Temple: Hagiwaraji – a bangai but quite a bustling little community hub with lots of stalls setting up for a Sunday market on the grounds

Dedication: I met Matt, who is an Australian lawyer, in Tokyo in December. He took me and Ed out for dinner which may have been a bit odd for him. He seemed to cope with the fact we were exs on holiday together though. He’s been a great source of information on Japan and speaks flawless Japanese. He’s a really sweet guy and I’ll see him once I’m done with the pilgrimage. Hope you’re well.

The path down to the bangai temple was once again overgrown and rough. I saw some prayer flags half way down though so someone must have used it. A little way later I ran into a group of ten Chileans climbing the mountain. Getting to say Hola instead of Ohayo was a nice change.