Ichinomiyaji(83)Tamura Jinga Shrine

April 13

It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining brightly.We waved good-by to the Japanese couple wishing that we could have had a conversation . We came out to a clearing and saw the city below us that we will be going to today.

Initially the path was gradual, then it became quite steep. Fortunately it was paved and that section was short. For the next several miles we walked by Bonsai Trees in the making. They came in all sizes

And were on both sides of the road.

Some were in pots.

And some were being trimmed to the right size.

It was a little over 7 miles to Temple 83 and by mid morning we were entering the gate. Temple 83 is right next to a Shinto Shrine which seemed to have more people. We plan to check out the shrine after our visit to the Temple.

We enter the gate.

And immediately see the colorful whirly gig display.

No flowers at this temple but the colorful whirly gigs give it a happy feeling.

There was also paper umbrellas hanging from a tree.

The calming effects of the water basin.

A nearby Hall

A rock sign points us to the way we should go.

Always looking out for red arrows.

Time to go visit the shrine with its tall Tori gates and colorful displays. This is the prefecture’s prime shrine. People come here for weddings. to get blessings for their children and even their car. The shrine is four times larger than the temple we just visited. The entrance to the shrine had huge stone Tori gates.

Another set of Tori gates framed a dragon with a golden ball in its hand.

Surrounding the dragon were small golden coins that seemed like you could buy and place them here. Perhaps praying for wealth. It was an impressive statue .

One of the Halls

One of the halls had circular bales on the porch.

We were sure all the bales have some meaning.

There were several places with red Tori gates.

We were told some were patterned after the red gates of Koyasan.

There was a stone sculpture of Kobo Daishi being taken in a boat.

And a family getting their children blessed.

We have about a 7 mile walk to our hotel. We stopped at our favorite 7/11 store to get some smoothies and snacks for the rest of the day. Before we reached the hotel we saw this goldfish market. Apparently they can breed goldfish with the markings you want.

All different colors

Our hotel tonight is quite large and has a large conference center. Many of the men are dressed in three piece suits. We feel somewhat out of place in our backpacks and hiking clothes. Everyone is nice and greets us with a Konichiwa.

Accommadation: Takamatsu Kokusai Hotel

Miles Hiked 18

Yashimaji(84)Yakuriji(85) Shidoji(86)Nagaoji(87)

April 14

Nice night in our upscale hotel. I think though we sleep just as well in our sleeping bag and tent. No complaints about taking a hot bath! We were up by 6 and walking down the highway on a Sunday morning with very little traffic. We crossed a bridge that had a story about an archer.

Even the bridge had images of the archer on it. Looks like it is going to be a beautiful day.

It was a paved path to temple 84, that was steep in places. We encountered walkers coming down, must be a good activity for a Sunday morning walk. One walker gave Don and I each a bag of candy.

Easy walking on a paved path. We were glad when we reached the gate.

This is a large complex set on top of a mountain. It was early so the grounds were pretty quiet.

We learned about why there are so many Badger statues around. Apparently, the badger led Kobo Daishi to safety when it was foggy and he had gotten lost.

There was a stone mural about one of the battles that occurred in this area.

Looks the archer played an important part of the battle

There were a couple of very nice Ryokans looking over the sea below. Beautiful day for checking out the islands.

There was also an aquarium here and looking thru the fence we saw a very sad looking dolphin. Time to head down the mountain and then back up to the next temple. It was a steep path going down and we were glad that it wasn’t raining. We stopped at Lawson’s for breakfast. On the way we passed these stone rocks.Before arriving to the next temple Takumi told us about a friend of his that has a tea house on the path upward. It is essentially a rest hut for Pilgrims. It was easy to spot and we were immediately invited to sit on the porch. She brought us ice tea, rice pudding and cookies. It was a great treat. We talked for awhile using a translator and her basic English. She invited us to come and check out her tea room. It would have been fun to have tea with her.

This was a fun stop. She also gave Don and I two of the ceramic Henroes that were wrapped and put into a small cotton sack. On the way to the rest hut, we passed these unique stone figures.

Another house that made our hike interesting was this one that had driftwood items.

Someone has a sense of humor!

