Day 31: Feet Down, Palms Up

Steps: 34.280 (32,6km)

Temples: None

Today was hard for Jonas. 32 kilometers with two giant blisters is no joke. After 10k he was just about ready to quit, and the remaining 20 was a sheer force of will.

I did my best to provide moral and nutritional support (I think we sat a new snack record today), but ultimately, walking through the pain of blisters is as much a battle of the mind as of the body. I guess he’s really getting his monies worth of Kochi’s ascetic training before we cross into Ehime prefecture in a few days …

Todays route backtracked along some of the road we walked on day 29, which meant we got to stop by our new friends for a much needed break with snacks and catch-ups.

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After that, we walked/limped another 15 kilometers along Ichinose River, which is one of several possible henrō roads to temple 39.

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It clearly isn’t the most crowded one though, and we only met one other henrō and 4 cars in the three hours it took us to get to くるうさぎ (black rabbit) guesthouse.

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All of Jonas’ hard work payed of in the end though, because this charming guesthouse is one of the best places we have stayed at so far.

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We have spent all evening eating, chatting and drinking homemade rice wine with our fellow henrōs and the two lovely owners Higashi-san and Kumi-san.

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Kumi-San is a brilliant chef, and her husband, Higashi-san, a charismatic inn keeper with a big smile.

We have also already made plans with our housemate and new friend, Shiowjiuan-san, to meet up later in Tokyo for some of her husbands homemade barbecue.

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As we sat under a cherry tree eating our bento boxes for lunch, there came a gush of wind and a gentle shower of pink petals rained down around us. I was reminded of something my old teacher used to say: “Gifts are always raining down from above – but to catch them, you have to face your palms up”.