Got up early to get my backpack in order and make any final adjustments. I decided to leave my second pair of shoes in Tokyo with the Mori's. (This turned out to be a mistake near the end of my journey.) Because I'm leaving from Osaka and not my port of arrival Tokyo, the Mori's will ship my suitcase with belongings to the hotel I will be staying at on my final night in Osaka. That's the plan anyway.
The Mori's drove me to the Shinkansen (bullet train) station. I will ride it to Osaka and from there go by bus to Naruto-Nishi on Shikoku Island and thus begin the pilgrimage by foot. Yuki and Haruki have been so kind to me. I wish I had more time to spend with them and the boys. The good news is that they will be visiting us this summer in Gig Harbor. Yuma and I can really raise the roof then.
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| The King and I | Me with Yuuma, Yuki and Kazuki |
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| The handsome Mori family | |
I'm looking out of the Shinkansen as Japan races by. Although we're passing through some rural spots, the landscape for the most part is urban and suburban. It always amazes me that Japan works and works well as a society in spite of it's dense population. Maybe, it works so well because of it??
Well, I exited the Shinkansen with the expectation of a quick trip to the Namba bus station. Ah, ignorance is bliss, but only when you don't know you're being ignorant. In this case, it was obvious from the beginning that I was blowing it.
Here's a quick synopsis as best as I can recall. Exited Shinkansen at Shin-Osaka. Jumped on the JR Kyoto line to the next station Osaka. So far so good. Walked aimlessly around for 15 minutes looking for next train to take. Finally, asked well meaning worker at the JR ticket counter how to get to Namba bus station. Confident that we understood one another I jumped on the Osaka loop line headed for Imamiya station. Here's a great tip to remember if you're not familiar with Japanese trains. Every once in a while a train line will have a stray (mutant if you will) run that heads off into the country instead of going to where it normally does. Such was the case of the train I got on. Fortunately, a father with his two children that I had struck up a conversation with had made the same mistake. So we got off at the next "wrong" station and waited another 15 minutes to catch a train back to a "right" station where we waited another 15 minutes to catch a "right" train so that we picked up where we left off 30 minutes ago. Rolled into Imamiya station, said goodbye to the first of a long line of kind and helpful people I would meet on this trip and transferred to the Kansai Airport line. Exited at JR Namba station. A quick walk to the Namba bus station and all will be well, sweet. An ignorance is bliss moment if ever there was one. Walked a mile or two along an underground concourse/strip mall aptly named "Namba Walk". I was overcome with the nagging suspicion that I'm really lost and may have to start all over again at Shin-Osaka. At this point I remembered the all important words from the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, "Don't Panic" (and not for the last time). So I decided to mosey on over to an information booth to either confirm or deny my suspicions. To my relief, I was informed that I was indeed on the right path and only had to walk another 500 meters and then up 3 floors to the street to find the Namba bus station. In hindsight it doesn't seem that bad, but I can't help thinking that I somehow turned a 15 minute trip into an hour and a half ordeal. Ignorance without the bliss.
The bus ride took about 3 hours and I was dropped off at a point on the expressway that appeared to be the middle of nowhere. After a can of coffee and several aborted starts I found the right path to the first temple. I paid my respects there and headed to the second temple (Gokurakuji) where I would stay my first night.
The second temple was a bustling hub of pilgrims of all types. Walkers like myself, cyclists, motorcyclists, motorists and the smartest group, bus riders. I was quickly singled out as the foreigner who would be staying there tonight.
I was given a private room. This was the case for all but one Inn I stayed at during my trip. I'm not quite sure if this was done to give me privacy or to save the other Japanese pilgrims from having to spend the night with a foreigner. My guess is a little of both. Japanese loath to put anyone in a situation where they might be uncomfortable. I totally respect that, mainly because I snore like a lumberjack and would hate to subject anyone to that (except my wife of course).
