Like yesterday I woke up early again and when I looked at the time it was 02:30. The tsuyado was surprisingly good but it had been a very very cold night. We were all up quite early and Toyoshima-san was the first to leave at 05:30 with Das and I not too far behind. It was still not light and it felt bitterly cold. Our first stop, was the Lawson a short 2.5km away. We stopped for about 30 minutes to pick up a little breakfast and also to stock up on some supplies for the rest of the day since there were not going to be any shops between the temples and possibly non near the zenkonyado after Byodoji (#22).
By the time we left the Lawson the sun was up and it looked like it would be a nice sunny day ahead. There was still the biting cold however, and looking at an overhead electronic road sign sign, it showed the temperature to be a lowly 4C. It felt fine walking along but as soon as you stopped you really felt the chill. From the Lawson it was a a 4km walk along the road before turning of, passing through a very nice little part of Katsuura Town before leaving the homes behind and heading up onto a very steep trail. I needed to stop and remove a few of the extra layers I was wearing and as I was doing this Nobuhisa joined us too. It was really great to see him again. Nobuhisa was still suffering from severe problems with his feet but he had been soldiering on and making slow but steady progress. Unlike Das and I, he had continued walking even on the rainy day when the pair of us were enjoying a rest day at Sakae Taxis. With our updates on the past few days shared we continued on up.
We had not gone very far when we came upon a ohenro hut. It was not one I had seen the last time I had walked this way but I had seen some photographs others had posted online. The most striking feature about it was that it had a thatched roof. It looked like a great place to stay for those who were planning to sleep out. It was just a short way up the trail after passing the final few homes and it was reasonably well enclosed. There was an opening at the front and the the back but on either side it had wide benches with walls that extended all the way to the top. The benches looked perfect for setting out your sleeping mat, sleeping bag and there was room for all your other things too. There was a port-a-loo to the side and from it's vantage point overlooking the town it would also have afforded a very nice sunset and sunrise view. If I had known about it's exact location and how suitable it was for sleeping out then it would definitely have been a good option. I was happy however that I had stopped at the tsuyado last night because it would have been an extremely cold place to sleep out. In warmer weather it would be a very nice place to stop being just 3km short of Kakurinji (#20).
As we continued on we spread out along the wooded mountain trail and I was the first to arrive at Kakurinji (#20). Kakurinji (#20) was easily one of my favourite temples and what I liked most about it was the huge Jizo Bosatsu statue next to the main hall. The main hall was at the top of a long flight of steps so I slowly trudged to the very top and set my pack down. There was only one sole pilgrim going through her prayer ritual. I got myself ready and went through my own prayer ritual. I then took my time to take a few photographs. In front of the main hall were statues of two large cranes representing the two white cranes that Kukai had seen protecting a small statue of Jizo Bosatsu. I couldn't find an angle I liked so I focused my attention on photographing the large statue of Jizo Bosatsu. There were many like it but for some reason I just liked this one the most.
I was also keeping an eye out for Das and Nobuhisa because I thought it would be good to photograph then as they came up the long flight of steps. The first person I actually recognised coming up the the long flight of steps was Toyoshima-san and he struck a pose for me so I could snap a few photographs. Next to appear was Das and after taking a few of her I headed back down myself. Nobuhisa had also arrived but was sitting down nursing his feet. I set my pack down close to him and went and prayed at the daishi hall and then returned after getting my book stamped. Nobuhisa's feet were severely blistered underneath and it must have been incredibly painful to walk carrying the sizeable pack he had. I had picked up some thick cushioned plasters in the event that I got blisters but thus far I had not had to make use of them. I had given some to Das and I now gave some to Nobuhisa too. I had suffered from terrible blistering around my heels the first time and the main change I had made this time was to wear a good sturdy pair of hiking boots coupled with toe socks and the new pair I had picked up a day or so ago were proving to have been a good buy.
