Pilgrimage Routes

Have somewhere you'd recommend to other members ? Or somewhere you really enjoyed and want to share.
dayunbao
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Pilgrimage Routes

Post by dayunbao »

Has anyone ever done one? Shikoku or Chichibu? I'm going to be in Japan for Golden Week, and my girlfriend and I are going to Chichibu for a few days. We're hoping to visit some of the Kannon temples.

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Zasso Nouka
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Re: Pilgrimage Routes

Post by Zasso Nouka »

Not done any myself but kind of thinking it might be nice to try one sometime.

dayunbao
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Re: Pilgrimage Routes

Post by dayunbao »

I really want to do the 88 temple pilgrimage in Shikoku sometime. Unfortunately, large sections of it run along highways now. So you can expect days of walking on the shoulder with trucks blasting by you. Not exactly what most people have in mind when they think of visiting mountain temples.

By the way, I saw a building for sale along that pilgrimage route. It seems that someone was running a business out of it selling stuff to pilgrims.

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Re: Pilgrimage Routes

Post by Zasso Nouka »

dayunbao wrote:
Sun Mar 03, 2019 9:04 am
Unfortunately, large sections of it run along highways now. So you can expect days of walking on the shoulder with trucks blasting by you.
I can see that knocking some of the romanticism off of the journey.

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Re: Pilgrimage Routes

Post by LeeB »

Well you could just collect the stamps!!

Japan Post put out a nice series of stamps over a few years featuring Shikoku's 88 Temples.

Or maybe do Basho's route..........

They also put out a series of stamps and miniature sheets.

Or maybe do the "James Bond" thing:

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2018/ ... ming-bond/

"You can visit nearly all of the places that Fleming went to and see the eternal sights that he did: the Mikimoto pearl fisheries and the Grand Shrines of Ise on the Kii Peninsula; the Nijo Jinya and Shimabara brothel district in Kyoto; and take a ferry ride from the city of Kobe along the islands of the Seto Inland Sea to the “hells” of Beppu"

Did all that except the ferry I took was from Osaka rather than Kobe, but didn't do Mt Aso.

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Re: Pilgrimage Routes

Post by dayunbao »

A big rambling road trip around Japan sounds like fun.

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Re: Pilgrimage Routes

Post by Brandon88 »

Well, as it is golden week now, ny response may be a bit late for your current travel, but my wife and I completed Shikoku's 88 temple route by walking two years ago. I would be happy to answer any questions you have about the trek. Happy trails!

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Re: Pilgrimage Routes

Post by Brandon88 »

Although you can't really hike the 88 temple route over golden week, driving may be possible. For another interesting pilgrimage doable in a weeks time, check out one of the kumano kodo routes in the Kii peninsula. :D

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Re: Pilgrimage Routes

Post by dayunbao »

I already mentioned this in another thread, but my girlfriend and I went to Chichibu during Golden Week and walked to 10 of the 34 Kannon temples there. She and I both loved it. We talked about the kumano kodo, and I hope we will get around to doing it some time in the future. We'd both like to do it. If I find a job in Japan, maybe I'll plan a vacation between jobs and do the kumano kodo.

Right now I'm thinking if I do the Shikoku route, I'll bring a bicycle for the long boring stretches along highways. I definitely don't want to do the pilgrimage by car or bus, but also don't feel the need to walk the whole thing.

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Re: Pilgrimage Routes

Post by Brandon88 »

I saw a few people doing the 88 Temple route by bicycle, and that could be a good option. There are definitely a couple long boring highway stretches you cant really avoid. Yet, on many of the road walking portions there is also the possibility of taking an alternate mountain path route. Many people get lazy and just walk the road (We did a few times), but some of the most beautiful sections where the alternate mountain paths. Actually, the mountain paths are typically part of the original route, but people stopped using them when the roads were developed. So one down side to biking would be missing out on the mountain trails (There's so many!). Often the path will be un bikeable mountain trail and you will end up stuck to the road more looking for detours around the mountains. When not in the mountains, most of the road walking is passing through small villages full of friendly people wanting to give you aid on your journey, food, water, sweets, shelter, sometimes even money! Experiances with the locals make some of the best memories and I could see passing them by on bike. The amount of actual highway walking is pretty small and for those few times you could always hitchhike!

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