Day 44: Nice Models and Stubborn Dirt

Steps: 25.273 (21,5km)

Temples: 56 + 57 + 58 + 59

It’s been a while since we have seen this many temples in one day. Starting out at Imabari station, temples 56-59 lay equidistant over a 15 kilometer stretch.

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58 is a little higher up than the others and was a joy to visit (I always like the ones where you have to climb a little to get to them – it pays off!)

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On the way down the mountain, we ran into a local photographer. “Oh can I take your picture please?” “Sure!”

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He directed us a little further down to where the old trail began, and took a couple of shots, while murmuring approvingly “nice model”. Then “please, one by one now” he said and proceeded to take a couple shots with only me in them – and then said thank you and left, without taking Jonas’ picture 🤣

After 59, we took the train the rest of the way down to Komatsu, where will will spend three nights – this way we can leave our stuff while going back and forth with the train, because the trail runs right beside the train tracks most of the way.

While waiting for the train, we where talking about the Buddhist notion of happiness and how it all comes down to taking care of your own basic needs to make sure you are feeling good, in order to be able to take care of those around you. Jonas is a natural at that and I am a natural disaster at it (see above picture for reference).

However it becomes painfully obvious on a trip like this, how little you actually need – food, shelter, water (and a toilet) – then you’re good (equally, things can go quickly south when one of those is missing – especially the latter 😅)

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The hotel we are staying at is really nice, and has a free laundry service which we took advantage of to get the last 800km’s worth of filth out of our pants (Appropriately, I think, I choose the program on the machine that google translated as “stubborn dirt” 😂)

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