30th Dec – Day 54, Uwajima City (Uwajima Youth Hostel)

The night wasn’t that bad. It was cold but I seemed to have a good rest. In fact, I woke up at 1am, thinking it was already bright! Started my walk around 7:05am but it was still pretty dimmed like it was only 6:15am a month ago! There were many vending machines along the way, but I managed to resist the urge of having my coffee! Thought I could outclass my mind and walked without one the whole morning. In the end, I was still the loser and had one around 9am!! It got colder now, but half an hour later, it became better. Around 10am, it became colder again. I stopped for my tea break at a convenient store.

Had been seeing a lot of open burning around. Some were used to fertilize the soil, some for other reasons. I wondered why the Japanese did not invent some machine to suck the smoke into a container and then recycle them!!

Very soon, it began to drizzle and quickly developed into heavy rain. I had to stop outside someone’s house to change my shoe! Walked for another two and half hours and my knees couldn’t go further anymore. So, I had my lunch at an Udon restaurant. Nothing fancy. Should had moved slightly further up to try the Joyfull restaurant that I’d always been seeing around. Looked like Udon always made my eyes heavy. Almost dozed off in my seat. After 45 minutes, I dragged myself to move on. The rain was again making me very reluctant to sleep out. So, I decided to call up a few Business Hotels. Earlier, I had tried one but it was too expensive and the Youth Hostel’s number was not valid. Before I checked on those business hotels, I had a look at my Lonely Planet and saw the recommended Youth Hostel as well. Tried that number and it worked! For only 2100yen with free internet, I couldn’t find a better reason to decline, although it was rather out of the way!

While I was browsing the Lonely Planet, I happened to notice this famous sex museum at Uwajima! I thought ever since I was on this pilgrimage, I had been missing a number of chances to visit great sight-seeing places around. And why not going to an interesting sex museum instead!! Since I was already here, I thought I may as well paid the visit first instead of travelling more than 10km back to this city again if I planned to complete my pilgrimage tomorrow. And that was how my last day was pushed forward to next year, on New Year day!!

Since I would pass by the junction to the Youth Hostel before reaching Bangai 6, I decided to call it a day and headed down to the lodging instead. The way to the Youth Hostel was pretty tricky. There were so many twists and turns. It was like a maze, and even cutting through a shrine! But, I must compliment the map for being so accurate on those small paths. After some help from the locals on the direction, I managed to find the place. There was even an interesting sign which indicated the distance was about 600 steps more!! And I was really there at the 597th step!

The owner was on his way out soon, and so I quickly borrowed a bicycle from him to go downtown to get my food! Thought of having my dose of McPork and Big Mac first, but the route back to the hostel was too confusing, especially more in the dark! So, I just rode and found a huge supermarket, Sunshine, to get my stuff! I got so many things that I could have a picnic! The supermarket was very crowded like there was a sale! Rushed back to the hostel on time before it got dark!

Had my shower. Did my laundry. Ate my dinner. And it was “wow” time!! Going online!!!! But, somehow I just could not upload my photos to my blog!! And the machine was crawling… I was really exhausted as well and the plan to visit the sex museum kind of screwing up my schedule’s tomorrow! The TV was showing a live Japanese music award program and one of the winners was a group with easily 20 people!! I wondered how much winning would be left divided among them! Or maybe my eyes were too weary and saw double figures!

Eventually I gave up at 11pm and went to bed, trying to get my daily 7 hours of sleep.

29th Dec – Day 53, Temple 40, (Kanjizaiji)

I had a good sleep last night, woke up fresh and raring to go again! After breakfast, I went straight back to Route 56 at around 7:10am, and continued along the same road until 4:15pm!

After two hours of walk, I was almost at the temple but got distracted for a while checking on my messages online. Had a toilet break and my corn soup at the convenient store before I arrived at Temple 40 around 9:45am. Besides the usual prayer, I also prayed that Nick, my school mate, would get well soon!

