The buses of ladies were loading up as I exited the lodge. So I took one last opportunity to chat with them. We took some pictures and wished each other well. Man, I envied them.
|
|
| A happy gang of Bus Henro from Nagoya |
Coming down the hill I caught up with the elderly couple from dinner last night. I quickly passed them before getting another lecture on religion. The sky was overcast and the walk to the next inn was quick and uneventful.
I arrived at Minshuku Kinshou around 12:30. My pace was way too quick. When walking alone I tend to walk too fast. This has many drawbacks. It wears my body down, I get a sweat going, and I show up at the inns too early and then have to find some place to hang out until I can checkin. Regardless, the kind owners of the Minshuku Kinshou welcomed me into their kitchen and gave me tea.
My beloved shoes had finally given out. There was a hole in the right sole and I needed to buy new ones. The Kamisan's husband offered to drive me into town to buy new ones. I humbly accepted this generous offer.
I have a wide foot so I often have a hard time finding a wide enough shoe for my foot size. However, the shoe store we went to had a wide selection of 4E shoes. I was still cautious selecting my shoe though. The Kamisan's husband was ribbing me because I had the shoe store owner pull out about 5 different pairs before I found the right one. I chose a pair of new balance walkers. They were about 10000 yen ($100). I whispered to the Kamisan's husband that they were a little expensive. To my embarassment he immediately voiced this to the owner. The owner then knocked a couple of hundred yen off the price. I said OK and paid the man after thanking him for taking care of me.
On the way back to the inn I saw Masashi San walking along the highway. I hadn't seen him since temple 22, but was unable to ask the Kamisan's husband to stop before we were well past him. I just hoped that I would see him later down the road.
Back at the inn with a new pair of shoes I decided to walk up to KonoMineji (T27) and back before dinner. It was about 7km round trip. About 500 meters from the inn I saw two figures walking down from T27. I didn't recognize the one on the left, but I did recognize the one on the right with her hat and gloves. It was my buddy Youko Kumon. We hadn't seen each other since the mountains (again, a few days seems like weeks when you're walking the trail). So after much smiling, joking and bowing she told me that this was her last day and that she would be returning to Hiroshima tomorrow. She then asked where I was staying. I told her the Kinshou. She looked at her schedule and sure enough that's where she was staying too. The fellow she was walking with was visibly agitated at our apparent friendliness and excused himself before Youko San had a chance to introduce us. We bowed to him as he walked off. I pointed her to the inn and continued on my way.
It was a rough walk uphill. I met the woman who was bicycling, Yuka San, at the top. She was very shy but allowed me to take her picture. Seeing her well equipped bike made me wonder what it would be like to ride a bike on the pilgrimage. I then thought it through. It was hard enough for me to negotiate the narrow busy streets and highways of Shikoku on foot. I would be roadkill if I tried it on a bike. Still, the idea was appealing if for no other reason than to have the constant wind in my face.
|
| Brave Henro San from Ehime |
On the way down, I ran into Rob and Satomi on their way up. It was like old home week. They weren't sure where they were staying. I told them they should come to the Kinshou and celebrate Youko's send off. They said they will see what's available at KonoMineji. (Often times a temple will have a bare room available for walking henro who don't mind the sparse accommodations.) We then said our goodbyes and I headed back down the hill.
It had begun to rain in earnest about half-way up the hill. So my feet were soaked along with my poncho by the time I arrived back at Kinshou. The Kamisan was ready for me though. She took all my wet things and hung them up or in my shoes' case stuffed them with newspaper. I thanked her then headed to my room and then the bath.
I still had some time to do laundry before dinner. The Kamisan's husband showed me the laundry machine. It was outside in a carport like area. He gestured to me to be real quiet as we exited. He then held up his right hand with the little finger extended (this gesture implies something of a sexual nature) and pointed towards an open window. It was the window to the bath which happened to be occupied by Youko San and another female henro. I think he was just kidding around, but I gave a loud cough (a signal that I used to give to my sisters when they were in the shower and I had friends over) to be sure that they knew we were out there. The owner slapped me on the arm and gave me a look that said "you're blowing it, man". Regardless, I was relieved to see the window close shortly there after. Not that I'm an angel or anything, it's just that I didn't want anything ruining Youko's last day on the pilgrimage.
