Day 44: loose your ID card and get a present

Ritsuin Garden Teahouse (photo taken by Corinne Broekman)

Photo taken by Corinne Broekman

Today I had an experience which I must share with you. Usually I show my small German ID card, when I check in a place where I stay overnight. I never use my travel passport for this procedure and there were never any objections. 

When I was at the check-in counter at Royal Hotel Takamatsu yesterday, I - all of sudden - could not find my ID card any longer in my purse. Obviously I had lost the document somewhere, somehow. I was a little angry with myself and already thought about the administration and time which is necessary to get a new one.

This morning I had second thoughts and concluded that the time period in which I could have lost the card was not long and only one day. It was possible that the card was still at the old hotel in Sakaide. So I asked one of the Royal Hotel managers to call there and ask.

When I returned this evening from my walk, the manager was already expecting me with a big smile and said: „we have your ID card“. It was express delivered to my new hotel. But on top of this, it was brought along with a big bag including a present, which I have not opened yet.

This case shows the customer orientation in Japan. It was clearly my fault to not properly taking care for my passport when they returned it back to me with some instructional papers for the hotel. I placed the papers onto a table in the room and the passport was underneath.

The hotel took responsibility for my fault and not only returned the card fast and free of charge, they added a present for their valued guest. I can not imagine, that something like this could happen in my country.

The present I got from my hotel in Sakaide was nicely wrapped

Today I walked 25 km (total: 987 km) and visited T80, T81and T82. The later ones are lying in the mountains, so there were again a lot of ups and downs and totally 730 meters of altitude. The weather was mostly sunny at 22 degrees Celsius.

Kokubunji temple (T80) early in the morning

Walking up the mountains (1)

Walking up the mountains (2)

View from the mountain trail

Shiromineji temple (T81)

Manrin Stone Pagoda and Gejo Stone: sacred ground beyond this point!

Signposts along the Henro Circuit

Background of Negoroji Temple

Ushioni (ox demon) said to have lived here 450 years ago


Negoroiji temple (T82)



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