Cost of doing the pilgrimage

The total cost of doing the pilgrimage varies. The two main variables are how long you take and where you stay. David Turkington, in his excellent website, gives most of the information you need to figure out how much your pilgrimage will probably cost you. Here are a few suggestions gleaned from his website, David Moreton's researches, and my own sources here on Shikoku. Keep in mind that all room prices are per person, with no reduction for sharing a room.

Accommodations:

Temple Lodgings (shukubo)
Seventeen numbered temples and half a dozen unnumbered temples (bangai) have pilgrim's lodgings. They cost 5,000 to 6,000 yen per night including dinner and breakfast. The food is consistently excellent. It is largely, but usually not completely, vegetarian. You may occasionally share a room with a number of other pilgrims.

Minshuku and Ryokan
Minshuku are inns that belong to the Minshuku Association. Ryokan are inns that belong to the Ryokan Association. These are pretty similar, though ryokan are generally at the higher end of the cost scale, some at the WAAAAAY HIGH end of the scale. However, some older, smaller ryokan cost the same as or less than some minshuku. Most pilgrim's inns along the route cost 5,500 to 6,500 yen per night including dinner and breakfast. The food varies from good to excellent. Most of the best meals I've had in Japan were at pilgrim's inns. You can choose to take both meals (dinner and breakfast), one meal, or none, but you must specify when you make your reservation. If you take fewer meals, you pay less, how much less depends on which meal you skip and local policy. Figure 3,500 to 5,000 yen per night with no meals.

• asa gohan dake -- only breakfast

• ban gohan dake -- only dinner

• ni shoku -- two meals (but you don't have to say this since ni shoku is standard)

Business Hotels
All medium sized or larger towns have them. Usually they are near the train station if there is a train station in town. They cost 3500 to 7,000 yen per night with no meals.

Youth Hostels
These are relatively rare on Shikoku, but two temples are Youth Hostels (#24 and #37) and another is about 500 meters from Temple 23, on the left side of the shopping street that leads downhill from the temple gate. All are shown in the walking pilgrims' guide map book and on the Japan Youth Hostel Association website.

Free Accommodations (tsuyado)
There are a few free places to stay, sometimes available, sometimes not. In addition, you may be given free acommodations at a temple shukubo if you are walking. However, don't count on this. For much more information about free accommodations, see David Moreton's page on the subject.

Camping
David Turkington has some good advice on this subject. I would add, though, that finding a place to camp outside of larger towns is very easy as long as you wait until evening and leave early in the morning. (And of course you should practice no-impact camping. Leave no trace that you slept there.)

HOWEVER, I have a few words of caution. First, you can't expect to camp every night. Some nights you will almost inevitably be in one of the larger towns or cities where there really is no suitable place to unroll a sleeping bag. Second, every place in the world has certain dangers. Shikoku has some poisonous snakes and many dangerous centipedes and bees. There are two kinds of poisonous snakes on Shikoku, yamakagashi and mamushi. I personally have never seen a mamushi, but most hikers have seen several or more. As you can learn if you choose to research this, mamushi are small but dangerous pit vipers that look a bit like stunted diamondback rattlesnakes (mamushi are only about 40 - 50 cm. long). Yamakagashi are fairly common and poisonous but not terribly dangerous because they rarely bite. According to one biologist, they rarely bite even if you pick one up by mistake. Centipedes (mukade)are quite common in Japanese houses (including minshuku) and bees (hachi) are a danger in any rural area in Japan. Some Japanese bees are so large, they are called kuma-bachi -- "bear bees."

Food

Unless you really stuff yourself on rice refills at breakfast and dinner (okawari onegaishimasu -- seconds please!) you will probably spend quite a bit on lunch and snacks. And desserts. And more snacks. There are small grocery stores and convenience stores (combini) everywhere on Shikoku. The latter are generally open 24 hours. Prices are pretty much the same wherever you shop. If you find a supermarket in the evening, however, you may find good discounts on take out food (including sushi and sashimi) since they will have to throw the unsold merchandise out at closing time.

A Few Sample Prices

Other Costs

Internet Access

Almost unavailable on Shikoku unless you bring your own computer. There are a couple of internet cafes in each of the four cities but that's about it. You may, possibly, be able to check email from the office computer of a shukubo or hotel, but it would be a very, very unusual request. Minshuku and ryokan wouldn't normally have computers, and even most business hotels might not. There are coin operated computers at Kansai International Airport -- 100 yen for 10 minutes. In Tokushima City there's an International Association office (TOPIA) on the 6th floor of the building over the station where you can access the internet (50 yen per 10 minutes). Also, to the right as you leave the station there's a travel agent/coffee shop with (reportedly) free internet access.

Telephones

There are pay phones all along the route and in the lobby of all hotels and inns. They take coins and phone cards. In Japan, phone cards with magnetic strips are sold from some vending machines in phone booths, at airports, in convenience stores and at souvenir stands (e.g. at city train stations). You should normally call each morning to make a reservation for that night's lodging. At busy times (Friday and Saturday nights and the spring high season for pilgrims) you should try to call a day or two in advance. The calls will cost from 10 to 50 yen each, depending on how long you talk. Phone cards are convenient but not necessary.

Cost of Getting to Shikoku and to Temple 1

Kansai Airport (40 km. SE of Osaka) is quite close to Shikoku. From Kansai Airport (Kansai Ku-ko or Kanku for short), take the highway bus (kosoku basu) to Tokushima City (cost 4,000 yen). From Tokushima City you can take a train to Bando Station, 1 km. from Temple 1 (cost 280 yen)

Pilgrimage Costs

You can get by spending no money other than for food, drink and lodgings, but most likely you will incur some standard pilgrimage expenses, basically outfitting yourself in traditional clothes, plus certain temple fees and (voluntary) donations.

Pilgrim Gear

Temple Expenses

Jiganji, the inner sanctuary (okunoin) of Temple 20, charges 1,000 to guide you through the cave described in Oliver Statler's "Japanese Pilgrimage."

That's about it for basic expenses. If you buy any souvenirs along the way, you'll probably want to send them home rather than carry them. If you walk in the spring, you will probably start out with a jacket and sweater and then either discard them or send them home. Every small town has a post office with boxes and envelopes available. International mail out of Japan is about double the price of mail from the U.S. to Japan.

Banking, etc.
Banks are usually open from 9 to 3. Larger banks may be open Saturday mornings. Post offices are also banks and are open for banking business until 4. Post office cash machines will sometimes accept foreign cash cards for withdrawels. You should be able to cash traveler's checks in major currencies at most banks. Cash machines are generally available only during banking hours or a little longer though some operate evenings and all day Saturday.

Anyone out there think of anything else? Please email me at henrodon@gmail.com.