Shikoku Pilgrimage Day 4: How to be a Ninja

On the fourth day of my (partial) Shikoku 88-Temple Pilgrimage, I would leave my bicycle behind for the day. After being glued to the saddle for the past two days, my bicycle stayed at Urokoro Ryokan for the day. An unusual feeling! After a hearty breakfast of rice, grilled salmon, egg and miso soup, I walked to the bus stop and took the bus to Kamiyama. Today would be the day to visit the first Nansho Temple, or “difficult to reach” place on the pilgrimage, the mountain temple of Shosan-ji (T12).

Because of my mobility issues, I chose to cycle most of my pilgrimage, which, a this stage, will take me from its beginning to Temple 23. Cycling to T12 would require a round trip of 50km, some very hilly cycling, and a potential 15km walk. So, feeling this would be too much, I opted to take public transport for some sections of the pilgrimage. The easiest and probably only option is a bus from Tokushima to Kamiyama, the town nearest to Shosan-ji, and then either walk or take a taxi to Shosan-ji.

I travelled along with lots of local High School students – who appeared to be leaving the city to go to High School in a a sleepy little rural town 25km away. A strange world.

Approaching my first “Nansho” temple

I was glad I wasn’t cycling, since it was already quite sunny, and there were quite a few hills, and quite a narrow but busy road. At the final stop, I headed towards a common stop: Family Mart. Coffee first. As lovely as that breakfast was, I needed a big cup of freshly brewed coffee! And a smack or two. And investigate transport options to Shosanji, still 8km away.

Before I could do anything, I was approached by a Taiwanese Henro, already decked out in pilgrim gear, asking me if I was heading for Shosanji. The rest was easy, we went to Family Mart where the friendly staff called a taxi for us. Taxi apps don’t really work in rural Shikoku. The road up to Shosan-ji was all tarmac, shaded by huge pine trees in the early morning, a bit steep, but doable but relatively boring on foot.

I was glad to ride in a taxi, even though this was not exactly playing to Cycling Pilgrimage rules. Well. I could have cycled here, but 25km on that narrow busy road followed by a steep 6km climb. It would have added an extra day. One that I didn’t have. So, I went the pragmatic route.

I am glad I did, for I had limited time available, and the temple sits at just over 700 metres, a big climb from sea-level Tokushima, even though it’s a gradual one for the first 25km. Although temperatures weren’t too high for June, I had felt the sun quite a bit on my previous days cycling, and I planned to see T16 and 17 before turning back into central Tokushima for my accommodation for the night.

T12, Shosan-ji: Majestic but a pain

Once the taxi dropped us off at Shosanji’s parking lot, we walked the rest or the way up to the temple, about 500 metres, along a lantern-strewn path. This was very nice, an easy gravel path that you can amble along slowly, and at least gave us a bit of a feeling of doing some walking. You meet the foot path from T11 by the temple gate. As scenic as it was, I did not feel that sense of achievement, having come by public transport, but the remaining steps up to the temple served as a valuable lesson to know your limits…

One advantage of the early taxi trip was arriving early – at 9am- and being the only visitors at this majestic mountain temple, surrounded by forest, hearing nothing but bird song. A chain of huge colourful koinobori was being pulled up a flag pole, steps swept – the temple was only just getting ready for the day. We paid our respects, slowly, and sat on the benches on the vast, empty temple grounds with our poison of choice – cigarettes for m new Henro sister, a cold fizzy drink for me.

We chatted, as much as our language barriers would allow us. Turns out that the only language we both spoke a bit was Japanese. My first few days were very solitary – cycling, spending time at mostly empty temples, feeling jetlagged and zonked out in the evenings. Yesterday was the first time where I was invited to join a jolly round of Japanese pilgrims for drinks and biscuits, really bonded with a fellow pilgrim and talking for hours at the dinner table (and speaking English again), and as luck would have it, a bus ride later, I met another friendly person.

I felt a bit sad that to get to Shosan-ji, you really need to walk up some quite arduous-looking path, have a car, or do what we did, public transport then walk, a rather long journey. There used to be a bus stop close to Sudachi-an, in a hamlet about 2 or 3km from the temple, but that bus is no longer running. We sighed and just resorted to another fifteen minutes of rest, looking at the temple in the morning light, before tackling the 8km walk along the road, back to the bus stop.

About Shosan-ji

First question that stuck with me why anyone would build a temple on a mountaintop that’s hard to reach and not exaclty encouraging parishioners to come and worship here? Shosan-ji is the first “Nansho”(難所= hard to reach) temple of the pilgrimage, sitting near the top of a forested mountain at 706 metres.

