Day 10 - Spirited Away fom Matsuyama

129.6 km; 5hr 42min; (22.6km/h) Temples 44-59

A mixed day today, great descents then confused and backtracking followed by great coastline then a time trial finish across the rice fields.

The rising sun is my alarm clock as usual now. I'm going to buy one of those self inflating ground mats before my next tour, they're super comfortable even on a concrete floor and roll up into a tiny space. Thanks Nakata san! Glad not to be feeling any effects from last nights sake session.

Look for my sunglasses everywhere, but not to be found. I cycle about a km then head back to the hotel, look around the car park where I first parked my bike but then give them up as lost. Pretty scratched up anyway, I'm always losing or sitting on sunglasses.

Very nice to visit the mountain temples, such as temple 44 Daihoji, early in the morning while the morning mist still lingers on the mountain tops, it adds to the ambiance of the surroundings. Beyond here there's a small bump in the road, then its descend the 800m we climbed yesterday and travel north towards Matsumoto. Among the best descents here, and even more pleased that its downhill all the way, a feared steep ridge beyond the main road never appears and we are soon down the mountain and on the flat plains again.

The temple bagging goes into full effect today. I somehow miss temple 49, due to it being so close to 48 and 50. NO help from Family Mart or passers by, but now I realise I was asking directions for Ishiteji which is temple 51 so they were pointing me beyond temple 49. What would happen if I missed a temple on the route, would I go back one day just to complete my nokyocho? I'm not sure, but it would always nag me if single temple had been missed. Anyway its a short backtrack so the order is 50, 49, 51.

Ishiteji is among the most memorable temples on Shikoku, and must be one of the highlights of Matsuyama. Large in scale in every way, very impressive pagoda and huge temple lanterns on the hondo. Also one of the biggest incense burners by the hondo, the air is really thick with smoke here.

I stop by Dogo onsen, which is one of the oldest and best-known onsen hot springs in Japan, with a history stretching back over 3,000 years. The main building in the anime movie Spirited Away was modeled on the building. However its Golden Week, and the queues are large. It would take me one hour to get into the baths and as I would only get sweaty again cycling after the bath it doesn't seem worth the wait. Plus there are many temples waiting on my meguri! So instead I eat opposite the onsen and watch the passers by, the rickshaw runners trying to attract business and the various street artists playing to the large tourist presence here.
This would be a great place to end a day on the road, but its midday for me so I head on after refueling with some nice udon.

Temples 52 and 53 are still in the Matsuyama city limits then the urbanity clears up and we have some excellent coastal riding around the north-westerly part of Shikoku. The roads here were much more pleasant than expected - not heavy traffic, views across the inland sea and many sandy beaches beside the road.

Why so many temples around Imabari? I don't know but there's a large cluster of unremarkable temples around this area. I realise that I can get as far as temple 59 before 5pm, and as this would leave me a clear run in the morning to the big ascent to temple 60, the peddles are turning faster between temples as the pace increases.
Its all going well, until temple 58 - Senyuji, as up till this point I had been sailing around these coastal temples at great ease. But the approach to Senyuji suddenly rose, and the road signs still said 2km to go! Not far, but 2km up hill the time really ticks by and then a long hike up from the car park to the temple really turns the plan upside down. I never race around the actual temple area, its always good to relax and treat the temples with respect, but after I've got my nokyocho stamped its a semi-run back down to the bike then follow the henro signs towards temple 59.
No time to look at the maps now, I put all my faith in the henro footpath signs. They have to be the shortest route, and there doesn't seem to be any major obstructions in the journey here, but its a real maze of roads if I miss a sign I'll be lost in the concrete and have to end up spending the night somewhere in the edge of this urban area.
It all goes well, the signs are small but I don't miss one and I make it to 59, Kokubinji before 5pm. I'm not the only henor racing here, there are several other latecomers as I relax and head south to the next onsen marked on the road map.

Theres a large michi no eki not too far south of temple 59 with a great onsen, decent food and a huge area to camp on. I meet some American cycle tourists here, they'd cycled New York to San Francisco last year but over here there route seems less definite. They've cycled over the bridges from the mainland and hope to get to Osaka.

Sunglasses reappear, wrapped up in my tent - this is not the last time I manage to do this. Good thing I didn't buy the 30,000yen Oakleys in the Imabari bike shop earlier!