It was over 3 miles to this temple from the last one and it was paved, only becoming steep at the end.

We are starting to realize that our Pilgrimage is getting close to the end. This temple instead of being at the top of the mountain is about 200 feet below the summit. We still get a good view of the city below us.

And there is a good sculpture of Kobo Dashi with the blue sky behind him.

Here comes the gate.

With interesting deities

We haven't seen too many of the deities painted blue.

A two story pagoda was tucked into the trees.

There were a lot of dog figures in front of the Halls.

Several groups of bus pilgrims arrived when we were here

Time to head back to the coast and visit the last two temples. The next temple is about 4.5 miles away and downhill.

We see the temple beside the street and head into the gate.

Once passing thru the gate we enter into the world of green

Paths take us to different parts of the temple

And we check out the pagoda

More paths and more Halls

Beautiful blooming flowers added to the garden like environment.

Just as we were leaving a bus tour of Pilgrims arrived, we were glad that we got our book singed in the office before they got in line. It was a little over 4.5 miles to the last temple of the day. We walked briskly and arrived there at 4:45. We had 15 minutes before the office closed. We were still able to do the rituals, they were just a bit rushed. The office closes, but the temple is still open. It is fairly small so we were able to check it out before we left. Don and I were the only ones here.

Someday we hope this is true.

Right across the street from this temple is our lodging for the night.

It is mainly run like a hostel for Henroes. The supervisor showed us around

We enjoyed the photo and the poem on the wall in the dining area.

After we had settled into our room, we walked over to the grocery store. We are always challenged going from the convenience stores to a larger grocery store. There are so many more choices, and we aren’t sure what most of them are. We especially enjoy the fruit section. We get enough food for dinner, and breakfast. On the way back to our lodging Don sees a barber shop. They aren’t busy and can cut his hair. He was in for a treat. I went back to our room and began getting a little concerned when he hadn’t returned. Finally when he did he was all smiles. He got his hair cut, but also he had gotten a shave and a head and neck message which included warm towels. He is disappointed that he most likely won’t need another haircut before leaving Japan. It is with mixed emotions that we go to sleep tonight. Our 88 Pilgrimage route is coming to an end. The last temple of the route is tomorrow and then it will take us a couple of days to walk back to temple 1 where we started. It is going to take us awhile to reflect on what we have experienced these last two months.

Accommodation:Inn Tec Tec

Miles hiked 18

Okuboji(88)Celebration

April 15

We enjoyed our evening at Inn Tec Tec. We met Benjamin from France who had met very few Henroes walking the whole route. Sounded similar to us. We both find it hard to believe that today we will be visiting Temple 88. We make a stop at the 7/11 store to buy some bread for the hike today.

It has the same color markings as the USA. The bread shelves were almost depleted. It must have been a busy day yesterday. We walk by a rice field that had just been flooded.

On our map we see the Henro Museum and head to it. Then there he is, Takumi. He said he would be there and he is. He is really excited to see us and to show us the museum.

The museum was a great stop to learn more about the pilgrimage and to check out the diorama in the first room

Around the display there were lights by the photo of each temple. You could touch the light and it would light up on the display. It was great to check the route and see where the highest temples were located. What amazed us was the very mountainous terrain in the center of the island. We had seen very little of the island.

In another room there were many things to keep our attention. There was a photograph of earlier Henroes.

There was a display of all the different colors of the osame_Fuda(nameslips) One uses the white name slip if you have gone 1-4 times around the 88 route and the brocade one if you have gone 100 plus times.

There was also an example of clothing worn in earlier years.

There was also examples of calligraphy that was done at each temple and it hadn’t changed over the years. Each stroke was precise.

The women that was volunteering at the front desk was a friend of Tomo who we met early near temple 12 and had lunch with her near Temple 77. We got a completion certificate here, but will also get one at Temple 88. It feels like the end is coming, but first we have to get there.

There are two ways to get to the temple. One can walk the road which is the easier way, or climb up over a mountain and go down to the temple. Takumi really wants us to do the mountain route, which we were planning to do. When he suggests that he would like to take our backpacks to the temple we think that is a great idea. We say good by and figure that we will see him at the temple. We are soon walking in the forest, one of our favorite places to walk.

