Uranouchi Bay to Susaki

 

After alighting from the small ferryboat, I briskly head west towards Susaki where I have a room booked for the night.

It's late November so the days are relatively short with 10 hours of sunshine, and I started the day well before sunrise, but I still have about 10k to go to reach mu hotel so don't dawdle.

I pass a few small wayside shrines....

It's been some time since the rice was cut and harvested but the stalks have had a couple of months to start regrowing

This small henro hut was one used for overnight stays.... there was a portaloo nearby, running water, and an electricity outlet.... right next to the road but a welcome spot for those on a tight budget. I do get the impression that nowadays sleeping out on the henro trail is discouraged and frowned upon, and that is a real shame as it has always been a pilgrimage for the less well off "traveller"  rather than a package tour for tourists.

Approaching Susaki, the other side of the road and river is a huge industrial complex.

I believe this was a Kibune Shrine, but with the sun going down, I did not stop and explore...

It is a huge cement plant with a power station..... I know making cement uses a huge amount of heat, but am not sure if the power plant is to generate the power to produce the cement or if the heat used to produce the cement is used to make electricity.....

Though the standard catch-phrase for Japan in media is "resource-poor", it is in fact totally self-sufficient in cement and concrete...

As the small river I was walking down reaches the bigger Sakura River a big heron takes off...

The Sakura River widens at this point just before emptying into the sea and the setting sun paints a nice picture as I cross over into Susaki and get close to my bed for the night.

And so ends my 18th day walking along the Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage known as Ohenro.

The previous post was on the ferry ride up Uranouchi Bay.

Koryuji Bangai Temple 10 Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage

 

Nishiyama Koryuji Temple, number 10 of the "extra" temples known as Bangai or Bekkaku, is located a short detour from the main pilgrimage route between temple 59, Kokubunji, and temple 60, Yokomineji.

After climbing a gentle slope there are great views looking down and over Saijo City.

The road then enters the forest and starts to climb more steeply and you then cross the Miyuryu Bridge.

Arriving at the Niomon gate with its fine pair of guardians.

Whereas many temples claim Kobo Daishi as their founder, many more claim to have been founded by Gyoki, around a century before Kobo Daishi's time.

Koryuji claims to predate Gyoki, which I'm sure makes it one of the oldest temples on the pilgrimage.

It is said to have been founded in 642 and was later visited by both Gyoki and Kobo Daishi.

The honzon is a Thousand-Armed Kannon

The Daishi-do is a much more modern, concrete structure.

The current main hall was built at the end of the 14th century. It is an Important Cultural Property.

Jibo Kannon-do

A trail leads up to a small shrine enshrining Ishizuchi Gongen, Ishizuchi being the highest mountain on Shikoku and home to a large and important Shugendo centre.

I visited late in winter, but the temple is famous as an Autumn Viewing spot as it has 300 maple trees in the grounds.

The three-storey Pagoda dates to 1836.

The previous temple was number 59, the Iyo Kokubunji Temple.

Uranouchi Bay in Kochi

 

After visiting Shoryuji, the 36th temple on the famous Shikoku Ohenro Pilgrimage, the pilgrima has several alternative routes to get to the next temple, number 37, Iwamotoji.

The most commonly taken route is to backtrack a little and go back over the bridge across the narrow  entrance to Uranouchi Bay and then head west along the north coast of the bay.

Another route is to head along the southern coast of the Yokonami Peninsula, which is said to have spectacular views but is lacking in facilities.

A third option is the one I chose, to take a little ferry that connects Umetate near the bridge with Yokonami at the far end of the inlet.

The ferry is small and only takes passengers, though I believe it may be possible to take a bicycle onboard.

The ferry only runs a few times a day, and zig-zags up the narrow inlet connecting settlements on either side.

I was the only passenger, and it didn't actually stop anywhere. It approached each little harbour, but on seeing no-one waiting just turned around and carried on.

I would imagine that on wet, cloudy, or windy days the journey is not so much fun...

But on a calm day the journey was pleasant and views quite magnificent.

The previous post in this series on the space between temples along the Shikoku Ohenro was on the walk from Kiyotakiji to Shoryuji.