After the soak in the hot spa yesterday evening and with plenty of extra layers I had felt nice and snug inside my sleeping bag and nodded of to sleep around 9 o'clock. When I woke up and looked at the time it was 00:40. It could have been vehicles stopping nearby to use the vending machine or the cold again but that was the extent of the sleep I got. It was cold but not as cold as last night but however much I tried I couldn't sleep. I kept turning this way and that hoping to get some more sleep but when my alarm clock sounded at 05:30 I started to get my things together.
Before leaving I wrote out an osamefuda and slotted it into the photograph sleeve and pinned it to the side of the hut. It was the second time I had stopped at this particular hut and I really didn't know if I would be returning this way again. Whether I did or didn't was not important but this particular hut felt very special so I stood in front of the statue of Kukai and expressed my thanks for having had a place to stay and more than that for the journey I was making. After adding an entry to the guest book I was flicking through it and came across an English entry where the author had described how he had felt on his way to the hut and had concluded by saying that it was the best day of his life. It was easy to have those kinds of feelings and it reminded me of the overwhelming sense of gratitude I had felt during the first pilgrimage.
After leaving the hut and I turned and bowed to Kukai and set out at a gentle pace and kept it going like that until I reached a Lawson where I hoped to get my usual coffee but they didn't have a coffee machine so I picked up some snacks and continued a little further on to Naburatosasaga Michi-no-eki. It was definitely not there last time but it was nice to see a brand new looking michi-no-eki in a place where one was definitely needed. I headed first to the washrooms to clean myself up a little and then inside to get some breakfast. I got myself a set meal and like yesterday ate everything. The portions at this michi-no-eki were not as huge as the last one but the food was welcome because it gave me the energy I needed for the rest of the morning and afternoon. I spent nearly an hour at the michi-no-eki before setting of again.
The weather today remained quite chilly for most of the morning but the sun finally came out later in the afternoon after which things warmed up significantly. It was one of those really slow calm days and I found the sea really soothing because it calmed my thoughts as I continued on at the same slow pace. It felt like I had stepped into a calmer current from the more usual hectic current of every day life or the typically over active mental current of my mind. Later in the morning I stopped briefly at a rest hut by the sea where an older married couple had also stopped. They seemed a little lost for words when I sat down. A few of the usual greetings and questions later, I got my photographs out and gave the man a pile of them and asked him to choose his favourite. As he did this his wife gave me a small orange and some candy. The husband found one he liked and she gave me another small orange so I told them to choose another one and the woman chose the one of me. The husband then went to the car and returned with his camera and photographed me and his wife together. They then left and a little while later I continued on at my slow leisurely pace.
I arrived at the Ogata henro hut about 12:30 having covered about 22km at the same slow leisurely pace. This particular hut was a nice little hut facing the sea and had a boat shaped roof. I stopped in it just to sit and enjoy the view of the sea. After I got going again I stopped often to take photographs of the sea and the beautifully tree lined route through Irino Park which looked really great. After that thoughts about where I was going to sleep started to intrude and I decided to pick up the pace so I could get to the Shimanto River a little sooner than I had planned to. There were several options Hagimori-san had told me about, a rest hut near the Shimanto Bridge, under the bridge itself and a daishido about 700m up river from the bridge. I arrived at the Shimanto River around 15:45 and my plan to pick up supplies from the 3F convenience store was scuppered when I found that like other 3F stores it too was currently undergoing a re-branding and like the others I had seen in the last few days it too would be re-opening as a Lawson on March 20. Thankfully I found a local shop just around the corner and managed to pick up a rice bento, fried tofu and some bread. The reason for stocking up was because there was only one convenience on the long walk to Kongofukuji (#38) and if that one was also undergoing the same transformation as this one it would mean no snacks on the way to Kongofukuji (#38) and possibly no snacks on the return back either. I had stocked up on a further 2 dorayaki earlier in the day making it 3 dorayaki in the emergency cabinet plus a few other snacks just in case.
