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
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
I woke extra early this morning at 5am since I wanted to get as much walking done as possible before the forecasted rain due late morning. On the way out I met Tom who’d had a similar idea but was going to take some shortcuts by train since he’s running out of time on his tourist visa. Read more
I had a bit of a scary moment last night. Having fallen asleep in my tent around 10pm I was suddenly awoken by a bright light. I checked my phone and momentarily thought I’d overslept before realising it was still night. Read more
Being a sucker for following the “scenic route” I had chosen to take the longest trail (E) between Kongōfuku-ji (金剛福寺 – 38) and Enkō-ji (延光寺 – 39) which is around 20km further than the shortest. Read more
Aside from the low whirr of a nearby vending machine and the occasional passing vehicle, last nights camping under Ashizuri hut was a success. Read more
Today’s hike began at 7am after a warm goodbye from the old couple who run Lodge Camellia (highly recommended). Read more
After a restive night I woke this morning to find my tent pretty damp, probably because of my close proximity to the sea, so it took a while to let it dry out before packing up. Read more
Somewhat confusingly, as well as the henro pilgrim trail, there is also another called the Shikoku-no-michi route around the island. Both are shown in the English guide book and often overlap. Read more
After a good nights sleep at yesterday’s excellent hotel I woke early, had breakfast, and got moving shortly after 7am. The hotel manager warned me that there were “only two” vending machines on the route I would be taking. I reassured him I would be fine. Read more