Shikoku Henro Michi // epilogue // Tokyo

Shikoku 88 Temples Pilgrimage.

This post will not be long one, as I will not go so much in detail of what I did in Tokyo on my return from the Shikoku 88 Temples Pilgrimage and visits to Kōyasan, Nara and Kyoto. As what I did now follows less in the vein of what I did as a pilgrim in Japan.

Street in Tokyo in the evening.

At the Shinkansen everything far away is what you see the best of, everything close is more like a blur. The train ride back to Tokyo went without any notable things to report of, finding my hotel proved however to be more of a puzzle. I had booked a hotel in the Asakusa district close to the Sensōji temple. Feeling all kinds of emotions trembling through my body of my end of the Shikoku 88 Temples Pilgrimage, my plan for the final time in Japan here in Tokyo was simple. I was not going to stress out to see anything.

Shutter art.

It also felt a little bit weird being back in the huge city, now at another district than before (Ginza). After installing myself at my hotel, I went out for dinner, having no clue to where I would go. That eventually lead me to the before-mentioned Sensōji temple, which was actually quite nice to see with its illuminated buildings. Now I am all in tourist, but it is fine. In a sort of old looking street next to the temple I come across a place serving okonomiyaki (I got the taste of it from Tomohiro-san).

Nightsky from Sensōji.

Sensōji pagoda and templegate.

On the next day my first attraction was a re-visit to the Sensōji temple, more of a coincidence than the plan. I just ended up at a place nearby for breakfast. The only real thing I had to do today, was to find a cool robot for my little niece, on request from my brother. Although, what kind of robot I was to find, I was unsure of. In Asakusa however, there is a street with wholesale toy vendors, so I gave that street a chance to prove its worth. It was not easy. Robots there are, but most of these are the manga and anime inspired warrior kind of robots. Not what I think is the best choice. I do find a robot that looks like a tin toy from the 50's, which can make a little flame due to a tiny spark at its chest.

An old looking street in Tokyo.

The pagoda of Sensōji.

Robot-hunting solved (hopefully), I then travel to Ueno Park. Here, besides the temples and shrines, what I first noticed was the Shinobazunoike pond. It is a pond, but it is difficult to see it as one, as almost the entire surface is covered by plants. In the middle of this part of the pond lies Bentenjima, a tiny island upon which the Bentendō temple dedicated to the goddess Benzaiten is located. In the park you also find the Ueno Toshogu Shrine, known for its gold leaf cover and intricate carvings. I walk around in the park for a while, goes outside to find a place for lunch (visits the Kaneiji temple on the way and back).

Lotus Pond of Shinobazunoike.

In the afternoon and evening, I do not do much other than walk around. Thought of getting up to an observation deck at the Tokyo Skytree, but instead goes to the observation deck at the Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center. Which is free (unlike the skytree) and has a bar where I can have a beer while looking out at nighttime Tokyo. Feel that it has been a lot of Sensōji, but I do not mind it, the temple takes up most of the view from the observation deck. I eat dinner at an izakaya not far away from where I ate yesterday, but I am not so satisfied with the food.

The golden Ueno Toshogu Shrine.

Ueno Toshogu Shrine reflected.

Last night in Japan, which feels strange now. Who was I that arrived in Tokyo for almost two months ago? Not the henro I am now, at least. Then I was unsure of what I had gotten myself into and what to expect from my pilgrimage. In overall, the Shikoku 88 Temples Pilgrimage was a remarkable experience. It had its downs for sure, but they proved minor in the end. Mostly it was due to much walking on a hard surface, and then there were the many rainy days in a row. But, even most of the days that I felt was not so good, are days that I do not want to be without too. I believe that for a walk to be truly great, you also need to have some bad days. This might sound strange, but having some days that are not so good makes you appreciate the good days even more. You have to earn a little to live.

Kaneiji Temple.

Walking, as always, is a great way to meet and get to know other cultures. And the Shikoku Pilgrimage no less, the only minor drawback for me was my lack of Japanese. I have always been a person that yearns for the views, to get to high ground and look out across the landscape, but here I also come to love walking through the quiet and peaceful countryside. Not next to busy highways, and through the tunnels, on the other hand. The mountain paths does not always feature far-ranging views, as they are covered in vegetation here due to its climate and location, but when they do it is great.

Bentenjima with the Bentendō Temple.

Sensōji in the evening, seen from the observation deck at the Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center.