A fair bit of lore surrounds this relatively remote, isolated temple. En no Gyoja, an ascetic who was banished from the Imperial Court and is seen as the founder of Shugendo, a syncretic body of ascetic practice, fought a fiery serpent on this mountain and Kobo Daishi encountered the very same serpent in 815 and sealed it in a cave.

A century or so later, there is also the legend that Kobo Daishi met a rich man called Emon Saburo, who first refused to give alms but later regretted it, performing the pilgrimage over twenty times. The tradition of osettai is thought to spring from the Emon Seburo legend, and Emon Seburo died on the pilgrimage between T11 and T12. The temple is dedicated to Kokuzo Bosatsu (Ākāśagarbha) who helped Kobo Daishi to seal the serpent in the cave. So this is one of few temples that are dedicated to a Boddhisattva instead of one of the four buddhas.

Relatively little is known about the buildings, but they are thought to be several hundred years old, and a Prefectural Monument. The layout is rather typical with the Main Hall and the Daishi Hall in unfinished wood side by side, with a moderate amount of carved decoration. It is the hillside, being surrounded by firs and cedar trees, that makes this temple quite special.

The Ninja Speaks

With our shortcut via taxi, we really could spend a lot of time at Shosan-ji, and at this early hour, it was wonderful. I had plenty of cold drinks from the banks of vending machines there, sat in the early morning sun, and just enjoyed the quiet atmosphere. But then, at some stage, we had to think about our descent.

It couldn’t be that hard, right? It’s a sealed road. A sealed road that was now baking in the sun and was steep – not bone-breaking step, but steep enough for my knees to moan and groan after two kilometres, and letting me fall behind my Henro companion, who, despite complaining about her legs and puffing a fair few cigarettes, kept moving at astounding speed.

After a brief rest at Yoshinan Temple, a small unmanned temple tied to the legend of Emon Saburo, my Companion kept moving way faster than I could probably to catch the earliest of the few daily buses back to Tokushima. I felt slightly pissed off – what if I fell or got sunstroke? The road was becoming boring and more so, quite painful to walk. But our paths had only just met, just over two hours ago, at a bus stop, so although we had said we’ll walk together, I felt justified to resort to my slight advantage, being able to speak basic Japanese, and being bold in times if need, and I struck my thumb out at one of the rare cars passing. A very old lady in a kei van, taking me as far as the next hamlet near Sudachi.an where she stopped to pick up firewood.

The road still hot and boring but thankfully less steep, I tried again at the next passing car. Two young Japanese women, fresh as a daisy in lily-white hakui, on a car pilgrimage. They were so lovely and wanted to take me to exactly where I wanted to go, and delivered me back to the Family Mart in Kamiyama within a few minutes. If you know some Japanese here, you are golden.

I enjoyed a cold fizzy drink before strolling to the nearest bus stop, reaching an earlier bus than the one I had planned, two hours later. When I casually stepped on the bus, my former walking companion stared at me, wide eyed, asking through her translate up “How on earth did you get here, falling far behind me?”. I couldn’t help but say, in my simplest Japanese “Its my ninja training”. I guess a decent grasp of Japanese counts for a ninja skill, too?

The bus dropped me at this morning’s stop in Tokushima’s suburbs, I said Goodbye to my short-lived Henro sister, and went to pick up my bicycle from Urokorou. It was nearly noon, and extremely hot. Well. If that doesn’t call for CoCo Ichibanya, 50 metres from the bus stop. I try to visit CoCo Ichibanya once every trip. I know it’s a chain curry shop, but I love their tasty curry, with vegetarian options, customizable portion size so nothing gets wasted, and, of course, their mascot, a cat called CoCoNeCo. Before I knew it, I had ordered an extra Caesar Salad so I could get their limited “gift” a NeCo cable tidy. I guess I can contain myself when it comes to gacha, but totally lose control as soon as a cat is involved!

T16, Kanon-ji: Another plain one

After my meal, I braved the intense heat and blazing sun, and walked to Urokoro to pick up my bicycle, which had a nice day off on the cool genkan of the inn. I was greeted with another glass of homemade apricot juice. Ah, what I would have given for a nap on those fluffy futon now! But I had checked out early in the morning, I had no choice but to continue, just 100metres on, to see Kanon-ji, which I found rather underwhelming, and melting into a succession of relatively unremarkable temples with little charm.

I somewhat half-heartedly lit my incense, drank some water, then continued to cycle. Along with similarly underwhelming T13, this must have been the briefest temple visit.

At least the ride to the next temple was a nice stretch, still quite suburban, crossing busier roads but sticking to small sealed roads with no traffic, passing traditional houses, before I hit a bigger road and made a little detour to Workman, looking for traditional Japanese work pants and cool aprons – but being quite disappointed. While cheap, everything was made from man-made fibre and felt synthetic. So, no Workman clothes for me.