Das, Nobuhisa and I all set of down from Kakurinji (#20) and then continued on to Tairyuji (#21). We all soon split up again, each walking at our own pace. I wasn't walking particular fast but I was somewhere out in front. The trail going down was not particularly difficult and I soon lost myself in my own little world. Just before joining Route 19 I passed between a cluster of homes and was greeted by 3 young girls probably ranging in age from about 6 to 11. Their simple greetings in English, were so friendly and enthusiastic that I stopped to give them some candy. The eldest had the best English and asked me my name, where I was from and so on. I told them my American friend Das was also coming and they should greet her using her name. I then left and continued the short distance onto Route 19 and stopped very briefly at the rest hut because the 3 of them came running up behind to ask me something else. They lived in what seemed a very isolated spot and encounters with passing pilgrims was probably a nice break from their usual fun and games and no doubt nice for those who met them too. I gave each of them a photograph before waving goodbye and continuing on.
I was soon at the start of the Oicho Bridge across the Nakagawa River and I decided to stop for a quick break and have a snack before heading on. As I sat there I was joined by a woman pilgrim and like Toyoshima-san she also turned out to be a sendatsu or ohenro guide too. I told her about Toyoshima-san and she knew about him. After our brief chat I asked her to choose a photograph she liked and after looking through the photograph she picked one that she seemed to really liked. In return she gave me a small hexagonal shaped ohenro trail marker. This particular trail marker was not one I remembered from my first pilgrimage but it was one I liked very much and she was the person responsible for designing it and for placing it out on the trail. I told her it was great and she then turned round to show the back of her white ohenro jacket. Mine had Kukai's sacred mantra running down the middle but her's included a large print of a seated Kukai and she told me she had designed that herself too. It looked really great so I asked her to pose for me so I could take a few photographs. With that done I got my things together and continued on my way.
I crossed the bridge and then passed through a very small isolated community next to the Wakasugitani River. Life here couldn't have been more different from the lives of the people back in Tokyo or any other city big or small. I came across one elderly woman and heard the voices of others as I passed along. Apart from circumstances I wondered why people chose to live in such isolation. In this particular case it looked like it may have once been a thriving little community but changing circumstances had created what now seemed isolation. Maybe what seemed like isolation to me was not an isolation for them at all. It was a beautiful little place surrounded by tall trees and a river flowing in the small valley floor below. I soon passed through and it wasn't long before I started to to head back up onto the ascending mountain trail towards Tairyuji (#21). The trail was made up of sharp switch backs and seemed to continue up and up. Just before arriving at Tairyuji (#21) I left the mountain trail and made my way slowly up a very very steep stretch of asphalt leading all the way to the main gate. It had been a tough hike and I was glad I had finally made it.
The main gate at Tairyuji (#21) is really eye catching and I stopped briefly to take a few photographs before heading inside. The last time I had been here a severe storm a few weeks earlier had resulted in a tree falling onto and damaging the main prayer hall and it had been impossible to pray there. There had been a makeshift prayer tent that had been set up to allow people to pray. This time there was no such problem and after finishing at the main hall I headed for the daishi hall which I cleared remembered because of some beautiful hanging lanterns outside. Having finished my prayer rituals and I got my book stamped and I looked around to see if Das and Nobuhisa had made it. There was no sign of Nobuhisa but I spotted Das heading for the main hall so I went over and told her I would continue on down and try to make it to Byodoji (#22) and failing that, I would probably catch up with her again at Kikuya Zenkonyado, the place where we were both planning to stop.
It had been really cold while I was going through my prayer rituals at Tairyuji (#21) so I was actually glad to be making my way back down again. I came back down at a fairly good tempo. I stopped briefly next to the only two minshuku near to Tairyuji (#21) and then continued all the way to the ohenro hut just before the start of the wooded trail leading to Byodoji (#22). Being there reminded of the first pilgrimage, Takuya and I had arrived in the dark at this particular hut and it was difficult to see anything around it. It didn't offer a great deal of protection from the elements but it was right opposite someone's home so not as isolated as I thought it was. There was the small Wajiki michi-no-eki up the road and a gas station nearby but other than that nothing.