Since I still had time, I decided to find a place to go online in order to book my flight home earlier before the tickets run out. Sometimes, you felt so fortunate that somehow things were pre-planned ahead just like it was in the movies. We always said after a typical scene, “有无干巧啊!?” (meaning “Could it be so coincident!?” in Cantonese). It was indeed “就是干巧!” (meaning “Exactly so coincident!” in Cantonese). I found one at a perfect place where I could even hide away from the wind outdoor! It was inside a rice-cleaning machine booth! But, unfortunately, it could not last for long. Someone needed to use the machine, and I had to move out. (The booth could only fit in 1 person and the rice bags perhaps.) Very soon, he was done and I went in again. Just when I was about to sit down, another user came. I gave up and squatted outside the booth instead. I quickly get my online reservation done and packed up, because the wind was strong and too cold to stay stationary!

I was trying to look for a restaurant as soon as I could. Finally, I saw a giant supermarket instead. Went in and saw nice seats and tables! Dropped my baggage and hunted for my lunch at once! Had a feast of bargain! The huge drumstick was only 150yen! The large soba fish 105yen! Had another plate of vegetables to go with my rice! Finished off with a half-priced milk of 30yen!! Once my stomach was taken care, it was time to shop for dinner and breakfast! Had a hard time making up my mind on the fish or chicken sushi! It’s a tough job shopping for food at supermarket, especially big one! I was always finding it tricky to stay focused and not engrossed by other food and snacks!

I continued my walk and saw a sign to warn drivers of strong wind. There was a picture of a car being blown away! I thought if a car could be blown off, what about me then weighting 7kg lesser!! The next two and a half hour was much tougher. Firstly, it must be the heavy lunch. And secondly, the timing of the day always made you felt drowsy! Finally, I reached a small village Uchiumi at 2:45pm and stopped for my tea break. I still had only about an hour of walk more to go to reach the onsen. And today, the Lady Luck was especially nice to me. I found another internet access where I could sit at the bus stop to avoid the wind! I took the opportunity again to upload my blog but time was flying like a rocket! Didn’t want to rush later, I moved on around 3:30pm. Within 45 minutes, I reached the park and the onsen. As usual, it was time to check out the toilets. Glad to have another decent handicapped toilet around. Got ready for my onsen, and noticed it was still early. Walked to the beach and hung around to view the sunset! It was around 5pm. Within a minute or so, it went out of sight pretty quickly, especially at the last few seconds.

The onsen was cheap and clean, but it was too crowded! Accordingly to Yumi-chan, this place was unique because the water was from the sea and supposed to be good for skin! After the bath, I checked out the restaurant and had my dinner there instead. Perhaps, I picked the wrong order. The chicken was just so-so. I went up to the rest area and updated my blog. The news reported that the next two days were going to snow again! Another patron there confirmed again with me later. I thought it just had to be a bit tougher towards the end!

While I was updating my blog, the TV was showing a program and there was this black guy, like those rappers, speaking Japanese so fluently that it looked funny!! I was still too full to have my sushi! Soon, it was already 9:30pm and time to go back to my “hotel”. My eyes were pretty tired. Got ready my “bed” and knocked down at 10pm!

28th Dec – Day 52, Temple 39 (Enkouji)

It was a good sleep and as always I woke up only after the alarm had snoozed many times. Today it was 4 times! I bid the owner farewell and left at 7:30am exactly! The morning was refreshing. The temperature was around 2 degree but it wasn’t that cold. And I had a good walk all the way until I had forgotten to stop for the hour break! When I was almost at the temple, I went for a toilet break at the train station. I saw a guy in the toilet and after my session, he was still there waiting for me! He wanted to give me the pamphlet on some Christianity. I just took it and thanked him.

Half an hour later, I reached the temple which was inside some residential area. After that, I continued to Temple 40’s direction along a jungle path. Had not been on the jungle path for so long and just a little slope, I had already complaining to myself! When in doubt, I usually check my compass to make sure I was in the right direction. This time, it showed South-East!! Which was exactly the opposite of what I expected!! Luckily there was a sign soon enough, pointing to Temple 40, to pacify me! Soon, I reached the main road, Route 56, and passing through the town into the city centre. There were many lorries and trucks along the road, making the air not very fresh!

