March 7, 2008 - Hiroko Joins Me
Got up around 6:30. My back and feet were miraculously recovered from yesterday's walk through the concrete jungle. I had a decent breakfast and headed along coastal highway 196. It was for the most part an uneventful walk. I enjoyed being near the ocean and the path was easy to follow. This made it possible for me to ignore the highway traffic zooming by.
I was at Kikuma and the TsukiYa Ryokan by 2PM. An older woman showed me to our room. It was a western style room with twin beds. I told her that I would prefer a tatami room (because that's what Hiroko was looking forward to), but she said this is all they had available. Fair enough.
I had about another hour before Hiroko's train arrived so I dropped my pack and headed to the docks. As I came into the fishing marina I saw three older women gossiping away on a bench. Fish wives if ever there were any. The ringleader immediately started asking me questions in a loud voice and then would repeat my answer back in the same loud voice. "DOKO KARA?", "America desu", "AMERICA DESU", etc. Her friends were laughing at and with her and I started laughing too.
They introduced me to their dogs. One was a wicked little dachshund who wanted only to bite at me. Of course they thought that was funny too. It's just as well that my Japanese wasn't good enough to form a sentence about shooting that little glorified rodent across the harbor with a water balloon cannon.
I made myself at home next to them on the bench. The sun came out and then as their conversation turned to things other than me I slowly nodded off. I awoke after 20 minutes and low and behold that little fanged aardvark was nestled up against me sleeping away. As soon as I moved it woke up and started growling at me. Apparently it preferred me when I was unconscious. I said my goodbyes and walked over to the station to wait for Hiroko.
Hiroko has an inner radiance that just lights up the room when she smiles. That's what attracted me to her when we first met as college students at Seattle U. I shouldn't say this but compared to the other women who stepped off that train she looked like a new shiny penny. As if she were the only full color image surrounded by black and white. I smiled proudly as we hugged.
Back at the Ryokan we started getting the room setup. The beds were such that neither of us felt comfortable sleeping in them. So we proceeded to setting up (or down) a double mattress bed on the floor. By the time we were finished we had set one bed frame on its siderail and broke down the other. We're very determined as a team.
We had our baths and then headed to dinner. The inn keeper was not the older woman I met early but rather her daughter. She looked and acted very sour throughout our dinner. Talking nervously away about this and that. The whole time Hiroko maintained our end of the conversation while I ate my meal. I then heard her say that she probably wouldn't have rented us the room had she known that I was a foreigner. As soon as my head whipped around the young college student on the other side of Hiroko suddenly became very interested in the bottom of her rice bowl. But Hiroko didn't miss a beat. After a short pause Hiroko asked her about her dog that we heard barking earlier. The woman's demeanor immediately changed and the conversation lightened up considerably. Before long we were all sharing our dog stories even the young student. Hiroko has that ability to go to the good and take those around her with her. Me, I like to fight and argue and then apolgize for being a jackass later.
Just after dinner we buddied up with the college student who had a blister on her foot. Pretty soon we were doing what all walking Henro do. Talk about our foot troubles. She told us about Activ-Flex bandaids (named Kizu-Power-Pad in Japan) and we showed her our stick of body glide. Good times.
Thought for the day
"Going to the good produces harmony in a world that desperately needs it."
March 8, 2008 - Officially in Towel Country
We got up early so that we could return the bedroom to it's original condition. Once done we went to breakfast. Quite honestly I felt sorry for the woman who ran the Ryokan. She was obviously a bitter person. Whether she was bitter because she had no family or she had no family because she was bitter I couldn't tell. Regardless, it made me grateful for my good fortune and softened my attitude about her comments the night before.
Hiroko and I headed out to meet our brother inlaw Haruki and our nephew Kazuki at Oonishi station (map 58). They flew into Matsuyama from Tokyo the night before. We had about 10 km to walk and Hiroko was a little apprehensive. However, we planned to walk together on this leg of the pilgrimage because it ran parallel to a train line. I think it put her at ease knowing that if she felt uncomfortable at any time she could board the train at the next station and go onto Oonishi ahead of me.
It had rained the night before and the air was clean and fresh along the sea. We saw several large herons and I was able to obtain photographic evidence of Hiroko harassing one of these poor creatures. (Just kidding there were no animals harmed or harassed during the walking of this pilgrimage.) They are quite beautiful although a lighter color than the Great Blue Herons native to Western Washington.
We met the Mori men at Oonishi station around 10AM. We made pretty good time considering bathroom and photo stops. I found that focusing more on photography made for a longer walk. This worked out perfectly since one of my goals for this walk was to slow down my pace.
Kazuki and Haruki were a little frazzeled from yesterday's travel but were in good spirits. We started off to EnMeiJi (T54) and promptly got all screwed around leaving the station. Some scout I turned out to be.
Being a cultural dullard I had no idea that the ImaBari area is world famous for its towels. In fact there is now a ImaBari Certification that towels must pass to be considered high quality. Sounds to me like a little bit of protectionism from cheap imports. Regardless, I saw plenty of places like the "Contex Towel Garden" that displayed the spirit the Japanese have when fully committed to an enterprise.
After walking an extra kilometer from getting lost and stopping for lunch at the Lawson we finally made it to EnMeiJi (T54). Kazuki had a good time ringing the two belfries in the temple yard. Haruki came and prayed with me at both the HonDo and the DaishiDo. We have developed a strong friendship over the years. He and I are good Henro partners both in and out of Shikoku (we married two strong willed sisters).
We left EnMeiJi around noon. The day was sunny and breezy. We decided to stop at the ShouFuku Ryokan (M59.A.2) to drop our bags before going on to NanKouBou (T55). We reached the ShouFuku around 2PM. The elderly inn keeper welcomed us warmly. She told us that our rooms wouldn't be ready until 4PM. She offered us coffee and snacks. So we sat in the genkan chatting. She gave Kazuki his first OSettai (gift to Henro), a small change purse for carrying alms for the temples. He was very proud of it (alhtough he's holding it like a turd in the nearby photo).
We headed to NanKouBou. The walk was short and so was our visit. Haruki and I did our prayers, Zuki rang the bell and Hiroko relaxed on a bench.
This temple was fairly busy. I'm guessing the weather, the location and the fact that it was a weekend added to that. We met some interesting Henro. One was a weekend Henro who was doing the pilgrimage by scooter. He lived in Kochi city so it wasn't difficult for him to travel to the next location each weekend. It still seemed like a lot of extra riding to me.
We met two bicyclists who were on a reverse rotation pilgrimage (its common to alternate the rotation on successive pilgrimages). After hearing the problems they have to deal with - dangerous traffic, strained muscles, sore asses, wipe outs - I think walking is the easier way.
Aftwerwards we will still had some time to kill so we went to the waterfront. There's an excellent boardwalk where the bridge to the mainland can be seen as well as the rainbow ferry.
We returned to the ShouFuku in time to take our baths and get ready for an excellent dinner. Up til now many of the meals I'd eaten had been just OK compared to those I received in on my last trip. Again this may be due to the season. However, the ShouFuku put out a great meal. Kazuki was excited because he hadn't gotten this when he and his dad had joined me in Uwajima in 2006. Hiroko too was jazzed because she was a little disappointed by our experience the night before. She finally got so see what a real Ryokan was like. I think it really charged her for the days ahead.
Thought for the day
"After a week of silent walking the addition of family took some adjustment."