Shido to Okuboji (Temple 88) 21.4 km
Not a long day, but certainly challenging towards the end, with a major climb up, then back down to reach the temple. We started in Shido, visiting Shidoji (Temple 86) which is set in something akin to a botanical garden. Very beautiful, but judging by the historic drawings on display it was originally a swamp, and generations of mosquitoes have been trying to reclaim it ever since. We admired, but didn’t linger!
We headed towards the mountains on roads on gradual incline, hoping that we’d gain some of the elevation threatened for the day. Out in the countryside – or what passes for countryside in Japan – was Temple 87, Nagaoji. The buildings were quite special – especially the main temple with its dormer window (not sure if they have lofts in Buddhist temples) but the atmosphere was tainted by the unnecessary parking of cars in front of the temples. The paved parking lot was plenty big enough.
Next stop was the Henro Museum – a bit strange to have it before Temple 88, but we duly paid a visit. All the exhibits were, not surprisingly, in Japanese, but the awesome feature was a large relief map of Shikoku with all the temples, and if you pushed the button beside each photo, the miniature temple on the map would light up. The museum is also where you can get a certificate of completion. As we walked the entire route, we are now considered “Ambassadors”. It’s a honour system, and I suspect there are possibly a few more ambassadors than walkers!
Susan, who’s original plan was to take the bus all the way to Temple 88, decided to join us for the last section. Conveniently the bus stopped at the museum. It was a good decision, as this last section was a highlight of the entire pilgrimage: a steep climb up through the forest, initially on paved roads, which gave way to a steep trail (staircase steep) and finally using your arms to help pull you up the “path”. The view from what the app listed as a “nice view” was actually spectacular!
From the top it was an equally steep descent down to the Temple complex – 756m up, then 300m down. I’m quite sure the temple complex would have been established higher up if they could have found a reliable water source!
Okuboji (Temple 88) is pleasant without being spectacular, but being the last temple on the pilgrimage is generally very busy. We arrived quite late in the day, so the bus tours were long gone and the souvenir kiosks were closed. We all gave the bell an extra hard ring to announce our arrival at the last Temple, did our temple rituals and got the final ‘stamp’ in our books. We also said farewell to Sandra & Robert, a Dutch couple we first met on the climb up to Temple 12 (day 3 of our pilgrimage), and who we’ve crossed paths with many times since then.
Tonight we are fortunate to be staying in a Ryokan near the Temple. There is no town here but I guess I planned this stop far enough in advance to get rooms. Yay…. although after a challenging day a futon rolled out on tatami mats may not provide the comfortable night’s sleep we are craving!
