Japan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ruth: There are moments everyday when I am struck by just how different Japan is from any other country I have visited. It goes beyond ... Read More