Ruth: There is usually at least one point in every trip where I have to thank my Pocket Earth app for finding me yet another magical alternate route to cycle. This morning, after climbing up to a pass at 720 meters I needed to make a descent that would rejoin...
Gordon: Near the end of a long but beautiful walk / ride we reached Temple 44 yesterday. This means that we have now visited half of the 88 Temples on the pilgrimage. We also passed the halfway mark in the length of our visit to Japan a couple of...
Ruth: It’s not that I don’t like ryokans (traditional Japanese inns), but we have stayed in so many lately that I have been wanting a bit of a change. In addition, we keep passing perfect camping spots. Camping in Japan is quite a treat if you manage to find the right...
Ruth: I can feel that we are getting closer to the edge of the Kochi Prefecture, and with that the end of the period of asceticism and the beginning of enlightenment. Our routes for the past two days have been varied and absolutely beautiful. We have moved from...
Gordon: The Japanese language has incorporated a surprising number of English words. They are generally unrecognizable, however, because Japanese pronunciation splits the consonant combinations with a vowel, adds a vowel at the end, replaces consonants that are...
Gordon: We are currently staying near Temple 38, at the far southwestern point of Shikoku. It is a wild and beautiful area, with substantial distances between temples. The walk from Temple 37 to Temple 38 is 82 kms, the longest stage on the 88 Temple...
Ruth: Each day we pass through a number of tunnels. Two days ago the daily count reached eight! On the downside they are not very scenic, they don’t always have a sidewalk, and they can be quite loud and scary. Based on my limited experience only about 50% of vehicles...
Gordon: Last night, together with two Japanese cyclists, we slept in a small dormitory. The notable aspect of this experience was that we were sleeping in beds for only the third time on the trip. Most of the time we are sleeping on the floor...
Ruth: I’m feeling very grateful tonight. We found a shelter behind a Shinto shrine between Temples 34 and 35. It has a roof, two walls and couches. We asked permission to stay the night and then a local man returned with drinks and grapes for us. We are...
Ruth: On this pilgrimage each of the four prefectures that we pass through offers a different stage in spiritual development. Tokushima Prefecture is the place of spiritual awakening. Kōchi Prefecture is the place of ascetic training, Ehime Prefecture is...
Ruth: Except for our brief excursions up to the mountain temples, we spend much of our time here in Japan within the tsunami inundation zones. At our guest house two nights ago our host explained in Japanese and charades what to do if the alarm sounds. We must leave...
Gordon: Temple 27 is a henro-korogashi temple located near the top of a mountain and accessed by a spur road 3.2 kms in length. Ruth had been advised that the access road was too steep to cycle, so we both left our baggage at our accommodation at the foot...