11 March 2025 - Day 9 - No Temple - a new beginning in a new Prefecture - 25 km of which 1,7 through tunnels

Even though the accommodation felt spooky with me as a lonely guest in a huge infrastructure that resembled a very old hospital or mental institution, the hosts very really nice and helpful and food was excellent.

Breakfast took place at 6:30 and as I still did not feel comfortable in this place I left rather early for my first complete solo day … in the rain.

The walk was uneventful and due to the weather I made only very few stops like to buy some food or go to the toilet. The scary thing on this highway 55, along which I will walk for several days now, is the many tunnels. You walk on a narrow footpath right next to cars and trucks and hope you are well-lit enough by your small LED you attach to your person. I have to admit they feel less scary in the rain as they give some shelter, so it was the perfect day to be passing through all those tunnels.

Just before Kannoura, a big change happened: I entered a new prefecture, Kochi, which also means that I have now finished my first Dojo, the Dojo of Awakening Faith, and am now ready to face the second Dojo, the Dojo of Ascetic Training.

I arrived too early at my Guest House in Ikumi, a small surfing village, but after I was let in, I treated myself to a nice shower and bath before having a longer video call with my friend and later with my husband.

The search for accommodation is still complicated, after a baseball tournament in one of the towns I needed to sleep, I now have a marathon that is using all the rooms in another small town, so now I’m stuck with taking the last overpriced room in a (hopefully) luxury hotel. We’ll know more about this in 10 days’ time.

Enough for today. Thanks for reading!