all of the five Skandas

Today was a good day.

We visited five temples today - Anraku-ji (no.6), Jūraku-ji (no.7), Kumadan-ji (no.8), Hōrin-ji (no.9), and Kirihata-ji (no.10).

At Anraku-ji, it looked as though they were preparing for a festival, as there were many beautiful flower arrangements, and a huge piece of bamboo that had been split at the top so its pieces bent over almost like a palm tree. This is where I took this picture of the incense.

At Jūraku-ji, there was a large temple lodging that looked like a hotel. It was quiet here.

At Kumadani-ji, we couldn’t find the pine tree that looked like a dragon! But there a beautiful cherry blossom tree hanging over the path, almost in bloom.

Hōrin-ji, we bought some delicious mikan (oranges) outside, and then went to a small cafe for amazake
(a traditional sweet fermented rice drink).

Kirihata-ji was up 333 stone steps, a beautiful temple. We looked for the temple’s inner sanctuary in the forest behind, but couldn’t find a discernible path! After this temple, we visited Sumotori-ya, a shop selling henro goods. A very kind lady gave us tea and we looked at henro scrolls and which fabric we might choose once we have completed the henro. We would have to post it to the shop from Japan, who would then post it to us in the UK after two months!

We walked to Minshuku Awarakuya, a wonderful place to stay for the night.

Today we walked about 12 miles.