Shikoku holy sites, day 4

The map seemed to indicate that this temple could only be reached by cable-car. We rather foolishly take the walking path as far as we can by bike... less than 2m wide, covered in leaves and dirt, wet and treacherous with a sharp drop-off. Even so we end up hiking most of the way up. We arrive to find a car-park and swarms of nursery-school kids on an outing. D'oh. Still, we got a taste of what the walking pilgrims go through every day of the 40 day+ route!

Back to where we left off, and a horde of buddha.

Paper cranes ahoy!

One of the more attractive hand-washing fonts.

Nearly all the temples are on hills or mountains, but not all have views like this.

A unique pyramidal bell-tower.

Beautiful sunset from temple #24, but with no (cheap) camp-site within reach we settle for a patch of grass behind a nearby service station. Another pilgrim had already set up camp there before us.

Service stations in Japan are a funny lot. Some feature tatami-floored sleeping areas, some don't. Some have free showers. Some have markets selling vegetables at half the supermarket price. All have toilets in pristine condition. Bikers, cyclists and in the case of Shikoku, pilgrims, all use them as convenient free locations to camp overnight, but only after dark as you never know when the police might come round to kick you off. It's much easier for camping cars, due to the free overnight parking and lack of hassle. The mystery is why these places don't fill up with camping cars that never leave...