J18: Retournac-Vousse
Bonjour hi, It’s Thursday, July 24. I’m comfortably ensconced in a four-poster bed in an old farmhouse in a small, rural hamlet a few k from Retournac, which...
Day 60: To-ji, Ninna-ji, Jinko-in (from Namba)
Look, you’re probably as surprised as I am to be getting yet another email, but hey: life’s full of surprises. I had thought I had completed my pilgrimage...
Note 1: Jules Lebegue Bordeaux Médoc 2022
[Back in the day, I co-authored a blog called Full Pour along with one of my closest friends Julian Coldrey. He was also part of the Japan 2016 crew; when we...
Day 56: T87 & T88 (from Takamatsu)
I’m going to go to dinner shortly, so this is all there is for right now: I completed the pilgrimage today. Took the train to Nagao, walked to Nagao-ji, T87,...
Day 55: T83-T86 (from Takamatsu)
It’s 1092.8 kilometers from T1 to T88. As of today, I’ve walked just over 1,100 kilometers - in my mind, I’ve already succeeded at what I set out to do. Of...
Day 54: Naoshima-Takamatsu
I woke up this morning after a poor night’s sleep in Naoshima; the island has become wildly inexpensive in the 9 years since I was last year, which meant I...
Day 51: T75-Takamatsu
Before I begin, I should mention that I’ll be in Naoshima for the next two nights - that means no temples, no serious walking, and also no laptop computer as...
Day 50: T71-T75
Here’s a map of what I expect to have actually walked when I finish up a week from tomorrow: My pilgrimage, as walked (tentative) Not too bad! There are five...
Day 49: Kan-onji-T71
No newsletter today - I’m staying at an onsen a few minutes’ walk from Temple 71 and their Wi-Fi is broken. Sorry! Me! Hasta mañana, Chris
Day 48: Ikedacho Sano-Kan-onji
Tonight I’m sleeping in Kagawa prefecture for the first time; I’m in a lovely Japanese-style hotel room, 6 tatami mats in size, but with that extra bit in...
Day 47: Shikokuchuo-Ikedacho Sano
Success! I did in fact have a room reserved for me at Minshuku Okada. It’s as old school as they come, but in very good shape. Comfy! It’s also likely not a...
Day 46: Saijō-Shikokuchuo
Sometimes things just don’t work out; learning to accept that is something most of us (not all of us!) have come to terms with in our lives. Thankfully, I’m...
Day 45: Zero (Saijō)
The view out of my window is more or less the same that it’s been for the past 24 hours: grey. Yesterday it was merely cloudy; today, it’s a little bit...
Day 44: Komatsucho Akao-Saijō
Right! So yesterday’s newsletter didn’t happen for two reasons: no keyboard and virtually no Wi-Fi. The first was by design; the second was because the hotel...
Day 43: Miyoshi-Komatsucho Akao
Not only do I not have my laptop with me tonight, the hotel Wi-Fi isn’t working. So: no newsletter for today, folks! T61
Day 42: Imabari-Miyoshi
Today was one of those odd days that happened only because there’s a massive trade fair in Imabari at the moment; when I had originally planned this trip, I...
Day 41: Hojo-Imabari
Howdy from Towel Town, Japan! Yeah, I know I need to stop calling it that… but no! I can’t! Sorry! Today was a long one: 33.4 km total, the last 3.5 km or so...
Day 40: Dogō-Hojo
I’ll start with the good things: this morning’s breakfast was the best I’ve had on the entire trip - and the overall experience at the ryokan was probably...
Day 39: T46-Dogō Onsen
The weather’s on everyone’s mind. Something seems to have changed; instead of sunny, warm days, days are now cloudy, but no warmer; it doesn’t seem quite...
Day 38: Kumakōgen-T46
Today felt like work. It started raining heavily last night; the island of Kyushu, a bit further south than Shikoku, has declared it the start of the rainy...