{Shikoku Hachijūhachikasho Meguri}
--Thoughts during the First Week--
--Thoughts during the First Week--
--Wednesday, 4/11/07--
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You're back? I swear, i don't make these stories up. The kami (gods) of Shikoku are really angry, i think, that i keep coming back each year.
Was up early this morning and out the front door at 5:30 sharp. Stopped at the gas station for a cup of coffee on my walk to the train station, then picked up the 5:50 train to Chicago. From there i transferred to the 'L' and arrived at O'Hare around 8:00. Since my flight didn't leave until 10:15, i had plenty of time to find the gate and settle in. The only potential problem with this picture was that it was snowing outside. In the middle of April!. I told you, the kami are not happy campers in that great campground in the sky (or whereever).
About 9:30, we were told that due to the weather they were missing a crew member. Notice that very specific singular: a crew member. But, at this point, he continued, there wasn't much reason to worry as they were recruiting a new person.
By 9:45, the man at the gate was back on the speaker system telling us that they were still hopeful of recruiting someone, but, to be honest, his gut was telling him that we were going to be delayed a little bit. It wasn't official, we were still officially listed as departing at 10:15, but he felt it was a possibility and wanted us to know. But, not to worry, his gut was telling him no more than a half hour if it did happen.
10:15. Departure time. Still no crew member, so we hadn't even boarded the plane. Then......Ladies and gentlemen, we are still looking for a crew member, but our departure has been changed to 12:00. (and, it's still snowing) When i ask, the gate tells me that even with this delayed departure, we will arrive in Seattle around 2:00 with plenty of time for me to make my connection to the 3:10pm flight i'm taking to Maui.
True to their word, we started boarding shortly after 11:00. Everyone was in, buckled in, and waiting by around 11:30. By 11:45, with no noticable atempt to stop it, people were back up and milling around. A little before our 12:00 departure it was obvious we weren't leaving.
Then came the announcement. Ladies and gentlemen, as some of you have noticed, we have not flight crew on board. Since that's considered a necessary part of the crew, we have to wait for them. They are currently bringing another plane into O'Hare, so should be here soon. We were told that they'd be here at noon and United wanted the plane loaded and ready to go as soon as they arrived, so that's why we boarded everyone. We haven't been told that their arrival is delayed, so we're still hopeful. In the meantime, feel free to walk around the cabin while we wait. (I note that we're no longer talking about a single crew member. We're talking about the entire flight crew!)
By 12:30, they were forced to admit that the flight crew wasn't going to arrive by noon, and our departure was delayed even more.
Sometime around 12:45 they announced that the flight crew had finally arrived at O'Hare. Yippeeee! But ...................because the snow has completely snarled all traffic into and out of O'Hare, there are no empty gates for them to park their plane. For the time being, our flight crew will be sitting with the plane they just flew into O'Hare somewere out on the tarmac.
The flight crew finally arrives around 1:30. We are told that they have to do their flight check and then the doors will be closed and we will be on our way shortly. It's starting to look positive. If we leave soon, i can still make my connecting flight to Maui once we arrive in Seattle. It will be tight, but it is still doable.
Somewhere after 2:15 the announcement came that the flight crew was ready. If we would settle back into our seats, the doors would be shut, we would get ready, and all we would need to do was get de-iced. We'd be underway shortly.
A little before 3:00 the announcement came. As you have noticed, the left side of the plane has been de-iced. Unfortunately, though, the de-icing truck ran out of de-icer as it was starting the right side. They have requested another truck, and as soon as it arrives and finishes the job, we'll be on our way. Shortly.
At 3:20, we finally pull back from the gate and are on our way. Five hours late. Planned arrival time is now a little after 5:00pm — 2 hours after my connecting flight leaves for Maui. :-(
Good to their word, we arrive in Seattle after my connecting flight had left. As i get off the plane i ask a United person what direction i have to walk to find the Northwest ticket counters. She surprised me by asing if i was Mr. Turkington. When i confirmed that i was, she told me they were expecting me and please walk 'right over there' and talk to that woman behind the counter. When i did, i found out that when it was obvious that i wasn't going to show up for the 3:10pm flight to Maui, they had simply cancelled my ticket and rebooked me on another Northwest flight for Thursday morning. Did i want to stick with that?
