Stayed at Minshuku Okada last night and was surprised to find Mr. Okada not there. The whole process, from making my reservation to checking in to checking out was handled by what appeared to be his daughter.
She even gave the traditional speeches at dinner and breakfast on how to get to Unpenji and what to expect. I didn't have the heart to ask about Mr. Okada in case he's passed away and she gets asked about it by almost all guests.
Left the lodging at 6:30 and was at Unpenji at 8:15. That's faster than usual; i usually count on just over two hours for that climb.
From Unpenji it was off to Temple 67. The hardest part of walking in the rain is finding places to take a break. When it's clear and sunny, you can just plop down anywhere but when it's raining it's terribly difficult to find somewhere out of the wind and rain where you can relax while staying warm and dry.
Because of the rain i only took two pictures today. The first is of the top of Unpenji mountain from a ways back on the trail. The trail up to this point could be the steepest on the entire walk, but at this point the hard work is over as you break out of the woods and walk along a service road for most of the rest of the way to the temple.
This second picture is one of the tens of thousands of small Jizo statues and trail marker stones that dot the roads and trails all around the island and help to keep you on track.
Had maybe the most interesting minshuku meal i've had in Japan at dinner tonight. It started with the typical plate of sashimi, included my bowl of rice, and finished with the typical soup, but everything that usually goes between the sashimi and soup was replaced with a piece of fried chicken.
From now on, whenever i go to KFC i will always think of Kanonji City and Temples 68 & 69.
Tomorrow i srtart with Temples 68 & 69, which share the same temple compound, and then work through Temples 70-75. I'll spend the night tomorrow in a hotel near #75.
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