As a start to the new year I will be posting from my journal walking the OHenro in October of 2012. Before I get into my personal experience and photos there is a great video produced by NHK, forwarded to me by a fellow pilgrim, that provides a look at the details and day to day of the walking.
So it turns out WiFi, or any internet, is hard to find in Shikoku so I won’t be keeping a journal. While I’m in Tully’s here in Tokushima I will say this, come here. Period. The people here are amazing, the temples are amazing, the island is amazing.
The absolute first thing to mention is how extremely helpful and patient people have been. I took a local route to get to Ryozen-ji, the first temple, through a inter-island bus then the local bus. In both places there was no English signage or guide books however walking up to the counter and with a bit of pointing both times the attendants got me to the right place, and just in time. I really can’t express how thankful I am. The trip from Osaka to Ryozen-ji was about 4 hours but it passed pretty quickly. Once I got to the temple I took a moment to pray and wash my hands but got to the store just as it was closing. Fortunately the keeper was still there and directed me to a hostel down the street where the owner marked out important notes on the route and took us grocery shopping.
After a delightful 12 hour flight from Seattle I arrived in Osaka and spent the next day exploring the city in foot, a good prelude to spending every day on foot. Once again I’ll write more at some point.
I was in Seattle for a few days before getting to Osaka and eventually I’ll actually put something in here but for now this post is a placeholder; with a nice picture.