When I was at the town centre, I went to the post office to send a postcard. The stamp for international was only 20yen differences from the local! Then, I passed by a restaurant and checked out the price. I had a set lunch for 840yen, and it was heavenly! The meat was great and the rice was special. I got to play cooking too!

After the meal, I thought I had some time to spare and looked for internet access. Found one to check my messages. And that was when I got some bad news. A few days ago, I heard a school mate was diagnosed with lung cancer! Today, my friends told me he could be at 3rd stage! My mood was different for the rest of the day. I wondered why such things happened to people like us. We were only 35 years old! I prayed he would get well soon!

It was getting late. I bought my dinner for tonight and breakfast at a supermarket before moving on around 1:30pm. I hit straight to some steep slope! Followed by uphill of 100m height and down again for several kilometers until I came to the final 1km stretch of constant upslope to 387m above sea level! After not going through slope for a while, it was pretty harsh to me! I was sweated all over! Before that, I even lost my way and went up a tough hike for 5 minutes, just to realize I was going to someone’s else plantation! After more than one and half hours, I eventually reached the peak of Matsuo-toge Pass and had my tea break.

Barely 15minutes, it was getting very cold and I had to start moving again. There was one point where I met two contradicting signs again. I wasn’t really sure where I was in the map, but it seemed more likely the one going straight. Perhaps, both ways would meet up again further ahead! Next, it was another 45 minutes walk until I reached my destination to finish off the day, at the onsen. I checked out the toilet close by and the handicapped toilet was decent enough, although not as big as what I had in previous days. Left my things and went to the onsen for my hot bath. Had my bread and can food there as well. The can meat was quite “terrible” after what I had for lunch this afternoon. Decided to keep the other one instead until I had a hot instant noodle to mix with. Luckily there was my favourite milk to cheer me up.

I finally remembered and called home. Mom wasn’t much surprised I didn’t call home for so long! But I was glad the aunts kept her accompanied. Didn’t even realize I was already backed at Ehime prefecture until I saw the public phone book!! I had in fact crossed over from Kochi-ken at the Matsuo-toge Pass!! I had left Kochi-ken for good and walked through all the prefectures!!!! Around 9pm, the onsen was closing and I went back to my “Toilet Hotel” and knocked off around 10:30pm. I could hear the fierce roaring of wind outside. Glad this toilet was very well located and sheltered from the ferocious wind!

Today was the 4th last day where I clocked 27.9km closer.

27th Dec – Day 51, Mihara Village (Shimizugawa-so)

Finally I had a warm night sleep, and woke up super fresh! Felt very confident that I could stay on the road for 8.5 hours today to complete the 34km distance! And so, I set off at 7am and was able to walk slightly faster again. The first 19km was actually going the opposite direction of what I had gone through the last couple of days. Around an hour later, an old lady stopped her car to say hi. She remembered me but I could not recall where did I meet her! She wished me good luck and drove on. I met her again later (She was driving the opposite direction this time round) and she waved and said “Goodbye”! That was when it brought to my mind that she was the old lady at the laundry near Temple 37!

After the 2nd hour, I stopped briefly to have some biscuits and a can of coffee! The next two hours, I felt like a marathon runner. Just concentrating fully on my breathing and the walk. At 11am (4th hour), I passed by the school where I spent the night 2 days ago and soon reached the convenient store to have my lunch. I had to buy my dinner and breakfast as well, since the map had nothing on food throughout the journey except at this store! Around 11:45am, I continued again and completed the first 19km 15minutes ahead of schedule! The remaining hours were essentially walking on the quiet Route 346 and Route 46. There were hardly any cars passing by.

Suddenly, I started to panic, realizing I was going to finish my pilgrimage but had not reflected anything on my life yet! It was like those school kids who were given the summer homework, but did not work on them until the last few days when the school’s new term was about to resume! But, In fact, I had already done my “homework” before the “holiday” actually started! Kind of know how to live the rest of my life. And being crazy… and stupid were definitely part of it!

In between the hours, I stopped another 15 minutes to have my tea break. Then, I met another road closure! And they made the pedestrians to detour for nearly 1km, following the path for the cars!! I wondered why couldn’t they just build a small path to cut through instead! One kilometer!! That was about 15minutes walk!! Very often, you could walk for 1 hour to the bath house or half an hour to the supermarket, but not 15minutes of detour!!

