Day 3 - Road South to Cape Murato

137.9.0 km; 6hr 4min; (22.6km/h) Temples 20-23

This was an amazing days cycling! Ive never taken so many photos and videos in a day, I could have filmed the whole day and watched it again.

Early start 6am for breakfast, its a wonderful experience to roll the bike out of the temples porch area and walk through the grounds back through the main gate to Tatsueji. Its a chilly start but this does not last long as we're soon on the slopes up to Kakurinji, temple 20. The first 2km are steady, but the final 3km is the real tough part of this climb, I would say 14-15% in places. This section is an out and back road from the the main road and this is a pattern for most of the bigger climbs. This means you can leave your panniers and tent at the bottom of the climb, go visit the temple, then descend back to your luggage and reload. I would be very surprised if you have any problems doing this yourself, I would think it more likely a wild animal might have a sniff at your bags rather than anything be stolen by humans in Japan. If you're concerned, just leave a message marking them as henro luggage to be sure.

Great to get a first view of the distant ocean from Kakurinji, only a few hours away now. Beautiful roads along a wide river in a deep valley on the way to Tairyuji, temple 21. This is the first cable car of the route, theres another one at 66 and 85. Of course you can walk to them all, and its possible to cycle to all the temples as well, but this one and 66 I'll enjoy the lift. Here I buy a one way ticket and take my bike up the cable car, but be warned its a steep descent down the east side and the road is very broken plus sticks, leaves and stones litter the surface.

More great scenery, koinoburi (large carp shaped windsocks, flown around this time for families sons ) flying high above and between houses and rice fields on the route. I head to route 55 which is the road south, it goes all the way from Tokushima to Murato Misaki as far as Kochi. For a main road, its sooo quiet! The distance can really be eaten up on this road, long gradual climbs and the descents just go on forever.
I hadnt planned on cycling much further than Byodoji, temple 22, but I end up teaming up with Junichi san who is trying to cycle around the island in 5 days! Hes one day delayed now because of the heavy rain on Saturday, so its a massive 200km down to Murato Misaki for him today. So with a tail wind from the storm still blowing and help from Junichi san, we make rapid progress along the pacific coastline.

Some nice surf beaches here, I think Uchizuma is one of the best. Not a surf town at all, so if you want to reach the waves here you'll need some transport as I dont see any surf rental shops around. Nice to watch, but no real desire to get into the ocean at this point, the cycling is too good at the moment.

Just route 55 skirting the eastern side of the cape, virtually no traffic, and the sea to our left, powered by Family Mart energy gels it feels great to speed down the coastline southwards.

We arrive at Cape Murato just after 5pm and find a minshuku (B&B) absolutely on the southerly point of the cape, again 6000yen is the cost here. The minshuku has a nice bath, good to get cleaned up then explore the shoreline of the cape.
Later the minshuku owner shows us her 88 temple scroll which is incredibly expensive and we are honoured to be shown the scroll, but I dont understand much else about what she is telling us about it.

Minshuku have sentaku (washing facilities) by the way, so a very useful place to wash and dry all your clothes after the first few days. I recommend this pattern of camping a few nights then use minshuku for washing clothes, better nights sleep every few days and I'll do that again in the future. There are still many coin operated laundries by the side of the road, especially in larger towns, so its no problem to wash clothes.

Day 2 - Spring / a nameless hill / shrouded in mist.

50.0 km; 2hr 14min; (22.4km/h) Temples 13-19

The predicted rain arrived just before midnight, and thankfully my tent is under shelter as the owner of the campsite recommended. Its near typhoon rain, hitting the shelter hard and later the wind picks up to gale force. No way was I going out in that, so its sit around the campsite reading all morning. The rain continued till after midday, and I had given up hope of any cycling this day and was busy packing for a day in the onsen when the rain stopped at 1pm as suddenly as it had started. The best thing about storms like this in Japan is that generally the next few days will be warm and dry, and in fact the great weather lasted the next 12 days.