Having a stream next to the trail is always nice.

The little red arrows are placed along the trail. We figured that we would see Takumi at the temple, but that is not the case. The road switches back and forth and the trail goes straight up. Several times we cross the road and Takumi is there waiting for us. In fact the last time that we cross the road before the last steep hike to the top.Takumi has chairs and treats set out for us. He want us to have nourishment before doing the last section. He has been quite the mentor to us.

We are thankful that our backpacks are in his car. This is a steep climb.

There is even rungs and chains to help you get to the summit.

When we reach the summit, Takumi is waiting for us. He had parked the car and climbed up from the temple to meet us. We take a look around and feel really blessed that we are getting this view on a clear day.

I am sure Takumi said WOW! That was one of his favorite expressions.

There was a little haze, but overall spectacular.

Heading towards the temple there was a small rest area with a register. Takumi had been here two weeks ago and wrote this in the book.

As well as this

Today this was written.

Friends for Life!

Heading back down and checking the view point to see the temples below.

We can see the temple below us.

Takumi walks down with us and we decide to go eat at the Udon Restaurant before visiting the Halls and get our completion certificate.

Passing down thru the gate and heading to the Udon Restaurant.

Takumi treated us to lunch and showed us the proper way to eat noodles by slurping.

It was delicious!

Takumi leaves us so we can go explore the temple. We check out the other large gate that is on the other side of the temple grounds. We pass the staffs that have been carried around the pilgrimage route. There are ceremonial rituals of the burning of the staffs twice a year.

We ask Takumi what he thinks about Don taking his staff back to Koysan and leaving it where we were given it. He thinks that would be fine so we won’t be leaving it here.

The gate is impressive and so are the deities.

One has their mouth closed and one has their mouth open.

We walk around looking at the grounds visiting the halls and doing the rituals one last time.

Finally we go to the office to get our certificate of completion. It is somewhat of a long process as they look at our book and ask a couple of questions and then the signing of our certificate with our names. When we got to the office we were the only ones there and the Monk had plenty of time to help us with the certificate. Before we went to lunch there were several groups here and a lot of them were in the office getting their books signed.

We have completed the Pilgrimage. Don and I have decided to take two more days to walk back to temple One and complete the circle.

Takumi has made arrangements for us to stay at the guest house very close to the Temple. He is already there so we walk over and meet the host. She shows us our room and draws the bath for us. One thing that Don has been challenged with this whole trip is wearing the shoes that are provided for indoor shoes. There has never been a pair that fits him.

We get called for dinner and what a celebration dinner is before us. The pink rice is made for special occasions.

This has been such a special day made better by meeting Takumi earlier on our walk. We are blessed with the memories that he helped make for us.

Accommodation : M Yasokubo

Miles walked 9

Walking back to Ryozenji (1)

April 16

It rained during the night, but we woke to clear blue skies. Takumi’s wish for us to have good weather is working. After breakfast we said our good byes.

Once again we say our good bye to Takumi, but I have a feeling we will see him again.

We take a path that travels along a stream.

And notice more Jack in the Pulpit.

We pass a small rest area along the way. And an active bee hive.

A lot of the rice fields are now flooded and we watch a tractor work in the field,

I guess he didn’t have any worries of getting stuck.

As we came out of the woods and onto a road, the familiar car of Takumi pulls along side of us. He was heading home but saw us so he had to stop and show us a different path. It went up a small mountain and back down. When we were coming down the other side here comes Takumi. He wanted to make sure that we had gotten on the right path. He also wanted to show us some old stone markers and read what was said on them.

They have been on this path for over 300 years helping to show the right way to go.. Takumi’s Facebook page is Takumi nature which makes sense how excited he was when he saw this flower.

We are enjoying the variety of the trail today and watching out for signs to keep us on the right path. So far so good.

When we came out to the highway there was a cabinet with drinks and a sign next to it.

What a nice message.

