My Shikoku Pilgrimage Day 5: It’s all Going South

Today I was to leave the city of Tokushima and head south. Towards smaller towns, and eventually, the countryside, and the coast.

After cycling a long loop from Tokushima along Yoshino Rover, a foray into the mountains to Shosanji and back to Tokushima, today I was to leave the city – and I would only be back briefly. The weather forecast said plenty overcast sky and reasonable temperatures, around 28 Celsius or so, which is very cool for Japanese summer, so, although awake super early, I took the opportunity to partake in the free breakfast of Hostel PAQ, had a couple of cups coffee, then some green tea, while relaxing in the hostel’s lounge, tidying my journal and half listening to other Henro’s conversations.

It was quite late by the time I set off, maybe 09.30, scandalously late for a pilgrim on a schedule. And so, I thought, the weather was going to be moderate, no need to rush. By that I didn’t mean stepping off the bicycle after just twenty minutes when I spotted a Daiso 100 Yen Store by the roadside.

My coolest Osettai

I had chosen to avoid the main route south on purpose and went on Route 136. I resisted the Daiso, but a few hundred metres later, drawn by a display of koinobori, I stopped and entered a roadside store filled with beautiful display dolls – hina dolls and samurai – and koinobori.

“I saw the koinobori”, I told the friendly expectant-looking shop owner, who may have been surprised by the gaijin entering his very traditional shop. “Is it okay if I just look around for a minute?” Of course, being ever the good pilgrom , at least outwards, I wore my hakui.

He smiled and asked how I found this place. Guess he doesn’t see pilgrims here every day. But the shop is between two of the official Henro-michi, and since I am travelling by bicycle, I wanted to take a quieter road. Didn’t look like there are a lot of pilgrims walking into his shop, though he appeared delighted by my visit and almost immediately presented me with a samurai helmet made from fabric, light and portable, as a gift. Not sure if it was meant to be an osettai, I gratefully accepted.

But well, since he had literally hundreds of koinobori, including some massive ones, could he please tell me their prices, and perhaps, sell one to me? The koinobori, he explained, were all display copies. You choose one and it will get ordered. No Pret-a-porter koinobori in this shop. Ah, okay, I got it. So, I strolled through the aisles a bit, we made some polite conversation about where I am from and Shikokuas far as my very pedestrian Japanese would let me. I was about to bid my farewell, when he asked what colour I liked, and climbed up into his display window, and returned with a big red carp streamer It’s a gift, he said, it has some dirt on it and cannot be sold. Holy moly. That’s quite some gift. I tried to refuse, a little overwhelmed by the situation, since I learned that osettai must be accepted with grace, but this was a bit of a… expensive osettai? From someone I had only just met? So, would it be more polite to decline, or should I accept it outright as osettai, even though a koinobori might not contribute to helping me speed along the journey, except put me in a really good mood, because I love koinobori?

I felt overwhelmed with gratitude, and accepted. Thing is, I did want a big koinobori for my house. Well, I got a koinobori now. I still consider it my coolest souvenir from this trip. I finally bid my farewells, and, with a lot of mutual bowing, managed to get back on my bicycle.

Tempted by Shopping

I managed to cycle on smaller roads closer to the train line but at some point, rather than zigzagging through Suburbia, met the main road, National Route 55, leading from Tokushima to Kochi. Here in the outskirts of Tokushima, a dual or triple carriageway lined with large shops, US style… car dealerships, Don Quijote, fishing stores. And didn’t the forecast say it would be overcast today?

It was hot, and the cars rolled slowly on the crowded motorway. I stuck to the pedestrian path. Holding out for Komeda’s Coffee, which would come in a few kilometres. I really didn’t envy the two or three walking pilgrims I overtook. What a tedious section to walk. I even spotted a rest hut right by the motorway, but nothing could be better than a nice big Komeda’s Coffee and an egg sandwich now, for my lunch, and sitting out the hottest time of the day.

So, with Komeda’s firmly my next destination, I parked my bicycle and headed for a refreshing vitamin-rich 7-11 Smoothie before contemplating lunch. I felt really getting steered sideways. Behind 7-11, a box of a store shared by Tsutaya Books and Watts beckoned. I would only have another 20km to cycle today, and when would I ever have time to spend as much time as I wanted in a bookstore and the 100Yen Shop? Like, never?

So, off I went into Watts. At the time, I was really into cute kitchen sponges and little towels. Which have the advantage of being very portable, too. In terms of Kanji drill books, Watts wasn’t that great. Oh well, that second pannier bag was almost empty, so a few long-tailed tit cloths made their way into my shopping basket. Tsutaya Books – lots of manga. In my halting Japanese, I finally managed to ask staff for several manga I was interested in, and, ta-da, I finally managed to buy the first two volumes of “Kiyo in Kyoto”, the manga that “The Makanai” is based on.