After surveying the rest hut on the Shimanto River, I decided it didn't really look ideal for camping and the main thing that put me of was the strong gusting wind. The hut was a little exposed so I decided I would not be staying there. If the wind was gusting the way it was across the bridge then it would be gusting just as strongly under the bridge which ruled out that option as a place to stay. I didn't know much about the daishido so the remaining option was to push on for another 9km and make it to Drive-in Suisha and that in the end was what I decided to do. I still had daylight on my side and if I picked up the pace a little I figured I could make it by about 17:30 at the earliest. I kept up a steady tempo and soon arrived at the long Shinizuta Tunnel. The tunnel was 1620m in length and with a footpath, relatively safe from passing traffic. The other good news was that once I got through the tunnel it was just a short walk to Drive-in Suisha. I timed myself through the tunnel and it took me 19 minutes in total. Traffic was heavier than I had experienced last time but this time I could see the end of the tunnel illuminated by daylight. Last time I had arrived in the dark and had no visual target and it had seemed endless.
When I arrived at the place next to the washrooms I found one tent already set up. I thought it might be Kan who I had last seen at the Shishikui ohenro-san. If it was him then I figured he must have returned from Kongofukuji (#38) because I expected him to be about 2 days ahead of me already. I called out his name and out of his tent he emerged. I asked him if he had just returned from Kongofukuji (#38) and he said he had in fact just arrived here. He, like Inoue-san had picked up a leg injury and had slowed down considerably. He had definitely been pushing quite hard ever since I had first met him back at Kikuya Zenkonyado which was on Day 4. After a quick conversation Kan retired back to his tent and I quickly set up my tent and arranged my things inside. It was starting to feel cold but nothing like Tosa Kure 2 days earlier. I ate the bento I had bought from the shop just before the Shimanto Bridge and then got to work on updating my notes. It had turned out to be a really good day today. The weather was a little chilly but it had made walking relatively comfortable. The slow steady pace until early afternoon helped me think more about what I wanted to do most on this journey. The second half up to Drive-in Suisha felt a bit rushed but compared to the leisurely pace early morning and afternoon anything faster would have appeared rushed. The other good news was that I managed to cover 43km today and I done it without too much discomfort. I had, as usual, thought about a lot of things and although I couldn't put my finger on it, there was something about the early part of the day that had made me feel really hopeful.
After the soak in the hot spa yesterday evening and with plenty of extra layers I had felt nice and snug inside my sleeping bag and nodded of to sleep around 9 o'clock. When I woke up and looked at the time it was 00:40. It could have been vehicles stopping nearby to use the vending machine or the cold again but that was the extent of the sleep I got. It was cold but not as cold as last night but however much I tried I couldn't sleep. I kept turning this way and that hoping to get some more sleep but when my alarm clock sounded at 05:30 I started to get my things together.
Before leaving I wrote out an osamefuda and slotted it into the photograph sleeve and pinned it to the side of the hut. It was the second time I had stopped at this particular hut and I really didn't know if I would be returning this way again. Whether I did or didn't was not important but this particular hut felt very special so I stood in front of the statue of Kukai and expressed my thanks for having had a place to stay and more than that for the journey I was making. After adding an entry to the guest book I was flicking through it and came across an English entry where the author had described how he had felt on his way to the hut and had concluded by saying that it was the best day of his life. It was easy to have those kinds of feelings and it reminded me of the overwhelming sense of gratitude I had felt during the first pilgrimage.
After leaving the hut and I turned and bowed to Kukai and set out at a gentle pace and kept it going like that until I reached a Lawson where I hoped to get my usual coffee but they didn't have a coffee machine so I picked up some snacks and continued a little further on to Naburatosasaga Michi-no-eki. It was definitely not there last time but it was nice to see a brand new looking michi-no-eki in a place where one was definitely needed. I headed first to the washrooms to clean myself up a little and then inside to get some breakfast. I got myself a set meal and like yesterday ate everything. The portions at this michi-no-eki were not as huge as the last one but the food was welcome because it gave me the energy I needed for the rest of the morning and afternoon. I spent nearly an hour at the michi-no-eki before setting of again.