About Kanon-ji

Another really old temple fallen on hard times, Kanon-ji predates the pilgrimage and was founded by Gyoki, a Nara Period Buddhist priest from what is today Sakai. He travelled around Japan teaching Buddhism, and at the same time, is thought to have cartographed parts of Japan. Quite a few of the Tokushima temples are foundations attributed to Gyoki who He was posthumously granted the status of a Boddhisattva by the the new Heian-Kyo court.

The temple did, like many, get ransacked and burned down during the Momoyama (Tensho) period and was rebuilt during the Edo Period. Its principal image is a Thoousand-armed Kannon (Boddhisattva Avalokiteshvara), so here we have another temple dedicated to a Boddhisattva, not one of the four buddhas.

T17, Idoji Hot, bothered and tired

To get to Ido-ji and to continue to Tokushima, I cycled along the busy road, which was perhaps the stretch of route on the entire pilgrimage I disliked most. With the side walks in a poor state, and kerbs after kerbs, I partially cycled on the road, getting a few puzzled looks from motorists – unlike in Kyoto, everyone else seemed to cycle on the footpath, so, back on the footpath I was.

I was glad when I saw Ido-ji, looking quite pretty with its red and white buildings in a fairly built-up suburban area. The sun was still up, blazing hot. I was so glad to have travelled to Shosan-ji early. They do warn you about the heat on a summer pilgrimage, and today was definitely another such day, with relentless heat, and endless sun exposure – that seemed to permeate the long sleeves I was wearing, and let me steep in my polyester hakui, drenched in sweat.

The temple, had a very Chinese look, red, lacquered, and newish, built on what looked a bit like a parking lot. A strange mixture of Chinese charm and practical concerns. And it was terribly hot with very little shade My photos, taken in such harsh light, would be a pain to edit. Eventually, I gave up, got my temple stamp and conversed with the scribe lady about scenic towns and the best foods to try in Germany. Another well-educated, middle aged person delighted to practice her English. It’s funny how you find English speakers when you least expect them – and not always when you need them. But as I said before a bit of Japanese goes a long way here, and it certainly gave me the confidence to head into the countryside of Japan, into tiny restaurants and random cafes and inns.

About Idoji

Although a lot of Ido-ji looks new, the temple is probably one of the oldest on the pilgrimage, having existed since the reign of Emperor Tenmu in the 7th Century (Asuka Period, 40th Emperor of Japan and 11th historically verifiable).

The Seven Statues of Yakushi Nyorai (Medicine Buddha) that are enshrined at Idoji are said to be early Asuka period (not on display, of course), so this temple has a very long history – but none of that can be seen since this temple burned down several times and a lot of what you see is Showa-era rebuild in the traditional, slightly Chinese- inspired style.

There is a miraculous well thought to have been dug by Kobo Daishi, sitting very unconspiciously in a little natural-wood building next to the Nokyocho Office. If you see your reflection in it, you will be blessed with a long life and all sorts of good luck. Thankfully, I didn’t try, thinking “ah, another little prayer hall, no need to see this in depth” and headed for the cool nokyocho office…

Back to Tokushima via a refreshing bath

At this point, I was really tired, probably caught a bit too much sun again, and just wanted to rest… but there was no option but to cycle another 8km to my hostel… or to cycle just a bit, dismantle the bike and take a train from Ko Station.

I was a bit scared to dismantle the bike. What if I still could not fit it into the Rinko bag? What if I was unable to reassemble it the exact way it was before? Still, after over three days trying to be a pilgrim, a lot of たられば (Tarareba), what if’s and general luxury problem worry. Same as at home! I think other than getting a good sunburn and growing my cycling muscles a bit, I had not accomplished much in this pilgrimage yet.

I opted for a break at the sento. I hadn’t been that lucky with onsen so far, they were either closed or I didn’t want to cycle several kilometres in the evenings to visit one. But why an onsen when a sento, a public bath without a natural spring, can be just as good? I must say that for me, it doesn’t have to be n onsen. I often prefer the sento which often has a cold plunge bath, great for sore muscles, and a sauna, and in general, a bigger variety of baths, and very low prices.

Between Tokushima University Hospital and Kuramoto Station I found the loveliest sento called Motomachi-yu, where, for a tiny fee, you could wallow in a bright space with hot baths, cold baths, electric baths, and a sauna! Friendly staff, friendly locals, including some quite heavily tattoed ladies. I think sento, especially the ones belonging to a sento association, don’t restrict tattoes, like many onsen. I sent so much time at the sento, mostly rotating between hot jacuzzi and the cold bath, so soothe my hurting legs. It worked!