The dining area was a cozey nook with a single long table. There were three elderly couples, Youko San, another henro named Miyuki San and myself. The dinner was excellent. The Kamisan told us that all the vegetables, pickles and rice we were eating they had grown themselves. The three couples excused themselves early and returned to their rooms. Out came the beer, shouchu and sake to celebrate Youko's final night. The Kamisan's husband sat next to me and Miyuki San and Youko San sat across from us. Because my wife had called to make the reservation, the Kamisan took it upon herself to act as Hiroko's representative at the Minshuku Kinshou. The Kamisan stood over my left shoulder all evening watching me like a hawk. It wasn't necessary, but I did get a kick out of her constantly asking me questions about Hiroko when she thought I was being a little too friendly with Youko Chan.
|
|
| Miyuki San, myself and Youko Chan | The charming Miss Kumon. |
Rob and Satomi called the inn around 7:PM and asked if they could stay over. The Kamisan said yes because I had told her that they may call. Rob and Satomi showed up around 7:30 and brought their own food. The generous Kamisan couldn't stand watching them eat the store bought chow so she chipped in with some rice, tsukemono and miso soup. And much more for all of us as the evening wore on.
The Kamisan broke the party up around 9:30. She had been a kind and generous hostess. We then went noisely to our rooms with the Kamisan's husband as our chaperone. That was like the blind leading the blind and pretty soon he was laughing and joking with us. The Kamisan herself finally came down and put us in our rooms.
I was staying with another male henro. He was still up when I came in. He was working on his schedule for tomorrow so I joined him with my map book. He told me that he grinds his teeth while sleeping and will get up and go to the restroom at least once in the night. He apologized ahead of time. I also apologized ahead of time for my snoring. We then hit the rack and I was quickly asleep.
About midnight, I heard someone stumbling around in our room's genkan. At first I thought it was my bunky getting up to use the restroom, but when I looked over at his futon he was there sleeping away. After focusing on the shape in our genkan I realized it was the Kamisan's husband. No doubt sent here to make sure everyone was in their own rooms and no hanky-panky was going on. After stumbling over our shoes a couple of more times he finally made it safely out of our room. I then heard him stumbling over Youko and Miyuki's shoes in their genkan. I couldn't help but laugh.
Thought for the day
I got back just as Rob and Satomi were waking up. Of course the Kamisan wouldn't let them eat their store bought breakfast without some hot miso soup and steamed rice. She was so generous to all of us. I highly recommend the Minshuku Kinshou if for no other reason than the generosity and pride of ownership shown by the Kamisan and her amiable husband.
Rob, Satomi and I headed out. We said our goodbyes the the generous owners of the inn. All in all, even though the Kamisan kept trying to maintain an aire of sterness about last night's reverie, I think she actually enjoyed the excitement of our visit. We were a pretty nigiyaka (lively) crew and well behaved for the most part (except when Youko dropped my jisho in her soy sauce).
The morning was muggy with no wind. We plodded along until 11:AM when we stopped into a supermarket to buy our lunches. Fortunately there were tables inside the air conditioned store.
By the time we finished much of the mugginess had burned off and the sun had come out. There was still no wind so is was hot going. At this point I had passed the day's reservation. So I asked Satomi to cancel it for me with her cell phone. She then got rooms for us at a hotel further along.
On the map, the hotel looked right off the highway, which it was. The only problem was there was also a hill in the same spot. So we climbed the switchbacked road to the hotel. It was here that I started to gain a respect for Rob's scouting abilities. He has a real good sense of direction and is observant as well. As opposed to Satomi and I who were constantly walking off in the wrong direction.
The hotel was quite nice with a computer connected to the internet right in the lobby. The only problem was there were no meals. So we had to walk back down the hill and then back up again to have dinner.
After spending 30 minutes deciding which restaurant to eat at we decided on a Korean place. The food was good, hot and reasonably priced. We sat next to a young mother and her 8 year old son. She downed 4 large draft beers while we chatted with her. The boy told us she does this all the time. I said I hope you aren't driving and she said no, she was riding a bicycle.
