Good weather is not leaving us anymore, as it seems!
A nice breakfast inside the very nearby railway station (yes, that is possible to get a good breakfast into a railway station!) before a long transfer day to the south of the island Shikoku.
We have to confess right now, but we actually left for Japan to do a pilgrimage :-)))) We started the day with a visit to Zentsu-ji, temple no. 75 out of the 88 sacred temples. This one holds a special significance as the boyhood home of Kobo Daishi and it is also the largest of the 88. Lots of statues, some passing reciting monks, lots of pictures ...
We continued with a visit to Kompiro-san (or Kotohira-gu), originally a temple dedicated to the Guardian of Mariners. Its hilltop position delivers superb views over the surrounding countryside, but it also meant 1.368 steps (we calculated that such equals 88 stories ...) up: and yes, we did it, all of them!! We could go up by a traditional palanquin, but if (Japanese) people get up of about twice our age, we did not dare to do such..
In the National Treasure of the Shoin we admired some beautiful screen paintings and a small garden.
We continued our trip through the mountains and the wonderful Iya Valley with splendid views on the gorge. Iya Valley is considered one of Japan's 'three hidden regions'. There we made a not so interesting boat trip: the captain was more interested by feeding a kind of eagle than telling us what eventually was to be seen.
Last stop was the vine bridge Iyano Kazura-bashi, which Ingrid courageously passes over. Rivers in Shikoku's mountainous interior were once commonly spanned by these perilous catwalks, which could conveniently be cut down to prevent enemy forces from crossing.
We checked in around 6.30 p..m in Kochi at a minshuku, the Japanese equivalent of a B&B; a family-run budget accommodation. We finally got our first real sushi and sashimi dinner somewhere nearby!
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