{Shikoku Hachijūhachikasho Meguri}

--Thoughts during Week Two--

Back to yesterday's walk. After stopping at Fujiidera for pictures Dave, Tom, and i headed up the trail to Shosanji. Dave had recently done the walk and knew the trail so he led the way. It was a perfect morning for walking, but within a half hour, we were all in short sleeves as we worked up a head of steam. It was hard work for me, but Dave set an amazing pace as he ran up the hill like a rabbit. There are two places to stop on the way up so we did that and relaxed while munching on snacks, drinking our fill of water, and talking to the other henro that passed through. It was a great morning for climbing.

Once we got to Shosanji itself, and were somewhat relaxed from the climb up, we loaded back up and started the climb to the Okunoin. None of us went all the way to the top the last time we did our respective climbs, so we all decided it was time to see what was up there.To my surprise there was really nothing there. The Okunoin is a very small, completely non-descript, building like any thousands of small rural Shinto shrines found strewn throughout Japan's countryside. The building is probably no bigger than 3 meters x 4 meters (10 ft x 13 ft).in size, the doors are completely closed, and there was no ornamentation what-so-ever. I'm glad i got up to see it, but it was certainly not news-worthy.

Once back down from the top, we took more time to relax and snap some pictures of Shosanji, and then headed down the mountain to find the ryokan were Tom and i would spend the night and where David's wife would pick him up. In the end, it took us 5 hours to get to Shosanji, and another hour to go the extra 1.5 km (0.8 miles) up to the Okunoin at the very peak and then back down to Shosanji itself. After that it was another 3 hours (plus) to get to Uemura Ryokan, with more climbing included. It was a long day of climbing, but those hours were a great chance to chat and exchange henro stories between the three of us. All in all, it was a great day.

We left the ryokan this morning about 7:00. Tom, another guest, whose name i never knew, and i walked together for the first few hours. After that, we all went our own ways — me on to Bangai 2 (Gōkakuji), the other guest on to Dainichiji (Temple 13), and Tom on to Jigenji (Bangai 3).

It had rained overnight so the streets were wet, but it had stopped by the time we got up and out on the road. It was chilly and overcast almost all day but that made it good walking weather. Tomorow is forecast for more clouds and a chance of rain. I'll have to figure it out later, but tomorrow should be an easy day with only about 14 km (8.5 miles) or so. My feet need the rest because the next two days after that are both climbing days. On Wednesday i will climb almost all day. It will be a slow steady climb on the side of the road, but it will be a long climb and i'll stay the night at a minshuku near the top. On Thursday, i come back down, and then have to visit two separate temples, each on its own peak. That means decending three times and climbing twice. In my memory, this was the hardest day of the entire two month trip last time and i am slightly dreading it this time. As tired as i was yesterday i expect Thursday to be worse.

At Bangai 2, i took a break and ate a snack. The guy who signed my stamp book told me that, according to legend, Kūkai studied here sometime between the ages of 5 and 7. During that time, he stuck the back end of his calligraphy brush into the hillside behind the temple in order to produce a spring for the local people to use. For that reason, a lot of students and local calligraphers come and collect water from this spring to use when composing important calligraphy or when getting ready for exams. Since there is no doubt that this story is true, i dumped out all of the water in my water bottle so that i could refill it with that from the spring. I expect only the best from now on, and my calligraphy should improve dramatically.

After leaving Gōkakuji, a woman stopped me on the street to give me a pack of gum, and once i accepted that, she decided i needed some hard candy as well. I accepted, of course, but probably won't eat the candy. I'll see who i can pass it on to.

Yesterday afternoon, a man in his lower 70's stopped Tom, David, and me about an hour before we got to the ryokan where i spent the night. This is the first time that i can remember that a man has ever offered me tea before. It is always women who decide we walkers need a break and offer to make us tea and give us a snack. After talking to us in front of his house for about 15 minutes, he invited us all in, set up a small table in his entanceway (if we went any further in we'd have to take off our shoes) and gave us tea and crackers. While i could only follow half of what he said, it was interesting to hear him tell stories of the town, the people who live here, and of the times on the island after WWII had ended. And on top of that, the tea really hit the spot.

I walked through my first tunnel of the trip this morning. It was relatively new and on a road that i didn't take back in '99. Because i took a different road off of the mountain from Shosanji than i did last time, i ended up getting to Bangai 2 by a different route as well. While it did have a 2 foot sidewalk to walk on through the tunnel, it still wasn't all that enjoyable. It was noisy and the trucks just drive so close to the edge. I admit that the problem was in my head, and had i not had such bad experiences back in '99 in other tunnels, this one wouldn't have been all that bad.

