{Shikoku Hachijūhachikasho Meguri}

--Thoughts during the weeks and months prior to starting--

This year i'm flying to Kansai International Airport between Ōsaka and Wakayama. I'll most likely spend the night in Ōsaka so that i can catch the Nankai Line up to Mt. Kōya on Monday morning. That means i'll head to Shikoku on Tuesday morning and start from there.

My walking schedule will be based on the schedule i used in 1999, but i may have to make a few modifications. I'll now start looking at that in more detail. Tom Ward says that he wants to walk part of the trip together again this year so i'll get in touch with you before making many serious plans.

Passport is still valid, so there is nothing to do there.

Excitement reigns supreme tonight!

More later.

--Still the week of 1/9: Over two months before leaving--
I added my first draft of a schedule to the site today, but admit that it could change, depending on lodging. On paper this looks very doable, but i still haven't looked to see if there is lodging located in the areas where i want to stop for the night. That is the next step in the planning process.

I'll arrive in Ōsaka on Sunday evening, spend the night in Ōsaka, go to Mt. Kōya Monday morning, then on to Shikoku on Tuesday. I'm currently thinking of having lunch with Dave Moreton in Tokushima City on Tuesday and then take an afternoon train down to Sabase, where Bangai 4 is located. This will allow me to visit Saba Daishi early on Wednesday morning and get an early start down the road toward Cape Moroto.

On the other end of the trail, i'll stop for the year at Temple 39, the last temple in Kōchi Prefecture. This is especially convenient because the temple is on the outskirts of Sukumo and i can catch a train in Sukumo to get back to Tokushima City (via Nakamura and Kōchi City).

In between the two ends, i think i'll try and visit Tsukiyama Jinja again this year to see if it has changed much. It was so isolated when i was there 7 years ago, it will be interesting to see if there is any difference.

I don't remember a lot from my 1999 trip about the trail in between the temples in Kōchi Prefecture. I find that interesting. I remembered a lot about Tokushima Prefecture, but during that stretch of the trail in 1999 i had blisters and a cold, on top of the excitement of finally arriving. All that surely cemented a lot of memory neurons in place. By the time i was in Kōchi Prefecture, i was healthy, stronger, in a groove, and in a definite daily pattern and rhythm. And i think i stopped noticing as much of my surroundings. As i pointed out in my journal back then, time, and my perception of it, changed while on the trail. Your existence is shortened to no more than the length of the current day. By the time i got into Kagawa Prefecture it had shortened to almost my immediate surroundings and the next few minutes, but in Kōchi Prefecture it hadn't gotten there yet.

I'm excited to see the trail this year. I'm anxious to meet whoever i meet. I'm anxious to see the sights, hear the sounds, and smell the smells of this section of the trail. The Heart Sutra says "Mu Ku Jū Metsu Dō," (No suffering, no cause of suffering, no elimination of suffering, and no path out of suffering.) and while in an absolute sense that is true, i plan to put one foot in front of the other on the path, day after day, for two and a half weeks. The sutra continues with "Mu Chi Yaku Mu Toku." (No wisdom and no attianment.) And why is that so? "I Mu Sho Tokko" the sutra answers. (Because there is nothing to attain.) Nothing to attain? There may be nothing to attain, but there is plenty to experience on the path called the henro trail. Plenty of supremely friendly people to meet. Plenty of conversations. Plenty of beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Plenty of delicious meals. Plenty of beers and laughs with new, and old, friends. Plenty of time to think. Plenty of time to just walk and not think. Yes, there will be plenty of life to soak up — exhaust fumes, traffic, and greedy priests notwithstanding — and if attaining those experiences is all i attain this year, then i couldn't hope for more.

That's it for now. I'll post more as i make more plans or solidify what is already posted.

--Week of 2/27: Just under 4 weeks to go--
Just a status check. I have been making reservations for when i arrive and just before i leave. I'll be staying at a business hotel in Ōsaka on the night i arrive, and then heading up to Mt. Kōya on Monday morning. I have a reservation at Haryoin again; i've stayed there several times and it is starting to feel like my home away from home. On Tuesday i'll stay at a business hotel in Tokushima City and then stay there again on the Saturday before i leave for home.

My first three days will not be alone as i'm walking with Tom Ward and David Moreton again. Their company will get me down and around Cape Muroto until they leave me at Nahari as i head back north to Kōchi City. I am not making my reservations in advance this year since i'll be on the trail for several weeks. I'll make them as i walk as i did back in '99.

Had my first dream of Shikoku last night! I think i'm getting pretty excited again. It seems to be the only thing i think about any more and can not wait to get my boots on the road.

More later.

--3/19: One week to go--
Saw on NHK news this morning that the cherry blossoms have started blooming in Kōchi-ken already — 16 days early. Since i don't get there for another week and a half, i would guess that they will be in full bloom as i arrive. I had hoped that they would start blooming as i arrived and work up to full bloom while i walked, but have to admit that i was just being greedy. Oh well........

You know, i try not to get overly introspective in this journal, at least not right from the start. But, life as we all have come to know it here in Chicago has come to an end and it has me thinking about life's issues. Major change has taken place and i think it is a great omen for my trip. You see, after a run of about two years, the last episode of the anime series 'Touch' aired this morning. I don't know how i'll adjust to life after Touch, but, the good omen is that it ended on the final week that i was still in town; it could have ended after i left when i couldn't see the final few episodes. A very good omen for my trip. Very good indeed.

Then to top it off, Ta-chan was on his own pilgrimage during the last year of the show and in the end, he faced up to his fears, and took the final step of surrendering to the enevitable, of accepting life and deciding not to fight where his trail was leading him. His pilgrimage was a huge success. But how can you blame him when both the Koshien and Minami were waiting at the end of his trail? :-)

My goal for this site has always been simply to document my walks so that other henro and henro wanna-be's can get a feel for what the trip is like and what they might expect on the trail. But as i get ready to go back again, i can't help but think about why i'm going and what i hope to accomplish. I ask my self those questions no less than a thousand times a day. At a minimum.

For those of you who read the journal of my first trip around the trail in '99, you'll know that i was "mad as hell" at times and wondered aloud about the merits and worth of going all the way to Shikoku to walk on the side of the road for two months. You'll also know that once i got back home and had a chance to reflect on the trip, i found that i couldn't rave enough about Susan Trott's book The Holy Man. (If you haven't read it, turn off your computer now and go out and find a copy. I'll wait here for you to get back......)

My trip around the henro trail in '99 had been an expensive lesson, but a lesson well learned. On the trail back home from the back door of Shikoku i had come to realize a lot about myself and what it means to me to be a pilgrim. That doesn't mean i'm a better person or that i don't botch up my life on a daily basis, but i do it smarter and with a smile on my face. My intention during this trip is to simply enjoy the walk. To enjoy being out in the sun, walking for 8 hours a day, watching the cherry blossoms blossom, eating as much fresh fish as i can possibly eat, and meeting people.

And if i happen to enjoy a cold beer on a hot day after a long walk and a long hot bath..........i hope no one will hold it against me.

--3/24: Less than 12 hours to go--
I leave early tomorrow morning. At times, time has really flown by. At other times, days seemed to have crawled by so slowly i could have moved faster with two broken legs.

I realize that i never mentioned that i am not going to post daily or weekly updates here this year while i am gone. I will still take my laptop and write a journal entry every day, i am going to wait until i get back home and upload all of them at one time. That should be the night of April 16th. Because of wireless access (i think) there are very few telephones alone the side of the road anymore that have data jacks. They are just no longer needed. Sorry, but you're going to have to wait.

See you in three weeks.

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