Day Twelve: Kochi, Temples 29 – 34
Weather: Rainy, then clearing to mixed sun and cloud. Warm.
I enjoyed a good breakfast at the hotel: I think it cost only ¥300, and the service was great. A nice place.
Kokobunji (Kochi), temple 29. Each of the four provinces in Shikoku have a 'provincial' temple: these are all called Kokobunji. Temples 15 in Tokushima, 59 in Imabari, and 80 in Takamatsu are the other Kokobunjis.
Temple 30, Zenrakuji.I went to temples 29 and 30, both in Kochi, on schedule, but, reflecting, decided that today was a good day to break for a few hours to check my email at KIA, Kochi’s expatriate organization. Most cities in Japan have expatriate offices where one can find information and, often, use the internet. I had been out of touch for almost two weeks at this point and was worried that my friends might be concerned about my whereabouts. KIA has an office just down the street from the Kochi Castle, downtown.
I had about 30 emails to answer, so I spent about two and a half hours doing that. Then I found a local bike shop and purchased some brake pads for my bike. Mine were uncomfortably close to the metal, and no longer very effective. Cyclists should bring an extra set on this ride, as they will almost certainly have to change theirs…
Now, having lost a lot of momentum, and feeling that I needed to ‘catch up’, I tried to motor along. My goal for the day was to get to 36, and prepare for the long ride down the peninsula the next day. I got lost on the way to 32, however…and my stopping place for the night turned out to be temple 34. All day I felt distracted, and, I think, a bit tired. The bus henro I met were not so friendly.
Temple 30 was a stately, grand temple facing the rice fields. Very beautiful grounds.
Temple 31, Chikorinji, was odd – it had no gate. But it did have this extraordinary approach path. I swear it must be half a kilometer long.
Temple 32 was occupied by a seeming army of obaachan – grandmums – cleaning it. It also boasted a statue of maneki neko, the cat of good fortune, and a sign about a lucky cat who lived here. There were living cats all over the place.
There were also some extraordinary rock formations, like the ones behind this statue. Very different; quite beautiful.
A view of Urado Wan Bay in Kochi, between temples 32 and 33.The 7.5 km. route from temple 32 to 33 requires a ferry crossing of Urado Wan Bay. It's free and runs often, perhaps every half hour or so. The crossing takes maybe ten or twelve minutes.
Sekeiji, temple 33.
Temple 34, Tanimaji.
Temple 34 was very friendly, run by a young couple with two cute kids. While he was signing my nokyocho, the priest asked me where I was going to stay, and I replied that I would find a local hotel or camp (I had a tent). He proposed I stay at the temple, where they maintain a room for walking henro, which was empty today. This is called shukubo, and in this case was free accommodation, offered as o-settai to the pilgrim. I accepted his kind offer; and when I opened the door, found a very nice tatami room.
Dinner was a bit trickier; when I asked if there were any combini around (all one could see was farmhouses and rice) he pointed out the Laundromat across the street, with its’ attendant row of vending machines. I thanked him, but thought…I might head down the road later to see what I could find. Immediately after settling in, I jumped back on my bike, and after a meandering 4 km ride, found a supermarket, where I bought some bento for dinner. Back at the ranch, I used the shower and, after dinner, found twenty minutes in the fading light to replace one set of pads. The old ones were worn well past their limits. Tomorrow would be another long ride.
