No.24 Hotsumisakiji Temple — Attraction in Muroto

The angry old man in the office yelled at me because I slid one of the doors the wrong way when I came in. Maybe he was constipated and bitter because he couldn't go to the bathroom or something else was preventing the movement. That's the way his face looked anyway. I guess he couldn't leave his post because he had to stamp the books for the pilgrims. Anyway, I went around looking at the temple. Really beautiful structures here. I actually came for the lighthouse but you know - the Henro is here too. I've been to about eight temples on this (not my) pilgrimage since coming to this island, but I'm not getting a stamp book or wearing white clothes or whatever. I am wearing a yellow button with Mikyan-chan on it. Maybe that will help me get to wherever I need to go in the otherworld. Again anyway, while I was walking around here, that old man was really getting into my head, so I went in front of the office and stared him down through the window for a minute or two. He looked nervous because I am kind of strong-looking I guess which is just a constructed illusion. I wouldn't be violent or anything like that in a Buddhist temple, but I just wanted to feel better and I guess it did make me feel better, so I also guess there's something wrong with me for wanting to act this way. No, I'm certain of this. Maybe I need to walk the Henro like other...

The more difficult it is to access a Buddhist temple, the greater the reward (at least that seems to be the norm in Japan)! This glorious temple above Cape Muroto on Shikoku is well worth either the difficult drive or very challenging hike.

It's remote location means that there's a good amount of car traffic late in the day, and the road is steep and narrow. Not as bad as some that require the person going uphill to back down until a place can be found for an uphill car to pass, but very dicey nonetheless, especially when people start hurrying to get their goshuincho to the calligrapher before the temple closes (at 5 pm).

If you have time, hike the very steep trail from the north side of the cape up to the temple. We hiked halfway down the trail from the temple, and the cool ocean breeze through the old forest was wonderfully refreshing on a warm day. We were able to catch glimpses of the ocean below, and wished we had an entire day to make the hike to the temple and savor...

It is a beautiful ride down the coast to get here, and of course the scenery is great. The problem was that it isn't very accommodating for cyclists, I never found the place to park my bike, I just locked it to a bar in the...