7th Nov – Day 1, Temple 43 (Meisekiji)

And so, I survived my first sleep out, in the rain!! My alarm rung at 6am! It was still raining. I thought perhaps I could not start my pilgrimage today. So, I went back to sleep and by 7am, it died off and only drizzling. I woke up and started to get busy. In the end, I decided to begin my pilgrimage today, or else I would need to sleep out again at the same place! Went to my “locker room” to retrieve my bag. Luckily I did not leave my backpack outside, or else it would be drenched! Get changed, had breakfast and the toughest part was to pack up my tent. It was all wet and I couldn’t dry them much. In the end, I gave up and cleaned as much as I could. Took me 2 and half hours to get ready. The rain didn’t stop all the while. Just when I’ve set my watch and ready to hook on my backpack, the rain started to pour!! What a way to start my pilgrimage!! I moved on, carrying my umbrella with me. My raincoat was too small to cover myself and the backpack. So, I had to give my brother the priority.

It was 9:45am 7th November 2010. The time I started my Shikoku 88 Temples Pilgrimage! Just 5 minutes away, the rain got smaller. I saw an old man sheltering from the rain under the bridge. I turned back and offered my umbrella, but he said he was ok. He just lived very nearby. So, I took the same path that I used from the temple yesterday to the camp ground. The journey up was much tougher and I already started to struggle! By the time I reached the temple, I was all soaked to the skin with sweat!! It was only a 30 minutes walk. I did the temple etiquette but prayed in my own way. Got my stamp and the guy recognized me! Bought a drink, and started off at 11am again! And so, I passed by the same route down from the temple for the 3rd time!

When I reached the main road, I probably missed a turn and went a different way, but it was still towards the same direction. So, I walked and walked. A lot of challenges up in my head. Took me a long while to confirm later that I was in the right track. Got to make decisions quick as well. Passed by a coin laundry and thought if I should do it. I remembered a previous advice (I read the book of this guy who travelled around Japan in 6 months on his bicycle) that I should do it whenever I see it. But, I had just started to walk for less than an hour! I set a rule (I have lots of rules for this pilgrimage!) that I would rest 5 minutes after every one hour walk. But not long after my rest, it was 12:30pm already and I thought it would be good to stop for lunch since I was a restaurant. It was a good move. The noodle was damn nice that I finished up the soup as well. For 550yen, the meat given was a lot and there were many vegetable as well! I asked the shop owner where we were on my henro map, and some of the patrons overheard probably. They all wished me best of luck! =]

Not long later, I passed by the last convenience store before a very long walk followed. So, I bought my bread for breakfast tomorrow. And so, I walked and walked. Stopping once every hour, until I met “Meiseji”. This dog just appeared from no way, and I stopped a while to give with her a pat. Then, I realized she was following me, and for a long way!! I thought I could share some of my favourite raisin bun with her in order to keep her away. But, after the munch, she continued to follow. I tried to ignore her, but she was walking very dangerously across the main road. The cars were all trying to slow down and avoid her. She almost even caused at accident when a car tried to jam brake. So, I had to tempt her with food in order for her to walk on the side of the road. When I reached the tunnel, she was still following. I tried to walk to some houses nearby and asked if someone will take her. Met a couple of old ladies, but they suggested me to walk the other henro path which avoids the traffic! Met another who had dogs herself too, but she didn’t want to take Meiseji. Since I started my walk late today, and still had a long walk to the next accommodation, I need to take the shorter path. I was just worried that she had an owner! In the end, I couldn’t chase her away and had no choice but to carry her all the way through the 1.1km tunnel to the other end. She still followed after that. I thought maybe I really couldn’t get rid of her and tried to give her a name. I called out many names, Shikoku, Hachiju, Hachi, Brownie, and many different Japanese words for the colour “brown”, but she did not answer at all. Finally, when I tried “Meiseji”, she turned back. I called again, she turned again. I called once more, she turned once more. I called the 4th time, and she turned the 4th time! Actually, I wanted to call out the name of the Temple 43, “Meisekiji”, but I called wrongly instead! As I walked, I thought maybe this dog later would turned into Kobo Daishi (the famous Buddhist figure in Japan who got enlightenment at this pilgrimage) and I would tell everyone the story, and no one would believe me, and I went crazy!! Perhaps, the wearisome made my mind wandered off somewhere.

It was already 3:30pm and I saw a temple on the map 2.5km away. I thought maybe I could get an accommodation there instead. When I reached, it was already a deserted place. 4pm. There were still 5.4km away to the next “civilization”! I came to a school. Saw toilet sign. Went to check it out and it was not locked!!! Sleep area checked, water checked. Now left one more item, “food”, before I could sleep out at the school’s toilet! Left my backpack inside first and went to search for the restaurants in the map, which should be nearby. After a few rounds, still couldn’t find the place, and the dog was a nuisance since she kept walking in the middle of the road, like it was her grandfather’s road!! So, I checked out the school and the household around to see if there were any vending machines as last resort. But, still couldn’t find any! Luckily I met a guy who managed to direct me to the restaurants, but I needed to carry Meiseji again!! I was so dirty and full with her hair after that!

Had a nice hot meal and soda drink to quench my thirst! My shoulders and hips were so tired! Half an hour later, I came out and thought I had lost Meiseji, but just as I crossed the road, she appeared again!! Couldn’t find any dog food selling around. Went inside the restaurant again and bought a bag of biscuits for Meiseiji. The lady owner even gave me a bigger-than-usual coin pouch, when she saw mine was just a tiny little zip plastic bag. Then, Meiseiji got distracted by some passerby. I quickly tried to run away again and crossed the road. She noticed and saw me when I turned back. She ran over and I saw a car coming. The car probably didn’t see her. It just missed her by an inch!! I let out a yell!!! I was so guilty of myself. If she really got killed there, I would be to blame. So, I carried her back to the school again.

Came back to my “studio apartment”. There were lights inside as well. It would be perfect if there was power plug as well. Surprisingly not in a toilet! There was a basin area and I set my mat there. Today I covered only about 15.6km. I need to buck up!

Meiseji barked a few times when probably someone was around. I wondered if she had enough for dinner. I wondered if she was cold outside. I wondered if I could really bring her along. Some of the paths needed to walk along the road, and I would need to carry her again!

I was really tired. Need to check-out early at 5am tomorrow before the kids come to school! Slept at 9pm, but was woken up by the rain again. It was still 10:30pm and very cold even indoor. I put on all my sleeping gear again like last night. I found that it was tough not to stretch my leg full. So, I had to sleep diagonally, just long enough for me. I also used the heat packet, although the instruction suggested not to use it while sleeping! I wonder why. Anyway, it worked only on the area where I patched it. Struggled the whole night but still managed to catch some sleep.