Day 15

April 1, 2023 saucee192 Comments

Weather: Sunny… got a bit of a sunburn on the tip of my ear (today’s high was 22*C)

Started out late today as the bus to Temple 39 (Enkoji) didn’t leave until 8am. I met Sophie on the bus and we went to Enkoji together. This Temple is famous for an eye washing well which is to cure eye disease… but it was covered up. There is also a legend of a turtle coming out of the sea with a red bell on its back. Temple 39 is the last temple in Kochi. – Thus ending the “Ascetic training” stage.

Sophie continued on by foot as she was staying between temple 39 and 40. I went on to Temple 40 (Kanjizaiji) by bus and started the Ehime part of the journey: Enlightenment). Kanjizaiji is the furthest away from Temple 1.

I then went to Uwajima where I’m staying tonight and tomorrow and visited the castle. The castle is a Japanese National Treasure as it is one of twelve castles to still have the original wooden tenshu (keep).

News on feet: Not sure if I’m now used to the pain or if the stretching and walking is helping but feet aren’t as painful as it was in Tokushima.

Tavel

Day 14

March 31, 2023 saucee19Leave a comment

Weather: Sunny with light showers in the afternoon

Started with train ride to Kubokawa Station and a 5 minute walk to Temple 37 (Iwamotoji). Said goodbye to Kyoko-san as she continued on foot and I took the train to Nakamura Station.

From Nakamura Station I took a bus down to Ashizuri and to Temple 38 (Kongofukuji). The garden at Kongofukuji was really peaceful.

There is also a statue of John Manjiro near the temple. In 1841, John Manjiro and 4 friends left Tosa-Shimizu City and got caught in a storm on their fishing vessel and landed on an inhabited island. They were rescued by an American whaling ship and brought to Hawaii. John learnt English and later returned to Japan in 1851, and later became an interpreter and translator for the government when Commodore Perry arrived in Yokohama to force open Japan to the rest of the world.

Didn’t do much walking today, but am tired from all the travelling.

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Day 13

March 30, 2023 saucee192 Comments

Weather: Sunny

Started the day with a bus ride to the bottom of Temple 35 (Kiyotakiji). And then another bus to a stop near Temple 36 (Shoryuji).

It was about noon when I got to the start of Shoryuji, so I decided to stop in a restaurant where one barbecues one’s own (mostly) seafood lunch. The only seafood that wasn’t fresh were the frozen prawns.

I met up with Kiyoko-san again today! It was weird, I was thinking about her earlier in the day and was wondering how she was getting on with her Henro and then she appeared just as I was leaving Shoryuji. I told her where I was staying tonight and she managed to get a room at the same cute business hotel.

Temple 36 (Shoryuji).The Main Temple and the Daishi Temple are at the top of the stairs.

It was nice to catch up with her and hear about her travels over dinner at a ramen place. (This area is famous for their Nabeyaki Ramen). She will be finishing her Henro at Temple 65 (that is where she started from), but tomorrow we will set off together. She has already done Temple 37 (Iwamotoji) today, so she will continue on by foot to Temple 38 (Kongofukuji) while I go to Temple 37.

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Day 12

March 29, 2023 saucee19Leave a comment

Weather: Sunny

The owner of the guest house I stayed at was really helpful. She suggested an itinerary for Sophie (another German woman) and offered to pick her up at a grocery store close to the last temple Sophie would be going to today and bring her back to the guesthouse as well as bring her back to the grocery store the next day.

The owner also offered to have my rucksack brought to the place I’m staying tonight. I agreed and was extremely grateful for her help.

Without my rucksack I was able to walk further than expected. I am staying at a place in front of Temple 33 (Sekkeiji) but I walked to Temple 34 (Tanemaji) today and came back. I’m taking public transport tomorrow morning to the bottom of the mountain of Temple 35 (Kiyotakiji).