On the way, I grew to become very fond of the small temples on Shikoku, which manifested itself when I visited the much larger temples in Nara, Kyoto and here in Tokyo. I loved coming to the next temple, seeing how it looked like and getting to know the atmosphere of it. Even performing the rituals, which at first was strange and a little bit difficult, became moments that gave me a sense of belonging. When I reached Kagawa, or the Nehan dōjō, everything sort of fell in place. I was truly calm and content with my pilgrimage. Tomorrow I fly home to Oslo and Norway, it has been a pleasure.

A riverboat passes by on the Sumida river beneath Tokyo Skytree.

Namudaishi Henjōkongō!

<- Epilogue: KyotoUseful information ->

Shikoku Henro Michi // epilogue // Kyoto

Shikoku 88 Temples Pilgrimage.

When I wake up in the morning Tomohiro-san has went to work, and I will soon depart to Tokyo. I get a breakfast and then Setsuko will follow me to the nearest train station. I have been overwhelmed by their hospitality and feel a little bit sorry that I do not have anything that I can give or say to them to fully express my gratitude. From where they live, in Kamo, there are frequent trains to Kyoto. From Kyoto there is of course the Shinkansen. It is perfect weather for travelling, grey and gloomy, with rain in the horizon. I will stop in Kyoto to take a look around, so that does not bode well for my visit there though. I travel in my full henro attire.

Senbon Torii.

I do not have too much time at hand in Kyoto. So I had narrowed down what I wanted to see to two things, either the golden temple of Kinkakuji or the Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine. Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion Temple) or Rokuonji (Deer Garden Temple) as it is also known as, is one of the most popular sights in Kyoto and features as the name implies a golden pavilion (shariden hall). However, with my fascination of the Shinto gates, the toriis, I decided to visit Fushimi Inari-taisha.

Picture of the space between the two rows of vermilion toriis forming the Senbon Torii, with around ten thousand of these gates.

Bamboo forest on Inariyama, on the path to the Fushimikanda Shrine.

Fushimi Inari-taisha is the head shrine of the god Inari (the god of rice), located at the foot of the mountain with the same name, Inariyama. It is also known as O-inari-san. It was relocated to its present location by Kōbō Daishi in 816. What drew my attention to the shrine was the line of gates called Senbon Torii, with more than 10 000 of them. Quite as expected is the area around the huge gate, Rōmon, and the main shrine, Honden, alive with a lot of people.

Fushimikanda Shrine.

Today, I was not really bothered by the aspect of walking in such a throng. Or, so I thought, because at one point I did become slightly annoyed. This at a young couple that totally disregarded all those who stood in line to take a shot at one of the famous passages of the Senbon Torii paths. While everyone stood waiting, they took an immense amount of selfies (or selfish). Of course I would not mind that they took a few selfies, but this was on the border of complete ridiculousness. Patience, however, won out in the end and I could get the shot I wanted (I had not really expected to get it actually).

Walkers on the Fushimi Inari Trail going underneath the Senbon Torii. The vermilion colored gates stands in stark contrast to the green and lush forest around.

Needless to say of course, I went straight for the path of the thousand gates. At the beginning, there are two paths, one for the entrance and one for the exit. Here, the toriis stand so close together that they form a tunnel more or less. The line of vermilion toriis stands across the paths all the way up to the top of the mountain, but they do not stand as close together as here in the beginning. In Japanese, the word for vermilion is ake. However, there are numerous ways to write this word in Japanese, given the various characters one can write it in, which will give each word a different meaning. Not only a shade of red then, but also like red in dawn and light.

The Shin-ike Pond on the way to the top of Inariyama.

View of Kyoto from Inariyama.

I have really no plan of what I will see and I have no actual information of the site either. I start to follow a path that is muddy at the beginning, but ends up going through a wonderful bamboo forest. I come to the Fushimikanda Shrine, which is almost a maze of toriis in all sizes, both of tree and stone. Located underneath a green panoply, it has such an atmospheric feeling about, everything green gets so amplified when it is raining. And it is quiet here to, not the place most of the visitors to Fushimi Inari-taisha goes to apparently, just a few. The path further leads to the top of the mountain. I had no planned to go to the top, not knowing how far it is, so I turn back to the line of vermilion toriis going through the green and lush forest.

Foxes are considered to be messengers of Inari, here is a fox purification basin.

