Writing is a way to get things off ones mind. This one here is sitting on my mind way too long 😉
About Shoes and Beans
One can find in any story about Shikoku, going up to Kakurinji (#20) and Tairyūji (#21) is tough. It’s like walking 2 stairways up and down, each more than 1 km long.
At Tairyūji I met a young monk from Hiroshima, who was limping. He told me that he has mamme, meaning beans, the Japanese word for blisters and he was not the first guy, I saw limping around.
They all were wearing sneakers and thin socks, because it’s hot here and thick socks and big shoes obviously make you more sweat. OK, I sweat more – without beans 😉
One can take it always the hard way. With gettas, traditional Japanese wooden shoes, with 5-finger shoes, which I considered or the traditional white Japanese Henro shoes with a separate big toe, which will make the skin between the big and the second toe really sore.
The safest way are trekking shoes and a bit thicker socks. The shoes should go up to the ankles to protect them. Socks need to be thick enough to absorb the sweat well. I got one little blister until now. While crossing a creek on my way to Wakayama, I stepped into the water and continued walking with a wet sock. The result was a blister on the 4th toe. My shoes are with Goretex, so as long as the water is not deeper than the shoes are high, the feet stay dry. That creek was deeper 😉
I just should have taken one more pairs of socks with me – they really get smelly after a short while 😀
Sunny Boy
The first time I escaped a rain storm was 2 days ago, after coming down from Jigenji. I just went into a house. There were these curtains in front of the door and I thought it’s some kind of local pub. It looked like that inside. A counter, glasses, a box with canned beer and a grandma behind. I was wrong. No she said, I’m not selling anything. Then she offered me cup noodles, beer and some kind of boiled egg with vegetables. Later came a mountain farmer in, who told me about a camping ground not far away. Grandma rejected any money, I only felt grateful. When I was on the way to the camping ground the guy I just met before came after me and gave me some 3kgs of fruits.
Yesterday I again escaped a rainstorm. Just when it really started pouring, like crazy, I was standing in front of a cheap looking beach-hotel some 2 km away from Yakuōji. I couldn’t resist and went in. Dinner, hot ofuro and a washing machine, just wonderful. How such normal things can make me feel blessed all the sudden!
Yakuōji, btw is a wonderful place with a nice atmosphere, sea-view and across there’s a castle.
A bit too late I arrived today at Saba Daishi. I entered some area with shoes, searching for someone to “stamp me off”. On the first view, this was not a good idea. One monk saw me and got a bit angry, take your shoes off, damme, he shouted. On the end I was invited for the evening ceremony and I stay here now in a little hut for henros. There’s a special story about Kūkai and a fisherman on the horse. One can see a statue of Kūkai holding a saba, a macrele, in his hand.
And of course, the weather forecast for today was wrong. Instead of rain, sunshine and hot – a sweaty day and nice ofuro on the end 🙂
How life can be beautiful!
Author: Mat Koya
Saba DaishiOn the coast
Meanwhile I’m just 2 km away from Yakusōji, which is temple 23, on the coast. The route after will be pretty long, more than 75 km.
What’s it about?
Recently I’ve been thinking a lot, what to do with this blog here. Giving another more or less boring travel or better pilgrimage description, which anyway no one will read, besides some close friends and family? In the later case it would be probably better to write in German 😉
Some days ago I received an email from a dear friend and it hit me like a hammer. The question was, what’s the difference to pilgrimages in Bavaria and over there in Shikoku? Basically there is no difference, so why am I doing this?
I decided to write this blog on one side about this question – what do I want to get out of this? Where do I want to go from here. Obviously this will become some kind of personal growth story – hopefully 🙂
On the other side I will talk a bit about what happened and what I experience on this journey. Finding the answer to the question above is not only a dynamic process, it is directly connected with the experiences we make.
A Tip
After being at some of the temples, I think a good preparation for such a journey would be to find oneself a very long stairway and run it up and down for an hour. First without then with luggage on the back. Add a little more than you plan 😉
Just before going up to temple 20 I received some 3kgs of fruits as osettai. The weight diminished slowly. But the tough thing is to first walk up so many stairs with that package on ones back.
Big brother is watching you on [nearly] every gate
A-gyo
Un-gyoThe First Steps
Easy walking from Ryōzenji towards Dainichji. I arrived there at 5:15 and the guy told me sorry, we’re closed and send me to some old cow stable – it’s save there, he said. But I didn’t like to sleep on the concrete floor, so I looked for some softer place, which I found near on the edge of the woods. During the night I could hear fears coming out and looking for food.
The next day I decided to go up to Taisanji – 大山寺. The plate I followed said 1.8km, but it meant 1.8km to the first rest place. On the end that were more than 5 or 6 km steep up and sometimes down through woods and mountain. It was very nice and interesting what for thoughts and associations are coming to ones mind, while following the path. On the end it was worth the effort. After climbing 108 steep stairs, a nice old looking temple awaited me.
