Category Archives: Uncategorized

After getting to Shimanto, running all our chores, and feeding ourselves, it was time for bed. I stank. I hadn’t had time for a shower and I was exhausted. As I lay on the futon, I was determined not to move unless my nephew complained. He kept his silence as he, too, was too tiredContinue reading “Day 25: Temple 39”

The two partial days had improved our feet and our mental health, though, while my soles no longer felt like I was walking barefoot on cement, it was still a bit like have single-peg Legos taped to both feet. Our plan was to reach Hirata Station (31 km away), two kilometers short of Temple 39,Continue reading “Day 24: Walking Day”

Since we were planning on another short day as part of our recovery project 2023, as soon we had completed breakfast Connor decided he needed a little more shut eye before setting out. He’d been having difficulty sleeping and complained of waking 4 or 5 times a night. I welcomed him to adulthood. It wasContinue reading “Day 23: Walking Day”

Ok. Back in the saddle. After rearranging the next few days to make them a little less taxing, we decided we could get a later start, having only 12.5 miles to cover today. After our 6:30 scheduled breakfast, we even took some time to crawl back into our beds and relax for another hour. ByContinue reading “Day 22: Temple 38”

Short post today. As long as this beer lasts me. Connor and I decided we were pushing a little too hard to maintain the schedule I had originally put together for the pilgrimage. We’ve had three long days in a row and our feet are killing us, so we’ve spent the last hour and aContinue reading “Day 21: Walking Day”

As we were pilgrim guests in the temple, we were invited to attend the morning service. My nephew and I were the only Westerners among the congregation of over a dozen. The rest were Japanese. As we were unlikely to understand even a little of the service, we sat in the back of observe andContinue reading “Day 20: Walking Day”

It was a day I had scheduled our longest walk to a single temple and it was now forecast to rain all day. Connor was in charge of navigation and he was picking between several routes in the official “Shikoku Japan 88 Route Guide.” I think he’d grown a little less patient with my “Hey,Continue reading “Day 19: Temple 37”

We had a decision to make in the morning whether we wanted to take the ferry along Uranouchi Bay, cutting out over 6 kilometers of walking, follow the regular henro michi, or follow the longer but scenic coastal route. If we took the ferry, our walking day would be shortened to under 3 hours toContinue reading “Day 18: Bekkaku Temple 5”

Connor had an uncomfortable night. Something he ate disagreed with him and we couldn’t figure out what it could have been. We both have been eating essentially the same types of things from the same places since we started over two weeks ago and I had a great night’s rest. He now gets to walkContinue reading “Day 17: Temples 34, 35, and 36”

We started with a nutritious breakfast from 7-Eleven. We had headed for McDonald’s, but fortune saved us a block short of the destination. Japan is not a big breakfast country. The only Starbucks we found in Kochi opens at 8:00 a.m. and many of the coffee shops listed on Google didn’t open until 11:00 a.m.Continue reading “Day 16: Temples 31, 32, and 33”