The visit to Temples 17 to 13 ( i visited them in reverse order) was as uneventful this time as it was 6 years ago. Temple 17 is as large as the other temples, but 13, 14, 15, & 16 are all very, very small urban temples with nothing of interest (in my opinion) to see. The minshuku i spent the night in is right across the street from Temple 13 and i called it a day there. Business at the minshuku must be fairly good. Since this is the same place that i stayed back in '99, i knew where it was, but they all looked at me like i was a stray, wild dog when i walked in the front door and announced that i was there.

The first girl looked at me , but didn't respond to me and scurried off to the kitchen. After that a man came out of the dining room and scurried past to the kitchen as well. Finally, a woman came out of the kitchen and, ignoring my typical "Hello, my name is David and i have a reservation for tonight," she told me to follow her and headed out the front door. Thoroughly confused, i said nothing and did just that. She led me back down the block i had come up to a brand new minshuku. Apparently, they have moved the henro out of the main minshuku and over to this new facility. Except for the tatami floors in rooms and the bath behind the building, it could have been any other business hotel. But it was comfortable and that is all that matters.

The food was delicious and i had a very interesting conversation about this and that with another walking henro who sat at the same table as i did. At one point, he asked who i liked better, Kūkai or Saichō. When i told him Kūkai, because Kūkai worked with the other Nara Buddhists while Saichō wouldn't, he told me that he thought Saichō was the better because Kū had refused to share his books with him and that made him a bad person. Interesting.

I'm not all that tired, so will just read or watch baseball until i fall asleep. That's usually somewhere around 9:00.

--Tuesday, 4/12/2005--
It was raining when i got up this morning at 6:00 and it rained all day long. Not a hard pouring rain, but a steady non-stop rain. By the time i checked in at the minshuku at 3:30, the rain had soaked into just about everything that wasn't in plastic bags. That meant my clothes, my computer, and my Nōkyōcho were dry, but everything else was damp — including most of me. For some reason, from the waist down to the ankles i was perfectly dry; i guess the rain pants really do their job. From the waist to the neck and from the the ankles down, however, i was wet. My boots kept the water out until about noon, at which time they gave up and i got to the hotel with socks that were soaking wet. In fact, the owner of the minshiku made me take them off before leaving the front entranceway. My shirt wasn't near as wet, but it was certainly damp and that meant that as the day had gone on, i had felt continually more and more chilly.

It was also a day of walking on the side of one or another highway. I changed my route for this part of the walk from what i walked back in '99 so that i wouldn't have to back track from Temple 13 to Temple17 like i did last time. Back in '99, i visited Temples 13 to 16 (in reverse order) after leaving Bangai 2, so had to backtrack past all of those in order to go back and pick up Tempel 17. This time, however, i did go to Temple 17 at the same time as all the others, so there was no reason to backtrack this morning. A much better plan. By doing so, however, i followed roads this morning that took me completely off the hero trail for most of the morning. That is how good the newest, 2004, version of the Hitori Aruki Dogyo Ninin guidebook is; there is enough detail that you can get around just by following the highway signs, and since i was on the side of prefectural highways all morning, there were plenty of signs to follow. No henro markers or henro signs, but plenty of street signs.

Having just typed that last paragraph, that brings an interesting question to mind. What is the henro michi? Is it the trail marked out in the guidebook that we walking henro use — and only that? By not following it today, should i really be saying that i wasn't on the henro michi? I don't think that is true and that's not what i believe. The henro trail is the trail a henro uses to get around the island and that could be different for each and every henro that makes his/her way around. Think back to the first henro, the wandering Kōya hijiri that started coming to Shikoku soon after Kūkai's death. They didn't all walk the same paths, trail, and roads. They all probably went where the lastest word was the begging was the most successful. And depending on the time of year or the season, those roads changed. So... even though i say that i walked on roads that took me off the henro trail, i don't mean that literally.

Anyhow, back to today's walk. It was a reasonable rest day for my foot since i didn't relly walk all that far. I'll have to figure the distance more accurately later, but it was probably only around 17 km (9 miles). That included a 4 km (2.5 mile) detour off the henro trail in order to find a temple not related to this trip so that i could deliver something for another Known Henro.

Marc Pearl walked the trail back in '89 and had asked me to give copies of his journal to the head priest at Temple 2 and to the head priest at a temple called Jizōji in Komatsushima. I had no idea where the latter was and Marc could only give me a rough idea. I was lucky enough to be able to deliver the first copy to the head priest's wife at Temple 2. While we talked, i showed her the guidebook and, while she didn't know the location of Jizōji exactly , she narrowed it down to a much smaller area than what Marc had given me. As it turns out, it wasn't even on the map in our guidebook, but i wouldn't know that until later.

