Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi

Return to Tokushima to visit missed temples in that prefecture, then on to the Kochi temples using combination of walking and public transport. Since it is fall, visits to Ritsurin Gardens and Miyajima to enjoy the momiji colors. Read more

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Trip start
November 16, 2024
Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Departure
November 16, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌬 81 °F
Waiting in Gate A15 for my flight, with a little apprehension. My First Stage of the Shikoku88 Pilgrimage was organized by WalkJapan, all I had to do was follow their detailed instructions in an actual book.

This time all the planning was on me and Kochi is the largest and most rural of the 4 Shikoku Prefectures. I was able to book all my accommodations online. Due to the distances, I'll be using public transport, mostly buses, to reduce the travel time and walking distances. The apprehension comes from whether my itinerary planning was sufficient and just the unknown of the Pilgrimage Trail.

My backpack for Stage 2 came in at 16 lbs total weight, which is about 5 lbs lighter than it was for Stage 1. Of course, with WalkJapan providing baggage forwarding, I only carried the full bag once, before I started the Pilgrimage. This time I will only carry the full bag twice on the Pilgrimage. I will use base locations (multiple stays at a central location) and baggage forwarding if the route includes either long distance or difficult climbs.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Hotel Nikko Kansai Airport
November 17, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F
My flight arrived early, at 6 pm and I cleared immigration/customs in 30 minutes. Since the last bus to Tokushima was long gone, I booked this hotel located conveniently in the International Terminal.

My room was supposed to be a single twin, but I got a much larger double twin room 👍.

I checked out the Terminal to grab a dinner snack from Family Mart, get some yen from a 7-11 ATM, and searched in vain for the airport eki stamp. I suspect it is only available during regular hours so I'll try tomorrow.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Airport Bus to Tokushima
November 18, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 59 °F
Waiting at Terminal 2 to catch a bus to Tokushima Station. When I booked my ride I apparently put Terminal 2 as my starting point rather than Terminal 1 where I was staying, requiring me to take a shuttle.

The ride in was pretty scenic for an Airport Bus. We crossed a number of bridges and passed by Osaka and Kobe as well as Awaji Island before getting to Tokushima.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Awa Odori Kaikan
November 18, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 61 °F
I got to the JR Clement Hotel around 1 PM. Since Japanese hotels are strict about when you can check in, I dropped off my bag and walked to the Awa Odori Kaikan for a 2 PM performance of the Awa Odori dance. In August there is a huge matsuri based on this dance which I plan to attend as part of my final Pilgrimage Stage.

The performance was great, enjoyable and informative. The hall was filled by several bus tours and the performers coaxed the audience to participate in a dance.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
JR Clement Hotel
November 18, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 59 °F
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Day 1 T13 to T17
November 19, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 46 °F
Restarting my walking Pilgrimage with a relatively easy first day. Starting at Dainichiji which was in a more rural part of Tokushima City, I headed towards the city center. After finishing Idoji I had a long boring walk back to the station which was in a completely urban environment.

The weather was surprisingly cold due to a brisk wind but there was no rain.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Day 2 T18 & T19
November 20, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F
I took it easy for Day 2. I was, ambitiously, planning on walking the entire length ( over 16 miles). However, I was still recovering from yesterday and today I would be lugging my full backpack. So I decided to reduce the walking by catching a train to T18 Onzanji and catching a train from T19 Tatsueji to my hotel.

I still lugged the full backpack about 10 miles which wasn't too bad, except when I had to climb the slippery hiking trail uphill to reach Onzanji. Then the extra weight really became a burden.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Heading to Anan
November 20, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F
Tatsueji Station was a typical unmanned rural stop using 1 car trains. I took the Mugi Line to Anan, which was a small city.

On my way to my hotel I came up on a CoCo Ichibanya, so I decided to make late lunch my big meal of the day.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
First Great Walk
November 21, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
Waking up to a great breakfast (getting tired of konbini grab and go) at my hotel. Then a train to start the visit to T22 Byodoji, the final Tokushima temple on this visit.
Even though I already visited T23, I wanted to do the walk between them.

The walk changed from rural town, to quiet mountain roads, to steep mountain trails leading to a great view, then descent to an empty beach and, finally, my destination, Kiki Station.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Hawks
November 21, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
While I was waiting at Kiki Station for my train, a group of hawks decided to hover over me. I had seen a single hawk at multiple locations, but there were about 4 here enjoying the thermals.
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Funky Accommodations
November 21, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
There are few hotels in this area so I had to make a booking with a guesthouse. It was a small detached unit, made of a light wood and featured a loft bed. Definitely different from my previous accommodations.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Dual Mode Vehicle
November 22, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F
The reason I stopped at Awa-Kainan was to be stationed where the bus line to Cape Muroto starts. Train lines used to run to Cape Muroto but were retired and service ended at Awa-Kainan.

A special vehicle called DMV used the retired tracks since it could operate as a bus on roads or train on tracks. The train nerds go crazy over the DMV and line up to watch it switch modes.