After an ofuro (bath) and an excellent dinner, I headed to the gift shop to buy my Henro gear. Based upon Bishop Miyata's excellent book, I narrowed my list down to just those things that were absolutely required. Here is my list
1. Osame-fuda (name slips to be left at each temple and to write your email on to give to other henro)
2. Nokyo-cho (a book that is stamped at each temple. AKA - the trophy)
3. Wagesa & Juzu (Henro sash and prayer beads)
4. Kongo-tsue (a walking stick representing the kobo daishi, your friend and protector throughout the pilgrimage)
5. A little drawstring bag to hold my coin offerings in. (This was given to me as a gift by the friendly woman at the gift shop.)
6. Zuda-bukuro (a shoulder bag meant to provide quick access to a henro's necessities; Also a gift and probably the most valuable piece of gear I received.)
The two most notable items left off were the Oizuru (white henro's robe) and the Henro Kasa (henro umbrella, actually a hat). I dropped the robe because it's cotton. It will rain, it will be hot and muggy and I will sweat. I took special care in making sure that all my garments were synthetic, breathable and quick drying. I didn't want to mess that up by having a cotton shirt over it all that was none of those things. The hat is basically an asian style conical affair that I felt would be more trouble than it's worth to wear, store and carry. In hindsight, both would have been ok and I plan to get them for next year's walk.
Finally I would like to say a bit about Japanese hospitality. There were several times during that day when I was humbled by the generosity of complete strangers. To be sure I'm a world class baby-facer when I need or want something, but that doesn't explain why an 80+ year old woman, bent over from a lifetime of labor, would escort me 500 meters down a dirt path to make sure I had a line of site to a temple (in spite of my pleas that it wasn't necessary) or why the woman at the gift shop gave me osettai and made it her mission to make sure I was outfitted properly. It's a form of generosity that wells from within. My trip was so profoundly affected by it (early and often), that it has become the keystone in my henro experience.
Thought for the day
Woke up to a rousing Buddhist service. The priest was genki (lively & healthy) and throwing out the jokes. Not being a Buddhist nor understanding Japanese well, I didn't get much of it, so I did what I've always done in church. Sit in the back, mimic the guy next to me and hope I don't get singled out. Worked like a charm.
After an excellent breakfast I paid my bill and headed out. It was raining so I slipped my poncho over all. I had struck up an acquaintance with a guy from Tokyo the night before. He appealed to me because he showed up to dinner late, joked non-stop and downed a bottle of Kirin beer. Definitely my kind of henro. So when I saw him outside the temple I suggested we walk together for a while. 500 meters later we were lost. Fortunately, the distance between temples two and three was short and the streets crowded so we were back on track with little delay. (This would not always be the case.)
We were so proud of ourselves for finding the third temple. We chanted, we banged the gong, threw our change and then promptly left without getting our books stamped. After about 2 km, we realized this and back we went, Mutt and Jeff.
Being rookies, we stayed as vigilant as possible the rest of the day. On our behalf, I will say that the streets surrounding the first few temples are narrow and "spidery" making it easy to get lost. They also offered a more intimate look at everyday Japanese life. The new houses next to the ancient homes with their beautiful tiled roofs next to the ramshackle apartments next to the neighborhoods shrines. Small school children eager to say "halo" to a passing foreigner and then giggling like crazy when they get a reply. Old women walking under the strain of their bent frames. Shopkeepers getting their storefronts ready for the business day ahead. Throw on top of this cars, bicycles and other pedestrians and you have a genuine Japanese small town ecosystem.
I also noticed that people at least here in Tokushima walk in the same direction as automobile traffic. As opposed to the Pacific Northwest where we walk towards oncoming traffic so that we can make eye contact with the person whose about to run us over. To be hit from behind is far less confrontational.
My partner was going a little slow, so we parted at temple four promising to see each other tonight at temple seven where we were both staying. Temple 5 (Jizoji) was spectacular. A sprawling complex with well maintained grounds. The big deal was in the main temple were there is a collection of 500 hand carved statues. Each of a different Buddhist saint. These were made by two monks in the 18th century. Another example of Japanese patience and devotion. Of course, the monks probably had a lot of spare time as well.
Got to temple seven (Ju-rakuji) around 1:45pm. A little earlier than I had expected. (This would be my pattern for much of the pilgrimage. A product of conservative scheduling which I will adjust in my next trip.) They allowed me to check-in however.
