The Henro trail to the Nanako pass was basically gentle climb up to the middle. However, there was a series of pretty tough climbs at the end of the trail, so I was really exhausted.

But the view from Nanako pass is really nice, and all the fatigues has gone 🙂

Due to the last tough trail, I was now worried about the downhill from Nanako pass. But fortunately, it was a slightly downhill path along the national road 56, so it wasn’t a problem for my knee.

While I thought I was about to reach to the road station Aguri Kubokawa, I heard a ring tone, which seemed to be from the bell attached to a pilgrim’s stick (Kongo-zue).

I noticed that he was the guy I passed each other on the way back from Seiryu-ji yesterday, so I quickly said hello to him. If he walked yesterday’s route without using the ferry I used, his walking pace must be quite fast and impressive!

There was a restaurant attached to the road station, Aguri Kubokawa, so I went in. There was an Unadon – a grilled eel rice bowl – that is typical of Shimanto. I was quite curious about it, but the person who came to take my order strongly recommended their udon noodles with pork in miso stew, I ordered it. The pork and thick udon noodles were quite tasty.

After I left the road station, I saw Shimanto Pork signboard on a couple of occasions, so it might be quite famous around here.