24 April 2025 - Day 53 - Closing the circle - From Okuboji to Temple 10 and Temple 9 - 25 km

One of my last excellent Japanese breakfasts was this morning and I enjoyed it in the company of my new Japanese friend Nakadai. Sadly he left right away while I finished packing and as I did not have the time to enjoy the atmosphere of Okuboji yesterday, I wanted to visit it again before leaving. After all, our accommodation was situated less than 100 m from the Temple.

But when I wanted to walk out I noticed my weather app was fooling me again. Instead of bright sunshine there was drizzling rain. So I quickly pulled the raincover over my backpack and put on my soft shell jacket and walked to the Temple. But this was not the atmosphere I had hoped to find so after a short look around I was on my way down the mountain and back towards Temple 10.

It was an extremely easy downhill road so I almost flew down. I averaged less than 11 minutes per kilometer, and this with the 10 kg on my back. By the time I got down to Awa City where the first conbini of the day was located after 15 km, I found Nakadai who had also longed for a break at the store. By now the sun had really come out and so we talked a little, got our food stocks replenished and walked on together again. But only for a few kilometers because he had a longer stage to walk as me. So at the crossing where the road goes up the hill towards Temple 10 we said our goodbyes and good wishes.

Apart from leaving Nakadai, this was a very special point in this pilgrimage. It is exactly the point where I closed the circle. It felt strange to imagine myself 7 and a half weeks ago walking to this spot from the opposite direction, turning right to climb the hill towards Sumotori-ya, Asano-San’s Pilgrim shop that lies just before Kirihataji (Temple 10). Today I turned left and also walked to Asano-San’s shop before moving on to the Temple. Am I still the same person? What would I tell my 7 and a half weeks younger self, eager to do this pilgrimage but still a little unsure of how to handle this thing? Would my younger self believe me if I told it that this was going to be a hell of a good experience and that there is absolutely no need to worry? To just chill and enjoy every second? …

Asano-San greeted me like an old friend and I was immediately offered some tea. I showed him and his mother, who also still helps out in the shop, my 5 Bekkaku pearls and asked to make a bracelet by adding some more pearls. The result looks perfect and I am happy for this souvenir. The harder part was deciding how the scroll should look like when it’s finished and it took me at least 30 minutes to choose the right silken tissues. The scroll needs to be taken to Koyasan for the last calligraphy. I will then send it to Asano-San who will mount it and send it to my home. The scroll will take about 2 months to arrive.

After this big decision I visited Temple 10 again, in beautiful sunshine this time, and walked on to Horinji (Temple 9) which also looks better in sunshine. A young Monk here asked me about my pilgrimage and about any problems I might have had because he would like to better some things. So we had a nice little discussion.

I then walked to my accommodation for today, a travel inn not far away but sadly with no food. The place is neat, clean, there is a shared kitchen and dining room, basically all you need, and several rooms partially with beds and partially with futons. All very nice.

I went out to buy some food for tonight and when I started to eat my dinner I met the other host for today, a man from Taiwan who has just started his first day on the pilgrimage. But he can only do one week for the moment because he cannot take more days off together.

And this is where I will leave you for tonight. Thanks for reading and thanks for your kind messages. They mean a lot to me!