Upenji(66)Hagiwara(B16)

July 10, 2024

April 7

We had the house to ourselves last night and the house being away from any road noise resulted in a very peaceful sleep. We were up by 5 and started to hike by 6. About 30 minutes later, I asked Don where he had put his white bag that he usually carries around his neck. I thought that for some reason he had packed it, but no it was sitting on top of the refrigerator back at the Henro House. We were close to the Bekkaku temple that we had visited yesterday so I stayed with the packs while Don went back to get his bag. We were reminded when we were with Takumi at the beginning of the hike he would always ask us if we had everything. We got a little lazy, lesson well learned. The hike today is going up to the highest elevation of the 88 Pilgrimage route. We will top off around 2980 feet. Most people visiting this temple will use the ropeway to go to the top. We didn’t see anyone using the trail going up or going down. It is about 10 miles of hiking till we reach the temple. One can tell that the path hasn’t been used a lot this season. At one point we followed a trail that went to a very isolated house. Upon arriving there we realized that this was not correct. Half way up this trail was a mailbox which meant the mail person had a bit of a walk to get there. Getting back on track, we took our time making sure the trail we were on was the right one. Fortunately the weather was great, blue skies and nice temperature. This is the main temple that we will be visiting today as we have been told that there are a lot of things to see.

Finally we made it to the road that leads to the temple.

An encouraging sign…..and then this sign

That was quite the hike! We entered the temple from the side so we had to find the way to the gate. We left our packs near the badgers, figuring they would watch them for us.

We headed directly to the gate figuring we could check out the temple once we had properly entered it.

Next to the gate was this eggplant. We were not sure what the numbers mean

After the gate we went to the water purification basin.

And then walking up the steps to enter into the temple grounds.

At the top of the steps was prayer wheels that you can turn while praying.

Numerous statues

Most of the pilgrims visiting this temple used the ropeway to get here. There was a steady stream of people coming and going from the ropeway station.

As we walked past some of the buildings we saw more eggplant related items.

At one building you could buy paper egg plants and put then on a eggplant sculpture that you could walk thru.

We were not sure of all the proper etiquette, but were definitely intrigued. One path led to the observatory which had a large statue on the top.

The inside of the observatory had a spiral staircase that took you to the top. On the sides were beautiful painting of the pilgrimage.

We took a photo from the top looking at the ropeway.

And of the valley that we will be going down to find our campground tonight.

It was hazy in the distance, most likely polution from China since there are no fires in the area.

I could see how it would be easy to spend a half day here. I am glad that we did just that. It was time to leave so we headed over to the road that would take us to the dirt path that would take us down the mountain.

As we proceeded down the road we passed some of the 500 stone statues of saints who gathered when Buddha reached Nirvana. They were from all walks of life and had various expressions on their faces.

As we headed down the trail, we tried to follow the trail that would take us to the foot of the ropeway and be more direct, but the main trail which was easy to follow didn’t go that way. We stayed with the main trail realizing that our miles walking would be longer. It was a good trail and not to steep. Eventually we came to a road and realized that we had to go back up some before continuing down. Such is the life of the Pilgrim. At least we know where we are. We pass some colorful fish flags blowing in the wind.

Shortly after that we are the entrance to Hagiwara (B16) We stop in to take a look.

It is so quiet compared to Upenji that we had just visited.

We see the lake that we are camping at and realize that we have to walk around it to get to the campground.

We enjoy camping on lakes so hiking there is okay.

When we arrive to the campground, there are quite a few folks there having picnics. We wonder if they will be camping, but soon they are gone and quiet has returned to the park. Don heads to a nearby Family Mart while I set up the tent. Taking notice of the sign that says beware of wild pigs. (in English)

Once again we are camped in a forest of cherry trees.

Another fulfilling day of our Pilgrimage. Today upon reaching temple 66 we entered into Kagawa Prefecture which represents Nirvana. Maybe all of the stone statues were wishing us well as we are entering our last stage of the 88 Pilgrimage route. This prefecture includes the temples 66-88.

Accommodation Camping at Hagi-no-oka Park

Miles walked 20

Daikoji(67)Jinnein(68)Kannonji(69)

July 09, 2024

April 8

A quiet night at the campground and no need to get up early. We are visiting three temples today, but they are all relatively close and the walk to them is flat. Glad to report that the wild pigs did not visit us last night. As we are leaving the park, we have to try out the large rope maze. I did not get too far up.

We walked past fields that just had their plants peeking out of the ground.

