Route finding and maps

The process that seems to work the best is to:

First, create a route for the day in Gaia GPS using data from the Shikoku Japan 88 Route Guide with some help from Google maps. I can't be perfect in going from the book to Gaia as Gaia doesn't have all the Ohenro trails, but I can get pretty close. I label the temples and hotels that we have stay at as waypoints.

Note that the maps in the book are in different scales - either 1/30000 to 1/60000 so you have to be careful when reading them. Also note that the Gaia maps often have incorrect road numbers.

When doing this I also take into account where I can get food and drink along the way.  Sometimes we can find a place around lunchtime, but other times we purchase food and drink in the morning as there are no stores along the route until dinner time.

Second, set up Gaia to create a track as I walk and look for Ohenro signs such as these:

Finally, when I get off track or confused, use Gaia to get my track back onto the route or at least to make sure I am headed in the correct direction 😉.

An interesting side note is that Sawako has a Japanese guide book. It is a bit hard to compare the book I have with hers because 

• Hers has North, South, East, or West on the top depending on the map
• Her maps are read right to left instead of left to right or up/down
• The map scales in her book are different from my book.

This is from her book that somewhat corresponds to the picture from my book and the route in the Gaia GPS picture above.