Shikoku 88 – Getting There
Finally. After four years of involuntary waiting, first due to the corona thing and then for Japan to re-open their country again, I am finally back đ But, before I say anything else, I have to thank my wonderful wife for letting me do this while she has to stay home working and taking care of the house and the dog! Thank you!! And I also would like to thank my advanced Aikido students, who take care of the dojo and stand in teaching while I’m gone.
Now, for a long time I had the dream of going on a longer trip to Japan just by myself. I have 5 weeks now, and what to do with that? Why not do the Shikoku 88-temple O-Henro pilgrimage? Perfect! I love Shikoku, Japan’s 4th largest of the main islands, and from our last visit there I think Japan’s most beautiful one. Well, traditionally one would walk the 1200km along the coast all around the island to do the 88 temple tour, but that would take 7-8 weeks. And, it is mostly on paved roads in urban areas, sometimes on busy roads, and only a rather small portion is actually in nature and in the mountains. But I know that the islands innards, so to speak, have beautiful river gorges, forests and high mountains which are not to be missed… I love nature photography, meditative photography – how can I make the perfect trip and see both?
So I decided to do it similar to the way many Japanese do the pilgrimage today – by car. But instead of renting a normal car and then staying for the nights in hotels or ryokans, I instead rented a small camper car (a so called K-car) which ticks all the boxes for me. Now I can get around the island in the 5 weeks I have, I can take detours inland into the mountains if I feel so, itâs much easier now to take all my photography gear and tripod with me, and⊠I always have a place to sleep with me! It’s not more expensive, either, because the 45⏠per day this car costs is actually less than many would spend renting their rooms for the night. Doing the O-Henro pilgrimage and doing a nature photography trip at the same time – perfect!
Now I am finally here… wow, did I miss this (this is my 8th trip to Japan). I arrived in Osaka, and had a day to spend there before I could get the car. No problem, so I get to see Osaka.

This is in Dotonbori, Osaka’s famous district for eating and shopping, and people watching đ But most of my time I spent around Osaka castle, with its extensive surrounding moats and parks.


After a beautiful day it was time to pick up my car, and, while getting used again to driving on the left side of the road and sitting on the right, I was making my way to Shikoku. It’s a 170km drive, firstly just highways though Osaka and Kobe, but then…

⊠over the largest suspension bridge, the Akashi-Kaikyo bridge. Wow, but as always with expansive views like this, the picture can’t do it justice… Onwards crossing the Awaji island, and then over the Naruto bridge…

Now finally Shikoku is actually within reach…

What can I say, I arrived safely on Shikoku, at temple No. 1, got all my things and could start my pilgrimage. But this is a topic for my next post… I am still in the process of changing gears and getting into the feel of it… I am still adjusting and finding my way… until then, stay well!