Henro Day 7- Temple 22-23

​Total distance walked 115.22 miles 

For my 7th day of my pilgrimage around the Island of Shikoku, I woke up at 5 am which was the longest night sleep I’ve had in years. (9.25 hours)  My accommodation near Temple 22 was the first place I’ve stayed which wasn’t as well kept and there was clutter everywhere.  I found it interesting that it was here, I slept so well.  

If you don’t include the 4 tunnels I walked through today, the first 10 of the 17 miles walked today was very wet.  I picked up an umbrella and quite enjoyed the rain.  Somewhere around mile 11, I came around the corner to find the ocean for the first time along my journey.  The sun came out as I followed the coast for the 2nd half of my day.

Every day I spend a little time examining the quality of their concrete work.  The infrastructure for retaining walls and irrigation ditches is very extensive and impressive.  I feel like their concrete seems to be holding up to time better than what I see in the United States.  I’ll keep doing my research, because I know you’re all on the edge of your chair with this thought.

I’ve heard some people make money selling pictures of their feet.  Please don’t attempt to do this with this beauty.  Looking at the picture below, you might think my feet are pretty beat up.  To be honest, they’re actually holding up quite well.  When I get a hot spot, I immediately put some tape on it before it becomes a bigger problem.  Currently I am blister free 

And yes, I made it to a temple today too. 🙂

Henro Day 6- Temple 20-22

​On day 6 of walking, We covered 17.11 miles with 4529’ of elevation gain.  Upon arriving at the top of Temple 21, we saw there was a cable car coming up from the other side.  As an option, although it increased the distance for the day, we opted to ride the cable car down and then hike around to catch back up with our path.  The experience was amazing and views were spectacular.

All along the way, they have funky shelters for the pilgrims to rest along the way.  

The gardens and areas around the temple are so well kept.  I wish the pictures did a better job showing how beautiful they really are.

I almost stepped on this guy along the trail today.  He didn’t seemed bothered by me one bit.

Yong is actually a Chinese Pilgrim.  We bonded over Da Shu’  (The Big Tree)

Our host and crew as we started our day.  Tom decided to scale his distance back with the amount of elevation gain for the day.  

Henro Day 5: Professional Walker, Amateur Toilet Operator

​From the start of my adventure, we started walking away from a fairly large city (Tokushima), only to loop back around and come back in from the other side. Today we covered a little over 22 miles putting us at a total distance of 81 miles.  Most of the day was walking out of the busiest part of the city which wasn’t all that exciting.  Today we passed by temple 18 and 19 finishing the day a little short of temple 20.  

Just in case you forgot where you are, they’ve included a tiny motivational toilet. 

A little porcelain life coach reminding you to stay focused, you came here for a reason.

Why move the car when you can just move the car wash.  Interesting thought I guess 

It’s not a great photo, but this is only a fraction of the turtles there and it was funny to watch them jockey for space.  

I walked by this dealer which sells small RVs.  By the time I had gotten too far to go back, I realized this picture wasn’t very good without me in it.  If I would’ve given you the reference, you would’ve seen this vehicle wasn’t much taller than I am.  

Sometimes I feel like people go through life blindly and don’t stop or think about the things around them.  Can anybody take a guess at what I found interesting about this photo?

I haven’t seen one homeless person, or really seen any actual liquor stores, but there are options here

That statue is Kūkai, also known as Kōbō Daishi  the spiritual figure I’m “walking with” on the Shikoku Henro.

My picture doesn’t show it and it’s probably hard to see unless you zoom in close, but that track goes all the way up the hill and it’s a little motorized cog rail/cart to move materials around.  

This was the only day so far, where I have walked through a very busy part of a city. Nothing exciting to see here, but it was part of the adventure to share.

Shikoku walk- Day 4

On day 4 of my walking adventure, I covered a little under 20 miles going from temple 12-17. Currently I have walked about 100 kilometers since I arrived.  I feel it’s best to post my updates in kilometers since that’s the distance everyone else in the world uses, and it sounds better than 60 miles.  We picked up another Australian (Tom) for the better part our walk today. For the majority of the time spent walking, I kept wondering when the light mist was going to turn to rain.  As it takes a bit of time to walk 20 miles, I was happy that the heavier rain didn’t start until the last 5 miles or so.  By the time I finished my walk, I was soaked but still in good spirits.

