Ruth: There is usually at least one point in every trip where I have to thank my Pocket Earth app for finding me yet another magical alternate route to cycle. This morning, after climbing up to a pass at 720 meters I needed to make a descent that would rejoin the walking route in the valley below. The link was made on this lovely steep ...
Gordon: Near the end of a long but beautiful walk / ride we reached Temple 44 yesterday. This means that we have now visited half of the 88 Temples on the pilgrimage. We also passed the halfway mark in the length of our visit to Japan a couple of days ago. Given that we have now covered 745 of the 1200 kms of the pilgrimage ...
Ruth: It’s not that I don’t like ryokans (traditional Japanese inns), but we have stayed in so many lately that I have been wanting a bit of a change. In addition, we keep passing perfect camping spots. Camping in Japan is quite a treat if you manage to find the right spot. Sometimes they are not at the right distance and you just have to ...
Ruth: I can feel that we are getting closer to the edge of the Kochi Prefecture, and with that the end of the period of asceticism and the beginning of enlightenment. Our routes for the past two days have been varied and absolutely beautiful. We have moved from the rocky headlands and beaches of the southwest tip of Shikoku into the mountains again on a ...
Gordon: The Japanese language has incorporated a surprising number of English words. They are generally unrecognizable, however, because Japanese pronunciation splits the consonant combinations with a vowel, adds a vowel at the end, replaces consonants that are difficult to pronounce, makes other random changes, and of course modifies the pronunciation. For example, “credit card” becomes “kurejittu kaado”. Words adopted from foreign languages are usually written ...
Gordon: We are currently staying near Temple 38, at the far southwestern point of Shikoku. It is a wild and beautiful area, with substantial distances between temples. The walk from Temple 37 to Temple 38 is 82 kms, the longest stage on the 88 Temple pilgrimage. There are some magnificent beaches in this region, many popular with surfers. A couple of nights ago we stayed ...
Ruth: Each day we pass through a number of tunnels. Two days ago the daily count reached eight! On the downside they are not very scenic, they don’t always have a sidewalk, and they can be quite loud and scary. Based on my limited experience only about 50% of vehicles are using their headlights in the tunnels, making my reflective clothing useless. My relationship with ...
Gordon: Last night, together with two Japanese cyclists, we slept in a small dormitory. The notable aspect of this experience was that we were sleeping in beds for only the third time on the trip. Most of the time we are sleeping on the floor on a thin futon rolled out on tatami mats. I find it comfortable enough, but in some ways it ...
Ruth: I’m feeling very grateful tonight. We found a shelter behind a Shinto shrine between Temples 34 and 35. It has a roof, two walls and couches. We asked permission to stay the night and then a local man returned with drinks and grapes for us. We are camping Japanese style. It has been raining heavily today and the prospect of camping out was looking a ...
Ruth: On this pilgrimage each of the four prefectures that we pass through offers a different stage in spiritual development. Tokushima Prefecture is the place of spiritual awakening. Kōchi Prefecture is the place of ascetic training, Ehime Prefecture is the place of enlightenment, and Kagawa Prefecture is the place of Nirvana. We are not broken, we are merely starting to experience the promised asceticism of ...