Day 1: Shikoku Island, Temple #1

We traveled by bus from Kobe to Naruto City on Shikoku Island. The bus was interesting as it had a row of seats down each side with a third row in the middle.

The bus drops you off at a rest stop on the freeway. You walk over a small hill at the back and down into Naruto. 

We walked to a shop next to the temple where we purchased our hats and walking staffs and got ready for our first temple experience.

Temple 1, Ryōzenji was empty. I was expecting it to be busier with more than one shop out front. 

It was probably good that it was empty as it took us a while to figure out the correct buildings, the incense, candles that the wind kept blowing out, where to put the nameslips, and finding the priest to sign the stamp books. Should be easier next time. We then went to the Oasahiko Shrine to pray for safety on the pilgrimage.

Finally done, we walked a few blocks to Kannbaienn Ryokan where we enjoyed an onsen and dinner.

A great start to our pilgrimage! You can see a map of my tracks here (you may have to refresh the page after a minute to get it to show).  If you have Google Earth, it is faster to download a Google Earth file of my adventure from here.