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Today was to be my biggest day of walking yet - a whopping 40km to the Muroto Coast, just shy of Temple 24. The plan was to get to Muroto, dump my gear at my lodging, and climb up to T24 and back. The temperature was meant to get up to 26 degrees Celsius, and with the added humidity, it was not going to be easy. Luckily it was a cool morning, but that would be due to the fact that I was up well before the crack of dawn.
After a quick stop at the 7-Eleven for coffee and supplies, it was back onto the now infamous Route-55, and it would be quite some time now before I leave this windy road.
After a quick stop at the 7-Eleven for coffee and supplies, it was back onto the now infamous Route-55, and it would be quite some time now before I leave this windy road.
Route 55 at dawn
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With Day 9 being a day to rest, bum around, and do some planning, I was hoping for a sleep in. Unfortunately my body clock had other ideas, and so I was up at five o'clock with way too much energy to burn. In saying that, however, I'm glad I got up when I did. Out the door well before sunrise, I went to the 7-Eleven next door for my morning coffee, then took my place on the deck back at Pavilion Surf to watch my first proper sunrise over the East Coast of Japan.
C O F F E E ! ! ! !
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I was convinced that I needed an early start today, especially if I was to achieve my target of Shishikui Beach, some 36km away. Up at around five o'clock, I was at a konbini getting my coffee hit at around six-ish, and then along Route 55 by 6:30am.
Today was the first of two days that it would take to reach Temple 24, which was 76km away from Temple 23. I knew it would be a long stretch of road, but according to the elevation profile in the guide book, it would be a flat road the majority of the way. This meant that I could cover greater distance than the usual 25-30km a day that I normally planned to do. I was thankful that there would be no mountains to worry about for a few days.
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It's gonna be a beautiful day
I slept beautifully last night, thanks to the refreshing shower the night before. Free from the stench of bad body odour and that awful sticky skin feeling you get from sweating for too long, it felt good to go to sleep nice and clean. Oh, I did have a slight panic attack when I woke up covered in my mosquito net that had fallen on top of me. I forgot I had one, and thought I was getting smothered so I may have thrashed around a bit in my sleeping bag like a lunatic. Nonetheless, I was up at 5am, feeling eager to get on the road.
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I got no more than an hour of sleep.
It was horrible. With all the snoring, the coughing and strange noises from Old-Man Henro, as well as the heat and humidity, I felt exhausted and defeated. My legs and back were aching from lack of rest too. On top of that, the better half of the pilgrim-couple didn't want the fan on during the night, so the room felt like a sauna. Checking my watch and seeing that it was 4am I knew there was no point trying to get any more sleep; It was impossible. Trying to not wake up the others (it was surprising that they slept at all, considering it was as loud as a nightclub in our room), I grabbed my gear and tossed it outside. I was determined to pack in the light of the moon, get some fresh air, and get on the road. There was a Lawson Station konbini about 4km away, and that was my breakfast destination. I was in desperate need of a coffee.
It was horrible. With all the snoring, the coughing and strange noises from Old-Man Henro, as well as the heat and humidity, I felt exhausted and defeated. My legs and back were aching from lack of rest too. On top of that, the better half of the pilgrim-couple didn't want the fan on during the night, so the room felt like a sauna. Checking my watch and seeing that it was 4am I knew there was no point trying to get any more sleep; It was impossible. Trying to not wake up the others (it was surprising that they slept at all, considering it was as loud as a nightclub in our room), I grabbed my gear and tossed it outside. I was determined to pack in the light of the moon, get some fresh air, and get on the road. There was a Lawson Station konbini about 4km away, and that was my breakfast destination. I was in desperate need of a coffee.
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I woke up at around 6 o’clock, with my head still throbbing in pain from the day before. After Mitch fixed me up with one of his delicious smoothies, I got a ride back to Temple 16 where I said goodbye to him and continued on my walk back towards Temple 17.
After Temple 17 it was off through the city of Tokushima towards Temple 18. Today the walk wasn't too exciting, mainly due to the fact that I was walking along a very busy highway for the majority of the day. At first the day was overcast and drizzly, and the grey concrete buildings and cars whizzing past me eventually became a blur. I found myself wanting to put on my earphones and listen to music, but felt bad for wanting to do it. "You have to have your mind in the present", I read somewhere. Hence why there is a bell attached to the top of the staff, to snap your mind back to the present.
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Thanks to the air conditioner in my room, I slept like a baby last night. Up at 6am, the rain continued to lightly fall this morning. Breakfast was at six thirty, so I made my way up to the general store where I had breakfast sitting and waiting for me.
Brekkie
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It was a hot, humid and awfully sticky night. After a night of broken sleep I woke up early, around 4am, to find that Simon was gone, which surprised me considering it was pitch black and I hadn’t heard him leave the hut. After some apple & cinnamon scrolls and a Starbucks iced coffee for breakfast (best things EVER), I started my walk as the sun was rising over the mountains ahead of me.
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Thanks to drinking alcohol in moderation the night before, I was up bright and early and felt GREAT. After another smoothie breakfast, I was back to Temple 7 to continue my journey!
With the weather being nice and sunny today, I was off to a good start. Leaving the car park of Temple 7 at around 8am, I pretty much had the road to myself. Today was the first day I walked with my pack, but I was surprised at how good it felt - it wasn’t that bad, it felt light as a feather.
That feeling would soon change after Temple 8, Kumataniji (熊谷寺).
With the weather being nice and sunny today, I was off to a good start. Leaving the car park of Temple 7 at around 8am, I pretty much had the road to myself. Today was the first day I walked with my pack, but I was surprised at how good it felt - it wasn’t that bad, it felt light as a feather.
That feeling would soon change after Temple 8, Kumataniji (熊谷寺).
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I was up bright and early, too early for someone who went to bed only a few hours prior. I needed more sleep, and a Panadol. I felt like absolute crap. In fact, I may have still been drunk. Luckily Mitch made me a smoothie consisting of soy milk, protein powder and bananas. It was the hit I needed. After stopping at a convenience store (konbini) for a coffee, it was off to Temple 1, Ryōzen-ji (霊山寺) to begin my adventure.