Exploring the unlikely intersections of walking, photography and making
April 21, 2017 Walking a pilgrimage can be a solitary activity. Gail and I have each other for company, but many travel solo. On occasion our paths mesh for just a moment, loosely intertwining on the trail or at a temple. We exchange pleasantries as best we can, considering we speak only English and they,... Continue Reading →
April 20, 2017 Tsushimachō Iwamatsu can be thought of as a suburb of Uwajima. Today’s brief 15-kilometre walk, which takes us from the former to the latter, follows a busy road lined with a non-stop collage of roadside shops and big-box sheds. It’s a utilitarian stretch of car-based enterprises typical of a North American exurban... Continue Reading →
April 19, 2017 The next two days will see us walking down the very same highway we sped along by bus yesterday. Then, it took a little over an hour to be whisked to Uwajima. Today’s 28-kilometre walk - 5 hours of solid walking at a brisk pace - will only get us part of... Continue Reading →
April 18, 2017 Today is a rest day. Free of hours-long walking. A chance to visit local sites. And to eat, of course. Unfortunately, Ainan Town does not seem to offer much in the way of nearby sightseeing opportunities. So we hop on a bus and head east, down the coast to the larger and... Continue Reading →
April 17, 2017 A slight drizzle accompanies our way out of Sukumo. Light enough to pack our rain coats away, letting the cool dew dampen our clothes and drip off the brows of our conical hats. We head inland, away from the sea and up into the hills, following small roads and forest trails, cutting... Continue Reading →
April 16, 2017 If yesterday's walk was 6 kilometre’s too long - due to a lack of available lodgings along the way - today’s walk would be that much shorter. Just a 19-kilometre stroll to our pre-booked hotel in Sukumo. Gail and I survived Shimuzugawa-sō, our strange bunkhouse-in-the-woods. In fact, we slept well that night... Continue Reading →
April 15, 2017 The hosts at Seiryu, our well-worn lodging in Tosa-Shimizu, sent us off for the day with a wonderful Japanese breakfast. A good thing considering this will be a long 39-kilometre day of walking. We will be traversing a particularly remote part of Shikoku. Accommodations are both rare and well-booked. Tonight’s accommodation took... Continue Reading →
April 14, 2017 We leave Kaiyu Inn rather late, tempted by pancakes, waylaid by conversation. But this is a beautiful, sun-filled day that inspires a lazy attitude to our pilgrim mission. Within minutes we pass alongside the sweeping white sands of Ōki No Hama Beach. Behind us, the pristine white mass of Kaiyu Inn hangs... Continue Reading →
April 13, 2017 This looked to be an unusual day. For a change, the sky is clear as we make our way out of Nakamura. The Henro-michi takes us along the banks of the ever-broadening Shimanto River to its mouth at the Pacific Ocean. From here, the path heads inland, following Highway 321 as it... Continue Reading →
April 12, 2017 We call them rest days and today is one of those days. Here in the quiet, small city of Nakamura, we plan to do nothing more than see a few sights and, of course, eat. Nakamura is the perfect place to take a holiday from our daily walking ritual. It’s a small... Continue Reading →