However, no matter what my plan was or was not, I end up up at the top of Inariyama. I just kept on going underneath the gates. Too mesmerized to stop walking and go down again. With the sounds of the rain dripping through the green forest around me, memories return to me of when I went up to Kirihataji (#10) on Shikoku. Going up in my henro (no place in my backpack for the hat and staff, and then I could just as well put on the white vest too), I receive a lot of stares from the people I walk past. Both Japanese and foreigners. Some are however telling me that they feel it is great that I walk up as I do.

Yakurikitei, a restplace with a café and shrine.

Mitsurugiya.

There are plenty of small shrines on the way up and to relieve all the walkers on the way, there are numerous places to rest at in cafées. Getting views from the walk was not something I expected in this weather, but I do get some views of Kyoto underway. The whole big city looks grey under this sky. The views might be better on a sunny day, but I still believe that the walk on this path is far more beautiful and atmospheric in this rainy weather, so I would not have switched for a sunny day. And it does not rain very much either. There are also less people up here than at the main shrine below.

Stone lanterns and toriis.

At the top, everything is covered in a grey mist. Ichinomine is the name of the highest point on Inariyama, at 233m. Here is the Kamisha Shinseki, which is the site of a former shrine where a deity (Suehiro Okami) remains. After a brief stop I walk down again. I descend down on the other path that goes up and down from Ichinomine. Another thing about the Fushimi Inari-taisha shrine is the foxes (kitsune), said to be the messengers of Inari Okami. On my walk, I had seen several statues of foxes, some with a key in their mouths (for the granaries).

The Fushimi Inari Trail.

A fox or kitsune statue just below to the summit of Inariyama, Ichinomine.

Down at the main shrine, I do not stay for long. However, upon leaving underneath the Rōmon, a foreign couple with a Japanese man guiding them around (I do not remember their nationality) stops me to ask me about my henro outfit. They were really curious about the Shikoku 88 Temples Pilgrimage.

The Kamisha Sinseki former shrine at the top of Ichinomine, the top of Inariyama.

Kami-Massha Tamayama Inari-sha shrine.

I return to the Kyoto train station. Deciding not to get on the Shinkansen at once, I do make one tourist attraction more, by taking the elevator up to an observation deck in the Kyoto Tower. I can barely see Inariyama and the other hills and mountains around in this weather. Bereft of its green foliage, everything looks more sad. Though from my viewpoint, I can see a lot of temples, and a lot of city. I like the way they announce that a machine is out of order, by sticking a note on it saying 'This machine is just in trouble'.

Fushimi Inari-taisha.

View of the Higashi Honganji Temple from Kyoto Tower.

Finally I buy a ticket to Tokyo and sit down on a train leaving for Tokyo shortly after. When I planned for my trip, I ordered a Shinkansen ticket from Tokyo to Osaka from home. Now, I learn that it is more or less unnecessary, I could just buy a ticket and go. It was a beautiful short stay at Kyoto, thanks to the wonderful Fushimi Inari Trail.

Kyoto from the Kyoto Tower.

<- Epilogue: NaraEpilogue: Tokyo ->

Shikoku Henro Michi // epilogue // Nara

Shikoku 88 Temples Pilgrimage.

Before I traveled to Japan, I had done a great deal of thinking what I was going to do when I had finished my pilgrimage on Shikoku. Nothing really stood out, which had nothing to do with there being nothing at all to do. There were lots of things I would like to do. Climbing Fujisan stood of course high on the list. I was also tempted to visit the ethereal and the scary so-called suicide forest of Aokigahara (Sea of Trees). Time on the other hand, was something I had no real control over. Over the course of my pilgrimage, however, I quickly forgot all about what happened afterwards. Thankfully, it sort of fixed itself in a way.

The pagoda at Kōfukuji in the evening.

After finishing my pilgrimage at Kōyasan, I journeyed to Nara. I had to switch some trains to get there, but it was all nice just to sit and relax and watch the scenery unfold outside the windows. I will meet Tomohiro-san at a train station in Nara, but I arrive a little time before our meeting time, so I get to do a short evening walk near the train station. Where I visit the Kōfukuji temple and the small pond close by it. Meeting Tomohiro-san is a good moment. He comes from work and then we drive to his home. To be invited home to a stranger is a great act of kindness and hospitality.

Nan'endō at Kōfukuji, part of the Saigoku 33 Temples Pilgrimage.

A pond in Nara in the evening, Kōfukuji pagoda at the back.

