Hanging out with locals: Temples 52-58
Ruth: There are relatively few foreigners on the Shikoku pilgrimage route, so we tend to spend our time with the Japanese that we meet. As ... Read More
Another Henro-korogashi: Temples 59 – 62
Gordon: We are spending two nights at a business ryokan near Temple 62. This has permitted us to enjoy an unladen day doing a return ... Read More
Pulling and pushing my bike up to Temple 65.
Ruth: I knew in advance that most of the 350 meter climb up to Temple 65 occurred in the last few steep kilometres. I taped ... Read More
Staying with a Hibakusha: Temples 66 to 69
Gordon: Last night we spent the night at Minshuku Okada, located between Temples 65 and 66. The proprietor, Akira Okada, is in many respects a ... Read More
Life is Henro: Temples 70-83
Ruth: I saw a t-shirt at a temple that simply said “Life is Henro,” and I am beginning to agree. It’s hard not to compare ... Read More
Some Wildlife: Temples 84 to 86
Gordon: Despite its industrialization and massive cities, Japan still has a rich diversity of vegetation harbouring a lot of wildlife. Some of the animals ... Read More
88 Temples on Shikoku: What Next?
The view from the ridge Gord climbed Ruth: Yesterday Gord and I climbed from the seashore to the Temple 88 on the Shikoku pilgrimage. I ... Read More
Beginning, end and beginning: Temple number 1
Description Ryōzenji , temple number one on the Shikoku pilgrimage, is the beginning, end, and now the beginning for us. Unlike all the other pilgrimages ... Read More
Temple 12, Again
Gordon: Temple 12 was unfinished business for Ruth. It is the first significant challenge on the Shikoku pilgrimage, and Ruth had been obsessively strategizing about ... Read More
Meditation or Medication?: Temples 13-19 again
Ruth: I would like to think that the reason I feel calmer and more serene is that my efforts on this pilgrimage are having an ... Read More