T18, Onzan-ji

It was still very hot when I ended my long lunch at Komeda’s but the cafe began to be very busy and a queue forming, and I did not want to overstay my welcome. If you had rolled me into a hotel with an onsen right now, I wouldn’t have protested, to be honest.

You see, I was surprised by my lack of resolve to be a good pilgrim here… had I just spent the entire morning journaling, mooching round shops and drinking coffee?

The approach to my first temple of the day, Onzan-ji, was nice, leaving the main road and leaving Suburbia. Not so fun was pedalling up a hill of 100m with the sun blazing and a full stomach, but I pushed the bicycle, as I said, time was on my side, and then strolled slowly all the way to the top. It felt significantly busier today, on a Saturday, with many Japanese visiting by car.

When I queued up for my stamp, I noticed people buying folded bits of paper like crazy. Some buying packets of twenty or so, handing over stacks of 10000 Yen notes. So, when I was my turn, I asked “What are these interesting package?” she mysteriously smiled at me and said in a long, slow drawl “o-ma-mori”. Okay, a good fortune charm. Given my circumstances of this trip, I could do with all the good fortune there is, and collect a bit at each temple, so I bought one, too, carefully tucking it away into my backpack in its little white paper bag.

When I looked for more information on what I had bought later, I learned my purchase is a SuriGesa omamori unique to Onzanji, which may explain people buying it en masse. A Surigesa Amulet of ONzanji is thought to protect from bad karma and illness and is apparently versatile – you can place it on your person, or at your home, and unlike some other omamori it is thought not to expire. How practical, and all in a folded and glued piece of paper!

About Onzan-ji

Onzan-ji is a Shingon Buddhist temple founded by Gyoki of Sakai, a Nara Period Buddhist Priest, mapper of Japan, benefactor and Buddhist teacher, and made a Boddhisattva after his death in 749. Gyoki founded quite a few temple son the pilgrimage which predate Kobo Daishi’s foundations.

Onzan-ji’s principal deity is Yakusihi Nyorai (Medicine Buddha), and the principal image was created by Gyoki. When Kobo Daishi visited, he was accompanied by his mother. At the time, but women were not permitted to visit, so Kobo Daishi meditated and prayed here for this restriction to be lifted, and his mother was welcomed. Nevertheless, despite the initial cold shoulder, Kobo Daishi’s mother shaved her head here, leaving some of her hair, entered Buddhist priesthood, and this is where her grave is, ut I am not sure whether it -or the cemetery- can be visited. The hair is still in the temple but not on display, and a small shrine next to the Daishido commemorates the bond between parents and their children. The temple was rebuilt several times, last in the late Edo Period, but other sources said most of the temple except the Daishido burned down after lightning struck it in 1898.

The temple is up a steep little hill, with a tarmac road leading up past the old gate, now no longer in use. It’s another 100m metres of steep walking to the temple’s entrance, Edo-era Daishido and admin buildings, and then some statue-lined steps up to the Main Hall.

T19, Tatsue-ji

However tedious it was to cycle up to Onzanji, rolling down a few kilometres through the fields to the next temple was a joy.

Where Onzanji might have been a bit tedious to get to, Tatsue-ji, in the middle of a small town, with barely 300m to the train station, is very easily accessible. A real festival atmosphere prevailed here, and it was busy here, too, although not super crowded.

I headed to the impressive Main Hall first to light my incense. It looks so grand and historical and wonderfully festive with its colourful flags… but it was built in the 1970s. Could you tell? I am normally not a super big fan of architectural revivalism (Berlin Royal Palace sends its greetings…) but in this ensemble together with the genuinely old buildings, it is magnificent. And totally fooled me.

The buildings looked somewhat grander, and the garden a bit nicer, the whole temple looked prosperous and inviting, with drinks machines and a few benches. I took my sweet time, and managed to stay until closing time.

So far, for its joyful, welcoming atmosphere, this is one of my favourite temples. It has a pilgrim lodge (shukubo) that I would have loved to stay at, but I had pre-booked accommodation a long time ago, and these shukubo are rather tricky to book with their Japanese-only website and rather inconvenient payment options.

About Tatsue-ji

Tatsue-ji is a Shingon Buddhist Temple in the town of Tatsue, part of Komatsushima, sprawling town that directly neighbours Komatsushima. Its principal deity is the Boddhisattva Jizo (Ksitigarbha).

The Buddhist Priest Gyoki founded Tatsue-ji at the behest of Emperor Shomu, who ruled from 724 to 750 CE. The temple was founded to promote Empress Komyo’s safe childbirth. Therefore, it predates Kobo Daishi’s activities by nearly a century. It was severely damaged by fire in the late Momoyama period (Chosokabe Clan at work again) and rebuilt in its current location, but suffered further fire damage in the 20th Century. The impressive Main Hall you come across upon entering is from the 1970’s. It houses some cultural assets like a Kamakura era (12 to 14th Century) triptych of Shakyamuni Buddha and a Showa era ceiling painting in the Main Hall.