We were walking down a city street when a women rode up behind us on a bicycle and greeted us. We stopped and in her basket she had some ossetai for us.

We appreciated the bread, but we loved the little crocheted candy holders.

Temple 67 was ablaze with cherry blossoms. We walked thru the gate and did 360’s looking at all of the trees.

The bell tower had a rope hanging down from the log that you use to ring the bell. There were coins attached to the bottom of the rope giving an extra jingle when you rang the bell.

Convenient that some Japanese coins have holes in the center.

As well as the cherry trees around the fish pond.

Nearby was a Shinto temple that had more steps than I could count. We kept going up, up and up.

Often there are animals guarding the gate at Shinto Temples..

Eventually made it to the top and looked over the sea.

One reason we climbed to the top was to check out the Famous sand sculpture below us.

From a distance it looks like a circle, but in reality it is an oval.

It is blocked to be able to get close to it, so looking at it from above is your only options. Volunteers go in occasionally to clean it up and straighten the lines. At night it is often lit. Apparently by looking at it one can ensure themselves good health, a long life and freedom from financial worry. We stared at it for a long time.

The next two temples share a space so it was easy to combine the two.

Once again cherry trees added to the temple grounds

Not all temples have the opportunity to buy food, but this one did and we were grateful for the strawberry ice cream.
The Temples share an office so it was easy to have our book signed.

The blue sky of the morning is becoming overcast so we decide it is time to head to our hotel. On the way we walk thru a park which has the familiar cherry lanterns by the sidewalk.

The raindrops are beginning to fall on the water.

Glad that our hotel is close. We are a little early, but our room is ready and the receptionist shows us to our room. It is in a great location in the middle of a park. She asks if we want to order dinner in their restaurant. Sounds like a great plan to us. There is only one other person eating when we got there. Let me say the food was delicious.

It is going to be hard to eat our one pot camp meals after this!

Accommodation Tabist Hotel

Miles walked 20

Motoyamaji(79)

July 08, 2024

April 9

We have worked out a plan to visit the rest of the temples and make it back to Temple 1 where we started. Depending where the temples are located we have tried to book lodging to make sense of distances and to spend time at the temples. We have a shorter day today plus only one temple and then we are staying at an AirB&Bin the town of Takase. The day is overcast, but the rain has stopped for the moment. We feel that we have reached the peak of the blossoms, but it is hard not to stop and take more photos.

We find a Lawson’s to resupply our food bag, and unfortunately or fortunately depending how you look at it we make a wrong turn after leaving the store and there in front of us is a bakery. We have added a little more distance to our day but the rewards of having a bakery treat outweigh it.

This snail was enjoying its morning walk.

We have about a 3 mile walk to arrive at the temple. We have a leisurely start having had a delicious breakfast at our hotel. We walk along a swollen river, all of the rain must have made it rise. By mid morning we have arrived at temple 70. It seems unreal that we have been to over 70 temples so far. This temple has one of the oldest surviving Hondo’s built in the 1300’s. It also has a 5 story pagoda. There are only 4 other temples that have 5 story pagodas .

The wood work on these buildings amaze us.

This temple also had statues of horses and you could also purchase small china horses to put in front of the big horses

We have been noticing that more and more temples are putting fresh flower arrangements in various places.

As we leave the temple and begin walking past the parking lot, we notice the raining of the blossoms. It is like pink snow falling. The peak is coming to an end. We may experience more peak sections depending on the elevation. We are close to the coast now.

It is too early to go to our lodging tonight so we stop at a convenience store for lunch and to charge our electronics. We have received the location of our room tonight so around 2 we head to where we think its is. We thought we had the correct address, but when we arrived there all we found was an empty field. We call the number and it is answered by a person who does not speak English. She does however, have Don’s name then she understands that we are the people staying in her rental. She sends a different address and photos of where the key is hidden. It is sort of like being on a treasure hunt. We find the building and with a little more sleuthing find the key.

Success we have the key to get into the room.

It was a very nice room and we are relieved that it all worked out. We walk back to a bakery that we had passed on the way to the house, but unfortunately it had just closed. There were a couple more little stores along the street and we were able to get our almost favorite meal, Cup of noodles. Another good day with a happy ending.

