Gordon:  Temple 12 was unfinished business for Ruth. It is the first significant challenge on the Shikoku pilgrimage, and Ruth had been obsessively strategizing about it for weeks before we arrived in Japan.  In the end, she and Geraldine took a taxi to it on... Read More

Description Ryōzenji , temple number one on the Shikoku pilgrimage, is the beginning, end, and now the beginning for us. Unlike all the other pilgrimages I have done, Shikoku is a circle and people can start and finish anywhere, with the goal simply to visit... Read More

The view from the ridge Gord climbed Ruth: Yesterday Gord and I climbed from the seashore to the Temple 88 on the Shikoku pilgrimage. I cycled on the road while Gord took a trail that climbed much higher. Before the big climb we met at... Read More

Gordon:  Despite its industrialization and massive cities, Japan still has a rich diversity of vegetation harbouring a lot of wildlife.   Some of the animals we regularly spot include carp, egrets, herons and cormorants.  Some days I have also seen literally hundreds of turtles in... Read More

Ruth: I saw a t-shirt at a temple that simply said “Life is Henro,” and I am beginning to agree.  It’s hard not to compare our experiences on the various Camino routes with the Shikoku 88 temple Henro. Visiting Japan, even without doing the Henro,... Read More

Gordon:  Last night we spent the night at Minshuku Okada, located between Temples 65 and 66.  The proprietor, Akira Okada, is in many respects a very interesting fellow.  To begin with, he is 91 years old, though like many Japanese he looks much younger.  He... Read More