Before i could really answer though, she suggested that i might want to consider another possibility. She would try and get me on a United plane leaving for San Francisco shortly and then i could go to Maui on United from there. I'd have to go standby, but my options for Thursday morning were much better there than in Seattle. (Hmmmmm.... does that mean the ticket she said someone had done for me already wasn't really a done deal? I didn't ask). I accepted her offer, and she picked up the phone and called the gate for the plane leaving for San Francisco. When she hung up, she told me to run over to another gate, and no, do not stop at the restroom. Take care of that on the plane.
Long story short, i did get on that plane. I was given a bording pass for the flight to San Francisco, and a ticket for the trip on Thursday from there to Maui. But, because this flight to SFO was also delayed (a missing crew member delayed on their flight from Chicago), i had a bout 10 minutes to run to that restroom and to find a payphone to call Shirley to let her know that she didn't need to go to the airport and look for me. We got to San Francisco about 8:30pm with a crowded but uneventful flight. My flight to Maui is at 8:50 tomorrow morning, so i'll spend the rest of the night in a booth in the food court across from Subway. (It turns out i'm not alone there either. There's about 6 of us). I just can't make myself go out and find a hotel when i already know that i'm still paying about $200 for the room on Maui that i won't be using. :-(
--Thursday, 4/12--
Beautiful sunny skys this morning. Slept in fits and starts last night. Workers at the airport were in and out of Subway all night long. Most of us, it seemed, would sleep for an hour, wake up for an hour, sleep some more, etc. I ended up getting about 3 hours of sleep. That's not too bad.
I checked out of the booth early ;-) to get my boarding pass and get through security. It's now 6:30am and i'm booked on the 8:50 flight. I'm supposed to arrive at 11:10am, and will have a few hours to relax before the wedding. Then, about 8:00am on Friday morning i get back on another plane to continue on to Ōsaka. (Actually, now that i think about it, maybe the kami aren't mad at me. Maybe the kami really like me, and since i have given up flying (as in being the pilot myself), this is their way of forcing me to spend more time in airplanes so that i see what i am missing and attempting to force me to start again. They're really looking out for my best interests by destroying my flight schedules each year. It's a possibility......)
I don't have the phone number for the hotel, so am wondering if i'll even have a room when i get to Maui. When i didn't show up last night, did they cancel my reservation? Or, just last night's reservation? I guess i'll find out this afternoon. Shirley said that Glen will pick me up at the airport, even though i tried to tell her i could take the shuttle bus.
Much later.
Glen (Shirley's husband-to-be) met me at the airport when i arrived a little before 11:00am. Since he had no where to go and nothing to do, he agreed to play tourist guide for me for a few hours. We drove to Lahaina and had lunch at a nice seafood restaurant right on the water front and and then strolled through a few art galleries on the main street of Lahaina before heading to Kaanapali to see if i still had a room. I didn't, it had already been canceled, but they still had one they could give me so i was home free.
After checking in, and letting Glen go back to his hotel to get ready for the wedding, i spent a little while on the beach in my swim suit before it started to rain. With nothing else to do in the rain, i headed back to the hotel and took a short nap. A little after 5:00pm, i headed over to The Whaler in my new Hawaiian shirt, and met up with the rest of the people who had come over for the wedding. I'd say there were about a dozen of us. At promptly 5:45, the wedding started in a small grassy area behind the hotel and lasted about an hour, if you include the time it took for the photographer to shoot 2.5 zillion pictures. From there we headed to a nearby restaurant and had absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious seafood for dinner. From there we headed to the bar for one more drink, but everyone was tired so we headed back to the hotels about 10:30.
Great wedding. I'm exhausted. I imagine Glen and Shirley are more so.
I'll get a ride to the airport tomorrow morning at 6:15am from Glen's step-father and his frined. My flight leaves at 8:45am and it takes me to Honolulu. There, i'll sit around the airport for about 6 hours until i catch a plane to Ōsaka sometime after 3:00pm. I then arrive in Ōsaka at 6:10pm Saturday night. WIll spend the night there in Ōsaka and then take a train up to Mt. Koya on Monday morning. I have to find a store to buy toothpaste and shaving cream first though — they threw mine away at the luggage check in Chicago. What i had was bigger than allowed.
All in all, a great day. Besides the wedding, about 80*F and clear skies (with the exception of about a half hour rain).
