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wet soap in the sun as we walk. He responds to all my questions with a beatific smile and an ‘ah’ that sounds like a sigh, and then answers all kinds of questions I haven’t asked. As we cross a bridge he launches into a lecture on the history of the pilgrimage and of Kōbō Daishi, who, to this day, sleeps in a meditative state of suspended animation on the slopes of Kōya-san (Mt Kōya). Do I know that the sticks the travellers carry are believed to be the embodiment of the Daishi? That it is considered sacrilege to use a knife to smooth a road-battered staff? That pilgrims must never tap their sticks on the ground while crossing a bridge, lest they disturb the spirit of the Daishi, who often used to sleep under bridges on his own journeys?

For many, the trip represents the culmination of years of planning. One night in Kagawa-ken I meet a retired man (originally from Kotohira) who has come home, at last, to finish the pilgrimage. Now in his late 70s, he’s been undertaking the trail in small bites over several years. Now that he’s nearly finished, he’s ready to bring down the curtain on his life, he says matter of factly.

For others, the chief attraction may be the physical challenge. This could explain the behaviour of two Osaka students I room with one night. They have just bought new bikes, and have decided to break them in by completing a circuit of all 88 Temples in a week. Maybe they’re about to set some kind of record, I suggest. They smile at the thought, and vow to look into it online when they get back home.

At Hiwasa I come across a stricken-looking woman practically crawling down the corridor towards the beer vending machine (yes, Japanese temples have beer machines). The next morning I’m not much surprised when she turns out to be the only other person having ‘late’ breakfast with me at 7am. She’s from Yamagata, and is trying to complete her circuit during the low season at the ski resort she runs. Don’t they have temples up in Yamagata? Ah, but Shikoku is a special place. She tells me how she went to a local surgery the day before, seeking treatment for injuries she’d sustained by walking too far, too quickly. ‘And they wouldn’t accept any payment. O-settai. Because they could see I was a henro. I knew it was a good sign when I saw they had the Daishi’s picture on the wall in the waiting room. That’s when I knew for sure that he was really watching over me.’

Although pilgrims’ backgrounds (and perhaps motives) may differ widely, the pattern and routine of life on the road is very similar for everyone who undertakes the trail. The dress is uniform, too: hakue (white garments) to signify sincerity of purpose and purity of mind; the sugegasa (straw hat) that has protected pilgrims against sun and rain since time immemorial; and the kongōzue (colourful staff). Pilgrims believe that the kongōzue is an embodiment of the Daishi himself, who accompanies all pilgrims on their journey – hence the inscription on so many pilgrims’ backpacks and other paraphernalia: (dōgyō ninin), meaning ‘two people on the same journey’. The routine at each temple is mostly the same, too: a bang on the bell and a chant of the Heart Sutra at the Daishi-dō (one of the two main buildings in each temple compound), before filing off to the nōkyōsho (desk), where the pilgrims’ book is inscribed with beautiful characters detailing the name of the temple and the date of the pilgrimage.

If you’re eager to become an aruki henro (walking pilgrim) yourself, you’ll need to budget around 60 days (allowing for an average distance of 25km a day) to complete the circuit. Travellers who don’t have the time or inclination for the whole thing can get a taste of what it’s all about by following one of the henro-for-a-day minicircuits mentioned in the Around Tokushima and Uwajima sections. Other cities with concentrations of temples within easy reach of each other include Matsuyama in Ehime-ken and Zentsū-ji Click here in Kagawa-ken.

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At Ikumi, just across the border into Kōchi-ken, Minami Kaze (; 0887-29-3638; per person ¥3675) is