When i got to the area she had indicated, it was lunch time and i was looking for three things: something to eat, a bathroom, and someone who might know where Jizōji is. I had already been asking at several shops along the road, but no one had ever heard of this temple so i decided to go to the experts. I stopped at the one place where they would obviously be able to solve all three problems of my problems. McDonalds.

In truth, i was hungry and wanted to go somewhere where i could sit inside out of the rain. Somewhere that might be warm. I also wanted somewhere that probably had plastic seats so i wouldn't have to take off my entire rain suit. When i saw a McDonalds i knew i had found the spot. While ordering, i asked the woman taking my order if she had ever heard of a Jizōji, in Komatsushima and, to my surprise, she said yes. She didn't know exactly where it was, but she know the general direction and that it wasn't all that far. The manager heard us talking and came over to help out. After she and the woman taking my order talked for several minutes, the manager excused herself, went to the back office, and dug out a very detailed street atlas of the town in order to find the exact location. About 5 minutes later they had found it and given me directions. It turned out to be only about 2 km (1.25 miles) away and very easy to find.

While i was eating, the manager came over to give me a copy of the page in the atlas that had Jizōji on it. She then asked all about me and after we chatted awhile, i heard her go back behind the counter and repeat everything to most of the other employees. After i ate, i bundled back up and left to deliver Marc's journal. When i rang the bell, the head priest himself answered. I'm pretty sure that someone from Temple 2 had already called to tell him i might show up because as soon as i started my explanation of why i was there he mentioned Marc's name. He offered me tea and lunch, but i was turned him down. On the way back i wondered why, but by then it was too late to go back and tell him i had changed my mind.

That done, i returned to McDonalds to drink a couple cups of coffee and kill an hour since it was still early and i was almost at the minshuku where i would spend the night. After leaving Mc'Donalds, i visited Temple 18 and then headed back down the hill to Minshuku Chiba. The first thing i did when i did check in and get settled was to start some laundry and then climb in the bath. I don't think it ever went above 50 degrees today (probably lower) so the hot bath certainly felt good.

There has been a lot of construction along the roads here in Tukushima. I was walking through all the suburbs along the south side of Tokushima City all day today, and there are a lot more shops and strip malls along the road than i remember from last time. The area has really developed here and doesn't look much different than if i were downtown. That also means that there is a lot more traffic than i remember from last time and for 90% of the day i was walking on the shoulder of a road with about 10 inches to call my own. Between the rain and the buildings, there wasn't much to see.

Tomorrow and the next day will probably be the hardest of the trip, even given the hard work of last Sunday. It won't be any harder than Sunday was, but it will be two hard days in a row with no break. Tomorrow i will probably walk about 30 km (18 miles) and will climb up to 550 meters (1800 feet). The first 14 km (8.5 miles) will be relatively flat with the entire climb taking place during the next 10 km (6 miles). Once i visit Bangai Temple 3, i have to go back down the same way i came up about 5 km (3 miles) to get back to where i am spending the night. I'm hoping i can stop there on the way up and ask if i can leave my pack there while going up to the temple.

On Thursday, i have to go all the way back down to the bottom of the mountains again, climb back up to 500 m (1,650 feet) for Temple 20, go all the way back down the back side again, climb back up to the same height at Temple 21, and then back down again to get to the minshuku where i will spend the night. Now i know why i remember this part of the trip so well from last time. It was grueling.

I was doing a little math in my head while sitting up at Onzanji, Temple 18, before checking in. The latest numbers say that somewhere between 100,000 and 150,000 people make the rounds of the 88 temples here on Shikoku each year. Someone told me that up to 1,000 of those are walkers, but i find that hard to believe. Assuming that everyone gets no more than a stamp in a stamp book (which is far from the truth, but a good lower estimate), and, if we all pay ¥300 for the stamp, that means that each temple's minimum income would be ¥30,000,000. With an exchange rate of around ¥105/Dollar, that is almost $300,000/year. That's the minimum. My guess would be that about a quarter of all the people get stamps on scrolls or hakui and those cost ¥500. Then there are the nick-nacks and omamori (good luck charms) that people buy, plus whatever is thrown into the offeratory bins at both the Hondō and the Daishidō.

While many temples have obviously done quite a bit of construction with this money, some seem to have done absolutely none and they definitely show their age. I wonder what they do with the money. I assume (but don't know for sure) that the temples are tax free because they are religious institutions, which means that they get to keep all of the money they earn.