--Friday, 4/13--
Glen's step-father and one of his friends drove me to the airport on Maui for my flight to Honolulu. After a stop at Starbucks for coffee, i was in the airport a little before 8:00 am. It was a short flight to Honolulu, and then i had to kill time until our 2:00pm departure from there to Kansai International Airport, off the coast of Ōsaka.
For some reason, i thought it would be a shorter flight, but it turned out to take over 9 hours to get from Honolulu to Kankū (as the Kansai airport is affectionetly called).
And that was the extent of Friday. Because of the International Date Line, after boarding the plane and starting off towards Japan, the rest of Friday disappeared as if it had never existed.
One thing about the plane trip... A group had obviously booked our flight for a honeymoon tour package from Japan. We were on a 747-400 plane (i think) an that means it holds over 700 people. Of all those people, only about 50 of us were not coming back from Hawaii and their honeymoon. The plane was packed full of couples in their young to middle 20s who had just gotten married and then spent a week swimming, surfing, and shopping in Hawaii.
--Saturday, 4/14--
A completely uneventful day. I boarded the plane in Honolulu on Friday, crossed the International Date Line and all of the sudden it was Saturday. We arrived at Kankū at 6:45pm and the trip through customs and the airport was quick and easy, as always. Luckily, the first train to depart when i got to the train station on the second floor of the airport was an express train, so i was at the Nanba station in Ōsaka around 8:30pm.
I am staying at a Business Hotel just behind the Nanba station, so didn't have more then a 10 minute walk to get there once i arrived in town. After a stop at one of the local convenience stores for a sandwich and juice for dinner, i was checked into my hotel by 9:00. I was just too tired to deal with the crowds at the restaurants around Ōsaka Station on a Saturday night to go out and look for something to eat. After eating, i fell asleep watching the news.
--Sunday, 4/15--
Was up early this morning because i had fallen asleep so early last night. After a leisurly breakfast at 7:30, i relaxed in my room and repacked everything in my pack before heading out to catch a train to Mt. Kōya.
At breakfast i met a French woman who was here in Japan doing the main tourist sites — Kyōto, Nara, Himeji Castle, etc. She grew up in the Ivory Coast, got her university degree in the US, is now working for the French Foreign Service, and is getting her Masters Degree in Japanese Language. An interesting life, i'd say.
Went to the station a little after 10:00 to find a train to Mt. Kōya and was lucky enough to see that the next train, at 10:24, was an express that only stopped about 5 times before getting to Hashimoto. From there to Gokurakubashi Station all trains are local trains and you stop every 5 minutes at least. It was a beautiful day, though, so the scenery was beautiful all the way up. After getting up on the mountain around 1:30, if i remember correctly, i left my bag at Haryoin, where i'm staying, and then went off to wander around town.
There was only two things i wanted to do this year; visit the Okunoin and greet the Daishi, of course, but also to go back and revisit the Reihokan, a museum. The Okunoin was more crowded this year than i remember it being for a long time. It's fair to say that it was packed this year. I'm assuming that the Daishi is still in his mausoleum, so i greeted him where i always do. Since i saw no lightening strikes, i can only assume that he's OK with my going back to Shikoku to walk the Ehime Prefecture portion of the trail.
The Reihokan has changed since i was last there. They have improved the facilities (it's small), but i think they have less out on show than before. But to compensate for that, what they do have out is amazing. It's basically all statues and hanging scrolls or pictures. Most of them seem to be from the Kamakura Period (17th to 19th centuries), but some came from as far back as the Heian Period (pre-12th century). For as small as it is, though, i thought the ¥600 price was a bit steep, but i haven't seen it aince i lived in Japan 20 years ago, so it was worth it to me.
After visiting the Reihokan i just walked around town for a while enjoying the weather and the sun. It was about 20*C (68*F) today, and since i've been travelling so much it felt good to be out walking. It seems as if i have done nothing but travel since i left Chicago on Wednesday morning.
After checking in and having a bath, dinner was served at 5:30. It was the usual vegetarian menu, but a) the portions seemed smaller than previous years, and b) the quality wasn't as good as i remember from previous years. It certainly wasn't bad, don't get me wrong. But i usually would tell people that it was delicious, and this year all i could say was it was OK. I wonder what changed. I do notice that there were no younger monks helping serve the food this year; it was only him and an elderly lady. I've never seen her before, so wonder if he has no students right now and she is taking their place in the kitchen? Pure guess.
