We went back to Zentsuji (Temple 75) this morning as we knew we wanted to take a lot more pictures of this temple complex. It was overcast and rainy yesterday and we knew we wanted to spend more time here. It’s the largest temple complex of the 88 temples covering over two city blocks. There were many buildings and several were holding separate services while we were there. Here is only a portion of the photos I took. The place was huge.
After Zentsuji, we went to a highly recommended shrine called Kotohiragu (and associated nearby shrines). When we got there, the place reminded my of a busy mountain resort town. Many small shops lining a narrow street leading up the mountainside with a constant stream of people coming and going. To give you an idea of how popular this shrine is, when I was doing my research into the pilgrimage I would see each of the 88 temples would have between 2.000-3,000 picture uploaded to Google Maps. Kotohiragu has over 45,000 photos.
2023 Shikoku Henro 
It’s 1368 steps to the top, and I’m glad we tackled them now and not with our fresh pre-pilgrimage legs. There were more interesting subjects at both Zentsuji and Kotohiragu than we could have shot in a day, much less an hour or two.
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I keep double tapping pictures to like them as if this is instagram. The lush countryside whilst looking out to a Shinto Shrine from Zentsuji is magnificent! What a beautiful time to be there.
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What beautiful views! A question about the food: what are those two dark red things near the orange?
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