I saw a gray telephone today (the only kind i can use to upload these pages), but didn't feel like digging my laptop out of the pack in the rain. This was the first one i saw since uploading a page back on Saturday afternoon. The gray phones are really hard to find and i'm not sure why, although i can think of three possibilities.

The first possibility is that there just aren't as many gray phones as i remember there being. When i came back in '99, i didn't know that i would even find one a week; i had no idea what to expect. To my surprise, however, i found them fairly often and have since then convinced myself that they were everywhere. This time, i was expecting to find them everywhere, but since they never where, i now feel like they are nowhere.

The second possibility is that the gray phones are being removed and replaced with the standard green phones. I really do think this is true, but have no way to prove it. I seem to remember that the phones in the phone booths along the sides of the road were almost always gray. They are now all green so i wonder if they are cheaper to maintain, lease, rent, or whatever, and have been installed in place of the gray phones.

The third possibility, and a possible partial explanation for numer 2, is that the number of pay phones of all colors has been drastically reduced. There is a very good possibility of this as every Japanese citizen over the age of 5 owns and uses a cell phone. I'd bet there are more text messages sent in Japan per day than there are in the rest of the world combined. They are that prevelant and that much in use.

So, for whatever reason, today's gray phone has only been the second i have seen on the entire trip but i opted not to use it because of the rain. Maybe i'll see another one soon.

Dinner should be served in about 15 minutes and i can't wait; it's in the 40's outside and there is no heat here in the room. The dining hall should be warmer and as soon as i get back to my room, i'm spreading the futon out and crawling inside. Getting up tomorrow morning isn't going to be easy. The weather forecast says that tomorrow it is supposed to be overcast in the morning, but it isn't supposed to rain. Then sometime in the afternoon it is supposed to clear up. I should have either clear or partly cloudy skies for the rest of the trip with no more rain after today.

--Wednesday, 4/13/2005--
Woke up to a clear, sunny morning. It was beautiful all day, and except for the wind, which kept eating my hat and making me chase it down the road, it was a perfect day for walking.

The blisters that used to bother me on my right foot no longer do. New blisters have formed on top of those and the outside ones hurt enough that i can't even feel the inside layer any more. I may not be able to run for a month when i get back — which will be a shame becuase i should start running right away to take advantage of the stronger legs and lungs that have developed while here.

I walked the first half of the day with Gifu-san, the woman i walked with back on day one. That's not her name, but she comes from Gifu Prefecture, so that is what i have called her since i first met her. We cross paths every other day and i'd be surprised if we didn't meet again late tomorrow afternoon. She will only be about 10 km (6 miles) ahead of me when we start out tomorrow morning and i probably walk faster than she does.

Gifu-san stayed in the same minshuku as i did last night, but she only took the room with no meals.That cuts the price quite a bit, and i think she is on a pretty severe budget. I didn't know that until this morning when she told me, as we were leaving, that she had had no dinner or breakfast. I bought her a snack when i had one about 10:00 and a sandwich when i bought one for myself at about 11:00. I probably spent about ¥500 on her; maybe a little less. We separated and went different ways about noon, and an hour later, as i was climbing up to Jigenji (Bangai 3), a older grandmotherly lady stopped me and gave me ¥100 as settai. Five minutes later, another elderly lady in an electric chair stopped me and gave me ¥500. That's the first time on the trip anyone has given me money, i think. Funny how that worked out.

After parting ways with Gifu-san somewhere before noon, she turned and headed up and over towards Temple 20 while i started the climb up to Jigenji. Part way up, i stopped on the side of the road to eat the sandwich i had bought earlier. While sitting there a woman about my age come up and started up a conversation. It started of with great English and "Hello.". Immediately after that it went to a mixture of 90% Japanese and and occasional word or phrase in English. I have to admire her, though, for trying. At that level, i don't think i would accost strangers.

Her first words after hello were "Are you married?" and when i replied "Not yet. Should we get married?" she definitely blinked. When i kept a straight face, she spent several minutes asking if i was serious and saying things like "Just like that? So suddenly? After just meeting?" After a few minutes i couldn't take it and broke out in a smile and told her i was joking and with that she seemed to calm down.

We probably spent 20 minutes together after that. She hung around while i finished my lunch and then we walked tohether through town while talking about lots of things and nothing at all. She is a teacher of the local elementary school and we parted ways when she got to the school. It was a very pleasant meeting and a perfect lunch break. (She's already married in case you were wondering. She said she didn't wear her ring anymore because her finger was too big.)

