Day 18 of the Journey [Part 1 of 2]

Tuesday, December 12
14 km (9 mi) walked, 215 km (134 mi) in total
68 km (42 mi) traveled, 1514 km (941 mi) in total        

In a rainy morning, the hotel shuttle bus took me back to Kaga Onsen station in the morning, making me retrace my steps.?

The half broken umbrella I had refused to open during my whole trip came in handy. The plastic bags from the bento that I had bought from earlier trips to the convenience store did so as well, as I wrapped two of them around my non-waterproof, cheap tennis shoes. I walked from Daishoji station to the Buddhist temple of Zenshoji. At 10am on a rainy weekday, the temple was as deserted as the countryside streets, and I had to ring a bell for the temple keeper to come sell me a ticket. She was extremely kind, and let me leave my now wet backpack inside.?

On the front, the complex featured a small-scale garden with a now leafless willow tree and a kuhi, a mid-size temple on the left side and, towards the back, a bigger one whose wooden and paper door seemed completely shut. I headed towards the first one after visiting the garden, and was greeted by hundreds of Buddha’s sitting statues, trimmed in blue, red and golden. I went back to the ticket stand to head to my next stop. “Did you also visit the main temple?”, the lady asked. “I thought it was closed to the public,” I answered. “No, no, please go ahead.”

Still hesitant (I had never opened a temple in my life), I put my backpack on the floor, my coat on top of it, and removed my shoes. I slid the door, which opened effortlessly. The air smelled of incense, wood and silence. I explored its different compartments and, once I was done, walked to the right corner of the main hall. I kneeled down and read:

庭掃て Niwa hakite

出ばや寺に Idebaya tera ni

散柳 Chiru yanagi

Sweeping the garden;

Upon leaving the temple,

The shedding willow

Travelers who would stay in temples would show gratitude by sweeping the trees leaves in the garden. Luckily, I hadn’t stayed in the Zenshoji. I had to leave the temple, though, and left the willow tree and the lady behind me for a bus stop. I drank a can of warm coffee from a vending machine and waited for forty minutes. The bus took just me towards to the tiny town of Awara, in Fukui prefecture. It was still raining, but I had to somehow find Basho’s Pine Tree (or Pine Trees) of Shiokoshi, that Saigyo had also visited.?

Do you have any thoughts or questions about my trip, or are you thinking of coming to Japan? I'd love to hear about it!

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