A Walk Around Shodoshima
Day 8 The Final Morning
February 8th 2016

I had hoped to finish yesterday, but both yesterday and the day before had been excellent days with some time-consuming "diversions", so it leaves me with a very short day today to finish. The bus drops me off on the headland sticking out of the north east of the island.

As expected with dawn's light the views are great. A shortcut along the pilgrimage path lets me leave the main road briefly before rejoining it on the descent into Yoshida, a small fishing village but with a decent sized resort hotel. Heading inland I reach Yoshida-an, 83 of the 88. It's a single building and no-one around. Just across the road a nice local shrine with a big tree.
Instead of heading down the coast the path now continues inland towards the massive Yoshida Dam. The path now heads straight up the mountainside, and though the pass is only 190 meters above sea level, I think it's the steepest climb of the whole pilgrimage. As I get closer to the top I catch views inland to the high country still blanketed in cloud. The trail descends quickly into the back of Fukuda, the port where ferries from Himeji arrive and depart.

I soon find Fukuda-an, temple 83. A little old lady is cleaning up inside and as I am about to head off she calls me back and hands me a tray with a bowl of zenzai, a soup of sweet beans, and a cup of tea. The hospitality towards pilgrims here on Shodoshima has been a real added bonus to a wonderfu...