大山寺
After i came down from there i just managed to come shortly before 5 o’clock to Jisōji 🙂
A bit later I met 2 funny guys in front of a Lawson shop, who are doing the Pilgramige reverse by bicycle. They got their blog here: http://temples88.blogspot.jp/?m=1
Interlude
A warm welcome at Ryōzenji by our old friend from Koyasan, Kinoshita San. She brought me to a wonderful onzen and later we enjoyed a nice dinner together. The next morning presented me the wonderful spectacle of a full sun eclipse.
Washing cloth and spending the night at a friendly guys house. All that filled my heart with gratefulness for these wonderful and nice people.
oishiii dinner 🙂Prologue
On the second day I had to take it really slow. The last peace of way towards Jisoin were really hard. Steep downhill on a street is a burden especially for the knees. The price I had to pay the next day with knee pain, which slowed me down a lot until I decided to stop, realizing that I walked less than 15km. Nevertheless this was the right thing to do and the knee stopped hurting the next day.
That night the North Face tent proofed itself the first time. I stayed on the shore of Kinokawa river. Rain and thunderstorm was knocking and wrenching on the walls of the tent. Next morning the sun was smiling down from the sky and I moved on. In the evening I allowed myself the luxury of visiting an izakaya in Iwase, a place in the outskirts of Wakayama city. He was so kind to invite me stay in his house over night. I felt so blessed! Hot shower, a big futon and a solid breakfast – with beer instead of coffee! – the next morning.
my hosts in front of their shop
The next day I could still walk for some time along the river but at one point I had no chance than to use the street until I reached the ferry port. In the evening I finally reached Shikoku. From Tokushima ferry port until Ryōzen-Ji it’s still some 30km mostly along streets.
Ryōzen-JiFirst day
Late starting is not a good idea. After I was done with packing, going to Okunoin, writing mails and saying good bye to dear Takeshi, it was already 2 in the early afternoon. I thought Koyasan – Kudoyama, that’s half am hour by car, won’t be to long. On the end I came into the night and lost the way on the last 2km. These last couple of kms are the toughest part. It goes down hill, very steep on a concrete road through plantings of peach trees and this is burden for the knees, so it slows one down.
Now I’d like a shower or hot ofuro, all what is available here is a toilet, at least I can wash myself 🙂
The tent I bought before (North Face Mica1) is really small, but sufficient and built up in a couple of minutes. The low wright of 1.6kg is also a big plus.
Anyway I still have the feeling of carrying to much weight around, I’ll see if there’s anything I can throw off the next days. The sleeping bag,although it,s down, is quite big and heavy. On the other side it feels very cozy and it’s still fresh during the night.
Preparing to set off to Shikoku
This week I decided very spontaniously to do the Shikoku pilgrimage. The current plan is to start from Koyasan next Tuesday after doing Goma at Muryokoin in the morning. I’m still thinking what to take with me, the little computer to write this blog here? Or just a note book, the old way with pen and paper? Which shoes? The classical trekking shoes or the more funky 5-finger shoes?
Anyway, before I start I need to finish this eMail component I’m working on in 4D. This thing gave me some headaches, because of the way, how Apple Mail handles emails. Apple Mail, as well as Thunderbird don’t recognize the lenght of a html eMail if it is built up only with divs and spans. The result is that attachments are placed over the text of the mail, which looks especially funny with pdfs. So now I’m counting the height of the mail and add invisible lines in the background before the attachment is added. The dispostion type of attachment is anyway ignored by most MAUs. Very funny for what is there then anyway?
Summer Festival at Kokenji
Next Weekend there will be a big event with live music and dance performances at Kokenji, near Okayama.
You will be also able to watch a public goma ceremony on Sunday!
Information how to come there can be found at www.kokenji.org
More information soon 🙂
Snowwhite in Koyasan
Yesterday I went to our dentist, just for checkup. On the way back I took these photos at the Aritoshi Shrine. I nice place just next to the road, where one wouldn’t expect it:
the temporarity of a car 😉
Sake for the Kamis 🙂
you need to get up to find the door
Daruma with a chairleg pointing to his nose
Bridge to heaven?
Recently I like to spend some time in the coffee-bar around the corner and read a bit there with a slow coffee.
Yesterday their garden still looked like this:
the no smoking sign mirrors in the window 🙂
And today everything changed overnight:
After the coffee I took a walk to the Garan, the garden of Kobodaishis teachings:
Osaka
Yesterday I first enjoyed a nice Karate training and expected sore muscles after, which didn’t happen 🙂 Right after I went to Osaka and had a yummy cappuccino. I’m only wondering why I get a cinnamon stick instead of a spoon. What a waste of natural resources. 
This morning shomyo and tonight party 🙂
Nice reading: It’s up to you from Dzigar Kongtrül