March 8

We woke up at 5 nd left at 7. One of the women that was staying here last night left at 4 this morning. She came in after we were in our room and left before we went downstairs. It sounded like she was on a schedule to hike the route quickly as her time was limited. We are enjoying our slow but steady pace. Since there was no meals at the guest house, we decided to walk to Lawson’s. We keep trying new food items there and are enjoying the variety. of choices. We passed this vehicle near our guest house. We wernt’t sure what it was, but it looked like it might be used in a celebration.

We also passed this display that we figured had something to do with time.

We have been enjoying checking out the boats moored near the highway. The reflections were great this morning.

Another observation that we have been making is the variety of man covers. It seems like each town has their own design. Some are even colored.

We know that we are in a new town when the man covers change.

Today the route took us on a bike path. It was a great change from hiking on a sidewalk next to a street. Sylvia passed us on her bike today.

We passed by a Christian Church today. We have only seen a couple of churches so far.

We are walking thur a large agriculture area. We have to be careful following the route. We are thankful that we have the Henro Helper App.

We reach Dainichiji by walking up a ramp to the gate of the temple. Temple #4 was also called Dainichiji. They share the same deity, Dainichi Nyorai This is a small temple with the Hondo rebuilt in 1997.It was constructed using the wood of cypress and pine. No nails were used in the construction,

There are only a few other people here so it is very peaceful We actually can say that about most of the temples we have visited, there is a sense of peace.

It is around 4 when we go to the office to get our book signed. We haven’t figured out where we are going to stay tonight. When we left the Misona guest house several days ago we were told that pilgrims can sometimes stay at a room in this temple. This is called Tsuyado. The women in the office didn’t understand English so as were trying to translate our question, Amy walks to where we were standing. We told her of our situation and she was able to ask the question of the possibility of us staying there. The women replied of course and if they are ready, I can show them the room. When we said yes she grabbed a platter with a tea pot and tea bags plus some snacks. She walked to a nearby building and unlocked the door. Inside were benches, a heater and electricity. The heater is going to feel good, the temperature has been dropping at might.There was a bathroom just outside. We are feeling quite blessed with having a place to stay tonight as well as Amy showing up when we needed a person who spoke Japanese. There is a feeling that we are being watched over during our pilgrimage. There were so many things that tied together that allowed us to stay here tonight.

We are thankful that we have our sleeping bags and mattresses with us. They have been worth carrying along with our tent. We are also carrying a small stove, a pot and fuel canister. We have good cell service so tonight we look at some options of how we are going to spend the next couple of days. We are nearing the town of Kochi, where there are numerous places to stay. Our friend Clark who we met the first day has been keeping us updated of his progress. He tells us that he used the train system when he was in the area around Kochi. He would hike than take the train back to his lodging. The next day he would take the train to where he had stopped hiking the day before. We may try something like that starting tomorrow. Tomorrow night we do not have a room, but there is an option to put our tent up at a Guest House in their yard. Miss Misona arranged it for us. She has been quite helpful in this section.

Accommodation Dainichiji Temple

Miles hiked 18