Temple: Kanonji – one of two temples on the same site.

Dedication: I lived with Lucy in the third year at uni. She’s great and was fun to live with (and occasionally accidentally feed fish milk to). She moved to Texas a while ago which means I obviously don’t stay in touch, as I never phone anyone, but it was a great excuse to have a really fun stop in Austin with El recently. At uni Lucy was adorable if slightly naive, since moving to America she seems to have developed a keen sense of sarcasm which I love. I don’t see enough of her but she’s one of those friends who’s great as soon as you get together. Hope you’re doing great, Lucy.

Picture: I was on the path at the back of the temple when a woman asked me: “Do you want to see a big coin?” I did. It’s a massive sand sculpture, kept pristine by volunteers.

I’ve ran into John the Kiwi again and been walking with him. I stayed with him and some other ohenro down near the beach. There were a load of Japanese teenagers setting off fireworks and generally having fun. I moved up to an open air amphitheatre for a bit more peace and slept really well.