Day 9 - Buddhas tree and a Rocky Cave

146 km; 6hr 8min; (23.8km/h) Temples 41-45

This was the fastest, longest, highest finish of a stage of my meguri, and certainly one of the most memorable and enjoyable, I couldn't believe it gets better! Also feeling great after a days rest, really appreciate it today.

Earliest start, I'm well into the camping mode now waking at sunrise and packed up and on the road at 5:40am. Already bright and almost immediately remove the rain jacket as its just too warm. More nice coastal scenery early on then we head inland towards the first temple of the day, Ryukoji.

If you're cycling and following the henro foot signs, it sometimes pays off but after Ryukoji the henro path leads me into smaller and smaller streets until the path disappears up a narrow set of steps around a small reservoir. On this occasion it was easy to follow my nose and sure enough there were more roads built around the south of the reservoir. There's always another side road in Japan.

The side road leads me on to temple 42, Butsumokuji. This is the only other temple on the meguri apart from temple 1 that sells the English guide book to the 88 temples, so I buy a copy from the monk in the Nokyo, he speaks fluent English. Also he is the nephew of the author of the book, Taisen Miyata san, so theres a good reason why the book is on sale at this temple. The author is currently at the Koyasan Buddhist temple, 342 East First Street, Los Angeles and his nephew has spent time at the temple in LA as well. So now I finally have some info on the temples! There has been almost nothing in English so far, but thats not surprising at all as we are in Japan. So I advise sorting out your guidebooks before heading out to the island if you can.

The descent down to Ozu after a long tunnel on route 56 is my fastest speed on Shikoku. Mostly straight with wide, sweeping bends. Only 63.7kph due to wind resistance on my city bike, but it feels fast enough for me.

With the Koinoburi flying high in my direction, the strong tail wind takes me quickly into the mountains along fantastic roads rising very gradually up to temple 45, Iwayaji. This is the first temple I arrive at out of order, as by road it makes more sense to visit 45 then 44 on the way down to Matsumoto. You can do the temples in any order you like, and of course it needn't be all in one go. Many people take several years to complete the meguri, breaking the journey up into achievable sections.
One henro I met today has been waiting 20 years to take the pilgrimage. He is perhaps the most common walking henro, retired men who are generally very fit. He worked for NEC and lived in Ghana for a number of years. The other type of henro is the young hippy, not so many of them but they camp out every night of the pilgrimage. The young henro I met today had walked many places including the European pilgrimage of SaintIago de Compostella, from France to northern Spain.

Iwayaji is one of the most memorable temples on Shikoku. Its a long hike from the car park, at least 20-20mins on an attractive forest path which has steep steps in sections and many jizu and buddha statues along the way. The temple name means "rocky cave" due to the temple being set at the foot of a cliff with caves dug out in the soft rock. One cave is around 30m long as has a small shrine at the end.

Tonights accommodation is once again, beside a great onsen - even if its in a large hotel this time. The camp ground is a shelter beside the hotel shared with 4 other henro. However, I can't fully know if these guys (apart from Fukao san, aka Nakata) are permanent henro or just homeless. One has travelled around Shikoku 21 times, by foot, bicycle and motorbike. Some cheap sake appears and I wonder if my head will feel like another 5:40am start the next day, but we all enjoy a good drink and retire to our tents at a good hour.

Day 8 - Rest Day

0 km; 0hr 0min; (0km/h) Temples 0

A big zero on the clock for the day as I decide to rest at this great spot and recharge the legs for the second half of the meguri. The campspot is on route 56, just south of a tunnel and the small Ainan hanto, about 15km south of Uwajima. I recommend this as at least an overnight stop if you are touring the area.

I hadn't planned to take a rest but the first 7 days have gone so well that I'm confident to reach the final temple in 2 weeks. It's always beneficial to take a rest but I also could have continued cycling today if I had been pressed for time. Also I was looking at the weather, and if it looked like a rainy day coming up then that would have been the rest day, but as it was the forecast was perfect for the next 5 days, so lets relax and enjoy the sunshine!

This section of coastline is dotted with small fishing villages and today I get as far as walking around the small bay to the nearest village. Lots of mussel beds here, and the mussels are being brought ashore by the boat load and polished clean in the sheds by many obasan and ojisan.

Very good guard dog here, seems to spot the foreigner from a great distance. Luckily the hound is well chained up.

The rest of the day is sleep, read, onsen and relax.

The totals so far are 7 days of riding, 751km on the clock and 40 temples visited. The distance is over half way, but I still have the worry that trying to visit another 48 temples in Golden Week will not be possible due to crowds of henro and traffic congestion. At this stage, I think Matsuyama will be a true indicator of my progress around the island, and I will know if I need to speed up or just keep going the same comfortable pace I've managed so far.

