Sea Turtles in Hiwasa: Temple 23

Ruth: I have it easier than all the other henros on the route. Well, perhaps not the ones in the tour buses. I am sitting in my camp chair at a high viewpoint overlooking  the mountains and the sea, waiting for Gordon to catch up. Lots of time to finish up my painting of a turtle.

We stayed in Hiwasa last night, and although the turtle museum was closed we could still see the beautiful creatures slowly cruising in their outside tanks.  Turtles use the beach at Hiwasa to lay their eggs.  In the summer months, at new moon, the baby turtles make their dangerous journey to the sea. 

The Shikoku 88 temple route is absolutely perfect for bicycles. Especially when you are pacing yourselves alongside walkers. For many years I grieved not being able to walk long distances and wished for the simplicity of a backpack and nothing else. I think it is time to admit I have found a lovely alternative to the grind of hard walking. Seeing our travelling tribe moaning and tending to their feet or knees makes me realize it’s time to put that nostalgia about walking to rest. 

We visited our last temple for a little while. The gap between temple 23 and 24 is 77 kms.. 

Today’s ride snaked along amazing cliffs and coastline. We saw two groups of monkeys (tail-less macaques) along the way. 

I have lost three kilograms!!! 

Thank you Japan Post.

The things we should have left behind: Temples 17-18

Ruth: It’s strange to be on day five and be exactly where we started: in downtown Tokushima. The first 17 temples are in and around Tokushima, so we have slowly been circling around the surrounding foothills. 

It seems important to write something about what not to pack for the Shikoku pilgrimage. My friend Mary told me in advance that I wouldn’t need to bring much at all and I should have listened. The minshukus and ryokans provide you with shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushs and single use toothpaste and towels. Perhaps more importantly, they provide you with your evening wear in the form of a kimono. People head to dinner in these delightful robes making that second outfit completely redundant. In addition, the available washing machines and dryers allow you to wash every stitch of clothing you own each night if you need to. Gord and I brought so much clothing we are doing our first laundry on day 5, but we could have easily made do with a quarter of it. 

There are a few things I am very glad to have packed, however.  My ultra-lightweight camp chair gives me a comfortable seat at the end of the day. The rooms have traditional tatami floors with pillows around a low table. They are elegant, simple rooms, but there are generally no chairs.  I am always careful to set-up my camp chair on a pillow or futon to protect the tatami mats from marks. 

I am also very happy to have my two tiny inflatable camp pillows. The beds are thin futons with much less cushioning than we are used to. One pillow between the knees and another for the head works well for me. Pillows in Japan are often filled with buckwheat hulls.  Many people love them, but I find them a bit too hard. 

The Heart Sutra: Temples 6-11

Ruth: We diligently recite the Heart Sutra at every temple. Our guide book provides the Sutra in phonetic Japanese, but I think I stand a better chance of enlightenment if I at least know what I am saying. Knowing, does not, however, mean understanding. After 11 tries it’s still not clear. 

We brought with us a a recent English translation of the Sutra written by Thich Nat Hanh.  He explains that he wrote it to clear up some of the misunderstandings around an earlier translation. Then he wrote a book to explain his own simplified version. His title for the sutra is “The insight that brings us to the other shore.”  Today’s route did bring us across to the other shore on the opposite side of a broad valley, but it was google maps and not insight that got me there. I guess I have more work to do. 

Ritual is everywhere on Shikoku, from the temple procedures to life in the ryokans (Japanese style inn).  We are learning new rituals every day. I should have packed half the clothes I brought, because each day after our bath we are given kimono robes to lounge in through dinner and into the evening. That nice second outfit I brought stays packed in my bag. 

I don’t think that the path to enlightenment is to be found in coffee.  I bought an iced coffee in a vending machine at temple 11 late this afternoon and now, at 10 pm, I am wide awake.  I will be tired tomorrow, further compromising my ability to grasp the Heart Sutra.. 

First day as Pilgrims: Temples 1-5

Gordon:  We had beautiful weather for our first day on the Shikoku 88 Temple pilgrimage.  We made our way to Temple 1 under our own power, adding about 14 kms to the distance of about 13 kms from Temple 1 to Temple 5.  With 83 more temples to visit our appreciation of them may diminish, but we enjoyed the first five a great deal.  They are tranquil places, with a variety of pavilions, sculptures, ponds, and other features.  

We have decided upon a protocol that sees us ringing a gong, cleansing ourselves at a fountain, taking turns reading stanzas of the heart sutra at the principal temple, and then going to the shop to have our books stamped and calligraphied.  This is quite beautiful to watch, and easily shows why calligraphy is an art form in Japan.

The walks between temples are mostly on small lanes with minimal traffic, although there are also some stretches on paths.  Much of the land is under cultivation, with carrots currently being harvested, and rice being planted.  There are also large areas devoted to pear and apricot orchards.

We were both almost giddy today, and we look forward with eager anticipation to tomorrow’s outing.