I’ve often posted about the Shikoku 88 pilgrimage, a 700-mile circular route around Shikoku, one of Japan’s main islands. Over the years, I’ve hiked to 31 of its 88 temples, some multiple times. This year, I visited temples 71 through 75 for the first time.
Category: Move
Time to hit the trails
With a high in the 80s, it was time to pump up the tires, lube the chain, and get out on the trails with a friend.
A pedestrian/cyclist freeway
We modified our usual Sunday morning walk along both sides of the Mississippi because three out of four bridges are currently being repaired or replaced. Here, a new pedestrian/cyclist trail is being built above the entrance to a dock then through a tunnel under Plymouth Avenue (just beyond the crane). The tunnel will lead to a recently opened park, Graco Park. The Minneapolis park system is a big reason we live where we live.
Framing the Pacific on a day trip to the seaside
Jutting out into the Pacific on the west side of Tokyo Bay lies the Miura Peninsula. My destination today was Jogashima, a small island at its tip, connected by a bridge. I took two trains and a bus, then walked right around the rocky island.
Cycling around a caldera lake
Rode a mini-shinkansen bullet train (slower until it hits the much faster Tohoku line to Tokyo) for an hour from Akita, then a local bus. Cycled 20K around Lake Tazawa. With minimal wind and a properly tuned hybrid bike, the ride was easy and offered lovely views of this deep (1,400 feet), clear caldera lake–the deepest in Japan.
A windy ride around Niigata
Rented a clunky bicycle (but it was cheap, less than US$4) from this underground bicycle garage across the road from my hotel in Niigata. Cycled a 20km course, mainly on off-road trails beside waterways and the Sea of Japan, around the core city while being buffeted by wind gusts that nearly brought me to a standstill. After returning the bike and a late lunch, had a deep nap back in my hotel room.
Cycling the shores of Toyama Bay
Toyama is bicycle-friendly: city policies push for more bicycles and fewer cars. While bikeshare stations dot the city, I rented a cross-bike (USD$8) more suitable for exploring. I cycled a scenic trail (look at those mountains!) for a few hours that mostly follows the shoreline of Toyama Bay. Along the way, stopped for a picnic at a table clearly intended for that purpose in the grounds of a shrine.
Hiking the Karatsu OLLE course
It took 3 trains and a bus to reach the trailhead for a Kyushu OLLE hike, but that’s part of the fun. It’s getting harder to find a course I haven’t hiked. I followed special markers past rice paddies, through the ruins of an enormous castle, and through rural villages. Here, I imagined I would be one of the peasants in feudal times, carrying the local Daimyo (lord) in a palanquin.
Unexpected snow, hike abandoned
I was met with icy blasts as I got off the bus at the trailhead bus stop, and after only a few hundred yards, I abandoned the ascent. Though a comfortable climb I’ve done three times before, today was not the day. There was no snow atop Mt. Yufu this morning, but this afternoon was a different story, as seen in this photo from Yufuin’s main drag.
Temple walk to the birthplace of Kobo Daishi
Kobo Daishi, born 774, founded Shingon Buddhism and established the Shikoku 88-temple 750-mile pilgrimage, among many accomplishments. Today I walked between temples 71, 72, 73, 74, and 75 (Zentsuji) his birthplace. I’ve now walked to 31 of the temples, sometimes more than once. The photo shows purification stations, one for each temple.