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Our guide Isao Murashita is being extremely patient as he teaches us some of the rituals around entering a temple, which includes correctly washing our hands and mouth at the gate.
Dip the ladle in the water, then wash your left hand, right hand, and left hand again and then rinse your mouth.
Some of us, OK me, keep mixing up the order. But thankfully, while the rituals are important, the main message is that all are welcome as we immerse ourselves in the culture of temple visits, which also includes a respectful bow before entering, ringing a bell, lighting a candle with three sticks of incense and tossing coins in the offering.
We are taking part in the immersion to get a taste of the Shikoku Henro, a 1,400-kilometre looped pilgrimage walk to 88 temples around the island of Shikoku — the smallest of Japan’s four main islands — akin to the Camino de Santiago in Spain.
On this sunny day, dressed in the customary but not mandatory pilgrimage outfit of a white cotton vest, a conical-shaped straw hat, walking stick and a colourful silk scarf — a layman’s version of a priests’ robes, which we are warned to take off before using the restroom — we set off to visit temples one through four, passing homes and farms and trees heavy with the citrus fruit for which the region is known, especially yuzu.
While the pilgrim garb is not mandatory, many will at least wear something white to signal to locals that they are on the journey. Some residents will take the opportunity to offer food or drink, which one smiling woman did, happily handing us a packaged sweet treat as we passed by.
At some homes, we see handmade signs cheering pilgrims on as they stroll through town. “Welcome to Henro. Please discover yourself,” reads one. “We’re gently pushing you from behind,” says another.
Many pilgrims carry temple books to be stamped and signed in calligraphy to honour their efforts.
Mamiko Morishita, who helped us dress for the daylong walk at her shop Monzen Ichibangai, which sells the clothing and accoutrements, said residents who live along the route are “very thankful” that others come from around the world to do the pilgrimage.
“We respect the people who are walking,” she said.
While the Shikoku Henro may have put the island on the map, our fall visit highlighted many other aspects of this fascinating island, steeped in ancient culture and traditions that feature some of the country’s oldest onsens, ancient puppetry displays and fabric dying using the region’s native indigo plant.
Guide Isao Murashita of Shikoku Tours, says the island, reachable via a short plane hop from Osaka or Tokyo, is growing in popularity as travellers seek out slower, quieter experiences in travel.
“Some people say Shikoku is a compact Japan,” Murashita said.
“It might only take a minute or an hour to go to the next point. Shikoku has so many things to see.”
Indeed it does. During our five-day tour of the island, we scaled Mt. Ishizuchi, cycled through beautiful valleys, alongside and across the Niyodo River, admired shrines (and the aforementioned temples), experienced washi papermaking, learned about the ancient practice of fabric dying and had lovely snacks and tea served over an open fire in a traditional house when driving rain pushed us indoors.
We also stayed in a few traditional onsens, known for their beautiful hot spring spas and baths, as well as elaborate multi-course meals served in the tiniest, most colourful dishware and made with extremely fresh (usually from the sea) ingredients. Some of us dressed for meals in the casual yukata, a provided cotton robe that can be worn anywhere in the hotel, including to dinner, breakfast, or the baths.
Jammies for meals? Yes, please.
But much of the pull of Shikoku is outdoors. We had two wonderful days of cycling, with guide Hirofumi Takenami of Shikoku Tours yelling a hearty “Let’s go!” when a break or photo-taking time was over, sticking mostly to quiet country roads and the back streets of the larger towns and villages. We also crossed many “chinkabashi,” simple, flat concrete bridges built at riverbank level. They are fully submerged when the river is full.
While vehicles can cross these narrow bridges, we almost always had them to ourselves.
As bike touring does, it allowed us to really soak in the scenery and everyday life of farmers at work in their fields, residents hanging out laundry or admiring dogs snoozing in the sun.
But as slow as cycling can be, we really slowed down even further by floating for a couple of hours down the Niyodo River on standup paddle boards (SUPs), under the guidance of guide Hiromichi Sasaki, known as Rangi to his friends, owner of Suggoi Sports in Kochi.
As we paddled along, having a good laugh at those — again, mostly me — who were less proficient on their feet than others as we were lightly pushed along by the current, ducking our heads while making our way through the hanging branches along shore.
We ate very well while on Shikoku, including one standout meal at Uokane Restaurant in Ino, Kochi.
Chef Hiroya Okazaki orchestrated our artfully displayed meal that included grilled fish, lotus root, sweet egg omelette (tamagoyaki) and kabocha squash served in a beautiful black bento box.
Our last day of cycling followed the Niyodo River, noted for its “Niyodo blue” waters emanating from Mt. Ishizuchi, as it emptied into the Pacific Ocean near Tosa City. It’s a popular beach for surfers who can hang 10 there all year around.
The expansive beach was also the perfect place to reflect on all we had seen and done on Shikoku and hope there would be a chance to return one day.