There are only three guests here tonight — me and a French couple. They said their English was almost non-existant, so i dug out my French. Boy was it rusty. But, it must have been good enough for them as we sat and talked for about an hour and a half. Finally, just before 7:30, the head priest came and kicked us out, telling us it was time to go back to our rooms. I don't blame him, really, because they can't clean up until we leave and they want to end work as badly as everyone else. Actually, there is a fourth guest, but he/she didn't eat dinner with us, so have no idea who it is or where he/she is from.
One interesting question came up in our conversations at dinner. The cople are travelling to the main tourist towns in Japan over 12 days. They say they have noticed on several occasions that in a Ryokan, while the men's and women's baths are separate, the staff alternates which on is the men's and which one is the women's each night. So, on one night the bath on the left is the men's and the one on the right is the women's. On the next night that is reversed. I could only tell them that i had never noticed that so didn't know what to say. I rarely stay anywhere more than one night, so if it happens, i just wouldn't be aware of it. I told them that my guess would be that the baths are different and they want their customers to see and appreciate both baths. The wife said she didn't think the baths were any different, so i really don't know the reasons. It could be that they are subtly different and she didn't notice the difference, but i can't be sure of that either.
I apologized to the priest but told him that i have to skip tomorrow's morning services. Working backwards, if i want to arrive in Nakamura City tomorrow night around dinner time, i have to leave Tokushima City on the 1:06 pm train. To get to Tokushima in time for that, i need to leave Ōsaka on a bus by about 9:30, give or take. That will get me to the Tokushima Station with time to go to TOPIA to pick up my walking stick, which David Moreton will leave there for me, and to find some lunch before hopping on the train to Nakamura. To get to Ōsaka by 9:30, i have to catch the 6:48 train from Mt. Kōya. And, that means i have to catch the 5:58 am bus in front of the temple, because the next one doesn't leave until after 6:30. Since morning services start at 6:30, i can't attend. So, i apologized.
It's chilly in the temple this year. As i was going to my room when i checked in, i looked at the thermometer they keep on the wall and saw that it was 12*C (53*F). I forgot to look after dinner, but i'm sure it is closer to 4-5*C (in the lower 40s) as i write this. Given that there is no heat in the room this year (the remote for the heater isn't in the room) it is going to be downright cold in the morning when i get up at 5:15.
Most of the Cherry blossoms are already finished blossoming for the year, but i found one tree in front of Kongobuji (the main temple) that was in full bloom. In addition there were two others that hadn't even begun to blossom yet. That one tree was beautiful.
I should back now before going to sleep, because while it is cold now, it is bearable. Tomorrow morning it is going to be miserable cold in here, but i am lazy right now so will do it then.
--Monday, 4/16--
Was up a little after 5:00am this morning, packed, and ready to go by 5:30. About 5:40 i went downstairs and the priest let me out, where i found an overcast and possibly drizzly day with a temperature or 7*C (45*F). It was a short wait for the bus and i was on my way. While sitting there waiting for the bus, i once again realized how quiet is is on Mt. Kōya. It's not quiet like you might find on some remote mountain, or out in the middle of nowhere, but quiet even with thousands and thousands of people around.
While Mt. Kōya has over a hundred temples, and Kōbō Daishi has his mausoleum here, in some sense it doesn't look a whole lot different than many other small rural towns around Japan. When you are in the downtown section, it's a road several miles long with shop after shop after shop lined up and down both sides of the street. What makes it different from those other towns is that the vast majority of these shops sell goods and trinkets related to the cult of Kōbō Daishi.
Yet given all those shops, and given all the vehicles used by the shop keepers, and all the tourists, and given the large number of people living in the town (monks, nuns, and others), the town is suprisingly subdued, quiet, and calm. It's as if everyone has come to realize that there is no need to make a lot of noise. There is no need to make oneself heard or noticed. If you need to talk to someone, you get close enough to do it in a normal tone of voice. The effect is amazingly relaxing, and that is why so many people like ut up here.
Was on my way down the mountain on the 6:15 cable car, and then immediately off on an express train to Ōsaka. Arrived in Ōsaka a little after 8:00 and went off to find the bus terminal for the trip to Tokushima City.
