Carp, Softshell Turtles, and Slowpoke — Do Yadon Dream of Udon?
I live in Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. Let me start with a simple invitation:
“Takamatsu is worth visiting at least once.”
When people hear “Kagawa,” they often think of:
- Udon noodles
- Olives
- Shodoshima Island
- The Setouchi Triennale art festival
Or perhaps a few local celebrities.
All of that is true.
Kagawa is a place where food, tourism, islands, and art fit together in a surprisingly compact way.
According to a 2025 domestic tourism survey, Kagawa ranked first in overall visitor satisfaction.
One of its quiet treasures is Ritsurin Garden.
Not “Kuribayashi,” but Ritsurin.
It is not counted among Japan’s famous “Three Great Gardens,” yet it easily stands alongside them. It is a strolling daimyo garden, with small waterfalls, ponds, and winding paths, and it has a kind of charm that almost feels like a miniature theme park.
In one of those ponds live carp, softshell turtles, and sometimes catfish.
Visitors can buy simple wheat snacks nearby and feed the animals.
The “attitude” of carp and turtles
When food hits the water, the carp approach slowly and gracefully. Smoothly, elegantly, but with certainty.
Watching them, I often find myself thinking that in romance, in job hunting, or in life more generally, there is something important about carrying purpose while still keeping a sense of composure.
And then, suddenly, something like a comet rises from the water.
A softshell turtle.
In a split second, it grabs the food and disappears.
Every time I see this, I think:
This is not a story about aggression winning. It is a story about making visible, through attitude, what you actually want.
Grace and quickness. The carp and the turtle show two opposite poles.
To borrow Muhammad Ali’s phrase:
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
What matters may not be choosing one style forever, but being able to shift your attitude depending on what the moment requires.
Prompting AI may not be so different
This idea applies surprisingly well to how humans interact with AI.
When we give vague, hesitant, overly polite prompts, AI struggles to figure out what to return.
To dismiss that as “the AI just isn’t very good” is often a little too easy.
What matters is whether we are offering enough material to think with.
For example:
- What role do you want the AI to play?
- What format do you want in return?
- What assumptions should it begin from?
If we can present those conditions clearly, calmly like a carp, and sometimes firmly like a turtle, then the AI can finally move toward the task in a clean way.
At that point, it comes toward the prompt almost as naturally as the fish move toward food.
Do Slowpoke dream of udon?
In Kagawa, there have been tourism and udon-related campaigns featuring the Pokémon Slowpoke (Yadon).
It is an oddly perfect fit.
Slowpoke, with its relaxed and slightly absent-minded character, feels as if it could be sitting by the pond at Ritsurin Garden, dreaming of udon noodles.
Like a carp, graceful. Like a turtle, quick when needed. And like Slowpoke, somehow unhurried.
Perhaps relationships between humans and AI could also become a little more interesting, and a little richer, if they could move with that kind of rhythm.
Standing by the pond, that is the sort of thing I find myself thinking about.
So in the end, what I really want to say is simple:
Kagawa is a wonderful place. Please come and visit someday.
And when you plan your trip, it would not be a bad idea to ask the AI beside you for help.
But perhaps do not ask only:
“What should I do in Kagawa?”
It may be better to ask:
“What kind of trip do I want this to be?”
That question alone might change the answer you receive.