Eighty-eight temples, one path

This blog is my attempt to chronicle my preparation for my journey around the Island of Shikoku, on the 88 Temple Pilgrimage, and the journey itself.
I first discovered the pilgrimage while searching for information about a paper workshop I had heard of, run by a Dutchman who is now living in Japan. I found the workshop, and on the same tourist information website, there was an article about the pilgrimage. I think I read everything about the pilgrimage on that first night, and I was hooked.
It is, of course a religious pilgrimage, and while I am not a Buddhist, I do love the rituals involved in it, and I love altars and temples.
While I was in Hawaii, I visited the Valley of the Temples on Oahu. This gorgeous temple is a replica of the Byodo-In temple in Uji. It is situated at the bottom of an incredibly lush green valley, and surrounded by gardens and pools. It is an incredibly peaceful place, and one of my favorite memories from my trip to Hawaii. I cannot imagine an island with so many Buddhist temples--Shikoku must have some incredibly peaceful vibes. I can't wait to find out.
While not really a temple, the Japanese Gardens in Portland were always one of my favorite places in the city. I love the way that Japanese gardens use colour and form to evoke emotion. It's like living art that you can step into.
I intend to make this trip in April and May of 2010. I know that seems like a long way off, but I have lots of planning and training to do. I have taken steps towards learning Japanese, and that will be a journey in itself.
My neighbour, Junko, has agreed to help me with this arduous task, but I haven't even had the courage to say 'hello'to her yet...I'm only a couple of lessons into my course--Oxford 'Take off in Japanese'--and I'm not getting much. I think I will just have to keep plugging way at lessons 1, 2, and 3 until I know them backwards and forwards before I move on. I've got 20 months, anyhow...
At first, I wanted to camp out several times a week, but further reading has convinced me that the extra pack weight of a tent and sleeping bag would ot be worth it. Most henro (pilgrims) who have done the Shikoku no michi in recent years report some pretty grim 'campsites'--rest areas with only benches to sleep on, parks, disued vegetable stands--, and I just don't think I would enjoy the journey that much if I was worrying about where I was going to sleep every night. Camping also requires you to carry food and extra water, and then there is the question of cleanliness--anyone who knows me at all knows that I just don't do dirty. So, during the course of my trip, I will be staying at minshuku (a private home providing lodging for travellers, like the B&Bs we have in Britain), ryokan (traditional (mostly) inns--most are of the tatami-mat and shoji screen variety, but you do get a few more modern ones).
What sort of prep have I done so far?? Well, to be honest, quite a lot, considering how far away my trip is. I have decided to do the pilgrimage by walking the whole way, wearing the full henro kit, and following the full ritual at the temples,(despite not being a Buddhist, I am somewhat of a purist when it comes to these sorts of things!).
I have already made a complete packing list,which was quite a lot of work. I copied david Turkington's equipment list and made a few additions, and deleted a few items I wouldn't use--like a laptop!!--, and then I got down to specifics which meant lots of web shopping and trips to the Tiso Outdoor Experience to pick out pack, boots, rain suit, etc.--nothing's bought yet--one needs money for that!!
I made notes of how much everything weighed, sometimes using my kitchen scale, and then calculated the total weight of my pack. It's come in at just over 11kgs, which is approximately 1/5 of my body weight.According to most experienced hikers, anything from 1/6 to 1/4 your body weight is acceptible, depending on your experience, strenght, and stamina, and the terrain.
I've been pretty harsh, with no luxuries included in that weight, except for maybe the basic clothing--I'm taking 5 each of underwear and socks, and 4 pairs of trousers and t-shirts--althought I am getting extremely lightweight things. This, again, comes down to cleanliness for me. I don't know how often I will be able to do laundry, and I don't want to be stuck having to choose which dirty shirt to put on. Having extra cleans clothes is definitely worth teh extra weight for me. I may feel differently about that after 3 or 4 days of hiking over mountains, but I seriously doubt it.
I also made noted of how much everything costs. I set myself a budget before hand, and I managed to get the final figure in way under. I should be able to manage one major purchase a month, starting with the pack, and that will allow me to be fully kitted out several months before I go.
Here are a few links if you'd like to read up onthe pilgrimage to see what I'm getting myself into:
http://www.shikokuhenrotrail.com/ David Turkington's blog, by far the most complete and informative site on the web about the pilgrimage.

http://www.gaijinhenro.blogspot.com/ the blog of eleanor Lefever, a New Zealander who walked the trail in 2006.

http://www.kushima.com/henro/comments_e/intro.htm--a Japanese site, with a few pages in English

And incidentally, I will also be staying in Japan for a few weeks after I complete the henro trail, to go here:
http://www4.ocn.ne.jp/~kamikoya/images/engf2.pdf

here:
http://www.kusatsu-onsen.org/index.html

and here:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Daisetsuzan_National_Park