Strange Workings of the Universe; Chapter 3,842: I didn't see signs for the bus terminal i was looking for so asked directions from a station employee. He told me to go down the stairs and then turn to the left. I did that and didn't see anything. After going a little further, i ran across a coffee shop and decided that, since i hadn't had breakfast yet, i should get something to eat before going back out and looking some more for that bus terminal. While eating, i was daydreaming and watching people walk by in front of the shop, when all of the sudden it dawned on me that right outside the door was a sign that said Nanba High Speed Bus Terminal. If i hadn't stopped to eat, i would have completely missed it. If i had sat at a different table i wouldn't have seen it. But, on the spur of the moment i decided to stop, and had arbitrarily chosen that table.
After a few cups of coffee and a sandwich, i followed that sign back up to where i had started (almost) and then ran into a dead end where the signs took me to an elevator and told me the bus terminal was on the 5th floor. Who ever heard of a bus terminal on the 5th floor? Well i went, and it turns out that the it is there, on the roof of the building.
Caught the 9:00 bus to Tokushima City and got to the bus terminal there at about 12:15. I went to the station and bought my tickets to Nakamura, and then headed off to go to the TOPIA center where David Moreton was supposed to leave my walking stick that he has kept for me since last spring. As i was waiting for the elevator, Claire (a Canadian woman living here and working at TOPIA) got off the elevator. She said she would be right back, so i agreed to wait for here up in TOPIA.
After she got back, we chatted for a while and then i got my walking stick and went off to find my train. TOPIA is a very nice place and i recommend that all tourists passing through town shold stop in and see all of the services they offer.
The train ride to Nakamura was just over 5 hours long, but uneventful. I got to Nakamura at aboug 6:20pm and walked the block to the hotel where i am staying. Had dinner of Tonkatsu and a beer in the second floor restaurant, then called and made a reservation for tomorrow night, and then headed to my room for the night. Tonkatsu probably isn't very healthy, but it is delicious. It's a deep fried breaded pork cutlet with a thick dark brown sauce over it. This was served with a shreeded cabbage salad with a dressing made from pureed parsley, some potato salad, rice, miso soup, a small bowl of boiled daikon and two other roots that i don't know, and all washed down with a big, cold, draft beer. Meanwhile i had an English conversation with the guy who cooked it. He surfs all morning and then runs home, showers, and comes to work in the evening. Every day. On top of that, the waitress, who doesn't speak English, laughed at all my jokes. Every one. No matter how bad they were. Didn't i tell you Shikoku is heaven! But, compare this with the two guys down at the front desk. Both are around 30, and ridculously serious and formal, and wouldn't crack a smile if a woman walked in the front door butt naked. They could easily scare away customers.
I feel as if i have been traveling for every. It took almost 13 hours of travel today to get to Nakamura. Add that to all the traveling i have done from Lockport to Chicago to Seattle to San Francisco to Maui to Honolulu to Kansai International Airport to Ōsaka to Mt. Kōya to Ōsaka and then to Tokushima, and i have seen enough trains and buses for a while. I look forward to walking. Only one more train ride left. I'll take and early train to Hirata tomorrow morning and then, as i have said before, it's back to two feet in boots.
I called and made a reservation at a ryokan for tomorrow night. It will be about a 38 km (24 mi) walk for the day. I'll be pushing it pretty had for the first week as i try to get to Kuma Town to Meet Tom Ward on Saturday night.
It's pouring rain outside and this is supposed to continue tomorrow. If i'm lucky it will only be a drizzle then, but it doesn't look promising. This is only fitting, however, as last year, the last day of my walk it was raining also. So there is some continuity going on here.
--Tuesday, 4/17--
Was up early again this morning in hopes of getting an early train to Hirata. Was up at 5:15am, dressed, packed, and out the door by 5:40. After a quick stop at the convenience store to buy some breakfast, i was at the train station just before 6:00. Unfortunately, the first train didn't leave until 6:36 so i had to sit and wait in the waiting room.
We left on time, and two foreign women were on the train with me. Just before getting to Hirata Station, they put on their henro gear so i guess they are doing at least part of the pilgrimage. Don't know if they are walking, though, or taking the train over the longer stretches between the temples and walking the last few kilometers (a mile) to and from the temples. When i told them to have a good day, one of them noded, but neither replied, so either they didn't want to talk to me or they don't underastand English; or both.
