concrete lined riverbeds and endless array of power lines there are vignettes… beautiful brief renderings of what this place was, and in some cases still is. A stark example of how not to revitalize rural regions… let’s hope that someone in the government recognizes the value in preserving what remains.