The lady at the weird hotel unlocked our room door at our request after dialing the number she has given us and let us out. That was such a creepy experience! Whew, we were glad to be out of there!
Setting out on our day, we were in the neighborhoods and walked the roads from one temple to the next, catching a few short train rides to avoid junk miles due to our time constraints and Josh's injury. Having said that we still ended up walking for 8 hours today.
One observation I haven't mentioned yet are the absence of trash cans almost every where, so you have to always pack your trash and carry it home with you to dispose of it, or as we have to do, take it to the konbinis (stores) as they have trash cans. Having said that, there is very little litter.
Temple 77: Doryuji: A very sweet monk gave us "osettai" in the form of two drinks and a packet of treats. As we were packing our bags to proceed on our journey, another lady on a group tour gave us "osettai" in the form of a bag of candy. The lovely thing about receiving these gifts is seeing the pure joy that it gives to the person giving them.
The city of Marugame since olden times has been making paper fans and they have been a treasured sourvenir. As a result numerous manufacturers have sprung up and now the area produces 90 percent of the national production.
Temple 78: Goshoji: We heard drumming coming from the Daishi hall and as we went up the stairs, saw an underground vault that was accessible with hundreds of miniature golden statues in it. From the grounds was a lovely view of Sakaide City.
Temple 79: Tennoji: Also situated in Sakaide City, the entrance was a painted red Shinto style entrance. A tree in the grounds cast a dragon shadow on a wall.
Temple 80: Kokubunji: The bell and main hall have escaped damage over the centuries and are important cultural treasures.
From here the trail lead up towards the mountains. It was a very steep climb up over 400m then back down the other side of the summit another 200m. About three quarters of the way up the mountain was a gazebo rest stop which we used and enjoyed, giving us a vantage point for incredible views of the way we had just come.
In the thick of the jungle, we came across a Manirin Stone Pagoda which is significant to represent the final stage of the arduous Buddhist training path to enlightenment. It was past 5pm by the time we arrived and the temple was closed. I asked a group of young men at the temple who seemed to be working there where we could camp and they said it would be fine to camp 400m down the road at a scenic overlook. Wow! What a spectacular campsite. We set up beneath the overlook and I settled down to write but just then we heard rustling in the bushes around us. We had noticed pig traps on the path nearby. I could not spend the night listening to all that rustling and wondering what was going to try to enter the tent, so we moved camp in the dark onto the platform of the overlook. I'm hoping we'll have a better sleep here!.
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