Temple 32 (Zenjibuji) also on top of a hill/mountain had a view of the ocean and the farming area. There are a lot of solar farms(?) in Shikoku – areas of land where the only thing on it are solar panels.

Not sure what this is, but it was at Temple 32 (Zenjibuji)… so I had Usagi-chan pose with it.

Part of the view from Temple 32 (Zenjibuji)

There are also a lot of Tsunami evacuation stations especially along the coast of Kochi. Many of there were put up after the earthquake and tsunami of 2011.

One of many tsunami evacuation stations along the coast.

Between Temple 32 and 33 there is a small ferry which is free to ride and was a nice change to walking on hard paved roads.

Once on the other side there was a Sake brewery…so I stopped in to have a free sampling of their tipple

After that I went to Temple 33 (Sekkeiji) but forgot to take a picture… I blame the sake.

But I did manage to take a photo of Temple 34 (Tanemaji)…one of the few temples not on a hill/mountain

Temple 34 (Tanemaji). The farmers are preparing the beds for ginger. There are more than the one farmer in this picture, but you have to look very hard – you also have to look carefully for the Temple.

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Day 11

March 28, 2023 saucee19Leave a comment

Weather: Sunny

Started the day with Temple 31(Chikurinji). The Henro route goes through The Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden, so as a pilgrim one can see the gardens for free.

Henro path that goes through Makino Botanical Garden

After visiting Chikurinji I walked to the Kochi Art Museum. They have a collection of Marc Chagall’s lithographs.

I wanted to go to CUL-PORT (Yokohama Memorial Manga Museum) but apparently the are closed for renovations until April of this year. So instead, I went to the sight of Sakamoto Ryoma’s birthplace… it was a stone memorial between two office buildings.

Birthplace of Sakamoto Ryoma…I’m pretty sure there once was a house there and Ryoma wasn’t born on the sidewalk between office buildings. 😉

After that a short visit to Kochi Castle and then dinner of tataki (lightly roasted bonito). Tataki is the specialty of Kochi.

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Day 10

March 27, 2023 saucee19Leave a comment

Weather: Sunny !!!!

Went to Temple 28 (Dainichiji) first thing in the morning, and bumped into the German woman from the day before. I didn’t see her again for the rest of the day. It might be because she used Google maps instead of the henro signs posted on the road along the way.

I found that following the henro signs sometimes adds an extra half hour or more to the walk. So from Temple 29 (Kokubunji) to Temple 30 (Zenrakuji) I followed the signs for a bit then took a shorter route, which was also marked but not as well.

From Temple 30 I walked to Tosa-Ikku Station. I then took the train to Kochi, where I will be spending the next two nights in order to do some sightseeing.

View down the main Boulevard from Kochi Station

Not sure why so many of the temples are on a hill/ mountain? Luckily, today only one was slightly higher (only 2 flights of stairs and NO hairpin bends with ridiculous inclines!)

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Day 9

March 26, 2023 saucee19Leave a comment

Weather: Rain (again)

I was under the impression that the best time to visit Japan was March and April because the weather is nice. The one good thing I can say about the rain is that it isn’t too hot and actually make the temperature pleasant for walking.

Today I got to sleep in a bit and didn’t get up until 6:00am. Usually, I’m up at 5:00am or 5:30am in order to have breakfast do last minute repackaging and out the door by 7:00am. This morning though, Ito-san from the Inn gave me and a German woman who was staying at the same inn a ride to the station. So we set out a bit later. The train had a balcony on the side, but it was too cold and too wet to enjoy.

I got off at Tonohama station and made my way up to Temple 27 (Konomineji.) It is only 4.2km but starting at the station at sea level the temple is near the top of the mountain at 424.6m.

I have put everything in a plastic bags. Because of all the rain the last couple of days everything is soaking wet! Luckily the place I’m staying tonight in Konan city has a dryer. Yay for warm dry clothes!

