Hello folks! Just a few house-keeping notes before I get into the good stuff. I’m going to write two posts about everyday on the pilgrimage. First will be a Journal post, which will be a copy of the journal I kept along the way on the hike, and following each of those will be a Reflections post with my thoughts as I go along re-reading what I wrote, and any extra photos I want to share.

So, without further ado…

Tally ho!

November 21, 2011, Day One

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• travelling from 7 am to 3pm
• 5 temples (Ryosenji, Gokurakuji, Kosenji, Dainichiji and Jisoji)
• 17.8 km
• 6920 yen on Pilgrim attire
• staying at Kotobuki Minshuku (6825 yen including dinner and breakfast)

So, had to leave the hotel at 6:45 to catch the 7:00 train (Tokushima Station to Bando Station). No complementary breakfast for me.

Walking from the station to the first temple I was quizzed by a very cute 5th grade girl. Seems she as a foreign English teacher with blue eyes too.

Rosenji (No. 1)

At Ryosenji straight away I was approached by a fellow Henro who explained how to do everything. He was very helpful and even gave me his business card so I can phone him if I have any problems. His name is Uemura-san.

Gokurakuji (No. 2)

The first 2 temples were seen to pretty quickly. Between 3 and 4 I met an American woman who was just finishing her trek. Said it was more difficult than she thought it would be, but also more rewarding than she ever imagined. Stopped for lunch at a shrine just after Kosenji, onigiri from family mart (quite possibly a mistake as it didn’t agree with me later).

Dainichiji (No. 4)

At Dainichiji I was given some osettai – tissues and a hankie, which will come in use. Was starting to get tired so I walked quickly to the last temple and then to my minshuku by 3. A little early, but I’m tired~ Looking forward to a bath and dinner!

Room at Kotobuki Minshuku

Not sure if i really want to do this, it’s really lonely and a little boring. However I’ll stick it out until Tokushima city again and see how I feel about it from there.

Being all by yourself is actually really scary, in that you have to learn to live with yourself. And I don’t cope with boredom very well. It’s been a long time since I had free time and I really don’t know how to relax. Maybe that’s a good reason to do this all. To learn how to do all of the above.

Just taking it step by step.

Going to try planning tomorrow a little now….

iHenro is a new(old) blog about the 88 Temple pilgrimage in Shikoku.  If you’ve been a reader for a while you would know my plan last year to do the entire pilgrimage in April/May was canned, but I actually managed to get over to Japan in November to do part of the route.

Posts will be cross-posted to yamaonna, so you don’t need to subscribe over there to read my adventures.  And will most likely be image heavy (because I didn’t lug my huge camera around Tokushima for nothing).

I hope you enjoy!

Do you remember Fish Dinner?

That was when I first got him.  March of 2008.  Despite being a fish from a fishing game at a festival, and the 2 hour commute home in his little plastic bag, he survived.

He survived me!  The horrible person who would leave him home alone in the summer heat with just a holiday food cube for company.

He was such a good fish.  Loved people.  Liked watching tv too.

When I left Japan he was adopted by ‘new!michele’ (the girl who took over my job and apartment), and I was happy he still had a home.

But when I went back to visit Tokyo in December and enquired after Fish, new!michele had some very sad news.

She had renamed him F-diddy (wish I was creative enough to think of a name like that…).  And F-diddy obviously decided that gangsta was how he would live.  And die.

New!michele went to Kyoto with a friend for a week.  When she arrived back she took one look at the fish tank and thought ‘Where is that fish!’.

She searched high and low for 5 minutes (the apartment isn’t that big) before finding a fish tail and the orange outline of a fish on the floor.  Just like a police crime scene.  Apparently F-diddy lost his life in a drive-by robo-vaccuming.

RIP Fish Dinner.  You were a good fish.  You made me laugh, even at your end.

Firstly while just getting to Kansai there was Ekiben (station lunchbox) of fried rice and wontons -

And arriving at Osaka I had to eat the classic Takoyaki (octopus balls) with a bit of a different spin, served in a light broth -

The Takoyaki was from this festive shop along Dotombori -

Eating out in Osaka also included Kushiage (fried things on sticks) -

Mexican with a friend -

Mystery Chinese -

And a Yum Cha set -

And moving from Chinese to Chinatown in Kobe, I had some Cha Siu Men -

Before stopping for some fruit tart from a french cafe near Kobe’s old foreigner’s quarter -

And continuing with sweets, in Kyoto I found soft serve ice cream with Yatsubashi (a hard cinnamon cookie) -

Shu cream (cream puff) made with real vanilla and sprinkled Yatsubashi on top -

And Mizuame (water candy) which is very similar to corn syrup according to wikipedia -

And finally some Unagi-don (eel rice bowl) served with sesame tofu at Mt Koya to keep up my stamina -

Yes, I think I did gain 5kg on this trip….

So, firstly I am so sorry that I have been a totally slack blogger and haven’t posted regularly for months. But a lot has been happening and I haven’t felt like doing any writing. And so. yeah. slack. Sorry m(-_-)m

Let’s see, since my last post I’ve been to Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Wakayama and then back to Tokyo. And Brisbane. So yeah, my life in Japan has come to a conclusion. And I have very mixed feelings about that.

It’s been great to see my family and friends again, but moving back to Australia ahead of schedule means I haven’t really planned anything. at all. But I’m working on my resume, and I have big plans, we’ll just have to wait and see if it all turns out.

I’m sad to have left Japan, I managed to see a lot of my friends before leaving, but there were a few which i just couldn’t arrange to meet, which was even more saddening. But it’s good to be away from all the earthquake craziness, and actually, not having a job really doesn’t agree with me. At least in Australia I am working towards a goal.

I have so much to blog about, so do expect more posts shortly. Even a few more posts about hiking around Tokyo (although I still would not recommend going hiking in the Tokyo region just yet…). So keep an eye out, I hope to be back to posting at least once a week from now!