Shikokuchui to Kanonji, 25.1 km
Today it was a Grand Old Duke of York kind of day: we marched to the top of the hill and then we marched down again – although Sam and Max took the cable car down which turned out to be a smart move as the downhill was tough! We did cheat a bit as we were well off the route in the city last night, and our taxi to get us back on track probably delivered us 3 km and 100m or so of vertical that we should have walked.
Unfortunately the effort to get to Unpenji (Temple 66) was somewhat misguided. As with all temples,cit has a very long history, but to look at you’d think that it is a recent history, with lots of polished marble and granite, the inevitable concrete, and shiny new wood. Maybe our least favourite temple to date.
The hill also has a large statue of Bishamonten, guardian deity of the north, so we visited as it has an internal walkway giving a fantastic view. Sadly the atmospheric conditions were not great – lots of afternoon smoke likely caused by the farmers burning their rice stubble.
We crossed into Kagawa prefecture from Ehime, or in the Buddhist tradition, from enlightenment to nirvana. We’re staying in a Airbnb type place and had convenience store dinner, which is a bit shy than what one might expect from achieving nirvana. At the bottom of the hill we visited Temple 67, Daikoji to a pleasant temple complex that exudes the history and tradition missing from the previous temple.
After a couple of big days, tomorrow will be a brief saunter across town. A no hills day!