When I got to the top my faithful Henro bag fell apart. It got soaked by all the rain, bits of the inside plastic was coming off in flakes, but the biggest injury to the bag was the rip where the strap meets the bag. I would’ve taken a picture, but I’ll give the bag a bit of dignity. May it rest in pieces. 😉 I now have a new handy dandy henro bag.

On my way to Konan I stopped off at Aki. The town has an old Samurai Residence Street and an area that was once a castle but is now a Museum of local folk traditions (I was not allowed to take any pictures – they had Girls’ Day Festival dolls on display and I was given a pamphlet). Aki is also the birthplace of Yataro Iwasaki (the founder of Mitsubishi company)… I did not go to his childhood home.

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Day 8

March 25, 2023March 25, 2023 saucee199 Comments

Weather: Rain

Started out at 6:30am and got to Temple 25 (Shinshoji) in Muroto a little before 7am. The temple office does not open until 7:00am so I made my way to the main temple and then the Daishi temple. I have gotten really quick at doing the chants and have one memorized.

Walked to Temple 26 (Kongochoji). Went up by forest path and went down by different forest path. (It was really slippery and I was glad I had my walking poles for support). At the bottom of the hill there was a Whale Museum, so I went in and paid ¥500 to see this place. The best thing about it was the Virtual Reality film when one is under water “swimming” with whales.

I had lunch at a burger place run by a guy who likes to surf. Apparently, that area is good for short board surfing.

I then stated walking toward the place I booked for tonight in Nahari about a 21km distance. On the way I passed through Kiragawa (a town which as preserved the buildings from the late 19th and early 20th century.)

I got about 14 k from Kongochoji, when my feet got the better of me and I took a bus.

It was not the sprain – that rarely bothers me now. It is not blisters – I only have one from the wrap I had around my ankle for the sprain. In fact, I have to thank Rachel for suggesting wearing 2 layers of socks. A pair of smartwool and another thick sock on top of that.

I believe it is Plantar Fasciitis. The pain is in both heels and first thing in the morning my first steps are painful. It started after Temple 10. Last night and this morning I did some stretches that help relieve the symptoms. It felt better this morning, but after over 31,000 steps I am feeling it again. (Tomorrow might be a lighter walking day)

Today was also the first time I visited an onsen (hot spring) on this trip. It had a ryotenburo (outside hot spring). I was the only person in there so I got to relax and spend a long time in the Ryotenburo.

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Day 6

March 22, 2023March 23, 2023 saucee19Leave a comment

I’m on the road again. The day started out with a light drizzle turning into a torrential downpour. (Cars don’t slow down when they past you, so every time a car approaches one has to turn slightly away as it will inevitably go through a puddle as it passes.)

I got to the bottom of mountain where Temple 20 (Kakuriji) is situated and luckily there was a FamilyMart. I got a hot coffee and called a cab. There is uncomfortable and then there is UNCOMFORTABLE. I am choosing the Buddhist middle way and going for uNcOmFoRtAbLe.

I kept the cab waiting while at Kakuriji, and had it take me to the bottom of the cable car at Temple 21 (Tairyuji). It was still raining pretty hard when I got on the cable car to go back down… but it stopped raining and the sun came out once I was at the bottom of the mountain. Go figure!

Rain pouring down rain spout at Temple 20 (Kakuriji)

I ended the day visiting Temple 22 (Byodoji) which is known for curing all sorts of sickness. This is where the charm I bought at Temple 9 (Horinji) – known for curing leg ailments – broke and I got a new charm for good mind and body.

On my walk today, I met a man named March from Taiwan who told me that there used to be 88 temples in Taiwan dedicated to Kobo Daishi, but now there are only 3. He also told me there is a Temple in Fukuoka dedicated to Kobo Daishi – I had no idea! Fukuoka is the point Daishi returned to Japan from China.

If you have been following me from the beginning of this Pilgrimage, you might have noticed I had mislabeled one of my posts… apparently I skipped Day 3… it is now numbered correctly…I hope.