The weather today remained quite chilly for most of the morning but the sun finally came out later in the afternoon after which things warmed up significantly. It was one of those really slow calm days and I found the sea really soothing because it calmed my thoughts as I continued on at the same slow pace. It felt like I had stepped into a calmer current from the more usual hectic current of every day life or the typically over active mental current of my mind. Later in the morning I stopped briefly at a rest hut by the sea where an older married couple had also stopped. They seemed a little lost for words when I sat down. A few of the usual greetings and questions later, I got my photographs out and gave the man a pile of them and asked him to choose his favourite. As he did this his wife gave me a small orange and some candy. The husband found one he liked and she gave me another small orange so I told them to choose another one and the woman chose the one of me. The husband then went to the car and returned with his camera and photographed me and his wife together. They then left and a little while later I continued on at my slow leisurely pace.
I arrived at the Ogata henro hut about 12:30 having covered about 22km at the same slow leisurely pace. This particular hut was a nice little hut facing the sea and had a boat shaped roof. I stopped in it just to sit and enjoy the view of the sea. After I got going again I stopped often to take photographs of the sea and the beautifully tree lined route through Irino Park which looked really great. After that thoughts about where I was going to sleep started to intrude and I decided to pick up the pace so I could get to the Shimanto River a little sooner than I had planned to. There were several options Hagimori-san had told me about, a rest hut near the Shimanto Bridge, under the bridge itself and a daishido about 700m up river from the bridge. I arrived at the Shimanto River around 15:45 and my plan to pick up supplies from the 3F convenience store was scuppered when I found that like other 3F stores it too was currently undergoing a re-branding and like the others I had seen in the last few days it too would be re-opening as a Lawson on March 20. Thankfully I found a local shop just around the corner and managed to pick up a rice bento, fried tofu and some bread. The reason for stocking up was because there was only one convenience on the long walk to Kongofukuji (#38) and if that one was also undergoing the same transformation as this one it would mean no snacks on the way to Kongofukuji (#38) and possibly no snacks on the return back either. I had stocked up on a further 2 dorayaki earlier in the day making it 3 dorayaki in the emergency cabinet plus a few other snacks just in case.
After surveying the rest hut on the Shimanto River, I decided it didn't really look ideal for camping and the main thing that put me of was the strong gusting wind. The hut was a little exposed so I decided I would not be staying there. If the wind was gusting the way it was across the bridge then it would be gusting just as strongly under the bridge which ruled out that option as a place to stay. I didn't know much about the daishido so the remaining option was to push on for another 9km and make it to Drive-in Suisha and that in the end was what I decided to do. I still had daylight on my side and if I picked up the pace a little I figured I could make it by about 17:30 at the earliest. I kept up a steady tempo and soon arrived at the long Shinizuta Tunnel. The tunnel was 1620m in length and with a footpath, relatively safe from passing traffic. The other good news was that once I got through the tunnel it was just a short walk to Drive-in Suisha. I timed myself through the tunnel and it took me 19 minutes in total. Traffic was heavier than I had experienced last time but this time I could see the end of the tunnel illuminated by daylight. Last time I had arrived in the dark and had no visual target and it had seemed endless.
When I arrived at the place next to the washrooms I found one tent already set up. I thought it might be Kan who I had last seen at the Shishikui ohenro-san. If it was him then I figured he must have returned from Kongofukuji (#38) because I expected him to be about 2 days ahead of me already. I called out his name and out of his tent he emerged. I asked him if he had just returned from Kongofukuji (#38) and he said he had in fact just arrived here. He, like Inoue-san had picked up a leg injury and had slowed down considerably. He had definitely been pushing quite hard ever since I had first met him back at Kikuya Zenkonyado which was on Day 4. After a quick conversation Kan retired back to his tent and I quickly set up my tent and arranged my things inside. It was starting to feel cold but nothing like Tosa Kure 2 days earlier. I ate the bento I had bought from the shop just before the Shimanto Bridge and then got to work on updating my notes. It had turned out to be a really good day today. The weather was a little chilly but it had made walking relatively comfortable. The slow steady pace until early afternoon helped me think more about what I wanted to do most on this journey. The second half up to Drive-in Suisha felt a bit rushed but compared to the leisurely pace early morning and afternoon anything faster would have appeared rushed. The other good news was that I managed to cover 43km today and I done it without too much discomfort. I had, as usual, thought about a lot of things and although I couldn't put my finger on it, there was something about the early part of the day that had made me feel really hopeful.