I'm familiarizing myself with the steps a henro must take at each temple. (These are explained in detail in Bishop Miyata's book.) The rain and poncho have added a layer of difficulty though. I've had to take special care when removing and replacing articles from my pouch. This became easier as my hands became more familiar with the contents. I also decided that the first thing to do when arriving at a temple is to set my tsue (walking stick) in one of the bins designed for it. Then remove my poncho and hat and place them on top of the tsue. (Water has a tendency to run straight off my poncho and into my pouch when I reach for things.) I can then get my tasks done by moving from one covered location to the next with greater mobility. Not to mention that removing the poncho gives me relief from the body heat that builds up inside.
Thought for the day
The stay at Ju-rakuji was ok, but the Kamisan (head lady) was a little too straight-faced for me. She was even so bold as to give me a hard time for not showing up for the morning prayer. I would never have said this, but my thoughts were that as long as I'm paying for the soup I can skip the sermon. (Although, I dutifully attended prayers at the remaining temples I stayed at.)
By this time I had hooked up with a two or three other henro. They were to become my traveling buddies off and on up to Temple 23. I'm not big on natto (fermented soy beans) and raw egg on my rice. This was to become a running joke between us in the coming days. So much so that if one of them visited an Inn before me, the Kamisan would say to me "I heard you didn't like natto and raw egg"!! So much for anonymity.
I would later find out that this day had the most rain of any single day in 27 years in Tokushima. There were tsunami warnings on the coast as well. The wind reaked havoc on my poncho. Blowing it up in the air. I felt like Marilyn Monroe over a subway vent. I ended up tying it off at the waist with the line I brought. This kept everything above the waist dry and everything below soaking wet. I put my camera and mp3 player deep in my backpack. It was too wet to take pictures or listen to music anyway.
Early in the day I met a young henro named Sakae Tachikawa. She was fairly genki and we struck up a partnership as we slogged our way between the temples. She is from Nagoya and spoke no English. That was ok, because the weather had reduced us to grunting anyway.
We were walking through a flood plain. I noticed that all the high-tension towers were up on tall (maybe 5-7 meters) cement platforms to keep them safe. Fortunately, the flooding was not that bad, although Tachikawa San did explain to me that there was a sign on one of the bridges we crossed that warned against it's sudden submersion during typhoon season (Aug-Sep). Seeing that the water was only about a meter below the bridge at the time, we hurried across it.
In spite of the rain, I enjoyed temples eight through 11. Each had it's own beauty. At this point I have given up on doing much of the chanting.
At Fuji-tera (T11) I noticed a little side path that went off into the woods. So while Tachikawa San was praying I decided to check it out. It was the cemetery of the temple. The paths and gravestones were placed between two beautiful waterfalls. The river splits somewhere upstream and then converges again just after the waterfalls. (I wish I had taken a picture of this.) At the apex of one of the waterfalls was a tall rock that jutted 3 meters up from the water. On top was a small shrine. There was a long stone resembling a plank that served as a bridge between the shrine and the shore. Precarious to be sure, but I crossed it anyway. When I looked upstream I saw a beautiful series of cascades that can only be seen from that spot. It was one of those great moments where the environment simply overwhelms your senses. Although I wish I had taken a photo, I doubt that it would have done it justice.
Walking back along the falls I saw something skitter across my path. At first I thought it was a spider (and a big one too). However, on closer inspection I saw that it was a crab!. I had no idea that there were land crabs in this area and that they would be this far into the mountains. I've never seen one before so I picked it up and looked it over. After a while, it stopped it's defensive posture (pinchers raised) and sat down quietly with a look that said "either eat me or let me go already". So I put it down and returned to the temple.
It was a quick 1.5km to the Sakura ryokan (inn). I can not say enough about this place. It's close to Kamojima station (map 005) so there are lots of shops. It's modest storefront is deceiving. It actually goes back and then to the right behind three or four other storefronts. There are narrow halls that zig-zag and go up and down with many hidden stairways. Quite old with more of an evolved than designed look. It could use a makeover as long as it didn't ruin it's charm. Bedding, ofuro and meals were excellent. They even gave us bentos (box lunches) for tomorrow.
Thought for the day
© Copyright 2006 James Knighten