through Shikoku! We got on at Matsuyama and we arrived here at Yawatahama

There's lots of neat things to see in this area

So today I'm going to show you guys around!

Yawatahama is a port city, located in the south western part of Ehime Prefecture

It's famous for having the largest fish market in the Shikoku region

We are at the michi no eki, called Minatto in Yawatahama

This is a really large michi no eki (roadside station)

I love michi no eki, there is always so much to see

You can try some of the popular local foods of each city when you go to them

and there's usually tourist information centers

washrooms, vending machines...

All that kind of stuff that you need when you're going on a road trip

We decided to rent some electric bikes to ride around town

I think these are an awesome option if you want to see as many things as possible

and you have a limited amount of time

Especially if it's the summer time in Japan, which is very humid and hot

So having the nice breeze while you're riding is a bonus

All right, here we go!

I've got my electric bike turned on now

So now when I pedal...

It gives me a boost of power

It's on medium power right now

But if I put it on max power

it's so easy to ride!

Minimum effort and I can go the speed that I would be going if I was pedalling full blast

So it's pretty cool! I'm liking this electric bike!

Stop #1 was Wakamatsu Flag Shop where they specialize in dying fabrics

The couple that works at the shop was so kind

They sat down with us and explained all the techniques that they use for dying their fabrics

It was really neat to find out that they are very committed to using

the same traditional techniques that were used hundreds of years ago

Take a look at this

Oh it's made from paper?

Oh you know what it's made of?

I'm not positive

It's WASHI! (traditional Japanese paper)

This one has been well used

Newer ones are stiff like this one

Oh wow I can't believe it's washi

They have interchangeable tips

All different sizes

You can change the size depending on the project

The glue we use is made from mochi rice

We make glue from it

Then we add the rice bran

On top of the areas where we've applied the glue

That's so cool

I didn't know that!

I'm surprised to hear it's all made from rice!

We were starting to get hungry

So we stopped by Miyagawa Sweets Shop

which is a traditional Japanese sweets shop

They have lots of colourful and beautifully designed sweets

But this one is their signature sweet, the usukawa manjyuu

I was attracted to the pink coloured warabi mochi

So that's what I went with

And I was not disappointed, these were so freaking delicious guys!

I really recommend them

It was time to return our bikes

So we decided to do a little souvenir shopping in the market

Wow those are some cheap eggplants

80 yen and they're huge!

Oh my god...

That's a great price!

Look at these jellies that they're selling here

This one has a full mandarin orange in it

And this one has a full... tomato!

That... I... why???

Ehime is famous for mikan, so you will see lots of fresh mikan juices

They sell the usual souvenirs like keychains, postcards, magnets

But what I thought was really cool is they had this small corner of the store

where they were selling handmade crafts!

Crafts that the locals had made, and they brought to the shop to sell

and there were lots of really original things there

Lots of local items

Hand-woven slippers

Lots of pretty and super Japanese stuff that would make a great souvenir

One of my favourite memories from Yawatahama

was one of the guys who was working at the shop, came up and gave us these!

They're handmade out of this grass

Are these not the most amazing thing ever!?

I was holding them walking through the station...

and this lady thought they were real bugs and jumped back!

It was pretty funny

It's time to end our lovely day in Yawatahama

If you guys would like to see more videos from our trip, I will link my friends Sherry and Norm below

If you enjoy these travel videos please give me a thumbs up to let me know!

and I'm going to leave you guys with this beautiful view from our train

Thanks for watching and I'll see you again soon, bye!!