Shikoku Pilgrimage Part 6 - Following the Shoreline to Yakuoji

What?
The Shikoku Pilgrimage or Shikoku Henro (四国遍路) crosses the whole island, passing 88 temples, just as it is told that Kobo Daishi (弘法大師), the founder of Shingon Buddhism did. The local Economic Research Institute continues to try connecting the pilgrimage to other local touristic attractions and to make it more accessible for foreign tourists. Just like last year I was invited to test a route, this time route 3: Mountain Temple and Coastal View Walking Course, spanning from temple nr. 19 (Tatsueji 立江寺) to nr. 23 (Yakuoji 薬王寺). Today I would start at temple nr. 22 (Byodoji 平等時) and make my way out of the mountainous area and towards the southeastern shoreline of Shikoku, following it until my end point of the day, temple nr. 23 (Yakuoji 薬王寺). Along the way I passed the majestic Ebisu Cave (恵比須洞) and Hiwasa Sea Turtle Museum Caretta (日和佐うみがめ博物館カレッタ).
Where?
For my second experience with the Shikoku Pilgrimage, I would stay in Tokushuma Prefecture (徳島県). Byodoji is a 30 minute walk from Aratano Station (新野駅) on the JR Mugi Line (JR牟岐線). The end point of today’s route, temple nr. 23 (Yakuoji) is located almost right next to Hiwasa Station (日和佐駅) on the same JR Mugi Line.
URL
Shikoku Trail

As my starting point today was located in the middle of nowhere, I had no fear of the “national road panic”. Whatever way the pilgrimage route would send me, it would be on asphalt, but through rice paddies and fruit orchards with a view on the surrounding hills and mountains. This kind of asphalt, I like. Even when the road got wide enough to pose as a highway, I could count the passing cars on one hand, and the road would soon change into a small Shikoku local road anyway. I deliberately slowed my pace because this stretch in this fantastic morning weather was something that I could walk for many hours. But beautiful stories obviously also come to an end.

The owner of my stay of the previous night had told me there would be a 20 minute part on a highway. I thought I misunderstood “highway” and assumed “national road”. I also heard him say “under”, so I wasn’t too worried. I should have been.
The reason why I misunderstood the owner is because he insisted on speaking a gibberish mix of Japanese and English. I have no problems with any of the two, but mix them with kind hearted ignorance and there’s really nothing left to understand.
The route did go towards a highway, the route didn’t pass underneath it, and as a surprise in perfect Halloween style, the route passed not 1, but 2 highway tunnels. The horror of every pilgrim.
The first tunnel at least still had a designed space for pedestrians. The second one didn’t even have that. I found this absolutely crazy, dangerous and outright irresponsible. This is something that I feel needs to be changed. Right after the second tunnel the pilgrimage takes a turn again into a quiet and sleepy farmer’s town, but even after half an hour or so my heart was still pounding from all the trucks that passed barely a few centimeters from me in a crazy speed.

But ok, the horror-stretch had come, it had gone, and from here on the pilgrimage would be again a great walk. I was of course blessed by the warm October sun. Before I would arrive at the coastline I would have to cross one last hill, the Kaitani pass, which wasn’t very different from the paths I took the previous days: a small forest trail with a few open spaces that granted me ridiculous views on the ocean opening before me. Walking this trail means that you’re actually walking over the highway which goes through a tunnel beneath your feet. The trail eventually crossed the highway again underneath it (maybe this is the “under” that the owner meant), but the path stays small and picturesque, also when it changes in an asphalted road meandering through little seaside towns.

From here on I would take the shoreline route of the pilgrimage, but it is actually not that different from the mountain routes. It goes through hills and forests along the shoreline but without much views on the ocean. I did find the walking very pleasant, with the small fishing towns and the forest trails calming me to slow my pace again. Interestingly, even though I saw quite some monkeys in the mountains, here at the shoreline they crisscrossed the streets and trails nonstop. I think I must have seen a dozen.

Good path.

Bad path.

Finally, the coast!

It's really close now.

The last stretch towards my end station for the day had a few nice surprises. First, there was the Ebisu Cave. The path towards this natural phenomenon split in two, and I chose the left side going up. It would circle the small peninsula so it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. The viewpoint didn’t really offer any views. I was wondering where the cave was. And then I saw a small opening in the fence with a dirt path behind it going down. I took it and arrived at the rocks protruding from the sea. I walked – or crawled – over them until I saw a huge gap in the peninsula that I was walking on. Its sheer size amazed me. I didn’t succeed in taking a decent picture so I just enjoyed the scene. Looking at the other side I saw my end destination, the Yakuoji Temple. It’s unique and big pagoda was standing majestically on a hill overlooking the Hiwasa town. The distance wasn’t very far and I couldn’t wait to get there.
So I crawled back up towards the path with the gap in the fence and continued my circle of the peninsula. And here’s what I didn’t expect. Suddenly the enormous cave also opened on the other side of the peninsula.
From the shoreline I didn’t actually see that the cave was a enormous hole in the landscape, but here from the “landline” I could see the ocean on the other side. It was a gorgeous view.

Time to continue again.
Before arriving at the temple I entered the Hiwasa Sea Turtle Museum Caretta which I will mention in tomorrow’s post. Eventually I arrived at Yakuoji Temple with time to spare. It is built on a hillside and has some pretty views over the town and onto the rugged shoreline. I must admit though that the temple looked more impressive from the Ebisu Cave then when I was standing in it. But that didn’t spoil the fun in any way; it’s still a beautiful temple.

Satisfied and the horror-tunnel almost forgotten, I pressed for my roof for the night, where the owners kindly invited me to a restaurant and to a picturesque light-up event in a neighboring town. On the ride back I almost fell asleep, and I was happy that the futon they provided was warm, comfy and big enough to cover me from feet to ears. I slept great. What a great day.

Shikoku Pilgrimage Part 1 - Iyo-Mishima to the Foot of Mount Unpenji
Shikoku Pilgrimage Part 2 - Heading for Kanonji
Shikoku Pilgrimage Part 3 - Six Temples in One Day

Shikoku Pilgrimage Part 4 - Going Into the Mountains
Shikoku Pilgrimage Part 5 - The Oldest Stretch on the Shikoku Pilgrimage
Shikoku Pilgrimage Part 6 - Following the Shoreline to Yakuoji