Day 15: 88 Temples (33-35) - Tosa

I had some time this morning before the 8:32 bus to Temple 33.  I took the bus from 32 back to the hotel and now I was taking a bus to 33 for about a 10km cheat.  I felt bad about it but Kobo Daishi said it was cool and it's his pilgrimage.

The bus stop was just outside the hotel and I waited for the bus.  A couple was waiting for same bus.  They were quite friendly and she asked about my stamp book.  I showed it to her and she was very impressed but saddened to hear I was missing Temple 2.

We all boarded the bus and it took of exactly at the scheduled time.  So far I have found Google Maps transit directions to be amazing here.  Every route and timetable has been correct.  On these local buses and trains you get a ticket when you get on with a zone number.  When you exit a board lists the exit fare for each zone number.  You deposit the ticket and money into a slot that has a little conveyor belt.  There is a change machine so you can generate exact change.  I was wondering if people didn't pick up the ticket could you get the previous zone number.  I watched the machine and it sticks out a ticket and people take them or not in the case of passes but once the bus starts it pulls the last one back in.

It was a 5 minute walk to Temple 33 and the most unusual part of the temple was some guy had a little stand selling fruit and snacks in the temple grounds.  I got my book stamped and another Henro started speaking English to me.  Claude is from Texas by way of so many places in the US and Canada and originally from Haiti.  We were talking outside of the temple office for a few minutes when the stand guy comes and tells us we are blocking the way and should move on.  He was a cranky guy pushed to his limit by some bad mannered gaijin.

Claude and I walked together for the rest of the day.  At one point he said he got this great SIM card on Amazon based on a recommendation from some one in a Facebook chat.  It was me.

Temple 34 was nothing special other than a spacious temple room but had a lot of construction going on. 

To get to 35 we walked through Tosa within a block of my hotel for the night.  35 was halfway up the hillside and was visible from 34 over 10km away.

Claude was going to try to get a room at my hotel, The Tosa Business Inn, and we walked that way.  As we got close we ran into the Brazilian father and daughter team we had met many times started on night 2.  The were on their way to Temple 35.

At the hotel I checked in and Claude got a room.  After cleaning up I was ready for dinner but Claude was not and I went to a nearby izakaya place by myself.

The waitress was a bit surprised by my knowledge of the food and yet I had no language skills.  I Google Translated the menu and chose 3 items.  The sashimi plate was ok but only the ika which was the whole squid about the size of a finger stood out. I had my chopsticks laid infront of me propped up on the folded wrapper and the waitress noticed and was surprised and said that was very Japanese.  I had two other dishes a local fish tempura that was tasty.  It was so tasty I ate it before remembering to take a picture.  The kimchi pork was good too.  Later, I ended with some fried chicken.

I was looking at the menu for one more item, the chicken, when the Brazilians walked in.  Fabiane and father speak Portuguese to each other while she was speaking to me in English.  Her father was talking to the waitress in Japanese.

Fabiane and I exchanged WhatsApp info so I could give her my RideWithGPS map that I rely on.  She was surprised at my Japanese name and very soon everyone in the restaurant knew my father was from Kyoto.  I'm sure things made more sense to the waitress.

As I was leaving a girl from one of the tables comes over and starts speaking to me in English because everyone in the restaurant knows I'm from San Francisco and my father is from Kyoto.  She is from Denver and visiting her grandparents.  

I found out that there is a ferry that would shorten my very long 34km day tomorrow if I can make it there by 10am.  It's 16km and a temple visit.  6am walking it might be possible.  I'm going to try.  Either way I need an early start.