13 April 2025 - Day 42 - Two Temples in the rain, then off to Niihama - 25,5 km

Second night at Nojima House, quick breakfast, heartfelt goodbyes with Marjorie (who headed off to take the train back to where she stopped walking yesterday) and then with Iso who will be staying there to help out for some more days.

I was on my way by 8 and happy that the rain that had partially kept me awake in the night had slowed down to a drizzle. Temple Kichijoji (63) was really close but by the time I had arrived and started my rituals, it was raining hard again. Visiting Temples in the rain is no fun and as soon as I had finished, I waited some 10 minutes under a roof in the Temple for the rain to slow before I left for Maegamiji (Temple 64).

Maegamiji is only a few kilometers away and it’s a big Temple, but again, under the rain, I do just what needs to be done and get going.

Walking was no fun this morning. In addition to the rain, a hard, cold and steady wind blew from the west and I would have loved to be sitting inside somewhere next to a gentle fire sizzling in the fireplace. But no. Luckily I was headed east so the wind at least drove me in the right direction, but I kept checking my watch and looking backwards to see when the rain would finally stop and the sun come out, which had been announced for sometime after 10.

Around 10:30 the rain finally stopped but the wind kept blowing. I had a normal stage of 25 km to walk today, no mountains to climb, but still I felt like the street under my feed didn’t move. The backpack felt heavy (especially after the lightweight backpack I was carrying yesterday) and I couldn’t wait to get to my hotel for the night.

But there were about 10 more kilometers to walk along this boring main road. I was not exactly sure where my hotel was situated, it seemed a long way off the henro path so I didn’t dare to miss my intersection by using the nicer and quieter backroads. As my hotel doesn’t provide dinner I had to buy food again and wanted to do so at the very last moment so as not to carry it for longer than needed.

When I was checking my phone for probably the hundredth time I realised I was looking for my hotel at the wrong place. It was only 100 m off the main road with a conbini just around the corner. So I was happy when I arrived at the hotel just after 15:00, this hasn’t happened in a while. But then, there was a note saying check-in starts at 16:00 only and please take a seat and feel free to take a drink from the coolbox. Just as I was settling in for an hour of answering and sending messages I wanted to send two days ago, the receptionist opened the door and let me in.

Pure bliss, my room has a comfortable couch which I have been using now for several hours. A nice change after all this time. And it felt good to have the time for research on the next stages etc. and to send some messages out to people who were probably waiting for an answer or a sign of life.

Enough for now, thanks for reading as always. Thanks for your comments, messages etc. They do mean a lot to me and help with motivation. Till tomorrow, I will finish my day today with a small Sake on my couch.