Day 44 - The Chūgoku 33 Temple Kannon Pilgrimage, Japan - Walking From Tagi To Izumo

Day 44 - The Chūgoku 33 Temple Kannon Pilgrimage, Japan - Walking From Tagi To Izumo

Today we finally completed our walk from Hamada to Izumo.
We did it in sections, breaking up the hundreds of kilometers involved into a few days of walking.

It was the hottest day of our pilgrimage thus far, although the weather forecast called for more hot days like today during the upcoming week.

But even though we walked in the sun all day, we did not experience the heat as oppressive.
We stopped two times at local cafés, to drink an ice cold drink and rest in their air conditioning.

The first café at which we stopped, was about an hour and a half into our walk.
They made us a big toast each, and iced coffees.
Like everyone else, they asked us why we were there and why we are walking.

The second cafe came about an hour later.
It was a happening place at lunchtime, with every table taken.
Most people were eating the pasta set.
The pasta set included tasty looking spaghetti, a drink and a salad.

At first, I hesitated to take a table during such a busy lunch service, since I knew that all we wanted was a cold drink.
But they were so warm towards us and so welcoming, that we sat down.
I ordered an iced tea with lemon and Jules ordered an iced ucoffee.
The place was spotlessly clean and was decorated with old Hollywood memorabilia, as well as memorabilia from Route 66.

When we sat down, a few more people came in, some left and others waited.
The owner and his wife were welcoming and full of smiles.
His wife or his mother helped with the cooking in the kitchen.

We finished our drinks, paid, put on our hats and got ready to walk.
The owner came over to me and asked if we had some time.
I said that we do, thinking that maybe she wanted us to pose for a photo, as other cafés did.
But she told me that they were making us free pasta dishes and they wondered if we had the time to eat them.

I thanked her very much, but said that our stomachs were very full and that we could not eat.
She ran to the kitchen and stopped her mother from making us the free pastas.

I was so moved.
Here I was thinking that we might not be welcome, because we only wanted a drink, but far from wanting us to finish up and go, they wanted us to stay and eat for free.

We walked along Route 9 for most of the day.
We always had sidewalks, and great views of the sea.

In a busy rest area that was selling local produce, we bought some dried figs.
This region is full of fig trees, and in that shop they sold locally made fig jam, fig cookies, fig cakes and fig ice creams.

The figs are of the green variety, with a middle that is red.
The dried figs were delicious, and we bought some more to eat during days of long walks and no cafés.

We met a woman and her daughter who spoke good English.
They chatted with us, wanting to give us driving directions.
We said we were walking.
They were amazed that anyone would walk such distances, especially on such hot days.

Jokingly, they said: “Oh, so you are professional walkers!
There are many hills on the way.
But maybe you will see some Dolphins!”

I looked for dolphins all day long, but saw none.
The only dolphins I saw were on the Manhole and sewer covers.
Apparently there are many dolphins here, or they would not be a symbol of the area.

We saw a few cyclists on the road today.
Most of them looked very red and sweaty from the heat.

I thought that we had managed the heat well.
Yes, we stopped to drink more frequently than usual, sitting in covered bus stops to stay away from the sun, but overall we never were red or overheated.

Our pace was also very good, and we were able to take the train back to Yunotsu Onsen arriving at our inn by five PM.

The owner of the Ryokan asked us about our walk today.
She already knew that we were walking, and only inquired about how we had enjoyed the walk today.
We told her about our walk, and she suggested that we use their washing machine to do our laundry, which we were very grateful for.

The washing machine and drier were not meant to be used by the general public.
They are located in their garage, and they are not coin operated.
Still she showed me how to use the machine and in an hour, we had clean and fresh smelling clothes.

When you stay multiple nights in a traditional inn and your plan includes dinner, you will get a different Kaiseki meal every night.
Tonight’s meal was another gourmet feast.
We felt so grateful to stay in this old onsen town along our pilgrimage route.

Wishing you a great night or day and much love,
Tali

Daily Stats:
Steps: 30,671 steps
Distance Walked: 22.5 Kilometers
Active Walking: 5 hours
Total Time: 7 hours

Total distance walked on the pilgrimage so far: 924.5 Kilometers

Temple Visited: None

Accommodation: Yunotsu Onsen Ryokan Kiunso.
A traditional renovated Onsen Ryokan, in Yunotsu.
Has a nice cafe.
Offers traditional hospitality, has indoor and outdoor hot spring baths, tatami mat rooms and a classical Kaiseki dinner and breakfast.