Steps: 20.995 (16,0km)
Temples: 88
“お風呂どぞ” (“The bath is ready”). The inn keeper’s greeting, accompanied by a soft knock on our door.
Ahh! I’d been dreaming of hearing those words ever since we started today’s 774 meter climb to the top of Mount Nyotai.
Feet cold and bodies exhausted we happily slid into the steaming hot bath water.… Read more
Steps: 32.270 (22,2km) (+7,5)
Temples: 84 + 85 + 86 + 87
Temple fatigue is a real thing y’all and at some point I think every pilgrim starts to feel like the temples all kind of blend together and start to look alike.
But then there are days like today when you get to temples that really stand … Read more
Steps: 31.051 (28,6km)
Temples: 62 + 63 + 64
Preparing ourselves for a whole day of walking in the rain, we set out the door with the words “The more annoying you find it, the more you have to smile”.
The more we do this, the more I realize how important your mindset is – especially when it rains. A … Read more
Steps: 30.508 (23,4km)
Temples: 46
Today we got up at the ass crack of dawn to descend the mountain and get to rest hut Sakamotoya before the rain set in.
It … almost worked. We still got some rain on the way there, but thanks to Jonas’ ingenious (and slightly inappropriate) new use of the walking stick, our shoes only … Read more
Steps: 36.691 (29,7km)
Temples: 41 + 42 + 43
As any experienced hiker will tell you, walking for extended periods of time alters your bodies relationship to food. Food is no longer just pleasure, calories become a necessity and almost no matter how many of them you consume, it won’t be enough to cover your expenditure.
Jonas is down to … Read more
Steps: close to zero
Temples: None
We are not a on a tight budget for this trip and most days we’re not even close to reaching our daily spending’s limit.
The only times we get close, are rainy days like today, when we are staying put in a big city with eight extra hours on hand and nothing to do … Read more
Steps: 27.272 (21,2km)
Temples: None
We didn’t have long to walk today, but decided to get going early anyway, since the rain was set to start around noon.
We made it to Uwajima without much hassle and went straight to Tenshaen garden, which has been designated by the government as one of the most beautiful places in Japan.
The garden … Read more
Steps: 27.434 (25,8km)
Temples: None
One of my favorite things about Buddhism is the law of karma, which states that everything you put out into the universe, be it good or bad, will come back to you. Some also call it “the law of attraction” or say things like “You reap what you sow”, “where attention goes, energy flows”, “be … Read more
Steps: 28.387 (26,4km)
Temples: 34 + 35
We slept in today, enjoyed the breakfast buffet and dragged our feet just enough that by the time we finally got back to temple 33 to start todays walk, the rain had almost entirely stopped (the previous two hours had seen a downpour of more than 20mm).
Sometimes sleeping in really does pay … Read more
Steps: 27.599 (25,0km)
Temples: 31 + 32 + 33
Today we did a little loop south of the Kochi to temples 31-33, and then took a bus back to the city. Tomorrow we can then take a bus back to temple 33 and continue from there.
Because we had booked an extra night, we were able to leave our backpacks … Read more
