March 18

We woke up in a bit of disbelief that we found this rest hut just when we needed it last night. We slept warm and dry and were packed up leaving when the first car came in arriving at the business. The fact that it was raining provided us with water for our cooking needs. It wasn’t too long of a hike when we passed the campground that we were going to stay at last night. It would have worked, but it was in a sandy area and camping on sand in the rain isn’t a lot of fun. The walk thru the woods and along the beach was a good start to the morning.

Soon we were back in a town where fishing boats lined the shore. Compared to yesterday, the sun was shining on our shoulders, We were excited that we were going to visit the cape on a sunny day. There was even a convenience store that we passed that we could pick up some snacks for the day. We love it when life aligns in a way to make your smile.

The nets off the back added a lot of color.

It wasn’t long for us to walk thru the town and find a path that would take us up and over a small pass to more scenic views. First though we passed some cormorants nesting in a tree. They seemed to be enjoying the sun as well.

We always enjoy the paths when we go from the streets into a wooded area.

Soon we were hiking up near the top and checking out the views

As we dropped down to a road and headed toward another small town, we heard the familiar sound of the mobile grocery store. Same as before, people were gathered around the small truck to buy food items. We joined the customers and were especially excited about the grapes and strawberries.They would be a great addition to our lunch today. We found a rest area beneath a historical banyan tree and enjoyed our treats.

Next to it was the structure of the vine branches of a banyan tree that had killed the host tree.

As we continued walking we noticed how mail is delivered on small streets in the towns.

It seemed an efficient way to deliver mail.

And then shortly after lunch we arrived to the town where Kongofukuji (38) is located. According to information that we have read this is one of the most remote and impressive temples of the 88 Temples. It takes over three days for most walkers to reach this temple from temple 37. Just before we were getting ready to visit the Temple we were stopped by a woman. She asked, “Are you Don and Donna?. “ When we said , “Yes” She said my name is Renae and I met Takumi who told me about you. She is also carrying a heavy backpack so we immediately have something in common. It was fun talking to her.

She has just arrived as well and we head off to visit the temple. This temple is known as everlasting happiness.

We enter the gate on the left side, refreshing the rituals of what we need to do when visiting a temple. We are glad to be back adding temples to our daily life.

The deities protect the gate

There are so many things to see at this temple that we are glad we have most of the day to visit it.

There are beautiful rock formations through out the grounds as well as 108 cast Buddhas

It seems like everywhere we look we see more statues of Buddhas.

The basin for purifying your hands and mouth is also different.

Some temple ground photos.

In one area of the temple grounds was huge rocks and in front of them an area of smaller rocks. There was a monk just throwing the rocks randomly in this area. He was throwing them when we arrived and throwing them when we left. We had no idea what was his task.

He is in the middle of the smaller rocks.

There were also stories of turtles here.

Several stone turtles were placed through out the grounds.

There was a statue of John Manjiro. We found his story below quite interesting.

After several hours of visiting here, we decided to go and check out some more of the sites on the cape. There are nice pathways and signs directing where to go. Our first stop was the observatory.

Here you had a good view of the ocean below

Fishing boats were headed out beyond the breakers.

While at the observatory, we meet our friend Connie, It is always fun to catch up and learn about her experiences.

There were other tourists here just checking out the views. One approached Connie and asked her if the people in the white vests and sedge hats were a cult. They had heard about the cape as being a beautiful place to visit, but they had no idea about the 88Temple pilgrimage route. They were from the states and were happy to learn about the people in the white vests and about the temple located here. We had a couple more places to visit before retiring to our hotel for the night. The trails connecting the sites were well done.

Often, they would lead out to a view of the ocean.

There was a rock here that had the shape of a turtle. It also had a story of how it had arrived to the cape.

Our last spot that we wanted to visit was the hot pool to soak your feet. We took a trail that we thought would take us there.

Nothing looked like a place to soak your feet. We even pulled out google maps which said we were in the area. It had a photo which gave us a huge clue. It wasn't outside, it was inside a building and we were standing right next to it. We had some time before it closed so we went to check it out. There was Connie encouraging us to soak our feet. What a great suggestion.

There were three levels of tubs you could soak your feet. After three days of hiking this felt great on our feet. We checked with Connie to see if she might want to go out to eat. We headed to a restaurant that was open when we first arrived, but found out that all stores closed at 5. We were glad we had some noodles back in our room.
This has been quite the day, having beautiful weather, visiting a unique temple and seeing old and new friends. Tonight we are staying in a Japanese business hotel. There are tatami mats on the floor and futons in the closet. In the middle of the room is a table with pillows that you can sit on while drinking your tea. The best item though was a foot and leg massage chair.

Accommodation Hotel Ashizuran

Miles hiked 15