It was 5.3km to Byodoji (#22) and the time was 15:40. If I pushed a little I could easily cover the ground but I had no idea how easy or difficult it was and the fact that the zenkonyado was not too far away meant it wasn't really that urgent whether I made it to the temple in time for my stamp or not. The cause however of my mental procrastinations over whether to try and get to Byodoji (#22) or not, seemed to do more with the thoughts of wild boars that had suddenly popped into my head. By the time I decided to move I felt I had a good case for opting for the slightly longer wild boar free route along the road towards Byodoji (#22). The real reason of course was the highly unlikely chance of an encounter with any wild boars and my prayers yesterday for added courage had obviously yet to be answered.
The mountain top chill was now gone so I made my way gently along the road and even before I got to Byodoji (#22) I detoured away towards Kikuya Zenkonyado. The zenkonyado was provided by the owners of a large general purpose shop called Kikuya which was just a short distance from the zenkonyado. I went directly to the shop and found myself talking to Toshiko-san and her husband. She was just as I had imagined from the accounts I had read about her. In fact the pair of them were really fun and engaging. She told me that a Spanish and a Korean pilgrim were both going to stay but they had left to go to a Lawson convenience store located about 2km away. After getting permission to stay I told her that there was also an American woman Das on her way too and would it be OK if she stayed too. I ended up chatting to her and her husband for a while and they ended up with 4 photographs which her husband arrayed on a shelf just behind the cash register.
To stay at the zenkonyado all I had to do was a bit of light work but before that Toshiko-san accompanied me to the zenkonyado to drop of my pack. When we got there Das and a young Japanese woman, Shiori had just turned up. Toshiko-san spoke to Shiori and gave her her task and then told Das and me to follow her. We went around the side of the shop and continued into the front garden of what turned out to be Toshiko-san's house. My job was to pull up some weeds in the drive way and Das was to pull up some weeds on the lawn. There was really very little to do and the pair of us were all done in about 15 or 20 minutes. Toshiko-san returned to take a quick look and told us everything looked good and with that we both returned to the zenkonyado.
In total there were going to be 5 of us staying in the zenkonyado and a more international bunch you were not going to find because there was Nico from Spain, Kan from South Korea, Das form the US, Shiori from Hokkaido, Japan and of course me from England but resident in Japan. There was a really nice atmosphere that evening with five very different people with five very different backgrounds. Over dinner, which turned out to be mostly snacks I asked Nico, Kan and Shiori to choose a photograph they liked and then shared whatever information I had about free or cheap places to stay. There was a coin operated shower at the back of the zenkonyado so each of us took our turn for a quick 5 minute 100 yen hot shower. Das, Shiori and myself then headed out to a nearby coin laundry and with the laundry done we all returned to the zenkonyado and settled down for the evening. Talk was mostly about the weather and after two days of good weather the forecast was for more rain tomorrow and we would have to wait until the morning to find out how wet it would be. There was plenty of space and bedding for everyone. Kan, Nico and myself laid out our bedding on one side of the room and Das and Shiori did the same on the other.
As was my habit now, I got into my sleeping bag and started updating my notes for the day. It had been another long day and quite a tough day too. The climbs up and down to Kakurinji (#20) and Tairyuji (#21) had been pretty tough going and much harder than I had expected. My legs and shoulders had endured a really good workout. On the positive side though, my feet were still holding up well and there were no other issues affecting my progress. From tomorrow onwards it would be the start of relatively long flat stretches. Shonsanji (#12), Kakurinji (#20), Tairyuji (#21), Yokomineji (#60) and Unpenji (#66) were the five hardest to access but with three of them already out of the way, the next two were several weeks away and by the time we got there, we would hopefully all be in much better physical condition.
With my notes updated it wasn't long before I was fast asleep. It had been another wonderful day.
