I got no sleep at all last night. Literally no sleep whatsoever. There was absolutely no escape from the wind and the rain, and I now realised that Uchiko Hut offered no protection from the harsher elements of Mother Nature. Using my rain jacket and rain pants, I tried to cover my sleeping bag the best I could, but it was a futile effort at best. I tried different locations around the hut to try and sleep, but it was no use. 

Eventually I gave up and after a very early (4am) breakfast, I decided to hit the road. Checking my Windy app on my phone, it looked like the typhoon had changed direction and was now closer than expected. My plan today was to walk to my pre-booked ryokan and dump my gear, then head up to Temple 44. After that I'd walk to Temple 45 and then catch the last bus back into town from there, saving about 9km of walking and getting me back to my lodging before the storm hits.

After packing up my gear, I was on the road the earliest I had ever been. The only light was from my headlamp and the very rare street lamps, and even then it was a struggle to see my way forward. The sound of the wind howling, almost screaming, and the roaring rapids of the river next to me were intimidating, almost threatening -  a reminder that this was not going to be an easy day. Some parts of the road were flooded with water running off from the mountain side, and the road was that slippery that I tried to hug the mountain side and higher ground, not wanting to be swept away into the rushing river below. Being this early, there were no cars to contend with, but I can't imagine any locals would be crazy enough to be driving in conditions like this.

I made a brief stop near a small shop front at roughly 6ish. I did my best to shelter from the rain under the awnings, but the wind didn't help the situation. I was steaming hot from being wrapped up in my rain gear - it was already a humid morning and the slow incline walk didn't help. Rain usually seeped through my rain jacket and pants, so I made a point of wearing the hood, zipping up completely. But it was a Catch-22: Either be hot and stuffy but protected from the rain, or have a cooler walk but be completely drenched. In the end it made no difference; I was sweating so much that I was soaked regardless. 

The storm hit early and I was now walking in a typhoon.  I'm not too sure of the time, because every time I went to check my watch I would inadvertently let rain into my jacket through the pockets. The temperature had changed from hot and muggy to now almost freezing temperatures, and the rain was now sideways, getting under my hood and running down my back like icy cold fingers. I couldn't use my guide book for directions now, since it would get saturated, so I relied on Google Maps to guide me, but doing so let even more rain in.
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At 10am I was roughly 6km shy from Temple 44. The storm had been that crazy that I was now soaked all the way through my clothes. In fact, it was probably worse than I first thought. I was freezing and couldn't stop shaking, all my clothes were heavy and cold from the water, and I knew that I needed to get changed before I could go further. I was worried about hypothermia, and even more worried about being caught out in the typhoon surrounded by tall evergreens that almost beckoned to be toppled. I walked as fast as I could along the deserted road, stumbling across an abandoned timber house. Not worried about being seen, I stuck close to a wall and under the roof awning and stripped down naked. I put on my puffer jacket and zipped up. Being thermal and light weight, I quickly warmed up and no matter how wet it got, I stayed warm and comfy. After wringing out my wet clothes and placing them in my pack, I took off towards the first mountain climb of the day.

This was a terrible idea. The road to the mountain path was closed off due to the storm. Newly erected signs warned cars to turn back, and it was clear to see why: the roads were like rivers, with water rushing over them with might. I had no choice - if I turned back and stuck to the main road, I'd be adding an extra 20km to todays walk. I didn't have the stamina, and wasn't in the mood, so I pushed forward. On a positive note, there was plenty of water and I had no problem filling up my water bottle. But that was the only good thing today. Eventually I left the road and was now on a steep dirt path heading up into the mountain. 

And I thought the roads were bad - the dirt path was like a waterfall, and the sides of it were soft, deep mud. There was no avoiding it, and so I gave in and allowed my shoes to get completely soaked inside and out. I lost count of how many times I slipped over, at times solely relying on my faithful staff to keep me upright. I was already in a shitty mood, but knew that at the base of this mountain sat my ryokan; I would be able to check in, freshen up and relax. Maybe I'd do Temple 44, but with the storm already set in, probably not. 
I was maybe half way up the mountain when I heard a frightening cracking sound. It was a tall evergreen tree, crashing down. And then another. Looking around me, I could see trees flexing and swaying violently in the wind. This was bad. I powered up to the top of the mountain, and once I was up and over, found shelter in a small concrete hut.

