Onto Shikoku Japan

I made it to Shikoku early.

I was able to navigate the Osaka subway system with relative ease for only having a very basic grasp of the Japanese language.  I made it to a bus station and the bus I needed left 10 minutes after I bought my ticket. The whole process took less time than I thought it would.

I couldn’t check into my Pilgrim house until 4 p.m., and the 1st temple was right up the road, so I went and bought some initial supplies. The white vest, the sedge hat, a walking stick, name cards, and candles and incense to burn outside of the temples.

I went into the Ryozen-ji temple and said my prayers.

The main temple was rebuilt in 1964, but on-site is a 2 story pagoda that was built in between 1394 and 1412, in the Oei period.

Upon entering, stop at the main gate and bow once to the left of the gate. Then you wash your hands at the wash basin. Ring the bell once upon entering (it is considered bad luck to ring when leaving). Go to the main hall and light one candle and 3 incense sticks. Place a name slip in the box dedicated for it. This is where you pray and read off the heart sutra.

Then, go to the statue of Kobo Dashi, the monk that started these temples. After that, you go to the temple office and get a calligraphy stamp in a book and leave the through the main gate and bow again.

I made it to my Pilgrim house and met my host, who was a monk herself and had done the pilgrimage 40 times. She gave me advice and showed me to my room. I went to a shop to grab a snack, and the weather became cold quickly. A woman who ran a takoyaki shop stopped me to inform me it was going to get colder and be careful. I made it back to my Pilgrim house, showered, and went to bed at 7 pm. This is why im up at 4 am writing this.

Onto day 2 of the pilgrimage.  4, maybe 5 temples, depending on how it goes.