Like yesterday I woke up early again and when I looked at the time it was 02:30. The tsuyado was surprisingly good but it had been a very very cold night. We were all up quite early and Toyoshima-san was the first to leave at 05:30 with Das and I not too far behind. It was still not light and it felt bitterly cold. Our first stop, was the Lawson a short 2.5km away. We stopped for about 30 minutes to pick up a little breakfast and also to stock up on some supplies for the rest of the day since there were not going to be any shops between the temples and possibly non near the zenkonyado after Byodoji (#22).
By the time we left the Lawson the sun was up and it looked like it would be a nice sunny day ahead. There was still the biting cold however, and looking at an overhead electronic road sign sign, it showed the temperature to be a lowly 4C. It felt fine walking along but as soon as you stopped you really felt the chill. From the Lawson it was a a 4km walk along the road before turning of, passing through a very nice little part of Katsuura Town before leaving the homes behind and heading up onto a very steep trail. I needed to stop and remove a few of the extra layers I was wearing and as I was doing this Nobuhisa joined us too. It was really great to see him again. Nobuhisa was still suffering from severe problems with his feet but he had been soldiering on and making slow but steady progress. Unlike Das and I, he had continued walking even on the rainy day when the pair of us were enjoying a rest day at Sakae Taxis. With our updates on the past few days shared we continued on up.
We had not gone very far when we came upon a ohenro hut. It was not one I had seen the last time I had walked this way but I had seen some photographs others had posted online. The most striking feature about it was that it had a thatched roof. It looked like a great place to stay for those who were planning to sleep out. It was just a short way up the trail after passing the final few homes and it was reasonably well enclosed. There was an opening at the front and the the back but on either side it had wide benches with walls that extended all the way to the top. The benches looked perfect for setting out your sleeping mat, sleeping bag and there was room for all your other things too. There was a port-a-loo to the side and from it's vantage point overlooking the town it would also have afforded a very nice sunset and sunrise view. If I had known about it's exact location and how suitable it was for sleeping out then it would definitely have been a good option. I was happy however that I had stopped at the tsuyado last night because it would have been an extremely cold place to sleep out. In warmer weather it would be a very nice place to stop being just 3km short of Kakurinji (#20).
As we continued on we spread out along the wooded mountain trail and I was the first to arrive at Kakurinji (#20). Kakurinji (#20) was easily one of my favourite temples and what I liked most about it was the huge Jizo Bosatsu statue next to the main hall. The main hall was at the top of a long flight of steps so I slowly trudged to the very top and set my pack down. There was only one sole pilgrim going through her prayer ritual. I got myself ready and went through my own prayer ritual. I then took my time to take a few photographs. In front of the main hall were statues of two large cranes representing the two white cranes that Kukai had seen protecting a small statue of Jizo Bosatsu. I couldn't find an angle I liked so I focused my attention on photographing the large statue of Jizo Bosatsu. There were many like it but for some reason I just liked this one the most.
I was also keeping an eye out for Das and Nobuhisa because I thought it would be good to photograph then as they came up the long flight of steps. The first person I actually recognised coming up the the long flight of steps was Toyoshima-san and he struck a pose for me so I could snap a few photographs. Next to appear was Das and after taking a few of her I headed back down myself. Nobuhisa had also arrived but was sitting down nursing his feet. I set my pack down close to him and went and prayed at the daishi hall and then returned after getting my book stamped. Nobuhisa's feet were severely blistered underneath and it must have been incredibly painful to walk carrying the sizeable pack he had. I had picked up some thick cushioned plasters in the event that I got blisters but thus far I had not had to make use of them. I had given some to Das and I now gave some to Nobuhisa too. I had suffered from terrible blistering around my heels the first time and the main change I had made this time was to wear a good sturdy pair of hiking boots coupled with toe socks and the new pair I had picked up a day or so ago were proving to have been a good buy.
