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■ Small-city serenity…Best friends Takamatsu and Matsuyama
Just a short, roughly 90-minute flight from Incheon, many parts of Japan are close enough for a quick getaway—places that feel familiar to Korean travelers but have their own distinct vibe.
For anyone craving the calm of a small town over the flash of a big city, direct flights to Takamatsu and Matsuyama are a dream. These two destinations offer slow mornings, scenic strolls, and an array of local flavors—perfect for swapping crowded streets for a relaxed, regional escape.
Both cities sit on Shikoku, one of Japan’s four major islands alongside Honshu, Kyushu, and Hokkaido. They’re central to travel on the island—serving as hubs for tourism, administration, and commerce—and their easy connections to larger cities like Hiroshima and Okayama make them smart, budget-friendly choices for travelers.
Though both are port cities, Takamatsu and Matsuyama have very different personalities. Takamatsu, known as the home of Sanuki udon, is the gateway to the Seto Inland Sea and its art-focused islands like Naoshima and Teshima. Matsuyama, on the other hand, is famous for Dogo Onsen—a 3,000-year-old hot spring and one of Japan’s oldest hot springs—and the historic Matsuyama Castle; it’s also sprinkled with spots that inspired Studio Ghibli’s landscapes.
Travel writer Unmin, who specializes in historical itineraries, lays out a variety of ways to experience both cities. His guide covers must-see sights, regional specialties and dishes, shopping essentials, and the practical transport tips you’ll need for a smooth trip.
■ Mom gets a day off, and so does the soup bowl…Children’s poetry collection The Soup Bowl That Sleeps In
“A best friend on the table / a rice bowl, a soup bowl / but / today I can’t see the soup bowl // … This morning my mom / doesn’t seem to want to wake the soup bowl / face down and fast asleep on the sink.”
Every morning, a mother quietly works to cook for her family and kick-start the day. Standing in front of a hot stove, preparing multiple dishes, can look exhausting—and sometimes joyful. When soup is missing from the meal, the family grumbles. In her children’s poem The Soup Bowl That Sleeps In, poet Im Sang-mi uses the absent soup bowl to capture a child’s charming, innocent view of that everyday scene.
Im, who is also a painter, won the 2024 Munhwa Bipyung Newcomer Award in children’s poetry and the 2025 Monthly Literature Newcomer Award in sijo. She now heads the Haso-eul Gallery and presents about 90 children’s poems with accompanying illustrations in this collection.
The image of “a soup bowl sweating from holding hot broth every day” finally taking a day off hints at a tiny bit of relief in a mother’s morning routine. Children’s author Yun Su-cheon notes that the poems honor those who tirelessly serve others; through a mother’s love, they celebrate the quiet beauty of dedication and care.
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