Pilgrimage day - Mar 8

Today we were pilgrims, or almost pilgrims, on the Shinkoku pilgrimage route, following the footsteps of the Japanese Buddhist saint, Kobo Daishi. We didn't wear the white jacket and cone shaped straw hats (like the pilgrims in the photo), nor did we start at the first temple (out of 88 temples).
We took a local bus to temple number 13 - Dainichiji - (pilgrim photo) and then walked to the three following temples, a distance of about 5 miles. Each temple had a nearby Shinto shrine - Dainichiji had a large shrine across the street with two torii gates.
Between the temples we walked on a paved path through fields and gardens, past some lovely houses with manicured trees, along a highway, across a bridge, by cemeteries and through towns. We also passed a roadside shrine to dead babies and unborn babies (small photo at bottom) - the red bibs on the markers indicate babies.

The photo (left) with the large tree is temple 14 - Jorakuji, which was just past a lake and up a hill.
The photo (centre) with the weathered grey temple and "dry garden" is #15, Kokubunji. We ate our lunch looking at this view.
The photo (right) with Sean ringing the gong is #16, Kanonji.
By this time Dave and I and Debbie were wearing out, so we took a local bus back to our hotel in Tokushima.
For dinner tonight we went to a restaurant and ate lots of sashimi (raw tuna, salmon and red snapper), plus a tomato and mozzarella salad (the balsamic vinegar looked green but tasted right), crab fried rice and gyozo. Yum!