Hearing a bell, it was here I met Sebastian from France. The crazy guy was walking each day at a time, and never planned ahead. This also meant that he had no accommodation tonight. I told him about my ryokan that I booked so together we power-walked down the mountain, and into the town of Kuma-kogen. The ryokan was along the path to Temple 44 so it was no problem to find.

The problem was the owner. And her not liking men.

​I was always careful when booking accommodation. I had seen Omogo Ryokan on the Henro House website: a site devoted to helping pilgrims find cheap and easy accommodation along the pilgrimage. Omogo was a little different though - they were happy to take foreign men and women, but strictly no Japanese men. The website didn't state why, but I didn't care. I was Aussie, I'd be fine. 

But the owner wasn't fine. Putting her arms up to signify a cross, she said, "No men!". I used my best attempt at Japanese to explain that I had a booking, but it made no difference. Even after a $60 phone call using my mobile to the Henro House team, I was shit out of luck. I was furious, surely she didn't expect me to go back out into this storm? The guy on the other end of the phone told me they were booked out and wouldn't take men. Luckily he spoke good English, but in the end it made no difference, the old owner simply wouldn't budge. In the end he told me, "I will look for somewhere else for you to stay. If you don't hear back from me by 5 o'clock, it means I have nothing for you. You will need to evacuate the town because there is a typhoon". Yeah thanks, cheers mate.

And so I walked to Temple 44, Daihōji (大宝寺). I was dripping wet and miserable when I arrived. It was almost impossible to take photos and I wasn't in the mood either, but did my best to snap a couple in the rain. It was midday when I made it to Daihōji, and the only thing on my mind was finding a place to sleep for the night. When it came time to get my stamp book signed things got worse. Reaching into my newly purchased waterproof bum-bag to grab my wallet, I soon discovered that it wasn't waterproof at all and all my yen had clumped together, forming a giant wet ball of unusable cash. I couldn't even pay for a stamp. I sat down and simply gave up.

​I decided that apart from Mum passing away back in '09, that this was the second worst day of my life.

Thankfully Sebastian was there. Not only did he pay for my stamp, but he was determined to get to Temple 45 today too. He wasn't giving up. He was tired too, and so on his recommendation we made our way to Temple 45 - via taxi. I wasn't going to say no. I still had no where to stay, but I was pretty certain that it wouldn't be in Kuma-kogen.

It was on our way to Temple 45 that I was able to get rooms at Sen Guesthouse for Seb and me. Sen was in the city of Matsuyama, some 30km or so away. But we had already made our minds up. Theresa from Sen told me that the only way to get to Matsuyama would be via taxi, and to grab as many pilgrims as I could, as they had rooms to spare.
Unfortunately our taxi driver wasn't going to hang around, but I didn't blame him. After dropping us off, it was time to make the climb to Temple 45, Iwayaji (岩屋寺).

Finding some loose coins, I paid the monk for his handy calligraphy work in my stamp book, and he handed me a leaflet on Iwayaji that explained the power of the temple and nature, and then we had a brief chat about where I was from and what I did for a living. While Seb went through all the temple rituals, I simply couldn't be bothered with all of it. I wanted the day over and didn't care anymore. At the main hall I threw in some more loose coins, wishing for better luck for the rest of my journey, and then waited for Seb to finish. God I needed a beer.

Sitting in the back of a taxi, we finally made our way to Matsuyama. I felt mixed emotions - a sense of relief for finally escaping the storm and having a place to stay, and yet a sense of guilt for being in the taxi in the first place. But I had walked so much over the last few weeks, and common sense had to outweigh my pride. As Seb pulled out his Go-Pro and started filming himself for his vlog, I fell asleep...

12,000 yen later we arrived at Sen Guesthouse and were greeted by Theresa. Using a magical shoe-dryer, I now exchanged my wet boots for my thongs (flip-flops), jumped into the shower, and then relaxed in my room. I decided to treat myself to a large private room, and would spend two nights here. Using care, I gently pulled apart my ball of wet yen, hanging each note around my room and on the sink, using a hair dryer to dry them out.

I hit a restaurant with Seb for dinner and beers. A giant bowl of udon noodles and a few pints of beer later I was back in my room. I had the option of catching a taxi or bus back to Temple 45 tomorrow and picking up where I left off, but after the day I had I was happy to simply start at Temple 46 and go from there. The weather was still meant to be crap tomorrow but after the day I had today, it couldn't get any worse.