Accommodation AirB&B in the town of Takase

Miles walked 12

Iyadaniji(71)Mandraji(72)Shusshakaji(73)Koyamaji(74)Zentsuji(75)

July 07, 2024

April 10

We had a peaceful night in our little efficiency apartment and we were ready to be be on the move by 6:30. There are five temples fairly close together so our goal is to visit them all. The sky was the bluest that it has been for awhile. As we started down the street a man came running up behind us and handed us a bottle of tea to drink. Nice way to start the morning. We had hoped to stop at a road side rest for breakfast but it wasn’t open for another hour so we thought we would go ahead and check out Temple 71. One of the oldest temples on Shikoku as well as one of the more sacred religious sites in Japan. As with a lot of temples that sit on a mountain there are a lot of steps to reach the main grounds.

We walked thru the gate and up some steps before finding a place to leave our backpacks. This temple has many artifacts as well as about 1500 rock carvings. The temple is also built vertically with the different Halls being on different levels.

A very old bell was also sitting on one of the porches.

Tucked in to many of the caves were memorials and there were also figures actually cut into the rocks.

We walked up steps passing what seemed to be very old statues.

In the office where we got our book signed, there was a hallway that took us back to where a statue of Kobo Dasishi was sitting in a cave.(no photos allowed)

We met Dennis and Charlotte from Hong Kong. We exchanged some gifts and shared some of our experiences. They are going to all the temples in a month by using public transportation.

We are awestruck by the beautiful flower arrangements.

It is always a treat when you get to where the temple is located and see how it has a view over the town below.

We visit another hall before beginning the descent to the bottom and hopefully get breakfast at the road side rest.

We meet a couple from Italy who are riding the pilgrimage route on a tandem bike. We talk bike packing for awhile.

The road side rest is opened and we filled up with a delicious breakfast

Less than two miles away is Temple 72. We walk up a hill to enter the gate.

We are a bit saddened to see all the cherry blossoms on the ground.

There is also a floral display surrounding the water basin.

We meet Charlotte again and are introduced to the cutout figure she is carrying with her.

Time to head back down the hill to the next temple

Temple 73 is very close and soon we approach it.

Looking thru the gate to the city below.

The next temple is a small temple called Koyamaji. We enter the gate and quickly notice all of the rabbit statues,

It is the temple of good luck! Remember to rub the rabbits.

We stare at the flower arrangement which are perfect.

It is a small temple tucked against palm trees.

The last temple of the day and perhaps the most important and largest one on the Pilgrim route is Zentusji (75) This temple is the birthplace of Kobo Daishi. We have plenty of time to look at the variety of things that are located here.

First off we are taken aback by the size of the grounds. We notice things that we have not seen at the other temples.

And almost to be expected beautiful flower arrangements.

There is a museum here that contains some of Kobo Dashi's artwork and calligraphy

We meet Tim from Australia. He is doing the route counter clockwise and met our friend Renee several days ago. She told him about us as he is also trying to camp when he can. We shared some of the camp sites that we used.

We are almost finished and he is just starting

A 1000 year old camphor tree was fenced off. It is a respected tree.

One of the halls.

There was a lot of people here but the grounds were so huge that everyone was spread out. I am sure that we missed a lot of interesting things, but it was time to head to our hotel

On the way to our hotel, we passed a large grocery store. We went in to check it out and quickly had a grocery crate that was overflowing. I guess we have hiker hunger. We had planned to go out to eat tonight, but looks like we will be eating in our room. Our hotel is older but very adequate. Plus it was close to the last temple. Today has all worked out.

Accommodation. Zentsuji Grand Hotel

Miles hiked 12

Konzoji(76)Doryuji(77)Goshoji(78) Lunch with Tomo

July 06, 2024

April 11th

Several days ago we got back in contact with a Japanese women that we had met at a guest house right after temple 12. She was very helpful in giving us information about the route as she has done it four times and is a guide for some of it. She told us that she lives near temple 77 and if she was home, she would love to meet us and take us out to lunch. We sent her an Email and got the response that she would be around and where to meet her. Our plan is to visit two temples, visit Tomo for lunch and then visit one more temple after that.

Our first temple of the day is Temple 76.

We enter the gate and see a group of older people doing Tai Chi. One exercise is with fans. It set the atmosphere for the rest of the visit here.They were doing it to music.

There are several bus groups here. We listen to them chant while we pray.

We see Charlotte and Dennis at the temple. She tells us that she has done research on each temple and she want to show us a special sculpture here. It is a small sculpture of a small man that has his hand on his ear and another hand holding an open bag.

This little man is responsible for listening to your complaints or worries and then putting them in his bag so you don’t have to worry or think about them.

More things.

We think that these were placed when praying for your children. Then there was a statue of a cow.

Heading into the gate.