Kamiyama onsen is still a few hundred meters above sea level, so the ride was all downhill back to temples around Tokushima. Great scenery, clouds clearing away from the mountains and mist rising off the forests, it was a great feeling descending beside the surging rivers.

Temple 13 was crowded and my first experience of the henro bus tours. My greatest fear, this is what could slow the whole pilgrimage right down. Most pilgrims travel by car or bus, but when the bus tours turn up the tour guide takes a sack load of nokyochos/scrolls/clothing to be stamped and signed. Its only at times like this that several monks are enlisted to stamp the seals of the temple, and the only time the peace and tranquility of the temple is more distant.

The road from 17-18 was fantastic - route 203 climbing steadily for 3km over a hill which means you can avoid any heavily developed areas of Tokushima city. More wisteria in bloom, mist really clearing away and the skies becoming bluer by this time. Surprised not to see the sea from the top of this climb and descending the east side, more hills and buildings obscure the not too distant coastline.

Onzanji, Temple 18, was a great setting tooked away up a small hill again in dense forest. Nearly all the temples which are off the flat have many steps leading away from the car/bus parks. I think this is great for the long cycle tourist, it means you get to use other muscles and have many breaks from cycling during the day. The bus henro might not agree - they all tend to be pensioners, so any number of steps leading to temples leaves them out of breath.
At the nokyocho I ask how far it is to temple 19. I worked out it was around 5km away, but the nuns said it was impossible to get there before 5pm (when the temple closes) as it was now 4:40pm. So my first race challenge is on! Across more rice fields, around 38kph and memories of training with Tokyo Cycling Club come flooding back as I keep the pace going and keep looking up for the small red henro signs, or any other signposts pointing the right irection. In fact, Tokushima is so well signposted you really dont need a map. Not so in Kochi ken, but that is later. I could have made a wrong turn at the last section, but my judgment is good and my choice at a junction leads me to the honmon, main gate of the temple.
Just before 5pm I get to the temple grounds and even have to excuse myself from over friendly monk trying his English as I get to the Nokyo to sign my book. Once its done, its a great feeling to relax and fully absorb the setting knowing its the end of the day and its been another great day.

Tatsueji, temple 19 is my first stay at a shukubo (temple lodging). And its a really nice place to stay. Big room, it even has tv, and dinner is vegetarian in a communal area so I meet the others staying at the temple. Only 5 others tonight, 2 are walking and the other 3 travel by car. Also, good to find out that beer and alcohol is not taboo in the shukubo! The cost is 6000yen to stay here, evening meal and breakfast. This temple has an evening service, and Im just too late to attend, so its eat, bathe and relax after a short days cycling, but thats good as there are big hills and a long way to travel the next day.

Day 1 - Journey to Burning Mountain Temple

98.0 km; 4hr 59min; (19.6km/h) Temples 1-12

The night bus from Yokohama to Matsushige was remarkably comfortable, 3 single seats in a row and even enough leg room for me to recline and get a decent nights sleep. Night buses always involve stopping at service stations, but still I arrive on Shikoku island just after 6am and ready to peddle off to temple 1 to start the meguri.

A short 12km peddle to Temple 1, and the first stop is the shops to the front of the temple. All the henro needs are found in this shop including the Henro kasa (straw hat), white robes and the walking stick to symbolize Kobo Daishi. If you haven't bought an English guide to the temples yet, buy one here as you won't find another one until temple 42 as I discovered.
You can buy everything else at almost all the temples, so topping up your incense stick supply or candles or even if you lose your nokyocho (book to collect stamps/seals) its no problem.

I spent a long time trying to decide on which Nokyocho to buy, as I knew this would soon become one of the most treasured items of the pilgrimage. More than a book of stamps, at each temple a monk or nun will stamp the book with the name and mantra of the temple, and then write the same very skilfully with large calligraphy brushes. There are many sizes of nokyocho, all surprisingly at the same price. I went for one with the images of the 88 temples lightly printed on each page, the adjacent page being empty ready for the ink and stamps of each temple.