At 4:45pm, I finally made it to the lodging! The exterior wasn’t something I hoped for. There wasn’t anyone around but a phone number. I couldn’t find a public phone and had to make the call using my iPhone. The owner had left the key in the letter box! I went in, picked the best room that I like most, and enjoyed my hot shower! The washing machine and dryer was only 200yen! Today was the perfect day to do my laundry. While I was preparing some hot water, the owner came home. I returned his key and paid my money. He returned 500yen lesser. I thought he agreed to have it at 3000yen! He explained that the rate was after 6pm!! What a crap!! When I called using my mobile, it was already 5 plus!! And I swore that the longest sentence that he said this morning, (after I’d asked him to reduce to 3000yen), was only “Yes” and “Ok” in Japanese!! And that stupid public phone had even eaten my phone card still worth of more than 20 local calls!!

After dinner, I planned the remaining 4 days of my pilgrimage!! I couldn’t believe I had only 6 temples left, including the last unnumbered temple, Bangai 6 and Temple 43 where I started, in order to complete the circle!! 55 days seemed so short to me!! It looked as if I had just begun my walk yesterday!! I tried not to think about that for the time being and went to bed around 10pm.

Today was the longest walk that I had for this pilgrimage at 34.2km!

26th Dec – Day 50, Temple 38 (Kongoufukuji)

Thought I slept so early last night, I could not get enough rest. The alarm rang at 4:30am, but I set it to 5:30am again. I woke up around 6am instead, feeling very tired and didn’t have the right frame of mind to walk at all. My throat was very dry and looked like it was developing to sore throat! And that was not a very good sign! The whole day I wasn’t at my 100 per cent. Felt chilly and not very sound. The cold weather these two days must have been the culprit! I realized I wasn’t crazy actually, but stupid instead! I wondered why would anyone be so foolish to suffer the cold sleeping out, just to save some few bucks!

Though I woke up at 6am, I surprised myself for getting ready so soon and was already walking by 7:30am! The morning sun was very beautiful. Today was following Route 321 basically, before joining to Route 27 all the way to Temple 38. There were so many henro signs along the road. Some for old paths. Some for new ones. I was confused and thought I had missed a turn and went the longer way. Instead, I wasn’t at that point yet! When I was actually there, the sign pointed down to the beach. I hesitated and confirmed a few times with my map book, until a man came out from a small food stall. He later offered me to come in for a coffee and bought me a bread set! The stall owner also offered me a couple of oranges. Later, two of the other patrons there gave me more oranges! I thanked them all with my name slips. After the great snack, I moved on down to the beach! It was a short 15 minutes walk before I was directed back to Route 321.

Haven’t met a walking o-henro-san for a long time, until today. He was from Temple 45 going the opposite direction. Realized I hadn’t been calling home for a long time since the Love Hotel night and had forgotten again. I recalled the two ladies in the laundry on the day before Christmas’s eve, saying, “Your parents must be really worried about you!” Hadn’t been very filial all these years. Was always away from home since high school. Went to Melbourne to study and then worked in Singapore.

Suddenly, I heard “Ham!! Ham!! Ham, ham!!” A dog was barking very strangely, that literally sound like that! Around 12pm, I reached a small town, Kubotsu and glad to stop for lunch. The set meal was wonderful and the rice was pretty close to the one I had at the lodging on Day 38, that I had a second bowl! The batter was so fresh that I could taste the smell of the flour! The owner later gave me a treat on the extra bowl of rice and another piece of bread as “o-settai”!

After that, I continued for an hour and reached the cheap lodging that I planned to spend the night. I informed the owner that I would be back around 5pm. I noticed the place was not bad and thought I could have a nice sheltered place tonight finally! It was only now that I felt more like myself. Probably because of having 70 lemons!! That was what the label said on my bottle of “C.C. Lemon Super Vitamin C” drink! I walked much faster and within an hour, I reached Temple 38 at 3pm. And so, I spent 4 days to make it to the temple, only to spend 14 minutes there! Almost forgotten how to go through the temple etiquette! I quickly walked to the store nearby to get my rations and rushed back to the lodging again, before it got dark! It had been a cold day and for the first time in my pilgrimage, I had both jackets on for the whole day!

