The day was not too bad weather wise. I found a local kusuriya (drug store) and bought some antibiotic ointment and rubbing alcohol.
On the way back, I was swarmed by a pack of school children at a crosswalk. Most probably had never seen a foreigner up close before so they just stared at me like an exhibit at the zoo. Even though I was in pain and just wanted to get back to my hotel room, I couldn't ignore their expectant little faces. So I said "hallo" to the nearest child and the whole group broke into laughter and squeals. They were pressing up against one other to get a chance to say "good morning" or "how are you?". The crossing guard, who looked like a volunteer mom, tried to get them to cross when the light turned green (or blue as they say in Japan), but only a small number did. I gave her an apologetic look, but she just smiled and gave me a look that said "it can't be helped". When my light turned blue I bowed to the crossing guard and said goodbye to the children. I could still hear them shouting goodbye to me as I turned down my side street. No matter where I went in Japan I tried to leave a positive impression on the children I met. It may make a difference in their lives. I always felt uplifted afterwards as well.
Back at my room, I was ready to do the deed. I pierced each blister at it's edge and drained it. The pain relief was almost instant. I then applied the ointment and bandaged them. A day's rest and they should be ready for the next walk.
My brother in-law Haruki and his son Kazuki wanted to come visit me on the trail. So we arranged for them to meet me in Uwajima just beyond T40. They couldn't make the trip until the 13th. This would give me three days in Uwajima before they arrived. It was at this point that I decided that T43 would be my last temple this year. Not as far as I had planned or hoped to go, but I was satisfied none the less.
I spent the rest of the day doing laundry and catching up on the news on the internet.
Thought for the day
I came off the trail and onto pavement about 10km into the walk. My feet were soaked from the rain. I knew there wasn't much else I could do other than stop and put dry socks on. Which would quickly become wet, so I just kept going to KanJiZaiJi (T40) the first temple in Ehime Prefecture. Along the highway I met an older henro coming the opposite way pushing a bicycle up a hill. He stopped me and waved his right hand with his pinky extended. He kept saying "futari onanako" (two girls) and pointing back the way he came. To me "onanako" means little girl, so I was thinking this guy was some kind of weirdo. Giving me the gesture for sex and talking about two little girls. Anyway, I said thanks for the info and continued on my way.
I finally reached the town that surrounds T40. As I rounded a corner I saw two foreign women sitting on the sidewalk. Aha! This must be the two girls the old perv was talking about. One was a 21 year old exchange student from Texas and the other was a 28 year old woman from New Zealand.
They told me they had started from Temple 1 about 12 days ago. I said "man, you two are fast walkers!". They explained that they had gotten rides from people along the way. I guess.
The rain had stopped and it was getting close to lunch time. We decided to have lunch and then walk to T40 together. The woman from Texas had attended a university in Hiroshima and was doing the pilgrimage before returning home in the fall. She told me her major was "French". Don't really know how that relates to studying in Japan, but she was obviously "switched on" and I admired her adventurous nature. The kiwi had originally visited Japan to hike the length of the country, but settled on Shikoku due to time constraints. She said she will travel to Europe after this and then return home to enter dental school. She said that dental school wasn't that interesting to most people. I said that I was a software engineer, which bored most people to tears when I spoke about it, but that all that mattered was that I was still intrigued with it 17 years into my career. She admitted that she didn't think software was that interesting either. I laughed and said "you're not supposed to say that!". She then made a mock apology in Japanese. It was refreshing to hear the candid humor of a westerner again.
We must have looked a site arriving at KanJiZaiJi. We had just done a day's walk through driving rain and all three of us were limping for one reason or another. What a crew. I did my rounds at the temple. The ladies then proceeded to chant the Heart Sutra at the main temple. The surrounding henro including myself watched them with awe. They were in such perfect harmony. It was like hearing angels sing.
The girls were on a low budget so they went to inquire about a free room at the temple. They got a fairly nice room off the main lodging. I was going to continue on to the outskirts of town to find lodging at one of the four remaining inns on Miyazaki San's map. We wished each other luck. I told them to be sure to wave out the window to me as they passed me on the highway tomorrow. The kiwi got the joke and said she would throw something out the window at me. My kind of humor.
After 5km I came upon the first inn. It was closed. The second and third inn were closed as well. It was getting dark and I was starting to worry that there may not be an inn available. I decide to take a chance and try to find the last one just off the highway. I ran the risk of it being closed and having to come back to the highway to ponder my next move.
