March 11, 2008 - Last Day
We got up early because we wanted to get as many temples in as possible before catching our train back to Tokyo. Fortunately the next four temples (T61 - T64) were close to each other and ran along the train line (see Map 65). So no matter where we finished we could jump onto the train and head home.
We hadn't decided which temple would be our last because we weren't sure how long it would take to reach each. So we set a deadline of 12:PM. If we weren't near finishing MaeGamiJi (T64) then we would take the next train to the next station where we could board a shinkansen.
The first temple KoOnJi was a short backtrack west. I was surprised at the size and architecture of KoOnJi. It was a ginormous brick box looking affair. There was a balcony about 8 meters up. I half expected to see the Pope or some generalissimo step out on to it. Needless to say the building plans for this temple must have raised some eyebrows when it was introduced. The DaishiDo on the other hand was "right-sized" for your average Henro.
Regardless, its not the building that counts, its the spirit within and that was all good.
The next temple HoJuJi (T62) was more like what I'm used to. In all honesty I felt more at ease praying in front of these smaller temples than the large one at KoOnJi. Perhaps if I had spent a little more time getting used to its size.
KisShouJi (T63) was a short walk. We came in the back door. Not sure how that happened but it wasn't a huge temple so there was none of the overshooting and then backtracking that can occur when you miss the front gate.
KiSShouJi was charming mostly because of its well kept gardens and use of space.
Probably the most interesting thing was a 1.5m high with a hole through it. You're supposed to close your eyes and try to put your tsue (Daishi stick) through the hole. If you do it you get your wish.
Naturally Hiroko hit it on the first stab. I on the other hand was all over the place. Regardless, the sexual undertone was not wasted on me. So I proceeded to make pee-pee jokes while Hiroko smiled indulgently. Come on, they call it a "good luck hole" for crying out loud.
At this point we were doing very well on time. I decided to walk to MaeGamiJi (T64) while Hiroko took the train. As it turned out we both arrived at the temple at the same time.
We walked to the local train station to see when the next train to IyoSaiJou would be. There we would buy Shinkansen tickets back to Okayama and then to Tokyo. The next train was about an hour and a half wait so we decided to walk the 3km to IyoSaiJou instead. This worked out well because I would be able to return directly to an express station on my next trip to Shikoku and IyoSaiJou has a load of Inns (Map 66).
I got submarined by my expectations again. What seemed to be a quick walk turned out to take much longer than we had expected. We ended up dragging ourselves into IyoSaiJou at about the same time as the local train we skipped. Regardless, this is a perfect starting point for my next trip.
Five hours and $355 later we were in Tokyo. However, it took my mind a few days to finally leave Shikoku.
Thought for the Day
"None"