With the trail being pretty flat today, we arrived to the town where we are staying tonight early afternoon. We thought it was too early to check in and since there was a grocery store nearby, we thought that we would go buy some ice cream. As we were stopped at a red light, a man asked if we needed help. We said,” no”, and then he said are you Don and Donna?That was a surprise question till we found out that he was our host tonight. I guess we looked obvious that we were Henroes. He offered to take our packs to his house and to come by after we went to the grocery store. We are eating dinner and breakfast there so no need to get much food. The Mochi guest. house is run by a very nice couple that speak English well. They have both worked in the tourism business and wanted to try something different. The guest house felt quite new. We had a delicious dinner and then they introduced us to their robot child, Mochi. She was quite the robot that could communicate with you. She took a liking to Don and wanted to be picked up and held.

When she was tired she would head over to her charging station. She even had a Henro outfit.

It was an entertaining evening. We had thought about camping, but we were glad that we chose to stay here.

Accommodation Mochi Guest House

Miles walked 15

Completing the Circle T 1 to T 1

April 17

Today is the day that we plan on returning to Temple 1 where we started on Feb. 23. It has been an incredible journey. Our hosts were in the kitchen preparing for a 7:00 breakfast. We had an hour before eating so they suggested that we should go see the street art down by the water front. That was a great suggestion! It was a calm, beautiful morning.

The boats wee rocking gently with the movement of the tide. The wind of yesterday was gone.

As we walked toward the water we began seeing the colorful artwork of the town of Hiketa. It was on seawalls.

As well as a lot of walls.

We were impressed with the well done artistry.

Everywhere we looked we saw more!

It was a good way to start the morning.

I think we could have meandered the streets more finding more art work, but it was time to go have breakfast.

We are enjoying the portion style dishes of Japan and hope to incorporate that style when we return to the states.

We said good-by to our hosts and their robot child Mochi.

We walked down the street until we saw the sign for the trail that would take us once more away from the coast and up over a mountain pass. The sun has taken away the cool of the morning and for every step that we take up the sweat drops off of our faces. We think that this is one of the hottest days that we have hiked. At one point there is a sign for the observatory, but the day is now overcast and any view would be obscured so we by pass it and soon start the trail down. The trail is steep in places and we carefully use our trekking poles and staff, we don’t want to fall down the last day. We check out the flower arrangement in one of the houses’s yards that we pass.

More interesting rice fields are in our view as we check out the different stages of growing.

There is a lot of work involved in growing rice.

We come upon the road which brings us out to Kosen-ji Temple 3

We walk by the gate still trying to deal with the reality that we are just about done.

On our way to our destination, a man walks up and hands us some bottled water. In our best Japanese we say arigato gozaimasus. We have learned a few phrases since our Pilgrimage began. We arrive to Ryozenji, Temple 1 and immediately see Takumi. He had been looking for us and was hoping that we hadn’t gotten lost. He wanted us to meet a woman at the temple who was visiting, which we did. He kept saying these were my friends that I was looking for. In a deja vu of our start we met a couple of women who were just starting out. It reminded us of the day that we started and had met a man who had just finished. The circle continues. We did our last rituals, washing our hands, ringing the bell, lighting the candles, mediating and putting our name slips in the box. The ritual comes automatic now as we have done it so many times. May Peace Prevail will always be in our mind. We take our book to be signed signally that we have completed the circle.

This pilgrimage has come to an end.

Before we catch the train back to Tokushima, Takumi wanted to show us the German Bando Prisoner -of-war camp near temple 1. He will drive us there, but first he wants to treat us to some fresh strawberries.

It was easy to eat the whole container. They were so good!

The German House Museum

During World War 1 about 5000 German soldiers were catptured by the Japanese. A thousand of them were sent to this area and a prisoner of war camp was established. Due to the highly humane administration , these prisoner were able to live freely as much as possible. They formed chorus and band groups which would give concerts at regular intervals. At one concert they gave the entire performance of Beethovens’ No.9 Choral This was the first time it was given in Japan. Towns people would often greet the prisoners on the streets with respect. The prisoners shared their knowledge in many different area. There were lots of displays, but unfortunately the information was in Japanese. We definitely got the feeling that these prisoners were well cared for.

By this time fatigue was setting in and we asked Takumi to just drop us off at the train station and we would catch the train to Tokushima where we had gotten a hotel room. Takumi wants to show us his museum tomorrow so will plan on picking us up at 10;00am at our hotel.

