• Shikoku 88 Day 10
• Temple 37
• 48.01km of cycling with 567m of elevation gain

It was a 6am alarm this morning so we could be out the door for the ferry. There was just enough time for a cup of tea, banana and a couple of slices of thick Japanese toast with butter and jam.

Gabrielle took some photos of us all, and as we walked to the ferry I noticed Kei had a portable speaker slung over his shoulder which seemed odd. Mari was hurrying us along, and suddenly thrust mini versions of our national flags at us so we could take a final photo before we boarded the ferry.

What happened next there are almost no words for….

Suddenly Katy Perry’s pop song Firework was blasting from the speaker on the dock as Mari and Kei waved their hostel flag with a sweet encouraging message on it, along with big versions of our flags, while smiling and dancing away enthusiastically. This video doesn’t really do it justice, but you get the idea.

We couldn’t help but laugh and grin away at this very surprising impromptu 7am dance party farewell for us. It’s such a creative and unique way to lift the spirits of sleepy and sore pilgrims, and it set the mood for a friendly and chatty boat trip. I’m sure the four other pilgrims wondered whether our whole hostel experience had been like a night club though!

The little ferry crisscrossed the bay,  hopefully pulling in but there were no other passengers at any of the ports, and Mari had said the service could be cut at any time. We passed floating fishing set ups and the odd person fishing from a boat. I’d recognised one of the Japanese pilgrims as the walker from yesterday and he was excited to see me again. It turned out I hadn’t misheard Uchino-san, he had indeed done the 88 temples before in 12 days on a bike! He reassured me that his hobby was cycling, and we chatted about knee injuries, alpine hiking in snow and the differences between cycling and walking the pilgrimage. Haito-san from Osaka had also seen me the previous day, and I enjoyed chatting to them both about language learning and New Zealand’s unique vowel sounds. Haito-san bought up the Christchurch earthquake which is about the third time someone has mentioned it. I’m surprised it’s so well remembered, but there were a lot of Japanese students who passed away of course.

Mari met us on the dock with my bike, and gave us each a mini koinobori to take along on our travels.  She explained the koi waving in the wind signifies children, and particularly boys growing up strong and healthy.

We all said our farewells and I cycled along the sleepy coastline for a while before climbing a little and passing through tunnels to the bigger port city of Susaki. I had a second breakfast and explored the michi no eki (roadside station) and found some souvenir stickers.

Passing through another tunnel I had my first experience of the “tasuki system” where there are reflective sashes for walkers and cyclists using the tunnel stored in cabinets on either side. You put one on when you go in, then leave it in the box at the other end. An excellent system.

On my way downhill I noticed two cycle tourists coming up, and we managed to find a spot to pull in and have a chat. Fleur and Yaya (no idea on this spelling!) had cycled through Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and South Korea before their final stop of Japan. We compared plans, luggage and bikes, and they said they’d seen a Swiss girl with the exact same bike as me a day before!

I stopped at another michi no eki for a break, free WiFi, a matcha ice cream, and succumbed to a bakery again. It was a timely rest before I then climbed up Nanako Pass which wasn’t so steep but did take quite a long time over 5km, going in and out of the hot sun. I almost ran over a snake which did look Mamushi like and was the second of the day, but the first had looked a bit dead.

The views from the top were satisfying, and an ice cold sports drink from the vending machine hit the spot. The downhill is the best part of climbing, and I realised I was almost at Kubokawa where temple 37 and tonight’s accommodation was.

The temple proved tricky to find despite signposts, and a local grandpa pulled his little truck over to help. I’d ridden right past it! Iwamotoji 岩本寺 is famous for the colourful ceiling in the main hall, and seemed to have everything – Wi-Fi, a charging station, and temple accommodation. I spent a while taking photos and then went to my nearby ryokan to check in. The staff were lovely and my room was huge – like a mini house.

There was a bike shop on the map just 800m away and I thought I’d go pump my tyres up with something better than my mini pump. I confidently set off in the wrong direction and had to ask a mother walking her son home from school. We laughed together, and I realised that neither this interaction or grandpa helping me find the temple would have happened if I’d been face down on Google maps.

Speaking of grandpas, it was a small local bicycle shop with just the head of someone watching TV in the back visible. I called out a greeting once, twice, then realised the old man was asleep on the sofa. Feeling torn but knowing I had a big ride tomorrow, third time lucky and “sumimasen” did the trick. He was very happy to help and interested to hear about my trip.

I had a blissful citrus-scented bath in the beautiful cedar tub then sat by the garden writing my journal. Just around the corner was a delicious izakaya where I had some yakitori and yakisoba to carbo load for tomorrow. I’m planning to head all the way to Cape Ashizuri – the southernmost point of Shikoku.