Be aware that theres another shop inside temple 1 which has a better ambiance so you might prefer to buy your goods here rather than the more supermarket style first shops you see when approaching Ryozenji.

The first few temples are close together, barely 4-5km apart and although unspectacular they are still atmospheric and in good condition.

Dainichiji (Temple 4) is a in an attractive setting and its clear that this is a great time to visit the area. The forest and valleys are lush green and are frequently coloured in purple patches by the flowering wisteria.
At this time of year the rice fields are being irrigated for the first time of the year, if not already flooded. This brings the frogs out as well, they start croaking with glee with the return of the water and the noise although not deafening is as constant as the sound of the cicadas, the sound of hotter more humid times.

I soon make progress to Kirihataji (temple 10) and its very nice to sit and listen to the story of the temple by an old man who seems to be a caretaker of the grounds. Hes sweeping away leaves from the many steps up to the temple area but takes time to write in perfect English the story in my diary. While hes writing, a delivery van descends the very steep hill close to where we are sitting, and over cooks the hairpin bend till hes stuck in the trees. No chance of reversing, the road is too steep. So it takes 5 henros including myself to sit at the back of the truck to put weight on the rear wheels until the driver gets traction and he can navigate the tight bend back down the hill.

I make a big blunder whilst getting my nokyocho stamped and signed by taking a photo without permission. The nun is very old, and she is utterly offended by having her photo taken, I am really embarrassed and delete the photos and can only say sorry. I was really surprised, as there is generally no restrictions on taking photos around any of the temples. So after this point, I make sure I ask permission before taking a photo when people are the subject.

Around these early temples which are tightly packed its far faster travelling by bike than car. This means I keep seeing the same car henros, they are amazed how fast I travel, and even more so at the top of burning mountain temple, number 12 and the second highest temple of the 88 temples.

The route to temple 12 is perhaps the best climb of the meguri. I approached it from Kamiyama so it rises gradually for 5-6km along a large river, but the final 5km average 10%. The road winds up through thick bamboo forest then dense pine dotted with more flowering wisteria and eventually the temple complex after a short walk.

Its really great to relax at the temples and climbing the big mountains to arrive at such scenic locations and seal it with a stamp in the nokyocho makes the ride all the more enjoyable.

Great descent as well, then I make my way to Kamiyama Onsen which has a camp site behind the baths. Onsen are going to feature heavily on the pilgrimage. Not only a bath at the ned of the day, but you can always relax in the rest areas, write a diary and recharge the camera/ipod batteries. Plus they all have great food so you dont need to leave the building till it closes, then its back to the campsite.

Great first day - I had thought the early temples around Tokushima would be a built up area, but it turned out to be very scenic rolling hills and rice fields.

Pilgrim eve

Bags are just about packed, now just waiting to take the bike to Yokohama and get on the night bus to Matsushige, near Tokushima and the start of the Shikoku pilgrimage. The pilgrimage starts in Tokushima as its the closest point on Shikoku to Koya san in Wakayama prefecture. Koya san is the headquarters of the Shingon sect of buddhism and is the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi, and many of the pilgrims (known as o henro) will visit this temple complex before or after the Shikoku 88 temple tour.

Weather looks decent tomorrow, terrible on Saturday but after that its going to be a great temperature for cycling. So lets hope the bike (and me) make it to the island in one piece for an early start tomorrow morning. Little chance of a good nights sleep though, these night buses can be a real pain, but its half the price of the train, and gets me there nice and early instead of wasting half a day.

Here goes...