The owner was a young guy. He was waiting for me. There were actually two options. The hut outside cost half the price at 500yen only, but the light was very dim and I thought the room inside would be more cozy, with a heater. So, I opted for the 1000yen and was happy with it, except the shower which was done outdoor!! The hot water was kept separately in a big bowl, which I needed to scope it out and mix with cold water from the tap. And it was a mistake to wash my hair! Luckily the heater in the room was strong enough to warm up the room!

After some planning, I decided to walk the longest day of my pilgrimage tomorrow at 34km, in order to stay at a paid lodging instead. Hence, I went to bed earlier so that I could start my walk sooner tomorrow morning!

Today I was another 26.4km closer to end my pilgrimage!

25th Dec – Day 49, Tosa-shimizu City (Shimonokae Junior High School)

It was Christmas Day!! And I overslept! I thought I overheard someone saying “o-henro-san” and sprung up immediately to find out it was already 7:15am!! My alarm did not ring and I only realized it was set to silence! I turned on the “Silent Mode” last night, thinking I would not be aroused from my sleep, by my friends when they send me well wishes SMS! But, I was kind of depressed to see none this morning. Looked like I wasn’t very popular among my friends!

It was so cold last night that the tissues I used to slot under the toilet door were all soaked! I hurried and managed to get going only at 9am! After an hour of walk, it snowed!!! It was only my second witness of snowing and the first time in a city!! I still remembered my first snowing experience at Mt Buller, Melbourne, Australia. The weather was perfect, and I could see snow falling down gently from the sunny clear sky!! Today, it was equally beautiful! It was heavy and the view was great! Really wanted to capture the moment, but the camera I had couldn’t do a good job. But soon, the wind got stronger too. And sent the snows coming from all directions! I didn’t know which way to hold my umbrella. Then, very strong wind followed and basically blew the snows horizontally to my right, trying to wet my shoes! Luckily I was pretty close to the convenient store to get some shelter. It was 11am and just time to break for lunch too. It was so windy and cold outside that you didn’t feel like walking again after you’d stopped.

An hour later, I had to move on. The snow really loved me. For as long as I had rested, the snowing stopped, but as soon as I started hitting on the road again, it came back! Shortly, I reached a long bridge and found out the secret of how Michael Jackson did his 45 degree stun in the “Smooth Criminal” MTV! The wind essentially made me pushed forward in 45 degree!! After I had crossed the bridge, my poncho was blown away, and I witnessed it flying off bit by bit slowly down to the river until the last slope before it felt off and stopped! I quickly ran down and managed to grab it before I really see it for the last time!

After lunch, I could walk faster and smoother again, ironically, after a can of coffee again! At around 2pm, I reached the first checkpoint and felt like eating something hot. So, I stopped again for an Udon soup at the restaurant. This place was where I would be coming back again to Temple 39!

I continued Route 321 and came to a very long 1.6km tunnel! When I came out half an hour later, I almost forgotten it was the day time still! Soon, I reached the area where the cheap lodging should be. I tried hard to look out for signs that the guide mentioned, but couldn’t find any at all. Instead, I found a stall selling 8 takoyaki for only 200yen! I couldn’t resist and stopped to enjoy the snack! The stall owner was very nice and added two more extra for me!! I tried asking if she knew about the cheap lodging. She pointed me to the hut just outside her stall! I thanked her and was happy to find it! But when I checked out the place, it was more like a deserted store! I moved on to try my luck elsewhere.

Reached the school but there was still no sign of the lodging. I had already planned to give up and looked up for the toilet instead. After turning one round, it was actually outside the school compound. And when I saw the inside of the handicapped toilet, I was delighted and checked in to the “Toilet Hotel” immediately! I saw shower available in the toilets too! I thought it was my luckiest day! But no, there was no hot water! I cleaned up and went out to the convenient store for food. On the way, I saw a restaurant and ate there instead since I could have a proper seat and probably stayed longer indoor! The set dinner was wonderful!! Fried chicken with tomato fish and miso soup. The rice was very nice that I ordered another. All for 900yen! Sadly, the place closed at 7pm. I was very tired. Went to get my breakfast at the convenient store and returned to sleep immediately instead of updating my blog. It was a cold night. Everything in my pouch seemed be to just taken out from the freezer!