Much refreshed, I left the sento when the sun was quite low and somewhat comfier temperatures set in. I pedalled the remaining 8km aside some fairly heavy rush hour traffic. I even found the energy to visit Seria and Muji opposite the station – tonight I would have the chance to stow more shopping in my luggage before setting off by bicycle for several days again.

Shopping pretty much exhausted my remaining energy, I spent to much time in Muji and only left when they were closing at 19.00, headed to Lawson, picked up a few bits for dinner, and headed to my hostel.

So, today concluded my journey with a lots of temples every day. I saw 17 temples in 3.5 days, and at some stage, I felt a little templed out. Now, distances will stretch, and I will be leaving Tokushima, but continue on the relatively densely populated Shikoku Coast until it’s time to head inland to Temple 20 again.

Public Transport and Limited Mobility Options

Even with a hard- to reach “Nansho” Temple, I found today relatively manageable thanks to the bus connections from Tokushima. Budget for a taxi from Kamiyama to Shosan-ji, and possibly back, or ask for the taxi driver to wait. It is then about 300-400 metres slight uphill gravel path from the Shosanji car park plus around 30 steps up to the temple. I found that if you visit during the day, you will easily find someone who will give you a lift back to Kamiyama.

In general, I found the trip to Shosanji much more straightforward than zigzagging across Tokushima’s outer suburbs to T16 and T17, as far as public transport is concerned. Since the temples are staffed during the day, I feel it would be quite easy to ask staff to call a taxi, especially when it’s a straightforward destination like the next temple ahead or a hotel. And “Taxi” is pronounced almost the same way in Japanese as it is in English, so it is easy to ask people to call one.

As far as seeing T16 and T17 goes, you will be in the suburbs of Tokushima. T16, Kanonji, is very close to JR Ko Station, with eitehr a train or bus to and from Tokushima every half hour (fewer in the middle of the day), and the bus back from Kamiyama stops close to T16. Idoji, T17, is not served well by public transport, so it’s a 4km round trip to Ko Station for the public transport. The GO Taxi app did not work for me in Tokushima, I usually wentt into a convenience store to ask staff whether they would call a taxi for me.

Where I stayed

After completing my loop of the Tokushima temples T1-17, I backtracked and stayed at Hostel PAQ again, reunited with my suitcase, and a bit of rearranging, before embarking on the grand tour to the South – a big deal for me, since I have only done day touring by bicycle before.

On my second stay, I spent some more time in the communal space, and noticed that Hostel PAQ really is a true hub for Henro. Not only do many pilgrim stay here, but it has Henro Information, a “recycling corner” for pilgrim goods, and all the Henro guidebooks in the bookshelf for reference. It’s comfortable, and staffed throughout the day, so if you arrive in the middle of the day, ready for a rest, you can at least use the comfy lounge. It has free tea and coffee, and even when the lounge is full, there is an air of relaxation and quiet – this is definitely no party hostel. Also, they batted no eyelid when, due to the nature of my route, I made three separate bookings for one night at a time, which probably cause them more work than someone spending three nights in a row.

My single room was on the same floor, different room, slightly better layout. A no-frills single room with a bed and a desk and space to hang clothes, nothing fancy. Wouldn’t win an interior design contest, but it was clean ad restful.

The location (5min on foot to Tokushima Station) and indoor bicycle parking make this great for cycling henro. Plenty restaurants nearby, too, a Lawson about 100m away. And last not leas the friendly staff – reception is staffed most of the day, and happy to help and answer your questions.

If you prefer to stay in a hotel, I would recommend Hotel Sunroute Tokushima because of the natural spring onsen. There are several hotels around Tokushima Station, all three-to-four star business hotels, and Hotel Sunroute is one of them – with a nice onsen that sets it apart from the others.

The Small Print

I visited Japan in June 2026, where I spent most of my two-week trip cycling the Tokushima section of the Shikoku 88-Temple Pilgrimage. This trip was entirely self-funded.

• Today’s total mileage: 4km on foot, 13km by bicycle, 55km by bus
• Temples Visited: 3 (T12,T16,17)
• Food: Good (superb Urokorou breakfast, CoCo Ichibanya for lunch, convenience store snacks)
• Money Spent: Little (bus fare, 1/2 taxi, temple stamps, cheap food, sento)
• Spiritual Enlightenment: Low

Nothing you see here was sponsored, and I did not receive compensation, discounts, or special treatment in exchange for writing it. All my own honest and unbiased opinion. This post does contain affiliate links to accommodation I stayed at as well as some good accommodation in the area which I researched and would consider staying at. If you book a hotel using my affiliate links, I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please refer to my blog’s Terms and Conditions for further information.

This post (well, my entire blog, except this) is free from generative Artificial Intelligence.