Last time i was here i stayed at Jigenji, Bangai 3, at the top of the mountain and the last temple i visited today. Since it is so far out of the way, they have closed their lodge and no longer accept guests. That meant i had to turn around and walk about 5 km (3 miles) back down the mountain to where i am now. That made for a longer and harder day, but in the long run that knocks those 5 km off tomorrows total so is really a good thing. I will probably be back down in the valley by a little after 8:00 tomorrow morning and realy to start the climb back up to Temple 20 from there. I think this is going to make tomorrow a much easier day and am happy it worked out this way.

Jigenji is strange in that at every other temple on the trip, the Daishidō and the Hondō are right next to each other, yet at Jigenji the Hondō is another 1 km (.6 miles) up the mountain on one of the steepest paths of the trip. On top of that, the Hondō is incredibly small and looks as if it used to be the Okunoin and was converted because they needed a Hondō. It does look new however.

I got to where i will spend the night on my way up the mountain at about 1:30 and they said i could leave my backpack there while i went up to Jigenji. They also gave me a map to the top which had a much shorter route than i used last time. On the way up from there i ran into Yamamoto-san, the man i walked up to Taisanji with on day one. We also crossed paths at Temple 12. He is also staying at Fureainosata Sakamoto tonight so we decided to have dinner together.

When i got back to the lodging at about 4:30, the woman at the front desk apologized profusely, but said they were short one room and wondered if i was willing to share one big room with Yamamoto-san, since we were both walking henro and because we already knew each other. I agreed, and she promply went off to ask Yamamoto-san if it was ok with him. He said yes and about 15 minutes later i was ushered up to the room. It was huge. Since the building itself is a recycled elementary school that was no longer needed, this room must have been the old band room or something, it was that big.

As soon as i got settled, i went down to take a bath, and by the time i was out a half hour later, or so, the woman told me that someone had cancelled and she wanted to move me to the old principal's office. It was a normal size room, but very nice. So, in the end i had a room all to myself. That was good, because i fell asleep in the middle of the baseball game and was out like a light around 8:30. Between my sore feet and my sunburn, i'm really pooped at night.

--Thursday, 4/14/2005--
Got out of the lodging just after 7:00 this morning to find another cloudless sky and another perfect day for walking. In the valleys it was probably in the mid to upper 60's, but up in the mountains it was in the lower 60's and beautiful. When i left, the front desk gave me a map with a shorter route up the mountain to Temple 20, Kakurinji, than was indicated in the guidebook that i carry. Actually, it is in the guidebook, but it isn't marked as being the henro trail.

Before getting to that route, however, i had to spend the first hour walking down off the mountain i had spent the night on. Knowing that there would be no where to buy any food once i started the climb up to Temple 20, when i get near the bottom, i stopped at the first shop that i found open so that i could buy something for lunch on the trail. I chose some bread, a banana, and some chocolate, but when i tried to pay, the woman refused my money and said she was giving it to me as settai.

The climb up to Temple 20 was steep, but wasn't near a long as i expected. All in all, it wasn't bad. I got there in several hours and used the extra time to just sit around, relax, and watch the other henro that came buy. The Hondō is up several flights of stairs and off by itself, but the rest of the buildings are all cramped and clustered at the bottom of those stairs. Actually the only thing i have seen there other than the Hondō is a building that houses the Daishidō and the Nōkyōsho combined, and a huge shukubō. The shukubō definitely predominates. The descent down the back side of the mountain to the bottom of the valley was hard on my toes, but i think i survived. The walk was beautiful since it was in the mountains and on natural trails. but it was like walking in a cacoon all day since, from the time you start the climb up, until the time you get back to the bottom on the other side, you are in the trees with few chances to see any distance.

Once back at the bottom you walk along some pretty deserted roads for awhile until finally starting another long and steep climb back up to 550 meters (1,800 feet) and Temple 21. The last half of that climb was very steep and i walked as slow as i could since it was early and i had all day. Someone thought that they would do all henro a favor so the built actual steps into much of the trail. They did thus by laying real (and fake/cement) logs crosswise across the trail at intervals of every one to three feet, and then leveling the ground behind each log to create a stairway several kilometers long. The only problem is, as water runs down the trail in the rainy seasonl, the trail erodes anyhow and you are left with steps that have a 25 cm (10 inch) rise. One or two of these are no big deal if they are far and few between, but when you get entire sections of these that large step kills the legs. In the end i give up and walk to the left or right of the steps when i can and walk on the trail as it was supposed to be.

