2nd of September 2019 – At 6:30 I am seated in the dining room. My backpack waits for me in the hall, ready and packed next to my shoes, so I can leave immediately after breakfast. I sit, and I sit… but there is no detectable sound or presence of another person in the hotel. A little disconcerted, I stand and look around. The front door is locked, and the kitchen is deserted. Have I been left completely alone?
My host overslept
I shout a sumimasen! once, the universal sorry. Around quarter to sever, a door opens, and a head with messy hair pops out of the doorframe. It’s yesterday’s host. He overslept. Every two words he says is a Sumimasen! As he offers his apologies again and again. He is apparently also the cook. In no-time he prepares and serves breakfast. It looks good and tastes fine. Sadly, the rice is burnt, and that is unfortunate.
Heading towards two mountain tops
After a quick breakfast, I pay the bill, put on my shoes, and put on my backpack and temple bag. The host opens the door, says an elaborate goodbye, again with a lot of sumimasen! And waves at me as I depart. I am outside again, ready to pick up the route again.
My lunch adds additional weight
Yesterday evening I had done some groceries at the kombini next to the ‘big road’. Among other things, I bought four bananas, raisin buns, nori, and a big pack of Aquarius. That is quite a bit of extra weight, but I know that I’ll need it for this mountain trip.
Two mountain tops
I enter the mountains hiking. It quickly becomes a steep climb which leaves me out of breath. I go upwards at a slow but steady pace. A large part of the route consists of ‘steps’ which start with tree trunks. The space behind them is (or was) filled with dirt. I quickly learn that with my long legs the best method is to step from one tree trunk to another. That costs me less energy than taking two steps that are just a little bit too short, one of which heads upwards. It is nicer to lift up one leg after another every time, with my heavy pack.
Later on, I will start calling these tree trunks “henro-steps” in my head
Meeting a Japanese henro
On the route, I encounter the Japanese man in the short working overall, who had also spent the night at the kamino-yo onsen. I greet him, and we get to talking. He turns out to speak a little bit of English. He tells me that he slept in Hoosen-ji, tsuyado. We walk with each other for a short while. He’s planning to get to temple 22 today at least, just like me. He walks up the mountain with confidence, faster than me. Because of this, we say goodbye and I see him disappear in the distance.
Temple 20 – Kakurin-ji
Giving o-setai
When I walk through the temple gate of Kakurin-ji, I come across the Japanese man again, when he is leaving the temple. We greet each other politely, and I offer him two of my bananas. When I offer it to him, I get an elaborate thank you! He has not eaten anything this morning. This madman has done all that climbing on an empty stomach! I have boundless respect for his perseverance. I go to wash my hands, and I take a little rest before I do my rounds in the temple. The ascent was tough, and the rest well-earned.
My brain is over stimulated
The temples are starting to look like each other. I have visited so many at this point, that I can no longer keep track of them. I am losing my sense of time a little. How long have I been on my way? The route is becoming a series of walking, resting, walking, temple rituals, walking, eating, and sleeping. And that is a rhythm that I will need to get used to. My brain is not ready for that yet. Sometimes it malfunctions a bit, and my thoughts stray far away from where I am in the moment, but sometimes they are completely in the here and now, and I can enjoy a beautiful tree or a view along the route.
Towards temple 21
The lady of the nokyocho-office explains to me how I should best exit the temple to be on the right track for Tairyuu-ji. I am thankful for her, because I would not have figured that out myself that quickly. I leave Kakurin-ji and start my descent.
My knees act as brakes
Walking down a mountain with twelve kilograms on your back is quite intense. I have to keep stopping myself from falling down, and that is taxing on my ankles and knees. Sometimes I have to search for a steady point to put my feet, often my staps cannot be the same length. But every time, the weight of my backpack hits me in the back right after.
Between two mountain tops
This morning, I taped the soles of my feet again. Despite the talcum powder on the tape, the glue ends up going through the tape and sticks my socks to my feet. This, combined with my foot slipping inside my shoe creates a lot of friction. At the end of the descent, I take off my shoe and see that I have a blister in the spot where the string of a slipper joins the sole. This is a horrible place to stick tape, but I do need to. I have to use all my creativity, follow it with a large amount of talcum powder, and hope for the best.
And another climb up to the second mountain top
The climb to temple 21 goes well. Another set of henro-steps that I can easily use with my longer legs. Because I want to use the ropeway down, I cannot leave my backpack here. So, I ascend with my backpack and everything else.
