Budget Student’s Chaotic Kagawa Adventure

i woke up to the kind of chill that made my nose do a little tap‑dance on the windowsill. the radiator hissed like an old cat, and i could swear the room temperature was still floating around two degrees Celsius. i just checked and it's still hovering around a bone‑shivering two degrees Celsius out there - i'm talking the kind of cold that makes your eyebrows try to meet each other. hope you like that kind of thing, i guess. if you get bored, Osaka and Hiroshima are just a short drive away, plus a quick hop to Takamatsu if you fancy some sea‑side vibes. someone told me that the ramen joint near *Udon Street was legendary last night, but the Yelp review (a drunk guy, apparently) warned about the line being longer than a Tokyo subway rush hour. i heard that the cheap hostel in Matsuyama had a vibe that could rival a dormitory in a anime‑marathon, and locals whispered that the bakery on Fountain Road was actually run by a former shikoku tourist‑guide turned pastry ninja. i splurged a little on a sleeper‑car train ticket because the night bus was cheaper than a budget student horror story. the wifi was spotty, but the free Coffeehouse outside the station gave me a decent latte that almost made up for the missing heating. i snagged a free map from the front desk, and it turned out the Kagawa prefecture has more scenic overlooks than my Instagram feed can handle. i spent the afternoon wandering Uramichi market, where the smell of kombu broth practically slapped me in the face. the Tako stall vendor shouted 'five bucks for a tentacle!' in a mix of Japanese and broken English, and i felt like i was in a cooking show that never got filmed. food is my first priority, and Udon is the cheap hero i keep coming back to. i ate at Udon Osaka, a tiny joint that’s been humming since the late seventies. the noodles are thick, the broth is clear, and the price tags are cheap. the guy behind the counter laughed at my attempt to copy his slurp, but the food was pure gold. i also tried Miso Ramen at a spot called Hotaru - the broth was a perfect blend of salty miso and the ghost‑like temperature from the weather outside. both places got a few overheard rumors: someone claimed the miso ramen was actually made with a secret stash of sea‑level sea salt; another said the udon broth was boiled in a kettle that was 'too old to be trusted'. i laughed, paid, and moved on. i’m still figuring out how to not get stuck in the tourist trap. TripAdvisor ratings for the most popular hostel in Takamatsu say 'crowded but cheap', while Yelp mentions 'awesome free wifi, but the dorm beds feel like used sofa cushions'. a local forum called KagawaTravel warned me not to skip the shikoku pilgrimage routes if you want authentic vibe; apparently the weather* can be brutal, but the scenery is a reward. i also found a Reddit thread where a traveler said 'the best noodles come from the corner that doesn’t have a sign'. i’ll keep you posted when i finally find that place. as a budget student, i can’t promise luxury, but i can promise cheapness, weird stories, and a lot of cold‑weather snacks. if someone says 'don’t go there', that might just be a secret that’ll make your Instagram explode. stay warm, keep your wallet light, and remember: the city’s best moments are hidden in plain sight. the map below should give you a rough idea of where i’ve been dragging my backpack.

and a few photo snaps to tide you over:

if you’re thinking about planning a trip, hit up TripAdvisor - Kagawa Ramen spots, Yelp - Matsuyama hostels, the Kagawa Travel Forum (Reddit), and Japan National Tourism Org. the community there dishes out weird rumors, like 'the best sushi is hidden behind a vending machine'. i’ll keep you posted when i finally find that place.