Das, Nobuhisa and I all set of down from Kakurinji (#20) and then continued on to Tairyuji (#21). We all soon split up again, each walking at our own pace. I wasn't walking particular fast but I was somewhere out in front. The trail going down was not particularly difficult and I soon lost myself in my own little world. Just before joining Route 19 I passed between a cluster of homes and was greeted by 3 young girls probably ranging in age from about 6 to 11. Their simple greetings in English, were so friendly and enthusiastic that I stopped to give them some candy. The eldest had the best English and asked me my name, where I was from and so on. I told them my American friend Das was also coming and they should greet her using her name. I then left and continued the short distance onto Route 19 and stopped very briefly at the rest hut because the 3 of them came running up behind to ask me something else. They lived in what seemed a very isolated spot and encounters with passing pilgrims was probably a nice break from their usual fun and games and no doubt nice for those who met them too. I gave each of them a photograph before waving goodbye and continuing on.
I was soon at the start of the Oicho Bridge across the Nakagawa River and I decided to stop for a quick break and have a snack before heading on. As I sat there I was joined by a woman pilgrim and like Toyoshima-san she also turned out to be a sendatsu or ohenro guide too. I told her about Toyoshima-san and she knew about him. After our brief chat I asked her to choose a photograph she liked and after looking through the photograph she picked one that she seemed to really liked. In return she gave me a small hexagonal shaped ohenro trail marker. This particular trail marker was not one I remembered from my first pilgrimage but it was one I liked very much and she was the person responsible for designing it and for placing it out on the trail. I told her it was great and she then turned round to show the back of her white ohenro jacket. Mine had Kukai's sacred mantra running down the middle but her's included a large print of a seated Kukai and she told me she had designed that herself too. It looked really great so I asked her to pose for me so I could take a few photographs. With that done I got my things together and continued on my way.
I crossed the bridge and then passed through a very small isolated community next to the Wakasugitani River. Life here couldn't have been more different from the lives of the people back in Tokyo or any other city big or small. I came across one elderly woman and heard the voices of others as I passed along. Apart from circumstances I wondered why people chose to live in such isolation. In this particular case it looked like it may have once been a thriving little community but changing circumstances had created what now seemed isolation. Maybe what seemed like isolation to me was not an isolation for them at all. It was a beautiful little place surrounded by tall trees and a river flowing in the small valley floor below. I soon passed through and it wasn't long before I started to to head back up onto the ascending mountain trail towards Tairyuji (#21). The trail was made up of sharp switch backs and seemed to continue up and up. Just before arriving at Tairyuji (#21) I left the mountain trail and made my way slowly up a very very steep stretch of asphalt leading all the way to the main gate. It had been a tough hike and I was glad I had finally made it.
The main gate at Tairyuji (#21) is really eye catching and I stopped briefly to take a few photographs before heading inside. The last time I had been here a severe storm a few weeks earlier had resulted in a tree falling onto and damaging the main prayer hall and it had been impossible to pray there. There had been a makeshift prayer tent that had been set up to allow people to pray. This time there was no such problem and after finishing at the main hall I headed for the daishi hall which I cleared remembered because of some beautiful hanging lanterns outside. Having finished my prayer rituals and I got my book stamped and I looked around to see if Das and Nobuhisa had made it. There was no sign of Nobuhisa but I spotted Das heading for the main hall so I went over and told her I would continue on down and try to make it to Byodoji (#22) and failing that, I would probably catch up with her again at Kikuya Zenkonyado, the place where we were both planning to stop.
It had been really cold while I was going through my prayer rituals at Tairyuji (#21) so I was actually glad to be making my way back down again. I came back down at a fairly good tempo. I stopped briefly next to the only two minshuku near to Tairyuji (#21) and then continued all the way to the ohenro hut just before the start of the wooded trail leading to Byodoji (#22). Being there reminded of the first pilgrimage, Takuya and I had arrived in the dark at this particular hut and it was difficult to see anything around it. It didn't offer a great deal of protection from the elements but it was right opposite someone's home so not as isolated as I thought it was. There was the small Wajiki michi-no-eki up the road and a gas station nearby but other than that nothing.