Temple 21 – Tairyuu-ji
The temple is magnificent, has a leveled design, and is quite spacious. On one of the staircases, I get approached by the Japanese man again. After my temple ritual, I take a break. I am not in a rush this afternoon. After this temple, I will do the descent by ropeway. That spares my knees from all the slipping and slowing my pace. Doing this, I also alleviate the pressure on my blisters a little. I sit down on a bench and eat my lunch. Around one o’clock, I start looking around to see if I can find the station for the Ropeway.
After two mountain tops: the ropeway down
The ropeway has its end station here in a building with a small shop. Two ladies in neat uniforms are chatting inside the little store. I hear a buzzer go off, and just about see a cabin disappear from sight. This means that I will have to wait for the next one.
Mushroom tea
I buy a ticket from one of the ladies. As o-setai, she serves me a mushroom tea. It is a delightfully hearty broth-like brew. I enjoy it, thank her kindly, and give her back the teacup. Then, I move over to the waiting area bench. The lady approaches me and we get to talking in Japanese. She wants to know where I am from, how I discovered the pilgrimage, and if I am going to be walking the entire route. With a little extra help, I use my entire vocabulary. It is nice to make contact. I give her a keychain bauble with a porcelain clog as o-setai. She thinks it’s Sugoi!, or amazing!
Taking the ropeway down
Then, the second lady approaches me and sends me to the hallway which leads to the gondola. I can use the gondola of 13:20. She speaks to me in well-worded English and Japanese. During the descent, a river of information flows from her: I can see a group of indigenous animals on one mountaintop, and a statue of Kukai on the other. It is lovely to see her enthusiasm when she tells her stories.
My second henro in February 2024 I walked down the mountain up to temple 23. In good weather conditions this can be done. 2nd September 2019 it was too hot to do so!
At ground level after two mountain tops
I arrive at the foot of the mountain and thank her. The base station is large, with shops and a roofed promenade. Entertaining figures guide me to the exit. There, I see a small park with a couple of park benches. I am much too early to check in, and I decide to first do some groceries and then relax in the park until it is three in the afternoon. When I return and sit down, it starts to rain. Let’s head to the hotel anyway.
A night in Michinoyado Sowaka
Around three o’clock, I visit the reception of the hotel. The lady behind the counter speaks English well. It is very nice to have an easy time communicating again. I pay at arrival and ask her immediately to reserve a hotel for me for tomorrow. We go back and forth for a little to decide what is best, and she arranges a hotel in Hiwasa for me. She shows me where I can do my laundry, tells me where the o-furo, or actually onsen, is located and guides me to my room. Another gorgeous tatami floor with futon. I am gettin used to the Japanese rooms!
This wonderful place to stay has been closed due to the pandemic but luckily reopened in 2024. Now it’s called Iyashi-tei Koku. It’s a great place to stay and one of the limited available places when walking this mountain stretch.
Washing and bathing
After putting my laundry in the machine, and inserting a 100-yen coin, the laundry cycle starts. I leave for the bathroom, use the shower to cool down a little and wash up, and then get in the bath. A lovely soak in the hot water. There is more than enough space here, and I am all alone. After fifteen minutes, I am boiled to perfection, towel myself off, and put my yakuta back on.
Resting in my yukata in the lobby
After donning my yakuta, I sit down in the lobby. There, I find some Japanese people speaking to each other and smoking. One of them speaks a little English and is interested in where I am from. He is doing the henro with his mates by car. We chat a little while he smokes his cigarette.
Using the dryer while having dinner
At a certain moment I check if my laundry is done, fill the dryer, and hang my socks outside to dry. Then, I return to the lobby. A little bit later we are invited to take our spots in the restaurant for dinner.
Communicating with my homefront
After dinner, I depart to my room and exchange some messages with the home front. It is very nice to exchange experiences again. For me it is right before bedtime, for those back in the Netherlands the day is just beginning. Lovely how that works so well. We hadn’t thought of this beforehand, but it is deligthful to stay in contact with Katja.
My blisters are healing
Just before I left for Japan, I had gotten a large splinter lodged in my finger. At the first aid post, they looked for it and stitched me up. A week later, a short stub of wood came out of my finger. The last few days, the wound has been healing nicely. My fingertip is starting to look normal again! And afte a check-up, even the blisters on my feet are starting to look okay. Tomorrow morning, I should apply some more new tape. Now off to bed!