A Walk Around Shodoshima
Day 4 Back into the mountains
Sunday December 27th

Yesterday was spent mostly walking along coastline, but today I head back into the higher country. The first two days of the walk included visits to some of the amazing cave temples of the island, and today there will be some more. Tonight I will be staying in Tonosho, so for the first time I will be carrying my full pack with me.

Dawn over the hills of Shodoshima above Ikeda Port.I get off the bus not long after sunrise and start heading up a small valley towards Hoanji, temple 40. It is located at the head of the valley and approached up steps. It was pretty enough, with some unusual little statues in shrines at the base. In the grounds of the temple was a stone statue of the reclining Buddha, not so common in Japan, and a small wooden Fudo. Bathed in dawn's light it was high enough to have a view over Ikeda.
The priest's wife (or sister, or daughter) was loading a car and was kind enough to show me where the trail up the mountain began. Pretty steep, but nice to be among trees with the rustle of dead leaves underfoot. The path comes out on a small asphalt road that winds along the mountainside to the entrances to the next two temples. From here the view is more expansive and Tonosho is in view.

Ahead I catch a glimpse of some green roofs at the base of the cliffs some way ahead. I reach the turn off that heads up the mountain to Bukkoku-san. It's very steep and after a while opens out to a ...