I got to the top a little after noon, and since this was the last temple for the day, i hung aroung for about 2 hours. I also took the time to walk to the peak of the mountain (another hour for the round trip) to see a statue of Kōbō Daishi. Along the trail, they have statues at about 3 meter (10 ft) intervals the honzon from each of the 88 main temple. They appear to be new so i wonder who donated them.

I realy dreaded the walk today because it almost killed me six years ago. In hindsight, however, i'm guessing it was so difficult then because i had a terrible cold, i was sunburnt, and my feet were covered in blisters. I don't have a cold this time and my feet aren't as bad and that is making a difference. Today was hard work, but no worse than yesterday or last Sunday on Shozanji.

The cherry blossoms are just now at full bloom at Temple 21, Tairyūji. Some trees are even just now starting to bloom. I has been cool at the top of the mountain and that has slowed the blossoming process down. Ther trees were incredibly beautiful. This temple is one of those with a cable car up from the parking lot at the bottom of the mountain, and it was obvious that people were coming up just to see the trees.

Today was an increibly uneventful day. I was in the mountains all day and the scenery was beautiful where i could see out of the trees, but i basically just walked in trees all day long. I didn't meet a lot of people, except Yamamoto-san again at Temple 21, so it was rather quiet. All i did was walk, think, and talk to myself.

Yamamoto-san is staying at the same lodging tonight as well so we had dinner together again. We didn't walk together, though, because he likes to get out on the road between 6:00 and 6:30 each morning, and i like to leave at 7:00. I may meet him on the road tomorrow, or at Temple 22, but otherwise this is the last i'll see him since i finish on Saturday afternnon

Nothing else that i can think of so i'll turn the computer off and watch baseball before turning off the light.

--Friday, 4/15/2005--
It was a slow and easy day today even if the total kilometers walked don't show that. The walk from the ryokan to Temple 22 hasn't changed at all since i was here in '99, i don't think. It is still a mix of streets and mountain paths, but even the streets don't have all that much traffic since this is a pretty rural area of the prefecture.

Today was the first day that i noticed that some of the farmers had actually gotten their rice planted. I have been watching them work to get the fields ready since starting out last week, but no one had actually flooded their fields and planted the seedlings. Here, well over half of the fields are now planted and the irrigation ditches are open and dumping water into the fields. Besides the fact that i have been on the trail for a week, it is also a degree, or so, warmer here than it is to the north, and i think that goes a long way to explaining why the fields are planted here.

Temple 22 was exactly as i remembered it and there was no new construction that i could see. After the usual routine and some pictures, i left to head to Temple 23, Yakuōji, the last temple for the day. The first quarter of the way is along small residential and country roads with no traffic. The second quarter is along the side of National Highway 55 with lots of cars and trucks. At about the halfway point, there is a branch in the road were you can continue on to Temple 23 by staying on Highway 55, or turn off and take Prefectural Highway 25 down to the coast and walk the scenic ocean view. I opted for the later this time since i stayed on 55 all the way last time.

The first several hours were pretty simple as all i had to do was stay on the two lane Highway 25. When i hit my first town, however, i got completely lost and wasted the large part of an hour wandering the town on the wrong roads. I was pretty certain that i was not where i was supposed to be when i actually ended up down at the port where all the fishing boats moar. I was positive i was in the wrong spot when on the other side of the port i ran across a minshuku that was listed on the map and was a half inch away from the road i was supposed to be on. Rather than backtrack, however, i just headed in the direction of the road i wanted and asked for directions every other block. When i found the post office, they told me how to find the train station i was looking for as a landmark, and that soon put me back on the right road again. All in all, even though i lost an hour, it was an hour well worth losing as it was a pleasant diversion.

In one of the next towns i came to, as i was walking along, a woman came out of her house carrying two seat cushions and asked me to sit with her on her front step and drink some water. Actually it was more like telling me, but i was thirsty and was glad for the offer , so i gladly accepted and she soon had my entire life story.

Her son (at least that's what i assume he is) was also there, but he is slightly retarded so didn't talk to anyone. As i was getting ready to leave, we stopped some guy walking along the street and asked him to take our picture. When we did this, she asked if she could hold my walking stick while we took the picture. That sort of surprised me as i really expected her to ask me if her son could hold it as there are many, many stories of people who believe that you, or your waqlking stick, or your Nōkyōcho can help to cure a cure relative.

About that time she asked where i was spending the night, and when i told her the Murakami Ryokan, she told me that her husband's cousin is the owner and assured me that she was going to call them and tell them that i was on the way. I told her that i had already called the day before to confirm the reservation, but she told me that she would call anyway.