Day 7 - Sunshine and Seaviews

119.2 km; 5hr 4min; (23.5km/h) Temples 39-40

Yet another perfect day on the road!

Early start for the service at 5:40am. Gaijin friendly couple offer me their rosary beads for the service and show me how to hold them properly between the fingers of both hands, and also point out where we are in reciting the sutras. The sutra is certainly hypnotic especially with the monk chiming the large bell. After the chanting, the head monk gives a long talk in Japanese, which appears to be amusing, but I understand no mor than its about some bloke who walked around Shikoku. So yes, to get the most out of a stay in a Shokubo you'd best understand more than the basic Japanese. But anyone is welcome, and you should stay for the atmosphere as it is certainly very friendly.　

The road north west from Ashizuri Misaki, along the west coast, is tremendous and I'd love to do a few circuits of this section of the ride if I had more time, but it's on to temple 39, Enkoji. Scenic route as any other and with the koinoburi flying in your direction you know you have a good tailwind.

Today seems to have brought the cycle henros out. One over enthusiastic youth is like a slave to the road and pilgrimage, I hope he takes a rest soon. He's carrying everything on his back, including a large trackpump, so I'm guseeing this is his first bike tour.
Another cycling henro is more friendly and we exchange osama fuda. These are the pieces of paper on which you write your name, address and a wish or prayer. You are meant to leave these at every daishido and hondo at all the temples, as a mark that you have visited, but they also seem to be used as business cards between henro.

After visiting the second and final temple of the day, Kanjizaiji, I find a good tourist map of the area at a road service area. These local maps are very useful, and this one leads me to a great camp site by the sea with a fantastic onsen on the opposite side of the road.
Can't get over how convenient it is to have onsen close to camping sites, again I can bathe, drink, eat and watch a bit of TV (mainly for weather reports) and write my diary. After that I head back to the campspot for a few more beers with a friendly retired Danish man and his Filipino "friend", as she was introduced.

Day 6 - South to Cape Ashizuri

116.3 km; 5hr 21min; (21.7km/h) Temples 37-38

Great sunrise this morning over the bay and the pacific ocean, this was a great camp spot and my gamble with the the falling boulder signs at either end of the road payed off. But in this country, falling boulder signs are not to be taken lightly as you would soon find out on any of the disused roads through the mountains. Earthquakes and landslides are common and my tent wouldn't have put up any resistance against rocks falling from above.
The day starts with a 6km climb up 七子峠 and I am guessing it the best time of day to climb up this section of route 56 in light traffic. Again, the climb up is rewarded with a much more gradual descent and I stop for breakfast at a combini with "henro priority" seating outside, I make the most of this with my coffee and pastries.

Only 2 temples today due to the distances in this area of Kochi prefecture. 37, Iwamotoji is the first and is distinctive for its painted ceiling but its otherwise small and I continue on south. I pass through Yokohama tunnel, and the coast appears at the southern end. Back to the ocean after the morning in the hills!

Happen across a pilgrims rest area at a point I need a rest. Beside the rest area a builders/architects temporary shed is in place, they are constructing a henro path from this point onwards. Its here I spot they have internet access and so I manage to ask for 10mins or so to check email etc. I've not seen any or been looking for any internet cafes on the route so far, but you'll find them for sure in any large town. Comic/internet stores are your best bet, and although some people stay over night in these places in Tokyo, I don't think the average henro would spend the night in one.

Cross the Shimanto river which is supposed to be the most beautiful in Japan, but maybe I'm not looking at its best side. I would guess the best region is further up stream, I'm just crossing near the estuary so it looks like many other rivers in Japan.

Up till now I've not been using my iPod touch for music at all, the scenery and finding the next temple has kept my mind busy. I've only used it as a dictionary and for the maps I'd loaded in before leaving Tokyo. I could get the whole way around Shikoku with my preloaded maps, but I've got a 1:50,000 scale road atlas for back up and its better for the overall picture and planning of the next day. Anyway, as theres a distance between the temples and I fancy some music I put on some Stone Roses and and am blissfully riding along that I miss my intended route along the east coast to Cape Ashizuri. Instead I end up with a choice of turning back, or going along the western road which I'll be returning on the next morning, or head over the top. I go for the latter, and its a bad choice. The road rises 450m over 6km, and at the end of the day this is almost too much for my left knee, it really is about to give up. SO much that it coasts up, carried on by my right leg alone. There's no need for this road at all, the route east or west around the coast are in great condition, and this central route doesn't even have a good view point so it is a final painful climb but again the reward of the descent into Ashizuri misaki almost makes up for the pain of the climb.

