Thinking Allowed: Day 88-90: Marugame to Niihama

Day 88: Marugame to Motoyama

Hours walked: 7:15-4:00

Distance walked: 30 km

Cumulative: 1,934 km

We started early, partly since the Toyoko Inn breakfast really isn’t worth more than two minutes of anyone’s time. Aurora has vowed not to go tomorrow.

We met several pilgrims on the 88 Temples route today: two friendly kiwis from Motueka, a bicyclist from the Isle of Skye, and a family of five from Lyons (their kids are in their twenties, and we hope our family is like theirs in a decade or two!)

Zadie found a metal jellyfish with three blue semiprecious stones lying in the grass, and a small brown bear caught in a sewer grating. Tova found an extendable stainless-steel pointer and telescoped it all day.

We visited any number of temples today, and opted to skip the steep climb up to Iyadaniji since it was already a pretty long day. The temples are invariably beautiful: today the highlight was a 12-foot tall golden Buddha.

It was supposed to rain hard all afternoon - to the point where Tova was accosted by a man outside the FamilyMart who kept saying “Lain! Lain!” and wanted to make sure we were adequately prepared. But we only got a few drops here and there, and made good time under the iron-gray sky.

Our accommodation never replied to our email, then sheepishly admitted they were now fully booked when we phoned a few hours before we were to arrive. So we took a train all the way back to the same Toyoko Inn (a local train which stopped for at least 10 minutes at a station without warning, and the whole train just sat there in perfect absolute silence. Except for Levi, who babbled into the stillness.

A Tova closeup special

All the fields have these three-tone flowers in bloom

Kobodaishi is the founder and patron holy man of our trail

Day 89: Motoyama to Shikokuchuo

Hours walked: 8:15-5:00

Distance walked: 30 km

Cumulative: 1,964 km

Another long day today - we trained back to Motoyama and got going knowing it was a pretty far way to Shikokuchuo. We detoured to visit another of the 88 temples, then steadily walked hour after hour.

Along the way, we finished reading Hatchet, which Tova and Zadie quite liked. We had lunch at a scenic rest stop by the water; the convenience store product mix is changing with the seasons, with Margarita pizza wraps giving way to Halloween-themed cream puffs and trout onigiri instead. Anyway, Tova got moody at lunch, but then found a free telescope and cheered up. Plus we got the local specialty, “Japanese sugar flavor” soft serve.

In the afternoon, we deviated from the 88 Temples route, since it climbed into mountains where our stroller can’t go on the trail. So we went on the highway instead, where Jakob’s throat hurt from trying to read aloud in traffic.

Some very high spirited boys tore around with a Taikodai construction they’d presumably made at school. They hollered and yelled, and followed us to the park where we communicated by translator. They gave us an exuberant round of applause, only maybe sarcastic, while two adolescent girls filmed the whole thing.

We toyed with the idea of stealth camping tonight but ended up booking a very cheap hotel for peace of mind. We ate a one-eyed monster chou, had dinner and went to bed.

Happy Halloween!

We saw this woman reaping and hanging sheaves of rice

We love all the sacred trees

The most peaceful time of day

Day 90: Shikokuchuo to Niihama

Hours walked: 8:00-2:00

Distance walked: 21 km

Cumulative: 1,985 km

We lost Darwin today - he vanished somewhere on the road. He was a good friend, but Levana’s fondness for chucking him out of her stroller was too strong. RIP.

We spent almost an hour in a grocery store coping with lunch: there weren’t many vegetarian options, the neon lighting was harsh, and the music included an insistent high-pitched meowing every few seconds.

It was a pretty short day, and we reached Niihama Campground by 2 PM. It had a sprawling playground with three structures and a zipline, and the girls put the extra hours to good use playing.

As dusk fell, the girls got to celebrate Halloween by hunting for chocolates which Aurora had stashed around the campsite. They’ve mutinied against gelatin, so candies were pretty much out. It gets dark early, so Tamar had to entertain Levi from 6:00-8:30 before she fell asleep, including multiple diaper changes to avoid a midnight soaking.