When doing long distance hiking it is important to start the morning with the thought of "starting again".
The Hachijuha Kasho in Japan is a 1200 km long distance hike on the island Shikoku. There are 88 temples on the way. Essentially, one is walking the way for Kobo Daishi, the religious figure of the pilgrimage. The little red guy on the sticker is called Ohenro San.
Shikoku is a lush green tropical island where farming is mostly the way of life.
One day I slept in a hotbox just to wake up the next morning and realize my sweat pores being still intact. It was a hot summer that year.
Often I put my tent inside of huts or even bus stations. Sometimes I put it under temple entrances hoping that the guarding warriors don't punish me. But mostly I was punished by night-driving trucks with their sleep-killing engines.
One day I got into a thunderstorm in the mountains. Have you ever heard the sound of thunder throwing massive clusters of reverberating sound between rocks? It doesn't rock you like a baby but I almost started crying. I also got wet from it.
At each entrance there are usually two of these warriors guarding the temple and testing the visitor for integrity.
Bananas are my favorite meal. I am always well equipped with a bunch of them. By the way, walking 1.200k was the only time when I gained weight. My strong metabolism usually keeps me lean.
Unpenji was a mystical experience with hundreds of stone statues decorating the 66th temple.
The regular sight:
Reaching the 88th temple I was warmly welcome by a group of women who wanted to attest my almost completed journey. That was in 2011.
I navigated myself with a map. It got weary after my 48 days of walking. Obviously, the left one is the newer sample.
Goodbye Shikoku. It was a great stay. I can only recommend it to the adventurers out there.
I hope I could give you a quick but strong impression of what's awaiting you there when you decide to go to Shikoku. Ask me anything about my journey or advice if you want to do it yourself!