The temple at the cape, 38 Kongafukuji has a very tropical feel to it with the plants and landscaped lake in the grounds, plus the many turtle figures around the temple grounds.

I stay overnight at the shukubo here, its 5,800yen for the night plus two meals. Staying at the shukubo is a real opportunity to meet the henro and of course everyone will want to know why the foreigner is cycling around Shikoku. It's very difficult with Japanese who don't know a word of English, more luck if they know a few words, but you would definitely get the most out of the tour knowing more than a few basic phrases. As it is, I still don't know much after being here 2 years, but still they will all say 日本語わ上手ですね。But its a lie.

Set the alarm for 5:40am morning service, breakfast 6am!

Day 5 - Views of the Pacific Coast

87.9 km; 4hr 10min; (21.1km/h) Temples 32-36

This was another amazing day on the road. Wake up around 6am from the idyllic camping spot and make the short journey up to temple 32. Another henro is stirring from his shelter below the temple. Generally retired folk will be staying in minshuku and shukubo, but younger henro are camping or sleeping out in the open every night of their pilgrimage. Its very accepted here and as long as you set up camp late and leave early then no one will complain.

The temple of my year, 34, is Tanemaji. Its set amidst the flooded rice fields and I arrive amidst the incense and a very tuneful henro bus crowd. I buy a manga comic of the life of Kobo Daishi at this temple, I know that trying to read this will be a much more challenging adventure for me than cycling around the island and all its temples.

Temple 35, Kiyotakiji is the toughest climb of the day, but as it only rises 200m its not a big one - just steep, and that's after leaving my bags at the bottom of the climb. This temple is really attractive with a large buddha statue and a wide vista of the countryside you've just climbed out of.

After the sweet descent and a stop at Mos Burger (Japanese burger chain, really tasty and I needed the salt) it was south to one of the most attractive regions of Shikoku for me. There is a small peninsula which you arrive by bridge at the eastern end. The bridge is not so old and you used to need a boat to get the short distance across the water and on to 36, Shoryuji. The peninsula is a ridge about 10km long and about 250m in height but with steep cliffs and amazing views over the ocean. Shoryuji, the temple of the green dragon, is a very attractive with its waterfalls, pagodas and steep steps. In fact the aged henros climbing the steps seem to make more noise going up the steps than when they start chanting at the temple.

Very close to this temple is the Meitoku Gijuku International Boarding School. I saw all the signs in English, welcoming all nationalities etc and as I had been without an English guide book to this point I had the idea that they just might have some guide to the 88 temples in English. Why not, they are next door, it is part of the culture of Shikoku and it would help them learn English? Well that was my plan. Instead, I met the deputy headmaster Junichi Yoshida san, and then his nephew the headmaster of this prestigious school and of course its not every day that an Englishman arrives on the doorstep of such a school in the outer regions of Shikoku so I was dutifully shown around the campus. I was invited to talk briefly with all the best English speaking students and they were very impressive. I am sure this is one of the best schools in Japan, they have famouse baseball and sumo stars as their alumnee, but I was struck at how well behaved the children were and how polite they are to their headmaster. World apart form a school in Manchester, and also, what would happen to me if I turned up inside a school in Manchester in tight lycra clothing? Not worth thinking about.
Anyway, I then find out they have a second campus, which today is having an opening day for the new foreign (mainly Chinese) students and I am to sit through this ceremony in the guest seating area. Again, I am struck by how organised the whole procedure is and how precisely each student jumps up and says "hai" when their name is read out. Also I am aware that I am smelling a bit after the days cycling yet the kind teacher who is translating the events to me (perfect English) is pretending not to notice.
Of course all this time I am thinking "but what about temple 37?" but in reality its much nicer to accept the hospitality of the staff and appreciate their efforts. Also I am reminded that Junichi san is trying to teach me about the word en, 縁 I think thats correct, which means fate or the mysterious force that binds two people together. So on this day "en" had brought me to this amazing corner of the world, I am happy with that.

Back up the hairpin bends and onto the ridge, the remainder of the peninsul is a joy to cycle. Definitely one of the best roads on the island.