To my relief the Kameya Minshuku was open. The kamisan was standing outside of it bouncing her granddaughter on her back when I walked up. I must have looked a site, but she didn't skip a beat. She welcomed me right in. Even though it was after 5:PM she told me she would have dinner for me at 6:00. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude that I could barely express it.
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| The Kamisan's daughter took this picture of a whooped but grateful henro |
The Kameya was recently remodeled and had that new tatami smell. The kamisan obviously had a talent for decorating. The paintings and flower arrangements throughout the inn were beautiful. I stripped off my wet clothes and removed the taping from my feet. I then took the most welcomed bath of my life.
The day's walk didn't help my blisters a bit. I got one more on my left heel and I had to re drain the other three on my right foot. The end is in sight though. I just need to get to Uwajima, once there I can discard my shoes and by a light pair for the final three temples with Haruki and Zuki. Until then I just had to grin and bear it (and hope the weather clears up).
The owners of the Kameya also own a nearby restaurant of the same name. So our meals were shuttled across the street from the restaurant to the inn. It was a great meal. Half-shell crab, clam soup, sashimi (both raw and lightly seared), rice, shumai and tsukemono. I'm getting hungry just writing about it. I strongly recommend the Kameya (Map 42 #4). Everything was perfect.
Thought for the day
The first six kilometers took me into the mountains to an elevation of 460 meters. It was rough climbing but the trail was easy to follow and soft underfoot. I did have to work to avoid the steps though. After about 10km I hit highway 56 again.
At about 18km I entered a 2km long tunnel. I'm not generally claustrophobic, but something about walking that long in the dark gave me a little anxiety. The good news was there was no rain. I stripped down to my REI OXT shirt and let my body wick some moisture and heat.
It was pouring down rain when I exited the tunnel. My blisters had begun to swell and hurt again. But with only 10km more to go, I kept walking. (Damn my stubbornness.) Within a kilometer of Uwajima station a woman stopped me and gave me a 1000 yen note as osettai. She apologized for not having something better to give me, but told me I could buy lunch with it. There are moments in every henro's journey when pain, exhaustion and emotion converge. I was so choked up that I was barely able to say "domo arigato gozaimashita". I wonder if she understood how much her act of kindness meant to me.
I bypassed the inns and went straight for the Hotel Clement situated over Uwajima station. A first class hotel that allowed me some anonymity (and an internet connection). At this point I just wanted to wash the road from me and rest up for Haruki and Zuki's visit and the last three temples of my walk.
Thought for the day
Haruki and Kazuki arrived in Uwajima around 11:am. They had flown into Matsuyama from Haneda (Tokyo's domestic airport) and rented a car from there. We got them checked into the hotel and then headed out for RyuKoJi (T41) and ButsuKokuJi (T42). Haruki had brought my suitcase containing the pair of Rockport walking shoes that I had so foolishly left in Tokyo.
It was raining. We took the train to Muden and walked to RyuKoJi from there. Within a 100 meters of the station Kazuki was already complaining about being tired. Suddenly he sees a water skipper and turns into a naturalist. We spent the next hour stopping for every bug we saw. Kazuki definitely has an eye for creatures. Haruki and I were grateful that in all his excitement he forgot about being tired.
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| Not hard to tell whose having the fun here | Zuki introducing a water skipper back into the wild |
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| Sneak shot of Haruki | Zuki and Haruki at RyuKoJi |
From RyuKoJi we then walked to ButsuMokuJi. We got sidetracked but as luck would have it this lead us into land crab and frog country. If Kazuki was excited about the bugs he was even more so with "higher" life forms. This seemed to inject some new life into him. On the way back to the station Zuki was running ahead of us and then around us and then behind us and then ahead of us again. Not bad for a guy who was tuckered out earlier.
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| Tired Zuki | Tired Jim |
It turned out to be a red letter day for Kazuki. We saw a whole new set of critters. Worms, snakes and centipedes.
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As I started saying my prayers at T43 tears came to my eyes. By the time I had my nokyo-cho stamped I had to find someplace where I could be alone. In a private corner I wept unashamedly for all the pain, for the long hot days and the short wet ones, for all the great people I had met and the sorrow of having to leave it all. I hope that every henro can feel the way I felt at that moment. It made the whole trip worth while.
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| Gone but not forgotten |
© Copyright 2006 James Knighten