March 6
We had breakfast at the inn before heading out on a misty overcast day. Don and I tend to be some of the early people out the door and this was the case today. Andreas was enjoying his cup of coffee when we said good by. We have no 88 temples today, but there is a smaller temple as well as some memorials that we will pass, that we want to check out.
First though we are intrigued by all the tetrapods lined along the shore creating a barrier for waves hitting the land.
At least we should have enough time to move to higher ground if there is a tsunami warning. The waves will be broken up by these stone structures.
The first temple that we come to is the women temple.
The temple that we visited yesterday, at one time was only permitted for men to worship so this temple was for women.
Next to the temple is Fudoiwa, the description is below.
Not sure but this might be the rock.
A small water contraption was in front of the small temple. It looked interesting.
Behind this temple was the rock and a steep path leading to a cave.
We cautiously worked our way around the rock.
Back to the road and checking out the bountiful gardens of peas.
We like the use of bamboo for the stakes.
We are seeing fields of trees with the fruit bagged in yellow bags. We learn that the bags are covering the loquat fruit which is famous for its sweet succulent fruit.
This must be so labor intensive as each fruit must be bagged by hand.
We are also in awe of several different magnolia tree blooms.
Spring is coming quickly!
We took a bike path by the sea and when we came out to the Main Street to stop at a convenience store. A vehicle honks their horn at us and we see our friend Takumi behind the wheel. He wondered what path we were on as he had been looking for us. He had brought us another surprise.
It was a fish shaped pastry with a filling made out of red bean paste. I am not sure we would have tried it, if Takumi hadn't showed it to us. The name of this delightful food is called Takiyaki. We were near our accommodation, but first Takumi wanted to show us a well known train station that had more Japanese specialties in a small store. We didn't want to take a ride, because one of our goals is to walk the entire route. He wanted to take our backpacks which always sounds good to us. The food he wanted us to try was cherry flavored rice with a strawberry on the inside. This treat is only available during the strawberry season. Takumi wants to make sure we have so many good memories of our time here. He is making that happen!
It was delicious.
We arrive to our lodging tonight and meet the owner Miss Misona.
She showed us our room and as soon as we had put our backpacks in our room she said I am taking you to the local onsen which is the public bath. She grabbed some towels for us and explained the procedure. We told her that we would walk back. Hope we remember the way. Don went in one side and I the other. This one had indoor baths, outdoor hot pool and a sauna. There were a line of showers that you sit in front of to do your major scrubbing. The more you scrub the better.. I was the only non Japanese in the onsen. The pools had different temperatures so you could pick which one you wanted. After the soak it was to return to the showers and shower again. I must admit getting clean here takes some technique. Don and I met outside and proceeded to walk back to the guest house, We only took one wrong turn, but realized quickly where we needed to go.
Dinner happened soon after we returned. There are seven people here not all are pilgrims. It is a bit chaotic, but it all works. Andreas is here.
And so is Takumi. A woman called Amy is also here. She speaks some Japanese having spent some time here as an exchange student. She was recently laid off from her employment after 30 years of work. The pilgrimage is giving her time to think of what is next or just to enjoy the moment. We enjoy talking with her.
Takumi spent the night here as well.
He knows the host very well and sounds like he stays here often. He tells us that if we need anything or have any problems, just contact him. We tell him that we will keep in contact with him and let him know where we are.This sounds like a true good by. He does say that he would like to get together when we finish and celebrate with us. That seems like a far off day. Miss Misono is on the phone trying to find accommodations for tomorrow for us. She finds one for tomorrow, but not for the next night. Day by day is how this travel goes.
Accommodation Misono guest house
Miles walked 15