There’re 88 temples that you’ll visit. Majority of them are located along the coast line of Shikoku island, and each of them have its own number. Visiting each temple is called “Utsu” (“Strike” in English). Long time ago, people “strike” the wooden votive card to the column of the temple when visiting the temple, and …
Formal Ohenro-san looks like this. But during my Shikoku Henro pilgrimage, I saw many different arrangement (or even some Ohenro-san didn’t have any of those at all), and I believe that’s pretty OK. I think each one of outfit items have some specific meaning, but let me comment from my experience. There’re some shops in …
There’re certain steps to follow at each temple. However, you don’t have to be pressured. During long pilgrimage, you would learn it. And I think important thing is that you would pray regardless the way how you do it. Step1: At the main gate (山門) Once you arrive at the main gate, you first remove …
You may think that you need to be Buddhist to do Shikoku Henro Pilgrimage, but the answer is no (Not sure if there’s official answer though :)). Indeed, many people becomes “Ohenro-san” (Shikoku pilgrims) because of different reasons such as below. Praying for their and their family’s safe life Maintaining their health Sightseeing Collecting temple …
Of course, the budget would differ so much based on the way you plan to do Shikoku Henro Pilgrimage. However, it’s quite obvious that the largest part of the budget will be accommodation fee. So if you plan to do the Pilgrimage in nice season with solo-camping capability, then you may reduce the total cost …
Along the Shikoku Henro Pilgrimage trail, different types of accommodations are available. I usually used guest house or economy hotel. I preferred guest house, because I could hear some interesting and useful topics from the host or other pilgrims at dinner time. Also they usually provide local nice food as homemade style. Some temples provide …