We are so relaxed on the train heading back, unlike that first day when we had so many unknowns going thru our heads. We selected a hotel that was in the train station so we had a very short walk to it. We got our room and took a break before heading to get things we had left at the PAQ hostel. We had stayed there when we arrived and had left some luggage there and needed to retrieve it. We had given them the notice of our arrival several days ago so they could get our luggage out of storage. When we went to pick it up, they realized that it was still in storage, but they would send someone to get it. No worries we have nothing on our agenda. It was nice just to sit in their lobby and wait. The luggage was found and we were soon walking back to our room. The smell of fresh bagels had us stopping to get some for our dinner.

It is starting to hit us that our planning for this part of the journey is over.

Accommdation JR Clement Hotel

Miles walked 12

Last Day on Shikoku

April 18

It felt good to know that this morning there was no need to pack up the pack and head out. We were going to have a slow morning and go out to have breakfast at the French bakery. We were on our way back to the hotel when we got a message from Takumi saying that he was here. He was about an hour early so our relaxing morning just turned to needing to move quickly. We headed back to our room and got our small day packs and headed down to meet Takumi. After being on the road for about 5 minutes, we quickly realized that going directly to his museum was not going to happen. We started at Temple 1 and then 2 and then 3 etc….By the time we passed temple 12 I began to wonder what our plan really was. When we saw a sign or a turn off the road to the trail, Takumi would ask, Do you remember this? By the time we were to 17, I had to ask if his museum was getting close. Yesterday, we told Takumi that we would love to see his museum, but we did have to do some planning for our trip to Koyasan and probably shouldn’t devote more time than a couple of hours to see his museum. So here we are 2 hours later and still passing temples. We are also passing walking Henroes and when we do we stop to talk to them. It is easy to see that Takumi is very enthusiastic about this pilgrimage. After taking a very windy road, we mention that we should head to the museum, because we really want to see it and we have some things to do at our hotel. Reluctantly Takumi headed towards his museums, but not before seeing a Pilgrim who was on the wrong road. We turn the car around and offer to give him a road to the right trail. He was appreciative and we realized we just needed to go with the flow. I think to entertain us and prolong our visit to his museum he pulled out his harmonica and began playing it while driving. We were glad that there wasn’t much traffic. Eventually we pulled into a driveway and saw this sign.

We have arrived!

We weren’t prepared what was on the other side of the door.

We walked thru the door and our eyes opened wide.

Every space was filled with something that Takumi had made!

At one time Takumi sold the things he had made. We got the feeling that he enjoyed making things more than selling. He was an electrical engineer as a trade so this was more of a hobby. Takumi has so much energy that we understood how he becomes passionate about things, We could have stayed longer checking out more of the items, but all at once Takumi said , “Time to go” He had made reservations for us at a restaurant . So back in the car and off again,

The restaurant was ready for us and quickly brought out the food. It was a delicious meal and we do enjoy talking to Takumi.

We have the use of chopsticks almost mastered.

When we left the restaurant, we didn’t turn towards Tokushima. we headed towards more temples and were quizzed about what we remembered. Finally we said, we really did need to get back. We were somewhat relieved when Takumi pulled on to a bigger highway and not the smaller curvy road that we had been on this morning. Our speed doubled. We mentioned to Takumi that we would really like one of his stickers that we saw back at his place. Unfortunately that was not on our way so I guess we should have asked earlier. Instead of the two hours that we had originally planned turned into over 5 hours. In reality it was a great way to spend our last day on Shikoku. If it is anything we have learned, going with the flow is often the best way.

Evening was spent eating at our favorite bakery, topped off with ice cream at the ice cream shop. For our eventual return to the States we bought bullet train tickets for our trip from Osaka to Tokyo. Now we hope that we figured the proper train station in Osaka. Guess we will find out.

Accommodation Jr Clement Hotel

Walking Very little

Wakayama

April 19

It was nice to wake to clear skies with the haze of yesterday gone. We got a note from Takumi saying the he was bringing us some stickers and that he would be in the lobby. As we headed down to the lobby, we got another message saying that he had just left the stickers at the desk and was leaving. When we got to the lobby, he was gone, the clerk handed us an envelope with the stickers and a small food carton. In side of the carton was takoyaki. This was the dish that he brought as a surprise a couple days after we met him early in our walk. Takumi has succeeded in making many memories for us.

