A half day visiting ryōzen-ji temple and ōasahiko shrine along the 88 temple shikoku pilgrimage framed all day by cherry blossoms before they get knocked down by the pouring rain.
- Supplies for the Day
- Ryōzen-Ji Temple
- Picnic Lunch
- Ōasahiko Shrine
- Tokushima Station
- Dinner
- Vibe Check
- Feedback
Photo Gallery: https://pics.mattichan.com/-uwc120
Supplies for the Day
Stopped first at the grocery store for some food for a picnic later for lunch. Lots of fun searching for stuff and arguably my eyes were bigger than my stomach.
Ryōzen-Ji Temple
Shikoku Pilgrimmage Trail
Took the train over to get closer to the temple, then walked over to Ryōzen-Ji along with some folks starting their pilgrimmage.
Temple Gate
We arrived at the temple gate and were treated to some views shrouded with cherry blossoms. Ryōzen-ji is the first stop on the 88 temple pilgrimage so there were a bunch of signage there too.
Cherry Blossoms
Beautiful cherry blossoms in all directions at the temple. Including some almost suspending in air as they fell (assuming they’re suspended by silkworms or something).
Statues
Some great statues all over the place as well.
Koi Fish
A ton of koi fish in the ponds as well that were very active and wanting food anytime a human came by and stopped.
Main Temple Hall
The main temple hall had a ton of lanterns and a dragon inside as well. Beautiful lines and symmetry.
Merch and Outfits
As we left we stopped by the store to see what kinds of things they sell to the pilgrim’s that embark on the pilgrimage. The mannequins were….interesting.
Picnic Lunch
After a couple hours, we were ready for lunch, so grabbed a pop from the vending machine nearby and squatted on a bench with our goodies from the morning. Grocery store food is still so good in Japan. Amazing.
Ōasahiko Shrine
Next, we made our way over to Ōasahiko Shrine by train and taxi up the hill.
Walkway
The walkway from one gate down to the shrine was quite pleasant and there were virtually no people around so we got to meander on our own.
Courtyard
After about 15 minutes we made it to the main courtyard and got to walk around the shrine a bit. Still lovely blossoms in bloom and a huge tree in the center as well. Lots of warnings about the monkeys but didn’t encounter one this time.
Solar Farm
As we left and waited for a taxi back, we sat next to a huge solar farm which was also nice to see.
Tokushima Station
We took the train back to Tokushima Station and started to get ready to squat before the rain came.
Pokémon Pop Up Store
But first…we stopped at the Pokémon pop up store in the station to see what was up.
Made the mistake of feeling one of the Pokémon and it was SO soft. Also, it’s one of my spirit Pokémon, so of course I had to have him. He’s adorbs.
What do you think? Pretty good resemblance right?
Dinner
We got back and squatted for a couple hours hiding from the rain. Took a nap and did some catching up on photos for a while. Eventually we decided to grab our umbrellas and brave the rain to go grab some dinner nearby.
We got sole okonomiyaki where you get all the ingredients delivered to you and then you cook it yourself into this pancake / hash and the pull pieces out to enjoy. Got some lovely pork belly and of course….multiple eggs.
To get the ingredients, the server was a cute robot 😅.
All full and replenished, we headed back and chilled for the night with the downpours rain (it was really coming down).
Vibe Check
5 parts joy
Feedback
Leave a comment or question if you have any thoughts! Anything you want to know about as we go around the world? Any things you want to share as feedback, or any images that particularly spoke to you. I’ll try to read all of them as time permits!
Matti 
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