Today was another tiring 23.8km.

24th Dec – Day 48, Kuroshio Town (Tosa Seinan Big Park)

The bed was too nice. I left my bed grudgingly to the toilet at 5am. I saw lights at the dining hall already and wondered if Kotaro-san had already awoken! I jumped back into the bed and couldn’t get up at 6. After many rounds of snooze, I forced myself up around 7am since everyone was already waiting to have breakfast!

Kotaro-san was about to go to work. He gave me more chocolates and a charm from his temple. I felt bad for not having breakfast with him and didn’t manage to take a photo together! After my breakfast, it was time to bid farewell to the family. I thanked Mieko-san again and again. She gave me their contact in a postcard with the photo of the kids!

It was around 8:30am when I left. I walked to the convenient store hoping to meet the boss again to thank them, but the shop attendant said they were not around. I moved on feeling very blur the whole morning, still puzzled at my luck yesterday!

After 2 hours, I stopped briefly for my bread. While I was half way eating, I smell something wasn’t right! It got worse and found out the sewage was at work! Quickly packed up and moved to another vending machine outside a hotel.

It was a very windy day and for the first time, I felt cold during the walk! Another hour passed and I realized, I was almost at the intended destination within 45 minutes. It was still 11plus, and I wondered if I should continue my walk until the next destination which was another 2.5 hours away.

Around 12pm, I reached the Michi-no-eki. Hang around the place for an hour and had my pre-lunch there to stay away from the strong wind outside. Then, I started checking out the toilets from the map. The first one was already closed. I walked further along the beach! The sand was nice and my shoes were full of them after the short distance. Reached the second toilet and it was just great! I was already planning to check-in to the “Toilet Hotel” again. Left my bag inside the handicapped toilet and took my valuables to look for lunch! It was already 2 plus. Perfect! The supermarket was just 5minutes walk away! Had my lunch inside the supermarket, and found out from the cashier that there was a bath house at the hotel just 400m away from the toilet I came from!! Perfect again!! Then I was considering whether I should come back later to get my breakfast and dinner or buy them now, since the supermarket was closing early at 7pm! I knew it was a bad choice to delay the purchase, because I never made it back to the supermarket after that. Instead, I was spending hours at the hotel after my bath, since there was an internet access!!!

I had two glasses of milk inside the bath area and enjoying my junk food again while uploading my blog. After 2 hours plus, the staff didn’t like me occupying the space and chased me out! I had to step out of my comfort zone and walked to the front desk. I tried to check the restaurant at the hotel for the price and met the same staff! He said in deep Japanese, which basically told me to f*** off! Glad there was still seats at the front desk and spent another 2 hours updating my blog. Didn’t want to plug in my power plug, just in case the same staff hunted me down again! Surprisingly, I wasn’t feeling hungry still. Perhaps, the milk and banana bloated me.

Around 8:30pm, I left the hotel since I still had a half an hour walk to the convenient store to get my breakfast and have my dinner. So, I spent an hour walking to and fro, just to spend 30 minutes eating my instant ramen, and bought a milk, a yogurt and a couple of bread! And the convenient store was really running low of stocks. There weren’t many choices for my dinner! And there wasn’t even any cheese and slice breads! But, the walk wasn’t that bad! Half an hour seemed pretty fast, and luckily the wind was kind throughout my journey!

Came back to the toilet and continued to update my blog. It was pretty chilly still because the wind was cutting through the gap underneath the door! I was so clever and stuck some tissues to seal the opening as much as possible. And Santa Clause even gave me a present! The wifi signal from the hotel was so strong that I could spend my Christmas with the internet! Soon it was already 12:30am, before I realized it!! I quickly got some sleep!

Today was somehow a slack day at 16.4km!