And immediately seeing some of the 255 Cannon statues that are spread round the park.

Time to leave and meet Tomo at the Marugame station. On the way we see this banner that makes us smile.

An Udon restaurant that is one of her favorites is near by. She helps us to order noodles and some tempura vegetables to go with it.

It was a lot of fun and we had lots to talk about. Finally the manger came over to our table and told us that people were waiting to eat. She suggested that we go to a tea shop to talk some more. There were the cutest puppies there for adoption.

Dogs are rarely seen on the streets and we have never seen anyone hiking with a dog. Our conversation had to end as we had one more temple to visit before going to our hotel

On to the last temple for the day which is Temple 78, Compared to some of the other temples of the last few days, this one is fairly small. We headed thru the gate.

And we were glad to see that there were still cherry blossoms here.

There was a room here that was underground that had lots of golden small statues.

Very nice gardens were around the edges.

We headed to our hotel and with plenty of food in our bags, We decided to just eat here. Only saw one person today that was hiking the route in reverse.

Accommodation Utazu Grand hotel

Miles hiked 19

Tennoji(79)Kokubunji(80)Shiromineji(81)Negorojio(82)

July 05, 2024

April 12

If all goes as planned, today is going to be busy. We plan to visit 4 temples, some of the temples are in the mountains. We have decided to do them in numerical order, although some recommendations are to do them in a different order to eliminate some of the climbing. We are planning to camp by Temple 82 near a rest area approved for camping.

We spent a nice night in the hotel and were ready to start hiking at 6. The streets were quiet and the mall that we walked thru had all the shutters shut except for a fish market.

An hour later, school kids were beginning to show up on the streets.

For younger children different hats seem to relate to a grade level.

Just before we reached our first temple. A familiar car appeared, it was our friend Takumi who was looking for us. He led us to a nearby rest hut where he gave us a Japanese Milkshake and cookies. (Pretty sweet) He was hoping that a Udon restaurant would be open that was located here, but it was too early.

He told us about the pond that was located here with a small memorial.

We asked him if he could make arrangements for us to stay at a guest house near Temple 88 after we visited that temple. He said that he knew the host and would see if there was a vacancy. We hope so. He said goodby and most likely went off to find more Henroes that he knew. He may try to meet us again at the Henro Museum before Temple 87. He wants to celebrate with us after the completion of our Pilgrimage route.

Before we reached the temple we passed by the giraffe house,

Temple 79 was a Shinto and Buddhism combined. We were somewhat confused and didn’t spend much time there. There were some interesting doorways.

Felt more like the Southwest in the States

After Temple 79, Temple 80 had a totally different feeling.

We entered the gate then walked down a path with pine trees on both sides.

It was a beautiful day to check out all of the statues.

There seemed to be a theme of pine trees and needles as shown by this perfectly shaped heart.

The bell in the bell tower is thought to be over 1000 years old and is the oldest one in Shikoku.

Seemed to be lots of love in this temple.

Leaving this temple means we are going to be doing some climbing.

We start our walk out on flat ground weaving among houses then start the upward climb.This is another Henro-Korogahi site (steep and difficult)

The trail is well marked with many steps.

The cherry blossoms coat the path. Temple 81 and Temple 82 are located on peaks named by color. We are on our way to the white peak. When we get to an intersection one trail will take us to 81 the other trail to 82. There is a picnic table here with drinks and information about why this rest area is here. It was created by a man who had lost his young daughter to cancer and wanted to do something in memory of her. The totes are filled with soft drinks. It makes you want to pass on the good feeling and remember the love of his daughter by him. We leave our packs here before going to Temple 81, This is a good thing as there are quite a few up and down sections. We pass a water fall that one can sit at to meditate. Unfortunately we don't have time to do that today. We arrive to the gate and hear music and a man chanting coming over speakers.

As like most temples there was a lot to see at this one.

Small intricate pagoda and more steps to visit the other halls.

At this temple there seemed to more than usual memorials with animals.

This statue had different coverings than other ones that usually had the red bib.

Retracing the trail back to get our packs and head to 82. We walk swiftly which is easy without carrying our packs. Upon reaching our packs, we split a drink and move on. We are trying to get to 82 before it closes, but when we see this cherry tree and adjoining flowers, we take a short break.

We are happy to see at least at this elevation the cherry trees are still in full bloom.

We make it to temple 82 which is located on the blue peak. It is quiet and tranquil this late afternoon. As we enter thur the gate our pace slows as we take in the beauty of this location.