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The 88 Temple Pilgrimage (八十八ヶ所巡り hachijūhakkasho-meguri) is Japan's most famous pilgrimage route, a 1,200-km loop around the island of Shikoku.

Understand

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Statue of 'Kōbō Daishi in Motoyamaji Temple (No.70)

Many of the temples are said to have been founded or restored by the revered monk and scholar Kūkai (空海), better known by his posthumous title Kōbō Daishi (弘法大師). Among his many achievements, he is said to have created the kana syllabary, brought the tantric teachings of Esoteric Buddhism from China, developed it into the uniquely Japanese Shingon sect, and founded Shingon's headquarters on Mount Koya near Osaka.

While most modern-day pilgrims (an estimated 100,000 yearly) travel by tour bus, a small minority still set out the old-fashioned way on foot, a journey which takes about six weeks to complete. Pilgrims, known as o-henro-san (お遍路さん), can be spotted in the temples and roadsides of Shikoku clad in a white jacket emblazoned with the characters Dōgyō Ninin (同行二人), meaning "two traveling together"—the other traveler being the spirit of Kobo Daishi.

Locals will be excited to see someone making the journey on foot, and priests will be relieved that you are not showing up with 100 of your close friends. Make sure that your Japanese is good enough to communicate your feelings to both groups!

Prepare

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Pilgrim traveling on foot, Kubokawa

Completing the course the traditional way on foot is a serious undertaking that demands several weeks. Good physical fitness and stamina are required to endure the stress of constant walking up and down the hills of Shikoku, in the burning sun and the pouring rain.

Many pilgrims choose to dress up in traditional white attire:

  • byakue – the white coat of a pilgrim
  • wagesa – scarf worn around the neck, usually purple, to indicate that you are on a religious pilgrimage
  • sugegasa – conical straw hat
  • kongōtsue – walking stick, and the one indispensable sign that identifies you as a pilgrim

In addition, most pilgrims carry a book called nōkyōchō or shuincho, to collect a red ink stamp (shu-in) by each temple you visit, and hundreds of osame fuda (long slips of paper with your name and explanation of your pilgrimmage, to be left at each temple and given to each person who helps you; for your first trip, the paper should be white). All of these items can be purchased (in a formal sense) at Mount Koya or at Ryozenji, the first temple.

Many pilgrims who begin the pilgrimage on foot do not finish it. Many pilgrims also split up their trips over multiple years. It is common to hear of people giving up in Kochi, traditionally known as "devil's land" because of its hot temperature, intense rain, and infrequent contact with civilization. (This means you must either camp, sleep in a rest stop, or precisely time your journey to only hit towns and be willing to pay up for a hotel room.) Pilgrims who intend to walk the pilgrimage should ensure they have packed adequate supplies, such as rain gear, in addition to pilgrimage gear.

It is also important to factor costs. Costs include larger expenses, such as nightly lodging, as well as frequent smaller expenses, like the small charge at each temple to stamp your record book. Former pilgrims that have walked the Shikoku Pilgrimage have shared cost calculators:

Blog

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Get in

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It is traditional to prepare by visiting Mount Koya, but the route itself starts at Ryōzenji, near Tokushima, and you have to return here in order to complete your pilgrimage. It is not necessary to start at temple #1 as long as you visit them all, but this is by far the most popular starting point for pilgrims from outside Shikoku, because it is also the closest to people coming from Mt. Koya. 

The temples are usually visited in clockwise order, although this too, is just a convention—in practice, as all signs are oriented for pilgrims going clockwise, it's easier to get lost if you try to go against the flow.

Go

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Shikoku Pilgrimage all 88 temples map

Most pilgrims walking on foot average around 25 km daily and complete the trip in five to seven weeks.

The canonical list of temples is as follows:

No.TempleCityPrefectureNotes
1Ryōzenji (霊山寺)NarutoTokushima
2Gokurakuji (極楽寺)NarutoTokushima
3Konsenji (金泉寺)ItanoTokushima
4Dainichiji (大日寺)ItanoTokushima
5Jizōji (地蔵寺)ItanoTokushima
6Anrakuji (安楽寺)KamiitaTokushima
7Jūrakuji (十楽寺)AwaTokushima
8Kumataniji (熊谷寺)AwaTokushima
9Hōrinji (法輪寺)AwaTokushima
10Kirihataji (切幡寺)AwaTokushima
11Fujiidera (藤井寺)YoshinogawaTokushima
12Shōzanji (焼山寺)KamiyamaTokushimaThe climb from 11 to 12 is notoriously tough!
13Dainichiji (大日寺)TokushimaTokushima
14Jōrakuji (常楽寺)TokushimaTokushima
15Kokubunji (国分寺)TokushimaTokushima
16Kan'onji (観音寺)TokushimaTokushima
17Idoji (井戸寺)TokushimaTokushima
18Onzanji (恩山寺)KomatsushimaTokushima
19Tatsueji (立江寺)KomatsushimaTokushima
20Kakurinji (鶴林寺)KatsuuraTokushima
21Tairyūji (太竜寺)AnanTokushimaTough mountain temple
22Byōdōji (平等寺)AnanTokushimaAnother tough mountain temple
23Yakuōji (薬王寺)MinamiTokushima
24Hotsumisakiji (最御崎寺)MurotoKochi
25Shinshōji (津照寺)MurotoKochi
26Kongōchōji (金剛頂寺)MurotoKochi
27Kōnomineji (神峰寺)YasudaKochi
28Dainichiji (大日寺)KonanKochi
29Kokubunji (国分寺)NankokuKochi
30Zenrakuji (善楽寺)KochiKochi
31Chikurinji (竹林寺)KochiKochiSuperb views over Kochi city from the park just west of the temple
32Zenjibuji (禅師峰寺)NankokuKochi
33Sekkeiji (雪蹊寺)KochiKochi
34Tanemaji (種間寺)HarunoKochi
35Kiyotakiji (清滝寺)TosaKochi
36Shōryūji (青竜寺)TosaKochi
37Iwamotoji (岩本寺)ShimantoKochi
38Kongōfukuji (金剛福寺)TosashimizuKochi
39Enkōji (延光寺)SukumoKochi
40Kanjizaiji (観自在寺)AinanEhime
41Ryūkōji (竜光寺)UwajimaEhime
42Butsumokuji (佛木寺)UwajimaEhime
43Meisekiji (明石寺)SeiyoEhime
44Daihōji (大宝寺)KumakogenEhime
45Iwayaji (岩屋寺)KumakogenEhime
46Jōruriji (浄瑠璃寺)MatsuyamaEhime
47Yasakaji (八坂寺)MatsuyamaEhime
48Sairinji (西林寺)MatsuyamaEhime
49Jōdoji (浄土寺)MatsuyamaEhime
50Hantaji (繁多寺)MatsuyamaEhime
51Ishiteji (石手寺)MatsuyamaEhime
52Taizanji (太山寺)MatsuyamaEhime
53Enmyōji (円明寺)MatsuyamaEhime
54Emmeiji (延命寺)ImabariEhime
55Nankōbō (南光坊)ImabariEhime
56Taisanji (泰山寺)ImabariEhime
57Eifukuji (栄福寺)ImabariEhime
58Sen'yūji (仙遊寺)ImabariEhime
59Kokubunji (国分寺)ImabariEhime
60Yokomineji (横峰寺)SaijoEhime
61Kōonji (香園寺)SaijoEhime
62Hōjuji (宝寿寺)SaijoEhime
63Kichijōji (吉祥寺)SaijoEhime
64Maegamiji (前神寺)SaijoEhime
65Sankakuji (三角寺)ShikokuchuoEhime
66Unpenji (雲辺寺)MiyoshiTokushima
67Daikōji (大興寺)MitoyoKagawa
68Jinnein (神恵院)KanonjiKagawa
69Kan'onji (観音寺)KanonjiKagawa
70Motoyamaji (本山寺)MitoyoKagawa
71Iyadaniji (弥谷寺)MitoyoKagawa
72Mandaraji (曼荼羅寺)ZentsujiKagawa
73Shusshakaji (出釈迦寺)ZentsujiKagawa
74Kōyamaji (甲山寺)ZentsujiKagawa
75Zentsūji (善通寺)ZentsujiKagawa
76Konzōji (金倉寺)ZentsujiKagawa
77Dōryūji (道隆寺)TadotsuKagawa
78Gōshōji (郷照寺)UtazuKagawa
79Tennōji (天皇寺)SakaideKagawa
80Kokubunji (国分寺)TakamatsuKagawa
81Shiromineji (白峯寺)SakaideKagawa
82Negoroji (根香寺)TakamatsuKagawa
83Ichinomiyaji (一宮寺)TakamatsuKagawa
84Yashimaji (屋島寺)TakamatsuKagawa
85Yakuriji (八栗寺)TakamatsuKagawa
86Shidoji (志度寺)SanukiKagawa
87Nagaoji (長尾寺)SanukiKagawa
88Ōkuboji (大窪寺)SanukiKagawa


There are also 20 optional "unnumbered" (番外 bangai) temples.

Sleep

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  • There are many small inns that cater to pilgrims traveling either by foot or car. They typically cost between ¥4000-7000 per night, including dinner.
  • Most temples provide lodging for henro, but it can be quite expensive (around ¥8000 per night is average).
  • "Henro houses" are run by families or local businesses, and offer rooms (and sometimes food) to walking henro for a very small fee—or sometimes for free.
  • There are also small free lodgings called zenkonyado and tsuyado that lodge travelers for the night, although these lodgings can be somewhat poor quality and have very limited facilities. (There is a zenkonyado near Zentsuji which is said to be haunted.) These were once the primary lodgings for walking henro; however, the island's culture has changed in the last 50 years, and the number of these lodgings have been reduced to just a handful.

Blogs listing cheap or free pilgrim accommodation:

Stay safe

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Traveling in Shikoku is very safe, especially when you wear the traditional henro robes. People will be very helpful if they recognize you as a pilgrim, and will try to participate in your journey by giving you small gifts (osettai), which you must always accept.

The weather can be perilous at times; even during the optimal seasons of spring and fall, it may rain for days—particularly in the south. Proper preparation and staying up to date with weather reports is a must. You are, however, never far from civilization in case of emergency.

Be careful while walking in Kochi Prefecture, as it is the least populated. The major towns are far apart, and the coast is lined with small fishing towns that tend to shut down by eight or nine in the evening, making it difficult to find accommodations.

Shikoku is home to many snakes, including deadly pit vipers. When walking through brush or grass, stomping or otherwise making noise will divert most snakes from your path.

July and August are very hot, and attempting to walk the pilgrimage at the peak of summer is asking for a bad case of heatstroke. But for the brave, it can mean small crowds and almost guaranteed space at the henro houses. April and October are the best times to go, though accommodations will be particularly crowded.

Go next

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In one tradition you aren't done when you reach the 88th temple—some believe you still have to trek back to the 1st to complete your pilgrimage! Another tradition suggests that closing the circle is not necessary and it is better to leave it open ended. However it is more common nowadays to return to the 1st temple.

Also if you've made it this far, it's only good manners to return to Mount Koya to give your thanks to Kobo Daishi.

Other pilgrimage routes in Japan

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This itinerary to 88 Temple Pilgrimage is a usable article. It explains how to get there and touches on all the major points along the way. An adventurous person could use this article, but please feel free to improve it by editing the page.