It was such a comfortable night, having some degree of cushioning under my body and being able to spread out, that I “overslept.” I woke up, returned all the benches to where I had found them, and noticed a cat watching me intently. There you are, I thought to myself, and proceeded to serve the pouch of cat food. Another identical cat showed up and I kicked myself for being stingy and only buying one pouch, which honestly wouldn’t fill the stomach of even a single stray.
The sky was gray, but the rain had stopped and it looked like I might get lucky and avoid some rain after all. I carried my suitcase back down to Temple 61, stowed it under a sign with a bit of a roof in case it started raining again, then promptly headed up to the mountain–a 9 km trek (one way). I was under the impression that it would take me just over 2 hours on the way up, but I was wrong, and despite the initial joy of being liberated from my heavy karma (luggage), I was quickly swearing under my breath “where the F is this temple already.” It didn’t help that many sections of the route were long and steep, or that every so often I’d pass a sign: 3.2 km to go. Then, after what felt like 20-30 of strenuous exertion, the next sign would announce 3.1 km to go. WTF? When I checked my step counter at the top, it told me that I had traveled a distance of 12 km, not 9km. Like Shangri-la, this mountain top temple always seemed to be just out of reach. I wasn’t too anxious about my luggage being left in plain sight in public, but I had a long day ahead of me and wanted to be quick about it so I could fit all the temples in.
The way back down, which should have been quicker, felt equally long and strenuous. Apparently, the mountain is uphill both ways. I ran out of water and with each breath focused on the now of “I’m gd tired” and “I’m so thirsty.” Mindfulness is sometimes a double-edged sword. When I reached the reservior, I found a water fountain and a bathroom and with renewed strength finished the last 4 km back to Temple 61.
Temple 61 is a very unique temple. It looks more like a masonic lodge than your typical East Asian architecture. The main hall was on the second floor of the massive black obelisk-like building, which was a auditorium of seating around the altar–like a cathedral or megachurch. At the sign-in station, the monk handed me a laminated sheet explaining the Temple 62 had exited the association of 88 Temples and doubled their fees. However, I could visit a “temporary” alternative worship site in the second parking lot of Temple 61. I had seen the signs for it and been confused. I walked the 50 meters there for my second round of templing, but went ahead and swung by “Temple 62” to burn some incense. I was tempted to ask them if what I had been told was truly the case. There is a lot of money at stake. If one temple slanders the next and redirects the pilgrims to its own new site, it could really fill its coffers.
Being well after lunch time at this point (and two hours behind my imagined schedule), I was famished and headed to a nearby Lawson’s only to find that there were no counter and chairs inside. That put a cramp in my plans to have lunch. I carried on to Temple 63, but spotting a grocery store, popped in and was delighted ot find it had a section of tables as a rest area. I rusled up a lunch and plugged in my phone at an outlet to charge for a bit.
As I was eating, a Japanese woman (a math teacher at a secondary school) came by to chat with me for a bit. She said something about planning to open an international school within the next couple years and was interested in my impressions of the area. I wasn’t helpful. With two temples and less than 2 hours until closing time, I had to rush off. The next one was just a block away, but on the 3.3 km walk to my last temple for the day, I got caught in the rain. While I was sheltering under an overhang for a few moments, I realized that every time I stopped to talk to a Japanese person (in the last two days) I got caught in the rain. I think the lesson I am supposed to learn from that is that I should be more of an a-hole.
When the rain dialed back to a light drizzle, I carried on, reaching the temple at 4:55. I got my book signed straight away, which was fortunate, because by the time I finished my rituals, they had locked up the counter. There was a park/hut next to the temple, so I could have stopped there for the night. However, because the next temple was some 40 km away, I figured it would be better to catch a train over to the general area for a fresh start in the morning. I hobbled over to the nearest train station and realized that train schedule was not convenient. After a longish wait, I hopped on the next train in the right direction, which ended its run at the next station. So I had to get off there. I grabbed a cup of instant noodles at a 7-Eleven while waiting for the next train to take me to my destination. It sucks that splitting the train ride ended up costing me an extra 100 yen, but that’s how things work.
When I got off at the correct train station, I went into full homeless mode, looking around the train station and evaluating its sleep-ability. Fortunately, however, I knew of a henro hut about a kilometer away, so I limped myself over there. It was on a traffic island where a side road intersected the highway. There were no facilities other than a bench, a roof, and partial walls. I dropped my stuff, changed into sandals and headed up the highway to the nearest Family Mart. It also had no tables. The instant noodles had pretty much filled me up, so after making use of the restroom, I just grabbed some chocolate covered peanuts and a drink, which I consumed back at the hut.
Each night had been getting warmer, and it was nice that the humidity was down some. I looked at the weather report, and other than two windows of 50% chance of rain, I looked to be in the clear.
47311 steps for the day
| Supermarket lunch | 494 |
| Temples * 5 | 1500 |
| Train tickets | 210+760 |
| Vending machine drink | 130 |
| Instant noodles (dandan mian) | 138 |
| Family mart snack | 211 |
| Total: | 3443 JPY (220.3 RMB) (USD 32.7) |
Running Total: 27831.3 RMB (USD 4132.5)
Daily Average: 299.3 RMB (USD 44.44)