On my way back from Todoroki Kujūku-taki I stopped at Jōuman-ji (城満寺) temple, the oldest Zen temple in Shikoku, having been founded in 1575. The temple sits on a slope, surrounded by hills on three sides, giving it a commanding seat overlooking Kaiyō (海陽町) and the sea beyond. Read more
After a fun weekend exploring a few sights in Tokushima and Kagawa that I’d missed the first time around (more on this in a later post) I woke at 5.30am on Monday morning and made my way to the Nankai Ferry terminal, about 20 minutes by bus from Tokushima Station. Read more
I’d like to say I slept soundly last night in preparation for the final push but at 3am my neighbour decided to watch TV. After five minutes of listening to the muffled sounds of a sports game, I banged on the wall. Loudly. Not very Buddhist perhaps but it did the trick. Read more
Dark clouds hung from the sky as I set out to conquer the final temple this morning. Usually this would be a cause for concern, but with the end in sight it only emboldened me to walk faster. Read more
I visited seven temples today (71-77), more than any other day so far. Whilst not all were terribly interesting, there were a few highlights and it’s scary how fast the end seems to be creeping up. Read more
I woke with the sunrise in the curtainless tsuyado at Unpen-ji (雲辺寺 – 66) this morning around 5am. Nobody was around and it was great to wander the mountaintop temple with nothing but the sound of birds singing. Read more
I’m writing this by torchlight tonight from the tsuyado at Unpen-ji (雲辺寺 – 66), the highest mountain temple in Shikoku at 900m. Due to some weird borders I’m technically back in Tokushima Prefecture and will pass into Kagawa, the fourth and final prefecture tomorrow. Read more
I woke extra early at 5.30am today, in order to make a head start on the mountain that Yokomine-ji (横峰寺 – 60) is perched on, only to find it had already begun raining. Read more
Unlike Kochi Prefecture, the temples in Ehime are far closer together and today we visited four in quick succession. Luckily the weather remained dry and there was even a smattering of sun! Read more
We woke this morning to the smell of freshly baked bread which Shin-San, at Hōjōsuigun Youth Hostel, had made. Along with homemade blueberry jam and yoghurt it was a welcome change from the usual savoury Japanese breakfast you get at most places. Read more