Soon stop for ramen at a michi no eki (roadside service area) and pick up a tourist map, and more importantly discover theres a great onsen not far away in Kuroshio, Nakatosa town. Its the perfect end to a great days cycling, the onsen is set on a 100m cliff top above the ocean with views over the bay and lighthouse. Perfect temperature as well so its an onsen to spend some time in, but quite pricey for a nights stay so roll down the hill to a road which has been closed for long enough that a good layer of moss has grown on around the verges - perfect for a soft nights camping.

Day 4 - Confused in Kochi

124.7 km; 6hr 18min; (19.7km/h) Temples 24-31

Very clear skies at Cape Murato this morning as they were last night. It was the first time in a long while since I had seen the milky way so clearly, and that was through the window from my room in the minshuku as it was too chilly to go outside. Might not have seen this were it not for Junichi san,in the room next door to mine, being called several times through the night by his office Sumitomo with some system admin type questions - the paper thin walls don't mask the phone ringing at all. He didn't seem bothered about being on call 24hr even on his holiday, laughing at how simple the questions were.
Short & sweet & steep up to temple 24, Hotsu-Misakiji up a raised road full of hairpins which gradually rewarded us with a larger vista over the ocean. Junichi san joined in the pilgrimage to temples 24 & 25 as they are no major diversion from the main road. But he did find that walking to 24 in cycling shoes was more tiring than the ride up the hill, due to the hard cleat road shoes he had on. So at temple 25, Shinsojo, in the very scenic fishing port of Murato, he changed his footwear to trainers as its another temple with a long, long set of steps up from the main gate to the hondo and daishido.

After that, Junichi san set sail off towards Kochi along route 55 once more as I took out and back diversions to temples 26 & 27. At temple 26, Kongōchōji, I give a short interview to a journalist for the Sanyo Shimbun who is himself walking the entire meguri. I am able to answer a few basic questions in Japanese, but at least he seems genuinely happy to have reported a gaijin henro. Don't know if I made the paper, but I make it onto his blog at least.

I give the prize to the steepest road climb of the meguri to temple 27, Konomineji. The sign at the bottom says only 4km, but as its over 400m and we're starting from sea level, plus the first section is a easy rise through some terraced rice fields, its only going to get steeper. The hairpin bends at the top just below the car park bring back memories of Hardnot and Wrynose pass in the lake district, but with much tighter hairpins. Still I've a triple chainring and it gets up anything even if it quite slowly. The relief at arriving at temples on mountain tops always means you can appreciate the grounds and setting more, and its nice to relax and have a walk, pay your respects and the stamp in the nokyocho feels well earned.

Feels like a longish ride along the coast to temple 28, might be the fair headwind but the warm conditions make it enjoyable. Some sections along route 55 have a decent cyclepath which is appreciated as the road is getting busier towards Kochi city.

For some reason reason I have the mistaken belief that I can get to temple 34 at this point and stay at an onsen nearby. Its clear at this point, on the outskirts of the city that temple signage in Kochi ken is far from the comprehensive signage of Tokushima ken. I make a small U turn on the way to 29 after missing a junction but not a major error. Its clear on the way to 30 which I completely understimated the distance to, that the target end point for the day will need to be reduced. I think its due to the scale in my road atlas changing between pages.

In the end, after cycling off road through the paddy fields, I arrive not lost or off course, just bewildered at the distance and time it took to get there. Also here I visit the adjacent shinto shrine which is huge and mighty impressive. Its quite refreshing to see the different architecture in the buildings here. Its clear that nobody is around, all the pilgrims are at the Zenrakuji which is very small and unremarkable. Its a bug business being on the henro circuit, and almost feels a shame that the shops of the shinto shrine here are deserted.

31, Chikurunji temple with its large 5 storied pagoda is on a hill with panoramic views of Kochi city, and so is an impressive temple to end the day.

So after temples close at 5pm, its very tempting to cycle as close to the next temple as possible in order to maximise the next days henro time. No minshuku or shukubo here, but find a fantastic spot just 400m below temple 32 with views towards the ocean. Tonights meal is just down the hill in an izakaya, soba and beer is enough to fill me up. Chef is utterly amazed that a foreigner has arrived in his establishment. As I am seated by the serving counter, he sits the other side and unnervingly watches me eat and write my diary.

Time to buy breakfast from close Lawson on the other side of the lake, and its back to tonights campsite for a good nights sleep, made easier by the soft sandy base and the warmer conditions.

The lesson of the day is to take each temple as it comes, and enjoy the moment at each temple without thinking about the one 5 down the road.