We headed back up the hill. It was getting dark, but I could just make out the young mother riding off with her son on the back of the bicycle. I watched her for a long way. She seemed to be doing OK. Rob found our way back up the hill in the dark. (a lot of good my flashlight did sitting in my pack in my room.)
Thought for the day
|
|
| Little Harbor as seen from the hotel | Rob, Satomi, little harbor and hotel on the hill |
The day was sunny and windy. This made it perfect for walking. We completed temples 28, 29 & 30. At temple 30 Satomi slammed an elderly woman with a bathroom stall door. Rob overheard it and proceeded to suggest that she did it on purpose. I joined in and before long poor Satomi was defenseless (except for a lame excuse about "faulty" bathroom doors) against our teasing. Between the two, I would have thought Rob to be the psycho, but no, it was Satomi Chan all along.
|
| Satomi shamed by an act of aggression in the ladies room at Temple 30! |
We parted ways again after T30. They went in search of a room at or near the temple and I walked into to town to catch the train to Kochi city.
Ahh, the city. If ever there was a welcome site it was the skyline of Kochi city. The hustle, bustle and hum of a city is like a bug-light to me. I felt like a caveman stepping out of the station in my henro gear while neat and well dressed pedestrians walked by. One such person looked very familiar. It was my fellow henro Masashi San. He was headed back to Saitama the following day. He told me the hotel he was staying at. I said that I would stop by later, but wanted to find my own hotel first.
I found a great place and I highly recommend it. It's the Business Hotel Town Center (map 23, inset B, #20). Clean and modern with a private bath and bed. They also offered a breakfast service. When I first inquired about the room, the woman at the desk said 5000 yen, but then she saw my henro pouch and said for a henro it's 4500 yen. They also had an internet connection that they let me use in the lobby. Honestly, it would be hard to find better and cheaper accomodations in any major city like Kochi.
The city also meant "coffee shop" to me. Not the dark drinking joints that call themselves coffee shops, but an honest to goodness one. I found a quaint little Doutou along a covered street of shops. I got my latte and bagel and settled near a window to write in my journal.
Two young girls came and sat down next to me. They asked if I minded if they smoked. I said "no go ahead". (If smoke bothered me then I would never leave the Seattle area.) Then they asked me where I was from? What my name was? How old I was? Seeing that I wasn't going to get any writing done, I decided to give my attention to them since they were going to take it by force anyway.
I thought it was kind of unusual for two young women to be that talkative to a stranger. So I was keeping an eye on my posessions (what little I had with me). But they turned out to be nice girls. Must have been the novelty of meeting a foreigner. (Although, I'm sure there are many in a city the size of Kochi.) Plus, it's been my experience that most Japanese people see me as approachable or at least non-threatening.
|
| Risa 18, Saori 17 and me 18 + 17 + 8 |
Saori was a 17 year old school girl (notice the sailor outfit) and Risa was an 18 year old hair stylist. She actually asked me if she could practice on me. I told her that I probably don't have enough hair to make it worth her while, but she could trim my beard. She then proceeded to pull on it. Whereupon I gave her her first lesson in beard care and male-female relations by telling her never to tug on a man's beard. She let it go and was very apologetic...especially after seeing the tears in my eyes.
I finished my coffee and said good night to the girls. In spite of the beard pulling, they were truly sweet and I genuinely appreciated their curious and friendly nature. I hope it leads them to happiness in their lives.
I went looking for Masashi San's hotel and couldn't find it. I may have misheard the name. Regardless, after an hour of searching I gave up. Fortunately, I had his email and was able to say goodbye that way.
I decided to duck into a ramen shop for dinner. Again Japanese hospitality. The owner and his wife took an interest in me. She told me that her father was a business man in the 1930's and had spent several years in San Francisco. At that time they had so little money that staying in America was the only way he could feed his family. Even though having him gone for years was a hardship. They both associated Japan's wealth today with losing the war to America. As an American it wouldh't have been proper for me to agree with that statement, so I replied that Japan's wealth is due to Japan's hard work and ingenuity.
After about 2 hours of chit chat my head began to overheat from too much Japanese. So I thanked them for the delicious meal and then returned to my hotel.
Thought for the day
© Copyright 2006 James Knighten