2019-04-02: Day 19 – Temple 44 & 45

Last night I stayed at a Henro House Guest House which was different. The first thing I did when I arrived was to use my Google Translator to figure out how to turn on the Air con as it was freezing in the dorm room.

I shared the room which that three double bunk beds with a guy from Australia and a Japanese student from Tokyo. I was surprised when the Japanese student said he was only 16. He was so tall he had to duck when going through the door. He said he was still on school break and traveling to see Hiroshima, Osaka and Shikoku. His English was very good and he told me he is learning it in school. Between me an my maritime accent and the Aussie with his accent, it was a miracle he understood a word. The good thing is we all got a lower bunk bed. There was a kitchen, toilet room, bathroom with shower and a common room with counters you could work at. The owner was very nice and explained things well in English.

There was a hot springs nearby, so I purchased a discount ticket from the Guest House owner. It was nice to warm up in the hot pools. There is one that is not too hot, and kind of like sonic bubbles. Your whole body gets covered with these tiny bubbles. It reminded me of when Dad was in the Camp Hill nursing home, and when they lowered him into the bath, they would turn on these sonic waves, which I put my hand in to feel and it felt the same. It helps to clean the body without having to scrub oneself.

Today turned out to be another cold day for walking. The wind was brutally cold again. When I ran into a Dutch couple near Temple 44, they said they stayed in a Henro House in the mountain last night and it snowed.

Today was flower day. While walking trying to get my mind off the cold, I came across some different flowers I never saw before. The first one was a beautiful red flower and seemed to just pop from the ground.The second ones I saw were at a Rest Stop area shop.I have been looking for post cards to mail to my friends back home but couldn’t find them anywhere. Finally at the Rest Stop area shop they had some of cherry blossoms. I was able to buy some Tokyo Olympic stamps, so just needed to find post cards to put them on. Tonight will be post card writing night.In Matsuyama I came across an interesting statue this morning which I liked.Here are some pictures I took at Temple 44. I found statues of the seven lucky dieties, on a boat in a pond at the temple, which I liked.Temple 45 was a steep climb. It is next to a mountain face with cave holes in the side of the mountain.On the walk back through the town, on the way to my minshuko, there were numerous displays of Girls Day dolls in front of homes which were beautiful.One last photo. As I was walking I came across this statue, which was my favorite statue of the day. I thought the expression on his face was unique and priceless.I was glad he had a nice warm hat on and two bibs, as he sure needed it today.

Hard to believe I have passed the half way point of the 88 Temples again. Tomorrow I will visit 6 temples as I work my way back to Matsuyama.