Some of the odd things you see along the way.  I’m sure that’s what the locals think when they see me as well

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Below is a picture of the hiking crew for the day along with the folks running our accommodations.  For $50, it included an amazing dinner, decent breakfast, and a trip to some hot springs to relax.  The Japanese hot springs was quite the awkward experience as they are completely nude and very different than what I would have expected.  I must say though, after carrying a heavy pack all day, it sure felt good.

I’m sure with multiple pictures of toilets/toilet operating devices, you’re probably starting to think this is a shitty 💩 blog….. which it is…. but here is a space and water saving idea to recycle your toilet water.  

This little town we passed through had a lot of mannequins.  This guy really made me feel safe as he was set up to look like a cross guard or police officer.  Every picture I take with the locals or….. local mannequins, I look like a giant 😳

This sweet lady started yelling in Japanese and pointing at her table as we were passing by.  She brought out a world map book with a lot of little circles of all the people who have walked by.  She served us tea and chocolate while we had a lovely Google Translate visit.  It was a great experience.

For the love of god, this is a public bathroom.  I need a hard-hat here!

Temples…. temples, and more temples.  They’re pretty cool and I like visiting them, but the pictures I feel all look similar.  

Shikoku Japan- Henro Day 3

Day 3 of walking the Henro was pretty uneventful.  We walked a little under 12 miles but climbed almost 4600’ of elevation for the day.  Other than arriving at Temple 12 which was absolutely stunning,  it was mostly a hike in the woods.

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I posted the picture below of a cheerful reminder of an exciting moment in time to remember.  I was sitting on this little bench in an amazing place chatting with my wife, when she shared that she just received and accepted a new job. One of which she’s not only very excited about, but will work so much better for our family and lives as well.  To say I’m proud and excited for her is an understatement.

My accommodations have been typically costing me around $50 a night.  There aren’t a lot of food options available, and each place I’ve been staying at have provided dinner and breakfast included in this price.  The food here has been delicious and there is a lot to like about Japan so far.

The Henro- Day 2

The rhythm is starting to set in. Wake up, pack, step out, and go. There’s something peaceful knowing your entire day has one purpose: move forward. I’ve started to enjoy how quiet it is out here. Not just noise or lack of people, but mental noise. Out here, there’s space, people just going about and living a simple life.  Although 95% of the people I see or cross paths with don’t speak English, they all smile, wave, and wish me a good day.  

(Kon’nichiwa) 

There is good energy here, kind gestures, and time to think and reflect.  And then there are the temples. A lot of temples. They’re all a little different, but I have a feeling you might get sick of temple photos before I do. Today, we went from Temple 7 to 11 and covered a little under 15 miles. 

The day started off as good as I could’ve hoped. Since we got dropped off at accommodations quite far from our route the night before, we were told someone would come pick us up and bring us back. As promised, and right on time, a van showed up and took us back. It ended up being a lovely place and super comfortable.

Just out making new friends.  I’m not sure why there’s a mannequin just sitting here in the middle of nowhere, but I was happy to visit with her for a while.  There is surprisingly very little places to sit along the way so far.  But here, you get a bench and a friend.  😁

The interesting things along the way.  I thought it was creative how they designed this mini excavator with an offset in the boom.  

At each temple, I take a moment to ask for strength and healing for my mom. I give a thanks for all I have, and wish good health and well-being of my family and friends. Beyond that, I find myself hoping for something bigger—for a little more peace in the world, and that people might find their way back to kindness.  Maybe back to a better version that we used to be.

I know… not exactly small requests.

Bridge over troubled water.  Simon, Garfunkel, and I all miss you Grandma 

This little tractor was really cool.  They load it with rice seedlings and it plants them quite quickly.  

These door ways are built for a different height bracket. I’ve hit my head more times than I’d like to admit.  So, I’m either now clumsy or Japan is politely reminding me to bow a little more.

It was nice they had a washing machine for us to use.  I pushed buttons for 15 minutes before it turned on.  I don’t have a clue what cycle it ran, but the clothes smelled better than they did so I’m calling it a win!  

Every moment here feels like a real life game of  “The legend of Zelda.”

This picture might not look confusing at first, but you get a little nervous on how to use this shower without knowing.  The entire room is a shower.  Although it’s not shown in this photo, the tubs are commonly left full of water.  It’s meant to be a place to wash yourself first, and then use the tub to soak and relax without draining it, as it’s meant to be shared.

 

Who would’ve guessed flushing a toilet could be so confusing and require such a commitment.  Gotta say though, every seat so far has been heated….so even when you push the wrong button, at least you’re comfortable while you figure out what you just started.