We went back to the room and finished packing our backpacks. We headed over to the bus station to buy tickets to get to the ferry, but was told that we could purchase them on the bus and that the bus was leaving in five minutes. Shortly after loading the bus departed and soon we had arrived at the ferry terminal. The ferry was there and it was almost twice as big as the one we had taken at the start of our trip, There were several busloads of Henroes on the ferry and the excitement from them was contagious. You could tell that they had a memorable experience. The seas were calm and the boat ride non eventful. Departing from the ferry, we thought of walking to our hotel, but when a bus pulled up and was going to the train station near our hotel we opted for the ride. We are staying in Wakayama for two nights. Tomorrow we are taking the journey to Koyasn and leaving our staff where we picked it up. Don bought a new cover for it and explained how he had gotten it and perhaps someone would want to carry it around the route for a third time.

The yellow stickers were put on by the original Henroes and glow in the dark.

Last time we were here we had eaten at a restaurant that served food that was dipped in a batter then fried. We knew that is where we wanted to eat again, We tried several different foods and all were good.

For my last piece, I tried ice cream

Accommodation: Comfort Hotel

Using: a bus, ferry and bus

Koyasan

April 20

We are spending the day at Koyasan, returning to where we began our journey of the 88 Pilgrimage Route. We boarded the local train at 6:47am and we were off. It was a local train which meant we had a lot of stops. Different groups of schools age students were boarding with a variety of uniforms. It is so true that there is little to no talking on the trains. Even the school age students spoke little, mainly they were looking at their phones. Upon arriving to Hashimoto we got off our train, bought tickets and boarded the train going to the Cable Car which would take us to Koysan. We felt like pros unlike the amateur status we felt the first time we tried it. We were here 2 months ago and there were not many people. Today the train is crowded and when we arrived to the Cable Car we decided to put on our masks. One gets packed in on the cable car.

In Feb. There were only about 8 people in our car. Today it was full capacity.

After getting off the Cable Car we boarded a bus to take us to the Okunoin, From here we would walk to the Kobo Daishi Mausoleum,

It was a beautiful day with Spring being in the air. Since Koyasan sits at a higher elevation the cherry blossoms are peaking.

Once again we walk by the old memorials as well as the new. As we approach the mausoleum a large group of Pilgrims are coming down the stairs.

We thought we would get the final calligraphy and stamp in our book here, but when we asked we were told we needed to go to the main Temple, Kongobuji. Before heading there we decide to say goodby to our staff and return it to the Koyasn
Guest House.

We are going to miss it. Walking to the Guest House.

When we got to the guest house, the owner was outside and remembered us from Feb. We gave him the staff and so we will see if the staff makes another journey.

The Koyasan Guest House

As we started heading back to the main temple we passed several cherry trees that always gives us the wow feeling.

A restaurant that we had eaten before was open. It was time for lunch so we tried their speciality of the day Kobe Beef.It was delicious. It is run by just one woman who was so fun to watch as she created our meal.

Next door was the ice cream shop with spice toppings so that was the finish to a great meal.

When we arrived to the Main Temple, it seemed to have a festive feeling.

Two people were dressed up in animal costumes.

At the office we were told that the stamp that we wanted for our book is actually back at the Okunion that we had just come from. They could sign our book, but not where the last stamp was supposed to go.

Leaving the temple and heading back to the Okunion, As we were leaving this temple we met the couple riding the tandem bikefrom Italy that we had met visiting one of the temples. The weather was turning rainy so they were unsure of where they would go next. Finally we found the right office and looking on with big smiles we got the last page of our nokyocho (pilgrim book) signed. Our pilgrimage feels complete.