Final Hanami Ride of 09

The peak of cherry blossom in Tokyo was around Tuesday, 7th April so by now the flowers have all but blown away into the rivers leaving pink river banks in the intertidal regions. You don't have to go too far into the hills to find the blossom again, as its a few degrees cooler further inland, but this will be the final ride in the cherry blossom for this year.

Getting wamer now, the sign above the road at the start of the climb behind Takao san was 23 degrees at 10am, some areas of Tokyo were up to 27 yesterday. Spring is a very brief period indeed in Japan, passing from the snow and ice to hot and humid almost with the 2 week period of the cherry blossom.
For us, it made for a very pleasant day in the sunshine with the cherry blossom gently falling like snow. If it wasn't for the 161km and ascent of Wado Touge, it would have been a very pleasant ride.

The route was the same as my Return to Wado Touge route, plus a very nice extension south of Sagamiko lake. Very quiet roads to the south of the lake, most traffic continues on to Yamanaka ko and towards Fuji san.

With the return of Thomas and Sergey this week, the pace is faster but thats OK as the main section of the ride from Takao station and back is only 75km.

Thinking that would be the toughest part of the day over, we head along the still in bloom Asagawa before linking up with the Tamagawa for the run home, only to find a strong headwind which is going to bring the pace right down again. At least it means its safer cycling through the prams, roller bladers, backwards walkers and toy dogs which are constant obstacles along the riverbank cyclepaths every weekend.

This is my final long ride before the tour starts in 2 weeks, I wont be doing anything like this distance in Shikoku. Nice to relax on a Sunday morning as well, glad I don't have to go out and do another 100km today....

Is it possible?

Is it physically possible to complete the pilgrimage in 2 weeks? I'm now having doubts, having read through more accounts and meeting up with an experienced Henro san in Shibuya last week. Its going to be Golden Week, the busiest time for bus loads of henro. Even if it takes a minimum 10 mins to get the nokyocho signed with calligraphy and stamped, thats still going to be 880 min or 14hrs 40min, even if I find the temples on time!

I think the mileage is doable, but delays locating temples, climbing up to them and general faff, its going to be a tough challenge to complete in 14 days.

Okumasushi Madness

This weeks tour of the mountains north west of Tokyo took involved another train ride out to the start and finish point, Ome, just over half an hour from Tachikawa.
From studying the route using terrain view on Google maps, its very hard to spot any flat in this ride at all. And in fact there was none. Even the supposed "ridge" after the main climb of the day was undulating to say the least.
This week the usual suspects were Alan & Naomi, Dave and Patrick. New faces (at least to me) were Deej on his new bike "Black Thunder" and Brett. On a scale of 1-10, the gears on Deejs new steed go to 11 - I didnt know they went that far, and that means my triple chain ring only gave me a 2 gear advantage on him.
His first ride on the new bike, and he rode out to Ome and back - a massive 228km for the day !!

It was the first day of spring for the bikers, with the arrival of cherry blossom means we can now cycle in shorts without fear of blizzard conditions on the mountain tops.

Too many passes and climbs today, but the big one is called Sadaminetoge. Its a small winding track through great scenery, gradually rising 650m climb over 12km, except the final 2km which must have taken the majority of the ascent. When you start seeing the circles in the concrete road, to prevent ice and such in winter, you know you're on the steepest sections. Couldnt imagine doing this climb in summer.
Descent was fun due to aggressive speed bumps across the road as well as rock slides, but it was possible to weave your way down without hitting them too hard. Although Alan learnt this after the first few, his water going flying after he was launched into the air by one of the bumps. Still, it keeps the roads clear of racing motorbike gangs.
Other than that one, the descents were fantastic, and speeding through the 2km tunnel downhill before the start of the final climb was exhilarating to say the least. I really dont like these long tunnels, its always best to stick to the middle of the road to prevent any vehicles from even thinking about passing on the way down. As it was, we were on the breaks due to the traffic on this occasion.

Anyway, its a tough ride. A long day in the saddle, and good training for whats to come in only 3 weeks time now.