The DMV only runs part way. It goes to Muroto only on weekends), so I had to transfer to a bus to complete my trip.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Day 4, Extra Long Day in Kochi
Nov 22–28, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
Long day as I added a third temple to my plan and all three temples had significant climbs. I got off the bus at Muroto GeoPark, which is almost 6 miles from T24. The bus crossed over to the west coast of Muroto there and I wanted to try the coast walk. And it was as boring as I suspected. Had I walked rather than taking public transport, I would be doing it for at least 2 days.

The hike up to T24 was difficult with extremely steep sections. Took me 30 minutes with a lot of rest breaks to reach the temple. But it was made up by the downhill walk on the Muroto Skyline after the temple visit with spectacular views of Muroto City.

T25 had a surprisingly set of steep steps to reach the main hall. T26 also had a mountain trail to access the temple, though not as bad as T24. I realized I could reach the last temple before sunset so I went for it. Now I can sleep in tomorrow.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
One Day Temple
November 23, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F
It's a good thing I did T26 Kongochoji yesterday rather than today, because T27 Konomineji was a handful, far and high away from the coastline.

It took over 2 hours of hard effort climbing the back path up. The slope wasn't steep but it was constant and it seemed like almost 5 miles. When I reached the Observatory I was rewarded with great views.

Below was the temple which I did in reverse order (Daishodo, Hondo, Gate) because I didn't want to climb up again. I took the main road back down which was shorter but steeper until I got to Tonohama Station. After a long and slow train ride I reached Kochi Station as it started to get dark.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Back in a City
Nov 24–28, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 43 °F
After several days in rural Tokushima and Kochi, it's good to be back in a city. Restaurants, konbini, and even vending machines are rare so you need to plan ahead or go without.

Kochi City isn't large, much smaller than Tokushima City, but I don't have to think ahead. It will be home for 4 nights as I use local transportation to get me to areas for my Pilgrimage.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Back to Walking to City Temples
November 24, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F
After some amazing trails to mountain temples, it's back to the more mundane city breed.
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Kochi Castle
November 25, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 48 °F
Rest day from the Pilgrimage today, which means sightseeing. Got to Kochi Castle just as it opened. It has 6 floors with those extremely steep stairs but the view of Kochi was incredible.

I was first up so I pretty much had the top to myself. When I descended I was met with a bus load of tourists and it was crazy getting out!Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Ritsurin Garden - Day Edition
November 25, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F
I took a bus to Ritsurin Garden in Takamatsu, Kagawa, hoping to see some fall color which was sorely lacking in Kochi. But as we neared the garden, there wasn't much color here either.

The first item was to grab lunch and I got to try Sanuki Udon in a very busy cafeteria-like restaurant. It was tasty and filling.

The Ritsurin Garden was gorgeous and huge with a lot of places to explore. However the momiji was barely starting to turn red and there were no brightly yellow gingko trees.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Ritsurin Garden - Night Edition
November 25, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F
Ritsurin Garden started their night illumination the night before, but the big draw, the rich reds and yellows were still missing. But any illumination is a big deal not to be missed.

I had to kill time for my return bus ride so I saw a McDonald's (24 hours!) and it was packed with students doing homework. I returned to the dark and empty street bus stop worrying if it would come. It was a 2 hour drive back to Kochi Station. But right on time, the bus appeared.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Looks like rain
November 26, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 59 °F
After my rest day where I still managed to walk over 10 miles, and forecasted rain today, I decided to shorten today's Pilgrimage walk by catching a bus to the first temple. I also purchased an umbrella as insurance.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
And it poured
November 26, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 57 °F
I made it to the first 2 temples with only light rain, although a tornado warning was issued for the area. But at the last temple it poured. I was in the ferry waiting room when the first heavy downpour occurred so I wasn't in the open. When the ferry arrived another downpour came down so the umbrella was greatly appreciated.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Shaking
November 26, 2024 in Japan ⋅ 🌙 55 °F
Felt the earthquake while lying in bed. Went on for about 20 seconds with a rotating motion. After it ended the clothes hangers continued making noise as they kept swaying.
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Saved from a Planning Error
November 27, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
Today I had planned a 19 mile, 9 hr marathon to visit T34 to T36. I must have been deliriously overconfident and failed to consider the short daylight. Luckily when I reviewed the plan the previous night it was clear I could not do it, especially with my deteriorating performance.

So I postponed visiting T35, saving it for a later time. I could start later, giving my body more time to recover. It was still a long day with a major mountain trail climb to get to T36.

I finished T36 Shoryuji at 4:45 pm, with sunset not much later. Luckily I booked an onsen ryokan, Sanyoso, which was just 10 minutes away.Read more
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
Sanyoso
November 27, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F
Onsen Ryokan. I have to rate the room and meal as mid-level, given the really nice accommodations I had booked by WalkJapan in Stage 1. But its location near my final Temple was godsend.
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Shikoku Pilgrimage Kochi Traveler
It Took All Day to Do T37 Iwamotoji
November 28, 2024 in Japan ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F
It was a long day to get to T37 Iwamotoji, even using public transportation. First it was a shuttle from the hotel to a nearby ferry. The ferry then took me 10 miles after which I walked another 12 miles to Awa Station. Then it was a train to Kubokawa Station and finally a short walk to the Temple.

I caught another train to Nakamura to setup my bus trip to T38.Read more
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