Was on the road at 7:06 sharp. Within a few hours, i had my first test as i had to climb to 360 m (1,190 ft) to get over Matsuo Pass. It was hard just because i'm in such terrible shape, but it wasn't miserable. I just walked slowly. There's a hut on top for people to rest, so i sat for about 15 minutes and had something to drink. It was a beautiful walk as the rain they have been having lately has gotten lots and lots of flowers to bloom. And from 380 m, the scenery of the towns below with the bay and the ocean in the background are magnificent. From the pass, it was all downhill taking a half dozen kilometers (~4 mi), or so, to get back to sea level and the main highway.
I didn't get to Temple 40 (Kanjisaiji) until 2:00 pm. After that i still had another 10 km (6.5 mi) to walk, going a total of 38 km (24 mi) in total for the day. The first few km (mi) of that last stretch were on flat ground, but the majority of the rest were all uphill, until dropping back down to sea level in the last few km (mi). It turned out to be a clear sunny day. It was incredibly windy, which leads me to believe that another storm is coming in, but it was very good walking weather.
I bought a bento (boxed lunch) of salmon, rice, and some vegetable, along with an onigiri (a rice ball) with salmon inside early in the morning because i knew i would be spending a lot of the morning in the mountains and there would be nowhere else to buy anything. I ate all of it sitting on a bench at a bus stop in some small little rural town. It was queit and i got to watch one of the town cats checking for mice around the garbage cans across the road while i ate. Free entertainment. I don't get that at home.
I spent a fair amount of time up in the mountains today. I was out there for probably 3 hours in the morning, with another 2 hours spent on back, very isolated, rural roads after that. So rural that i could walk down the middle of the road without worries most of the time. Then in the afternoon, i was in the mountains again for another hour, or so, as i got closer to Temple 40. Other than that, though, i spent most of the rest of the day on the side of National Highway 56.
When i got to the lodging, around 4:30, the bath felt like heaven. I soaked for 20 minutes. I did some laundry while i was in the bath, and hope it dries overnight just hanging in my zroom.
My feet are really tired. Not sore, just tired. But so far there are no blisters.
I still have to try and get a reservation at the one place i need to stay tomorrow for my schedule through Saturday to work, but will do that first thing in the morning. If i can't stay there, i don't know what i'll choose to do. There is another place about 3 km (2 mi) further, but that would mean walking about 43 km (27 mi) and i'm not sure i'm up to that. I am so tired tonight that i jsut crawled into bed and it is only 7:20. I'm not going to cave in and turn off the light for a while, but i have to get up before 6:00 again tomorrow for a 6:00 breakfast and a 6:30 departure, so want to get lots of sleep.
The problem is that in order to meet Tom Ward in Kuma Town on Saturday night, i have a lot of km (mi) to cover first. I'll walk 40+ km (25.5+ mi) tomorrow, have a rest day on Thursday where i only walk abot 25 km (16 mi), then a short but all climbing day on Friday as i go up to Bangai 7, and then a 40 km (25.5 mi) day to get to Kuma on Saturday. I think the first day with Tom will also be 40 km, but i don't see any way to avoid that as there is a stretch of road with no lodging. After Tom leaves on Tuesday morning, i am definitely slowing down the pace. I'm way too old for this.
Just got back from dinner and it was mouth wateringly delicious, but much, much more than i could eat. Or, i guess i should say much much more than i should have tried to eat. I didn't finish it all, but came close. There was:
About 10 minutes before getting to my lodging, a man pulled over in front of the Marine Resort Hotel (take that Resort part with a bag full of salt) and asked where i was staying. When i told him the Kameya Ryokan, he said too bad. When i asked why, he said he had planned to offer me free lodging in the Resort Hotel. I couldn't accept, of course. I was only 10 minutes away from where i had a reservation and there was no doubt that the owner had already prepared some of the food for me, laid out the bedding, etc. I couldn't just call and cancel at the last minute. When i did check in, she took my picture and gave me a copy at dinner. She apparently does this for all her customers.
The weather tomorrow is supposed to be colder and a chance of rain. High temperature is listed as 13*C (55*F).