It was 5.3km to Byodoji (#22) and the time was 15:40. If I pushed a little I could easily cover the ground but I had no idea how easy or difficult it was and the fact that the zenkonyado was not too far away meant it wasn't really that urgent whether I made it to the temple in time for my stamp or not. The cause however of my mental procrastinations over whether to try and get to Byodoji (#22) or not, seemed to do more with the thoughts of wild boars that had suddenly popped into my head. By the time I decided to move I felt I had a good case for opting for the slightly longer wild boar free route along the road towards Byodoji (#22). The real reason of course was the highly unlikely chance of an encounter with any wild boars and my prayers yesterday for added courage had obviously yet to be answered.
The mountain top chill was now gone so I made my way gently along the road and even before I got to Byodoji (#22) I detoured away towards Kikuya Zenkonyado. The zenkonyado was provided by the owners of a large general purpose shop called Kikuya which was just a short distance from the zenkonyado. I went directly to the shop and found myself talking to Toshiko-san and her husband. She was just as I had imagined from the accounts I had read about her. In fact the pair of them were really fun and engaging. She told me that a Spanish and a Korean pilgrim were both going to stay but they had left to go to a Lawson convenience store located about 2km away. After getting permission to stay I told her that there was also an American woman Das on her way too and would it be OK if she stayed too. I ended up chatting to her and her husband for a while and they ended up with 4 photographs which her husband arrayed on a shelf just behind the cash register.
To stay at the zenkonyado all I had to do was a bit of light work but before that Toshiko-san accompanied me to the zenkonyado to drop of my pack. When we got there Das and a young Japanese woman, Shiori had just turned up. Toshiko-san spoke to Shiori and gave her her task and then told Das and me to follow her. We went around the side of the shop and continued into the front garden of what turned out to be Toshiko-san's house. My job was to pull up some weeds in the drive way and Das was to pull up some weeds on the lawn. There was really very little to do and the pair of us were all done in about 15 or 20 minutes. Toshiko-san returned to take a quick look and told us everything looked good and with that we both returned to the zenkonyado.
In total there were going to be 5 of us staying in the zenkonyado and a more international bunch you were not going to find because there was Nico from Spain, Kan from South Korea, Das form the US, Shiori from Hokkaido, Japan and of course me from England but resident in Japan. There was a really nice atmosphere that evening with five very different people with five very different backgrounds. Over dinner, which turned out to be mostly snacks I asked Nico, Kan and Shiori to choose a photograph they liked and then shared whatever information I had about free or cheap places to stay. There was a coin operated shower at the back of the zenkonyado so each of us took our turn for a quick 5 minute 100 yen hot shower. Das, Shiori and myself then headed out to a nearby coin laundry and with the laundry done we all returned to the zenkonyado and settled down for the evening. Talk was mostly about the weather and after two days of good weather the forecast was for more rain tomorrow and we would have to wait until the morning to find out how wet it would be. There was plenty of space and bedding for everyone. Kan, Nico and myself laid out our bedding on one side of the room and Das and Shiori did the same on the other.
As was my habit now, I got into my sleeping bag and started updating my notes for the day. It had been another long day and quite a tough day too. The climbs up and down to Kakurinji (#20) and Tairyuji (#21) had been pretty tough going and much harder than I had expected. My legs and shoulders had endured a really good workout. On the positive side though, my feet were still holding up well and there were no other issues affecting my progress. From tomorrow onwards it would be the start of relatively long flat stretches. Shonsanji (#12), Kakurinji (#20), Tairyuji (#21), Yokomineji (#60) and Unpenji (#66) were the five hardest to access but with three of them already out of the way, the next two were several weeks away and by the time we got there, we would hopefully all be in much better physical condition.
With my notes updated it wasn't long before I was fast asleep. It had been another wonderful day.