From there to Temple 23 and then to the minshuku was a hot and quiet walk. There was very little traffic and the scenery along the coast was beautiful, but i met noone else. When i got to Hiwasa, where Temple 23 and my ryokan are located, i stoped at the local grocery store to buy a few onigiri (rice balls) for tomorrows lunch. While there i noticed a mother holding a young son and what appeared to be her daughter keeping an eye on me. When we would make eye contact i would smile, but we never talked.

When i left the grocery store and headed the two blocks down the road to my ryokan, i met them again on the street and passed them. From there they followed me to the ryokan and when the owner came out to greet me, they came up and stood with us as if we were the best of friends. I gave the little kid some candy that someone had given me earlier the other day, and that earned my points right up front. But, the owner didn't talk to them and they didn't talk to the owner. And, when we went in to find my room, they turned around and left. I never knew if they knew the owner of if they were just really, really curious about this foreigner and the owner just didn't say anythign. I'll never know.

Another delicious dinner with sushi and sashimi. Part of the dinner, though, was a bowl of large shrimp. I never understood if they were raw or not, but don't think so; they tasted like they had been boiled. The owner's husband came over when i sat down and showed me how to eat the shrimp. I was supposed to pull the head off and then turn it upside down and suck all the contents out of it. After that i was free to peel and eat the rest of the shrimp. I said OK, but i guess i need to confess and tell you that i did not do any sucking of brain cavities. I know you could say that the brain of a shrimp is pretty small, so i wasn't sucking up too much brains, so to speak, but the idea just didn't appeal to me so i passed on the experience.

The owner did my laundry for me as settai and brought it back to the room just before calling me for dinner. I spread the trousers out on a rack she also brought up, and then hung everything else on all the hooks, nails, and hangers i could find in the room. I hope it is fry before morning.

I wish i had a zoom lens for my camera. The view from my room of the stupa at Temple 23, along with the cherry blossom trees around it, is better here than anywhere else i saw today.

--Saturday, 4/16/2005--
Ate breakfast and was on the road early this morning. I decided that a 6:30 start was better than my usual 7:00 since i wanted to be sure and catch an early train back to Tokushima City after getting to Sabase, where Bangai 4 is located.

The walk was on the side of Highway 55 all day, but there wasn't a lot of traffic so it wasn't all that bad. It was a beautiful sunny morning with temeratures in the 60s. The only other person who stayed in Murakami Minshuku, where i stayed last night, also left early as he is trying to walk about 40 km (24 miles) each day. He never did say why he is walking that much, but that was his goal for the entire pilgrimage. And did i mention that he is 80 years old? He certainly didn't look it; he was taller than me and bigger than me all around, but not fat. He ended up leaving the minshuku about 15 miutes earlier than i did, so he was always just ahead of me.

As i was walking through Mugi, one of the last big towns before getting to Sabase, i heard someone call out. When i looked around, i saw the other henro from last nights lodging waving to me from a small tent set up on the other side of the road in a building parking lot. Two women were there offering free tea or coffee and snacks for walking henro and i gladly accepted the chance to sit down and relax with a cup of ocha.

After chatting for a while, the other henro left, but as the two ladies slowly pried my entire life story out of me, another man drove up in a car. He apppeared to be the person who ran and/or coordinated the entire operation as he checked on everything and they showed him quite a bit of deference. He and i also chatted while he showed me all of the other foreigners signatures in the guest book that everyone is asked to sign.

He had collected some pretty nice statistics based on the guest book and i wish i could have gotten a copy of them. He pulled out a laminated piece of paper that showed that about 1,600 walking henro had stopped at their stand two years ago, the majority of them in their 60s. Their majority wasn't large, but it was the largest percentile group; maybe in the mi 30% range. I think that foreigners came in at a paltry 0.02%, but wouldn't swear to that. I don't remember the rest of the statistics, but they would have been interesting to have and peruse after getting home.

Today is, i think, the only time that i have ever opted to stay on the highway even though i knew of a trail over the mountains. The road between Mugi and Sabase, where i would stop walking, has four tunnels along its stretch, and the man at the tea stand told me that there was still an old henro trail that went up and over the hills so that i wouldn't have to walk through them. He then promptly dug out a photocopy of a hand drawn map and explained where to go to find the trail head.

While listening to him, i had intended to find the trail and get off the highway, but after starting out again i changed my mind. Looking at the map, i realized that even by sticking to the highway i was going to get to Saba Daishi around 11:00, or so. I just didn't know how much longer the trail was going to be over the hills, and since i wanted to get an early start back to Tokushima City, i decded to forego the scenic view and stick to the asphalt. The tunnels weren't all that bad, even if there were several of them, and the rest of the trip was quick and easy.