From our previous visit, we knew the routine to return to Wakayama. We left Koyasan around 2 and were back to the city by 4:30. We needed to buy tickets for our train ride to Osaka tomorrow so we went to the ticket office. There was a long line and we were impressed by the patience of the people in line as well as the clerks. Everyone was respectful even though the line was moving slow. A woman behind us became animated when she realized that we had just completed the Pilgrimage on Shikoku. She knew a couple English words, but unfortunately we were clueless about what she was saying. as she began taking rapidly in Japanese. She gave us a bag of candy and we gave her sticker which seemed to make her day. Tickets purchased we headed to the basement of a mall that was loaded with food choices. Everything looked so good so we loaded up with several options and then headed back to the hotel to map out our last days in Japan.

Accommadation : Wakayama Comfort Hotel

Walking around Koyasan and Wakayama

Osaka

April 21

We had time to eat a nice breakfast at the Comfort Hotel before heading over to the train station. The platforms were well marked and it wasn’t too difficult to figure out which platform we needed to go to. We watched the various trains pull in and out, noting that being on time was important if you didn’t want to miss the rain. We had gotten the limited express train to Osaka which meant it had fewer stops. It moved along rapidly compared to the local train we had yeseterday.

Waiting for the train.

When we arrived to Osaka, we quickly realized that we were no longer in the small city format. The station was huge and just figuring where we needed to go was going to take some time. There were exits in all directions, so our plan of attack was to at least find how to get outside of the train station. Eventually we did, then the rain started pouring. We knew that the hotel that we were staying wasn’t that far away. What we didn’t figure out initially was that our google app was useless. We made several trips around the same block before realizing that the tall buildings didn’t allow our gps to work. A man approached us asking if he could help, we told him where we wanted to go and he said follow me. I must admit at first I wasn’t sure that this was a good idea. We realized that he was actually taking us to an information kiosk and when they learned what we needed, they pointed to a direction for us to follow. Happy to say we did find it. The name of the hotel was REI which was easy to remember as we related it to the big outdoor store in the States. They were able to keep our luggage until we could return later to check in. We devoted the afternoon to check out and be impressed with all of the shopping opportunities. Japan is known for giving gifts and there were so many opportunities to find gifts. We had read about the souvenir stores and were exhausted at looking at all the possibilities. The Malls were anywhere from ground level to up to 10 stories high. Each floor had a particular speciality, but unlike the states everywhere you went was a clerk to help you with any questions you might have. We decided to buy some chopsticks for gifts which we figured might be simple. There were walls of the different types of chopsticks as well as a big price difference. We looked at our options for awhile and then it was just time to buy some.At least they will fit easily in our backpacks. We had fun just looking and not buying. The bottom floor was all food selections, We were able to find a nice selection of tea and sake for gifts.

People and more people

We were all shopped out and it was time to head back to our hotel. Time to relax and plan out our last two days in Japan.

Osaka

April 22

After the rain of yesterday, we weren’t sure what to expect today, but the sun was shining and it looked like a great day to check out the area some more. Last night we realized that we needed to go to another train station in Osaka to get the bullet train. It means that we will need to get a taxi to take us there. We also found out that the train station we arrived to yesterday is the station known for shopping so it all worked out. We wanted to buy some chopstick holders for our chopsticks so hopefully we won’t get too overwhelmed by that task. We also wanted to see about eating pancakes at a restaurant we went by several times yesterday. There was always a long line which we figured meant good food. We were in luck when we approached it this morning and we were able to walk right in. Their speciality is the Sacura Pancake.

We watched in anticipation as the chef whipped up the batter and put it on the grill. We were amazed at how much the pancake rose. Our mouths began to water when the strawberry cream was spread between the layers. The server brought it to our table and at first it was like no way could we finish the stack.

In reality it wasn't that hard as the pancake melted in our mouth.

With full stomachs we headed to the next task at hand, finding chopstick holders. We figured how hard could that be…well….the selections weren’t as big as finding chopsticks but it wasn’t small either. Neither Don nor I are shopping specialists so by the time that task was done we were ready to head back to the quiet of our hotel room and take a nap.

On the way to our hotel we did see this sign that made us smile.

In Mexico our friends call Don, Don Don

After a nap, we were ready to head out again and find some choices for dinner. As usual that was not an easy task either as the choices grew everytime we turned down a street.

We finally chose steak and pizza. Tomorrow we are checking out the Osaka Castle for our last day in Osaka.

