The Pilgrimage Part IV

After descending from the mountains, the pilgrimage again ran along the Pacific coast.

Rural Japan

The western region of the island has a lot of mountains and several

small villages. This all makes for an enjoyable but often strenuous ride.

Mountain Pass

Abandoned House

A number of abandoned farm houses could be seen along the

pilgrimage route.

Mountain Trails

About 20 percent of the pilgrimage route is in mountain trails unsuitable

for a bicycle. I turned around here and got back on the main road.

Class Disruption

A teacher was accompanying this group of students on a school

excursion in the historic district of one of the villages along the

pilgrimage. Pandemonium broke out when they saw me. The

teacher couldn't do anything but laugh. I had to get a picture.

Persimmons

Edible persimmons are ubiquitous in the countryside in autumn.

Head Priest

I got to meet the head priest of one of the temples. His brother-in-

law is a dentist.

Old Town

Because many of the rural areas of the island of Shikoku were left

behind during the postwar economic boom, there is still a lot of old

architecture that has not been bulldozed over. In the past few years

people began to realize the tourism potential for this and have taken

to restoring whole sections of villages.

One Hundred Years Ago

This is the same street one hundred years ago.