Saba Daishi is a small little compound and, like Temple 20, there isn't anything there other than a small Hondō and Daishidō, the nōkyōsho, and a shukubō. After i ran through my routine and paid my respects, and while getting my Nōkyōcho signed, the priest gave me a folded piece of paper that i am supposed to keep in my wallet, and which is supposed to bring me money. I thanked him, but didn't tell him that i have one in there from my trip in '99 and that it hadn't done me a lot of good, or so it seemed. After that, i went back to find the train station, which is just down the street.

The trip back to Tokushima was a pleasure and very interesting. The pleasurable part was just riding on the train and seeing the Shikoku countryside from this new perspective. I absolutely love riding on trains. I love the sounds of the clackity-clacking of the wheels, i love the the slight rocking back and forth motion, and i love watching all the other passengers — each group and individual going to the same destination, but with different reasons and different attitudes. Riding a train is a thousand times better than going to the movies.

Got back to Tokushima with time to sit and relax at the train station with a cup of coffee before heading off to check into my business hotel for the night. After relaxing and a shower, i headed back to the station to meet David Moreton and his wife, Don Weiss and his wife, Tom Ward, and two of their friends for dinner and conversation.

We started at a great little yakitori restaurant and had a feast with a few beers. This is the best kind of restaurant in the world. Small, crowded, delicious food and beer, and laughter filling the air. From there we closed the night at a little coffee shop run by an American. The night was great, the food was great, the people were great, and the conversation was never ending. Thanks everyone.

From there it was simply back to the hotel and immediately to sleep. I was pooped and it had been a long day.

--Sunday, 4/17/2005--
Today was basically a long day of travel.

Since i had nowhere to go and was in no hurry to get there, i didn't leave the hotel this morning until 7:30. After that i just couldn't sit around any longer. I had been up over an hour and watched enough news to choke a horse, so i packed up and headed to the train station to find some coffee and food.

Had a very leisurly breakfast, and then, after eating, i went to find the bus to the ferry terminal. The bus ride took a half hour, or so and they dropped me off right in front of the ferry terminal. I had about 2 hours to before the ferry left (they leave every 2 hours) so went to the cafeteria and had some coffee. Once on the way, the trip was pretty uneventful. I watched TV and read for the entire two hours over to Wakayama Port.

I was surprised when i got off the ferry and went to buy my train ticket up to Mt. Kōya. The station employee there told me that instead of taking the Nankai Line train to Wakayama City, transfering to the JR line to go to Hashimoto, and then transferring there back to the Nankai Line for the last leg up to Gokurakubashi Station (at the foot of Mt. Kōya), it would be faster for me to take the Nankai Line train all the way back to Ōsaka and catch another Nakai Line train from there all the way to Gokurakubashi Station. I found that pretty hard to believe, but didn't want to try and argue with him so got on the train to Ōsaka.

While in Ōsaka, as i was getting on the train to Gokurakubashi Station, i asked another employee what he thought about the idea of going from the port all the way back to Ōsaka before heading to Mt. Kōya, and he said that usually that wouldn't be true, but because of the time of day i had arrived, and the trains schedules being what they are at that time of day, he thought it was probably true. In the end, i decided to pay the extra money to take the Tokkyū (special express) and that cut the trip down to just about an hour and a half.

I arrived at Mt. Kōya around 2 o'clock after a beautiful trip up the mountain. The scenery was beautiful all the way up and if i couldn't be walking, it was a great way to spend the afternoon. Since i was still early, i dropped my backpack at the lodge and then walked into town to find some coffee and do some window shoping. I have plenty of time tomorrow to go to the cemetary, so skipped that today. One thing i did notice was that the cherry blossoms hadn't started to blossom yet. It has been so cold up here that they are, apparently behind schedule. The good news, however, is that this also delayed the blossoming of the Ume tree (plum), which usually blossoms in February and March. That meant that i got to see the ume tree in bloom for the first time in years. A very pleasant surprise.

Got back the lodge a little after four, checked in, relaxed in my room for about 15 minutes and then headed down to the bath. After that it was soon dinner time and, as the other times i have been here, the food was delicious. It is strictly vegetarian, and it never ceases to amaze me what they can do with vegetables and other non meat food sources. There isn't a lot of food, and most people will leave their cushion content, but not full, i think, but it certainly tastes great. There is nothing to do here after dinner as there is no TV and nowhere to go so it was an early lights out at 8:30.

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