Kagawa Prefecture Report

 

 A Recap of the final leg of the Journey.

Damn. Just damn. This was tougher than I could have imagined. Kagawa Prefecture is supposed to be the Dojo of Nirvana, where all the lessons come together and you blissfully march to the finish line in total triumph. Well, it didn't quite work out that way. This was the hardest leg of the entire pilgrimage. Long miles, brutal hills, relentless rain, Flesh-Eating Fungus, and even some total jerks transformed Kagawa prefecture from a cakewalk into a murderous final test. Without the help of my Aussie buddy Barnaby, I might have just given up and called a cab for the last couple temples. But I didn't, and the lessons I learned will serve me for the rest of my life. That is, if I don't have to amputate a couple of my toes. That won't serve me too well.

Sunday June 7- Departed from the town of Ikeda to the mountaintop temple #66, Unpenji. Seriously contemplated taking the cable car down the mountain, but came to my senses and did it on foot. Made it to #67 by the end of the day, and had a long talk one on one with an older Japanese dude at the guesthouse about just about everything. HIGHLIGHT- The statues of the 500 disciples of Buddha on the top of the mountain. A couple looked like they were drunk! Each one had a different personality.

Monday June 8th- Got started early and knocked out temples #68 through #70 with Mr. Hatano, a cool guy whose son is some kind of soba expert on TV. Rain started on the long road to #71, where I discovered a new companion that would stay with me for the rest of the journey: Flesh-Eating Toe Fungus! Athlete's Foot, to be more exact. I've never had this before and it freaked me out, but after I learned to control it I took pride that I was finally an athlete. Aren't you finally proud of me? Father? Met up with Barnaby and took care of temples #72 and #73 by the end of the day. HIGHLIGHT- The Japanese Army! There was a Japanese Army base near temple #73. I asked a Lieutenant Colonel for directions to the nearest hotel! All the soldiers ride bicycles to and from work. Maybe that's why I saw less fatasses than in the US Army. . .

Tuesday June 9th- Went to Temple #74 and #75 in the morning. Temple #75, Zentsuji, had a tunnel of darkness you had to feel your way through, and at the end there was a Buddha statue. Kinda fun, like a county fair attraction. Met up with Barnaby again at temple #76, and we knocked out temples #77 and #78 together. This time we actually made a solid plan to meet in front of the train station around 6:45 the next day. HIGHLIGHT- The bridge near my hotel had an awesome view of the mountains to the south, and the heavily industrialized coastline to the north. Two totally different pictures in one spot.

Wednesday June 10th- Met up with Barnaby in the morning after doing morning exercises with a bunch of senior citizens. Promptly got lost and asked for directions from like 3 people, and finally found temple #79 mid morning. We mixed it up a bit and went to Temple #81, then #82, and finally #80 to limit the amount of up and down mountain climbing we had to do. Barnaby set up shop in a random field next to the temple while I went off to find lodging of my own. HIGHLIGHT- Seeing old phone booths getting dismantled and shipped away! The age of the mobile phone is upon us.

Thursday June 11th- Another nasty day of rain. Went 9km to get to Temple #83, another 12km to get to Temple #84, and another 6-7km to get to Temple #85 at the end of the day. Nothing but rain and humidity. Don't really remember any of the temples. We both stayed at a place called the Takayanagi guest house, the owner of which would give us some major problems the next day. But that night, everything seemed to be fine. HIGHLIGHT- A dilapidated, abandoned hotel near Temple #84, and a gorgeous udon restaurant where I had Barnaby take some photos of me in Samurai pajamas.

Friday, June 12th- The day we made it to the final temple, #88 Okuboji, was the most difficult day of the entire journey, both emotionally and physically. We had to deal with pain, discrimination, and the biggest mountain of the entire pilgrimage. A full account is coming in the next blog entries entitled, The Final Days. Until then. . .