Henro, Henro, we're off back to Henro

We only got to two temples out of a hopeful three today. Partly it was because we started a little later than planned. Partly because the two we got two are each on the top of mountains. Well, mountains that are almost 300 metres up, which is not really a mountain, but they are almost 300 metres straight up, then straight down, then straight up, then straight down. Partly because our food intake took a few surprising turns.

From the first five of the temple circuit, we have skipped to nearly the end, with temples 84 and 85. We had to take a little suburban train quite a ways out of Takamatsu to start our uphill journey, resting partway with a few items to break our fast from yesterday. 
I don't know how some of these retired pilgrims do it - we are huffing and puffing up this steep slope, moving past some bent over figures, and after we've been a while at the top, there they are, saying their sutras, getting their book inscribed and immediately going off to the next temple. The land between these two "hills" we are tackling today was awash in blood at one point, being a key battle two clans in the 12th century. Success meant control of the river and access to the sea, as well as a jolly good view from each.

This temple had a wonderful looking museum in it, an aquarium nearby and was awash in ceramic badgers. Enlightenment can come in odd ways. Apparently a badger helped Kobo find his way when he was establishing this sanctuary, in the guise of an old man in a straw rain coat. This badger, the Yashima Tasaboro, was one of three badgers in all of Japan. Respected as a peaceful monogamist, the Yashima Tasaboro badger is considered a god of peaceful families, marriages and the restaurant business. People who wish to have babies (but not restaurants oddly) come here to worship.

Apart form the odd choice of combining procreation and the restaurant business, an activity notorious for not allowing their owners time for anything let alone a lot of procreating, how did a male badger, separated from the only other two male badgers in Japan, become the high bar for happy families? 

What the legend has helped is the ceramics business, and these ceramic badgers who are more comic than cosmic, crop up in people's gardens and doorsteps, all looking portly and often with a badger pup at the breast. No wonder the antique ceramic badger in the museum looks so smug - his image is making a fortune.

Nowadays, the area is known for its stone quarrying and stone carving, as well as its thick udon noodles. It was meant to be cold today but not rainy. The weather person got a 50% accuracy rating - it was cold AND it was rainy. Cold due mostly to the wind, which lashed the forest above our heads as we climbed, then pummeled us at the top. 

The trip down the first hill, actually called Yashima Plateau, was the old trail, on which we were set by a helpful monk, although I am sure there is a new trail that is easier. This one was straight down the steep, muddy slope, and I was glad to have a pole of bamboo to use as we slithered our way down.

At the bottom we were in need of something warm, and saw a helpful sign "Coffee and Gallery" on a house. In we went. We found ourselves in a tiny cafe with about 4 tables, two of which were filled, and an old man who ran the place. We asked for coffee, were handed a short and inscrutable menu, reiterated coffee, were asked a barrage of questions that included a few English words like orange juice and toast. We pointed to the table next to us, which included coffee and he nodded enthusiastically. 

The place was filled with plants and items for sale, "crafts" I suppose might be the closest word. It wasn't long before two little glasses of orange juice were plonked down in front of us, and two little shot glasses with a few strips of fried bread that had a vague sweet and cinnamon taste to them. Then we got a plate with two little toasted sandwiches (ham, mustard and pineapple, salmon and mustard) and a small bowl of fresh salad: ice-berg lettuce, cherry tomatoes and cucumber. then a huge glass of orange juice, and two little bags of roasted soy beans and peanuts. We enjoyed all this very much, which we continued to sit and wait for our coffee. Which never came. In the end, we told him how delicious it all was and paid the very low price it cost and left. The rain, which had stopped while we were inside, had started up again and we were no drier or warmer for our unexpected meal. But if Buddha put that in our path then the least we could do was enjoy it and be grateful for it.

Heat did come an hour later, as we started up hill number 2, Mount Goken. We had planned on having the local udon somewhere and our path took us to a large and very popular place with the locals this Saturday afternoon. What the heck. We went in, sat on tatami and took some hot tea, then had a bucket of udon soup (with added tempura for Martin), looking out on a lovely traditional garden.

As we started to hit the really steep part of the hill, we were rewarded with a little funicular. No guilt using it, as other pilgrims were clambering aboard. At the end, it wasn't far to temple 85, Yakuriji which is the most picturesquely placed of the temples we've seen yet, being high on the mountain, but nestled next to a soaring rockface. 

By the time we got down it was going to be too late to get to temple 86, we were cold and wet, and full of food. All we could think about was the onsen back at our hotel and so we did what any self-respecting pilgrim would do and gratefully scarpered back.