He gave me the choice of visiting Nara or Kyoto, they live between those two large cities, but Nara is closer. I reckon I might be able to see some of Kyoto on the return trip to Tokyo, so I agree that Nara is the best option as we also will have better time than Kyoto there. Driving to Nara we are lucky with the weather too. Nara was once the capital of Japan, before it was moved to Kyoto. There are no lack of temples and sights to see.

The main hall of the Tōdaiji temple.

The large bronze Buddha inside Tōdaiji.

In Nara we first visit the huge Tōdaiji, the Eastern Great Temple. The main temple hall is huge, not to think of that the original main hall that burned down was even larger (30% bigger). It was the largest wooden building in the world until 1998. Inside is the largest bronze statue of a Buddha in the world, Vairocana, about 15m tall. Being here is so different than at a temple on Shikoku. At one hand the temple is magnificent, on the other hand you feel so small next to it. And then there is the crowd of course. There is so much to a small temple too. The gate to Tōdaiji, Nandaimon, is huge as the Daimon-gate of Kōyasan, but appear a lot more worn. Tōdaiji is the headquarters of the Kegon school of Buddhism.

Binzuru (Pindola Bharadvaja) Wood from the 18th Century Edo period. Pindola was one of the disciples of the Buddha who is said to have excelled in the mastery of occult powers. It is believed that if you rubs a part of the image of Binzuru and then rubs the corresponding part of your own body, you will be free of any ailment on that part of your body.

If you walk into Nara Kōen (park) unaware or not warned of the deers, you might be in for a surprise. They are everywhere, almost domesticated. And they are hungry. Some has even learned to bow to you to get food. Thus restrictions has been made to what kind of food you should give them. Which again provides another way for streetvendors to sell goods, specialized food for deers (deer-crackers for instance). It is kind of fun to feed the deers. There are more than 1200 of them. Before the second world war, the sika deers were considered divine and sacred, but after the war they were stripped of that status and instead designated national treasures.

Feeding deer next to a remaining part of one of the pagodas that burned down at Tōdaiji, the top spire.

Nara Kōen holds several temples and shrines. And it is an atmospheric walk going through the park. Stone lanterns, and of course the appearance of the deers between them. We go to the Kasuga-taisha shrine. Besides the usual wonderful architecture, the one thing that stands out at this shrine is the lanterns, many of them in bronze. At the compound there is also a Chaya, a traditional Japanese teahouse offering tea to the guests.

Deerfeeding at Nara Park.

Kagamiike pond in Tōdaiji.

Of course, now I am a tourist. It is good to have Tomohiro-san and his wife guiding me around too, they can tell me about the places we visit. Hopefully, I am not a too demanding tourist.

The huge Nandaimon gate.

We end our tour of Nara with a visit to Kōfukuji (the Hossō school) and an exposition of the significant statues attached to the temple. On a sidenote, the Nan'endō (South Octagonal Hall) of this temple is a part of the Saigoku 33 Temples Kannon Pilgrimage.

Kasuga-taisha shrine.

Ancient stone lanterns and deer bowing to get food.

Before we leave however, I persuade Tomohiro-san to drive me up to Wakakusayama. I had been intrigued by the open landscape that we could see from the city, the result of a forest fire some years ago. My fascination of ridgewalks are always at play. Lots of deer there too. From the open top, with nice views of Nara with deers in the foreground, I walk down on an open ridge. Now I have The Ridgeway fresh in memory. I try to be as quick as I can, a short but wonderful small walk down to an open area with most of the temples of Nara visible below and up again.

At Wakakusayama, with views of Nara and an abundance of deers.

We then travel back home to Tomohiro's home. For dinner he makes okonomiyaki, traditional Japanese pancakes. It is very good. I am guite short of words when it comes to describe how grateful I am of this hospitality.

View of Nara from Wakakusayama.

Tomorrow I will travel back to Tokyo, but a visit to Kyoto on the way is sort of mandatory. I need to change trains there anyway. After almost 50 days in Japan, it feels strange to know that I am soon on my way back to Norway. Like it always is when I have finished one of my long distance trails. I also cannot help compare this experience to the one I had after I hiked the Baekdudaegan in South-Korea three years ago. Then I met Mr. Cho Byeongsam, who also invited me to his home after I had finished my walk.

Looking at Tōdaiji from the road to Wakakusayama.

A wonderful epilogue to my Shikoku 88 Temples Pilgrimage.

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