March 27 - To Unpenji and beyond
Woke a little later than planned, but fortunately so did everyone else.
The inn keepers had us fed (including oni-giri for lunch) and loaded on time. The overloaded mini van trundled along precarious mountain roads to the Okadaya Inn. A ride that would have violated a number of traffic safety laws in Washington state. Thankfully we were in a country where the citizens haven't become sue-happy zealots wanting somebody else to pay for their own mistakes. On the other hand, Japan has universal healthcare and you don't have to sell your home to pay for a couple of broken bones. A society where everyone is responsible for their own actions and their healthcare system (too bad it would never work in America).
The initial ascent of Unpenji was a little brutal. A couple of the henro fell back and were struggling. I paced myself early and avoided the usual suffering when walking the steep switchbacks.
The keys to these climbs and to the pilgrimage in general are patience and perseverance. Having acquired these virtues (at least on this day) I had little problem reaching Unpenji. In fact I found the walk to be less strenuous than Temple 12 Shousanji.
It was a beautiful sunny day and as I rounded the corner I caught the sun glinting off the snow on the roof of the temple. Magnificent.
I did my prayers and got my book stamped. I met Mr. Nozawa in the courtyard. He had just arrived so I headed down the hill without him. Knowing that I would probably see him later in the day.
On the way out of Unpenji I came across hundreds of life size statues. I'm not sure what they signify but they were awesome.
The walk up to the downward road was a little confusing because the signs seemed to conflict. The henro I was walking with wanted to take the long road to Daikoji (temple 67) via Hagiwara, a Shinto shrine. So between the two of us we figured out which was his road and which was mine. I encountered him near Daikoji later that day so we must have chosen correctly.
The walk down from Unpenji was much harder on my feet than the ascent. My feet were killing me halfway down. It was at this point that I bruised my left big toe enough to have the toe nail fall off after returning home.
As expected, I met Mr. Nozawa along the trail. I stopped at the bottom of Unpenji to give my feet a rest and about 15 minutes later he came along. It was nice to see him and having him stop for a break gave me an excuse to take a little more time for my feet to recuperate. You'll notice in the photo that I'm actually grimacing.
We headed out but it wasn't too long before they left me behind. I tried my best to keep up but it was literally a choice between pain and pace. I certainly wasn't crawling along, but it made realize how much I took for granted my usual (pain free) pace.
I got lost near Daikoji and it cost me about 3 km of extra walking. Normally not a big deal, but definitely a big deal on this day.
I finally reached the IchiFuji Ryokan around 4:PM. The place was very decrepid and the owners were easily in the their late 80's. I couldn't understand a word they said and vice versa. This place was basically frozen in time, as it was 30 or more years ago.
When I asked if they had an internet connection the old gentleman just looked at me and said "A what?". Seeing that I wasn't going to pursue this absurd line of questioning, he sprung into his well practiced welcome. "Here's the bath, here's your room, there's a pay phone down the hall and a laundramat around the corner. Your bath will be ready in 15 minutes and dinner's at 6." Badda bing, badda boom.
That's when I realized that I had been spoiled by the more modern inns and their modern conveniences. And although it didn't have the services and conveniences I had come to expect the Ichi Fuji Ryokan was exactly what I needed.
After a hot bath and a packaged meal (hey, they were old) I had one of the best nights of sleep I've ever had in Shikoku. Warm, cozy and quiet.
Thought for the Day
"I may not always get what I want, but I always get what I need (not all that original but I still need to be reminded that I'm here by grace not justice)."