kochinoya_editor 
Hello everyone! I am Matthew, part time staff of Kochi no Ya. I first came to Shikoku to walk the henro pilgrimage in 2006. Traveling through the Japanese countryside on a spiritual journey was unlike any trip I had ever experienced. The natural beauty of the landscape, the ancient atmosphere of the temples and the
delicious food were truly fantastic, but what left the most lasting impression was the
kindness of local people to strangers. I fell in love with the island so much that I came back to walk the trail three more times before eventually moving to Kochi.
I want to give you some information and recommendations for the henro trail in the vicinity of the hostel. Since some of you may be reading this before you come to Aki, or for those walking counterclockwise, I will start in the east and work my way to Kochi City.
The first temple after Muroto City is Konomineji, number 27. It sits on top of a fairly steep hill, so walking henro will get a bit of workout. The temple was originally designed with a Shinto shrine inside to worship the local Kami. It’s interesting how the two religions can exist in harmony. There is a special water coming off the mountain at the wash basin that is believed to have curative properties. I can’t speak to that, but it certainly is delicious! I always fill up my water supply here and enjoy drinking this “holy water” for the next stretch of the trail. The water quality in Shikoku is very high: clean and rich in minerals, but it is especially good in this region, as evidenced by the numerous sake breweries in the eastern part of Kochi.
I once found myself caught in a massive thunderstorm when I was leaving this temple and I made an interesting discovery. The train station at the base of the mountain is unstaffed and if you close the sliding doors, it makes an excellent shelter against the weather. The storm was so intense that I actually spent the night there, though I would only recommend doing this in a pinch. Of course, you should check the train schedule and be sure to pack up and leave before the first train arrives in the morning.
When walking the trail I was always hungry, so I was very happy to find a nice
restaurant. A good place to eat on your way to the hostel is called “Chez Nous” which is famous for their soup curry. I recommend the eggplant soup curry as eggplant is a specialty of Aki City. There is a henro rest area adjacent to the restaurant, so it is a nice place to take a break even if you aren’t hungry.
On the other side of Aki city, there is an interesting cafe that is a great place to
stop and have a coffee or tea with cake and enjoy a beautiful view of the Pacific ocean.The cafe is called the Seahouse and with good reason. The rectangular structure juts out over the beach with a massive two story picture window facing the sea.
Another four kilometers or so down the road, you will come to Ya Sea Park,
which has one of the few swimming beaches in the area, a local market and even an
Indian restaurant which could be a good choice for vegetarians. For those with a sweet tooth, I recommend a stop at Saori Sweets which is in this area as well.
The next town over is Kagami, where by some chance of fate, I used to work as
a teacher at the Junior High school. If you look inland, you will see an unexpected view:a European-style castle perched atop a mountain. When I was walking the pilgrimage I wondered what the story was behind thiss out of place structure, but like so many things on the trail, I just took a picture and moved on. Years later, I asked some of my students why this castle was in the middle of their town. It turned out to be an old amusement park.
Moving on into Konan city, you will find Noichi zoo, a famous local attraction. I
haven’t been there myself, but it’s very popular with the kids. Temple 28, Dainichiji, i located on the next mountain over. Dainichiji is also the name of Temples 4 and 13. Iwonder why it is such a popular name? The local legend is that the deity of this temple can cure ailments of the head and upper body.
The next temple is called Kokubunji and there are three other temples of the
same name on the pilgrimage route but with good reason: this is the temple which i
owned by the prefectural government so there is one in every prefecture.
Unsurprisingly, this is a very well maintained temple. The garden is especially beautiful.The temple store is well stocked with henro gear, so this is a good place to replenish if you need a new hat or your hakui is looking a bit shabby.
It’s a little bit of a detour, but there is a delicious Korean restaurant not too far
away from the temple. Like Kochi no Ya, it is in a Kominka, a traditional Japanese
house. I love eating Japanese food on the pilgrimage, but it’s nice to have different
cuisines sometimes.
Now we are reaching the outskirts of Kochi city where temple 30, Zenrakuji, is
located. There is a large Shinto shrine next door, the Tosa shrine, which is worth visiting if you have time. In the 1870s, the temple fell into ruin and was abandoned. At that time, the 30th temple was moved to Anrakuji, in Kochi City. For some years after Zenrakuji was restored, there was a dispute as to which was the legitimate temple to visit, but in the 1920s, an agreement was reached and Zenrakuji became the official 30th temple again.
There is a path behind the temple that leads to a place for spiritual training. It is
sometimes possible to do an incense making workshop with a monk from this temple.You can call ahead to reserve this experience if you are confident in your Japanese or one of our staff can help you.
I hope that some of this information is useful. If you have any questions about the
pilgrimage, please let me know. Have a wonderful time on your spiritual adventure in Shikoku!
profile
Matthew Bennett
・Bar country roads master （every Tuesday in Kochi No Ya)
・Yugen DMC / Travel designer and captain guide
https://yugendmc.com
https://www.instagram.com/yugen_dmc
★Matthew works travel company in Kochi. Also he open his bar in Kochi No ya on every Tuesday. He have deep ohenro experience. So if you will meet him in the hostel, you can ask ohenro things to him!