Accommodation REI Hotel

Walking around town

Osaka Castle

April 23

It was raining hard when we got up so decided to wait till after lunch to go check out the castle. We had a buffet breakfast at the hotel which will probably last for most of the day. We asked the reservationist if they would obtain a taxi for us tomorrow. I think we made the message clear, but we never know till it happens. We have given ourselves extra time in case there is a snafu in the morning. Did some packing up and laundry while it was still raining.Then as on cue the rain stopped around noon and we began our walk to the castle. We definitely felt that we are in a large city.

The streets are very clean and there is no graffiti. There is also no sights of homelessness.

We walked along river for awhile.

Then we saw one of Japan's most famous landmarks, The Osaka Castle.

Construction began on this castle in 1583. It was the scene of several major conflicts where the castle was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The last construction was done in 1931 where it was rebuilt to some of its original form.

The stone work around the castle was impressive

It was quite the logistical feat to get the rocks so they fit in a slanted manner.

As we were getting ready to enter the gates a couple of Japaneses ladies walked past us in their beautiful Japanese attire.

The castle is seven stories high with lots of gold trimming.

On the inside, each floor was devoted to a different era of Japanese history. There were stories of the construction of the castle as well as the battles that destroyed the castle. Eventually we made it to the top and got a good view of the town.

We started the walk back to the hotel. When we passed a Natural Food Grocery Store, we took the opportunity to buy some food for dinner as well as breakfast. I think we were still full from the breakfast buffet. Tonight it became reality that we are heading back to the states tomorrow. We packed our packs for tomorrow’s journey.

Accommadation : REI Hotel

Walking around the town of Osaka

Last Day in Japan

April 24

Our last day in Japan, Once we realized that our trip is over, it is easy to get excited about heading back to the states. We have been gone for about 6 months having incredible memories. It will take some time to digest a lot of the experiences. We agree that traveling has opened so many doors for us. Soon it is back to reality and we need to be packed and in the lobby by 8:45. The reservationist that reserved the taxi for us is at the desk and when he sees us he heads out to the street. Later we realized that he was just checking to see if the taxi driver came. The taxi driver was early and we are ready. Don follows our route on the google app and soon the station we need is close. This taxi has the standard white seats with lace trimmings. He drops us off and points to the door we need to go to..We have a little time to wait so we sit in a waiting area in front of a store making steamed cheese cakes.They seem to be quite popular and we got tired just watching the procedures of how they are done.

About 15 minutes before our bullet train arrives we head to the platform. Our ticket tells us which car we are riding and where to stand. It is fascinating watching the bullet trains come and go. One ritual that we have seen several times is the changing of the conductor, The new conductor stands on the platform near where the train will come to a stop. The conductor who is one the train disembarks from the train, they salute each other and then bow. The new conductor takes his place on the outgoing train. Here comes our train, be ready, the door opens and about a minute later closes. We are talking fast and efficient. We find our seat and are relieved that our backpacks easily fit in front of us.

The bullet train are sleek and fast.

We are off watching the country side speed by us. Occasionally we pass a bullet train going in the opposite direction and it is like a blur. We have been told that these trains can speed up to 177 mph In about 2 hours 30 minutes we are pulling into the Tokyo station. We step off the train and immediately are directed to the monorail that will take us to the airport. We are always amazed at how everything is synced . The train takes us directly to the Terminal that our flight will depart later. We think that it is too early to check in our luggage, but they tell us no problem,. We can just leave our backpacks with them and check out the terminal. Along with restaurants and stores, there is also places where you can lay down and take a nap. We manage to spend the rest of our Yen We go thru security which meets our high expectations of being very efficient. Our flight boards at 9 and when we land tomorrow it will be today and we will be back in the states.

When we booked our tickets we realized that we could do a layover in Hawaii. Hawaii is the last state that we need to visit in order to say we have been to all 50 states. The parents of a friend have invited us to stay at their house for a couple of days and show us around. They were the best tour guides ever. We saw waves pounding the shore.

Sun setting on a tropical beach

We even went to a Luau watching native dancers and eating traditional Hawaiian Food.

Thanks to George and Jessie.

Two days later we returned to San Diego and our extended trip came to an end.