88 Temples of Shikoku 2023

Koya-san Koya-san On November 28th I visited Mount Koya to formally finish the o-Henro pilgrimage. I had  visited Koya-san a few times before. It is a spiritual location and also visually very appealing. On November 30th Christiane and I were invited by Ikuyo-san and Kenji-san to celebrate my successful finalization of the o-Henro pilgrimage at their house. Ikuyo and Kenji very very supportive during my journey for which I can not thank them enough.  They gave to me a Daruma doll as a present which now stands in our house as one memory of an exciting trip to Japan Ikuyo and Kenji, big supporters of my journey Celebration at Ikuyo and Kenji's house I got a Daruma as a present Ikuyo-san prepared a wonderful buffet for all of us The Daruma doll is standing for good fortune. The eyebrows of the Daruma are formed by cranes and the beard by turtles. Both animals are representing longevity. Personal wishes are written in gold on the Daruma (e.g. accomplishing goals are written on the shou

Today is the first day after finishing the o-Henro pilgrimage trail. It feels strange to sit and write instead of walking. I was number 479 finishing the walk this year: Certificate of successfully finishing o-Henro by walking  I also got a small certificate from the Tokushima tourist center, where only foreigners appear. Most of the foreigners apparently start in Tokushima. Here I was number 34. o-Henro certificate from the Tokushima tourist center About 1200 years ago, the monk Kukai = Kobo Daishi, the founder of the Shingon School of Buddhism, established the o-Henro pilgrimage for two major reasons which were “soul searching” = spirituality and the improvement of health. Kobo Daichi statues can be seen at many places during the trail. This picture below has been taken yesterday at temple T5 Jizoji. Kobo Daichi statue at Jizoji temple (T5) I am not a spiritual person and this has not changed in the last weeks. I am not a believer in any kind of religion, although Buddhism comes clos

Today I walked 29 km (final total: 1062 km) back to T1 Ryozenji, where my o-Henro journey started on September 27th 2023. The day began with heavy rain and cold temperatures at 7 degrees Celsius. About noon time the rain stopped and in the afternoon, when I finished the day some blue sky could be seen and impressive clouds made it finally a good day to end. A good moment and a surprise was, that I meet 2 Japanese  men at Ryozenji again to whom I had an important connection. It were exactly those two men who encouraged and supported me, when I was exhausted and slowly walked up the steep hills to Shosanji on day 3. I walked jointly with them down the hill and saw them later on during the long journey a couple of times. Danjo Masayki and me at Ryozenji (T1) Morimoto Hirokazu and me at T1 An young Austrian couple whom I met also a few times at the end of the tour A rainy start of the day at Horinji Back at Anrakuji temple, were I stayed the first night of my journey Later in the day the c

Today I took the bus up into the mountains to the remaining last temple T88, Okuboji. It was very cold up there (8 degrees Celsius) and I had to use for the first time my warm clothes.  From the temple I walked down from the mountains to Awa city, not too far away from temple 10. Currently it is raining outside and it is expected to do so tomorrow as well, when my way will lead me back to T1. After I have reached T1 the journey is over. Today I walked 21 km (total: 1033km), all downwards, so altitude meters are negligible. Early morning view from hotel Clement in Takamatsu Shop closely before Temple 88 Walking up Okuboji (T88) Entering Okuboji Temple At Okuboji temple site A „dog transporter“ (not unusual in Japan) Walking down from the mountains (1) Walking down from the mountains (2) My sleeping room at…in….

Today there was no rain and a lot of dramatic clouds in the sky. The temperature got considerably colder with 15 degrees Celsius as the highest during the day. I walked 25 km (total: 1012 km) to see temples T84 - T87. Altitude 750 meters. You may get boarded with what I can report from the day: temple, temple temple and views from high up in the mountains. There are differences, but things repeat themselves. The reality is mostly much more impressive than a photo. Tomorrow T88 is certainly a highlight, since then the official tour is finished and I just decline from the mountain to do a reverse walk from T10 to T1. I expect  this part to be interesting feeling wise. Yashimaiji temple (T84) Yashimaiji temple Walking down from Yashimaiji temple View from the mountains over a densely populated area Yakuriji temple (T85) Nagaoji temple (T87) Shidoji temple (T86) had a disappointing temple site which was not properly taken care of. Therefore I have not taken a picture for my memories.

My status as of today: the o-Henro walk is coming rapidly to an end: 5 temples remain to be visited, 2 days to reach temple 88 (end of o-Henro trail), 4 days to be back at temple T1 (where the journey started). Today is the first time that I am not walking on the o-Henro trail at all. It is raining the whole day, sometimes more sometimes less. Certainly it is not a good walking day. I strolled around the town, which I think has the most modern center of all Shikoku cities. The castle of Tokushima is less impressive compared to the other ones I have seen before. This is also due to the fact, that many views are „destroyed“ by higher city buildings at the skyline. Despite of that it is a nice and quite park-like space in the center of a big town. Tokushima castle garden High buildings around the castle grounds „destroy“ the picture Tokushima castle grounds Tokushima castle entrance door Tokushima castle tower