I felt Tatsue-ji, being in the centre of a small town, had a very bright, welcoming, even festive atmosphere. Not sure this was to do with my visit on a weekend and more visitors than I had previously encountered. I really liked it, and in retrospect, would have loved to stay the night at Tatsue-ji. The temple is mentioned in many folk tales, too. Perhaps the most well-known is that of the bell rope of “Black Hair Hall”, when a woman and her lover came to seek shelter at the temple, and the lady’s hair got tangled in the bell rope… and is now exhibited there. Both became devout Buddhists after the incident and served the temple for many years.

There is also a bridge on the path to T20, seen as a spiritual checkpoint – people with the wrong intentions trying to cross it will be stopped by a white heron. None of these places are particularly signposted, but be sure so dedicate some extra time to this welcoming nice temple.

Tatsue-ji is one of a few temples that has a Shukubo (Pilgrim’s Lodge), with space for over 200 pilgrims. So, after Temples 6 and 7, here is your third chance to stay at temple. Tatsue-ji has a simplified English version of its website where it says that they take reservations by phone in Japanese only. So, of you speak Japanese (or get someone to call for you), you are golden. Rooms look extremely nice (pictures here) and cost 8000JPY per person per night including dinner and breakfast.

Making a Base in Anan

I reached my last big bridge for the day across Kuwano River, just before 18.00. Early enough to hear the chime of Big Ben from Anan’s modern City Hall, followed by a jolly melody from loudspeakers. It was still warm, but the sun was already quite low. Time to head to my guest house for the next three nights! I found it very easily, close to City Hall, and thanks to having pre-checked in online, I managed the check-in procedure conducted by automated video screen, quite well. The guesthouse was a modern residence, (closed) cafe on the ground floor, small two-bedroom apartment on the upper floor.

I freshened up, and bought enough fizzy drinks, tofu, pre-cooked rice, natto and snacks to last me three days. I washed my sweaty clothes and spent the rest of the evening eating my top favourite foods, tofu and natto. I was the only person in the entire house and felt a bit lonely in my very bare room. So I phoned home, ate more, then went to sleep. Not all evenings can be enjoyable and full of sparkling conversation, and feeling so isolated in that house did not help my situation – I felt I had reached a somewhat low point of my pilgrimage, but, in context, nothing really terrible had happened, and there would be a lot of cycling and walking to look forward to the next day.

Where I stayed

I wanted to stay in the same place for a few nights, and also was still trying to work out how to get to T12 to20 and 21 when I booked my accommodation, Guesthouse DARUMA, quite far in advance.

Altogether, the space itself was good, especially considering how little I paid, about 80 Euro for three nights. I had a decent-sized, somewhat bare room, one of two on the first floor of a new building. There was a cafe below which was never open while I stayed there, so it was extremely quiet and peaceful. There were no other guests in the other room, either, so I basically had the entire apartment to myself. It was nice to be in one place for a few nights rather than changing accommodations every day.

Although the room was a bit bare, it was spick-and span, clean, with a comfy futon and a huge TV. The outside corridor had a washing machine, microwave, cooking plate and some basic pots and pans. A very decent bathroom. Public onsen about 5 minutes by bicycle away. Absolutely no issue with the space itself. The only thing I did not like was that there was no sheltered parking for my bicycle, and the host was basically uncontactable the entire stay.

It wasn’t advertised, but the space is actually certified Halal – for any travellers who keep Halal, this would be a great place to stay, Hence, no cooking with alcohol, no pork products are permitted. Although there was no rules about keeping alcohol in the fridge, I decided to play it safe, and only took up my highball habit after the end of my pilgrimage.

If I were to stay in Anan again, I would probably pick the Super Hotel Anan City Hall or the Hotel Route-Inn Anan. Both are business hotels in new buildings. The Super Hotel is a bit closer to the centre of Anan, which is a pretty spread-out town, and the train station. Both have an onsen bath. There are big supermarkets close to both hotels, and also a fair few restaurants close to both hotels.

Had I not been keen to spent a few nights on one place, I could have easily stayed in Tatsue, where T19, Tatsue-ji, has a really nice-looking pilgrim guesthouse, but you can only reserve it by phoning them, and only Japanese speaking operators are available. A night in a private room here costs 8000Yen and includes dinner and breakfast, or 6000Yen without meals. You can see the rooms on the Japanese web site, and they look great.

There are also some really nice looking traditional homestays, guesthouses, henro houses… on the official Henro route at Katsuura, the last town before a long stretch to T20 and T21, including Momijinosato, Pilgrimage Lodge Otsuru or Mikan Inn (遍路宿 みかんの宿, no website)

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: 28km by bicycle
• Temples Visited: 2 (T18 and T19)
• Food: Good (hostel breakfast, generous Komeda’s Coffee spread, a tofu and natto feast from supermarket)
• Money Spent: Moderate (two manga, 100Yen Shop spread, Food Shopping for 3 days, cheap guesthouse )
• 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.