day 7 and I am getting concerned about my health. My feet are very sore and i had blood in my socks last night, my ankle is swollen which i think is a continuation of aggravation, stemming from my earlier fall, and my knees are sore.. I hate to keep hampering on this, but it seems to be in continuum
The real concern is I know its 75 Km to the next temple, its raining cats and dogs, but its along the coast so Im expecting a good walk.

one mile long ,full of vehicle fumes and noise

I dress up for torrential rain and head out, once I get out of town, its into and through a road tunnel, in fact four of them. The coast walk was more of the same unfortunately, at time the only thing separating me from the huge trucks thundering by me, was a yellow line.

I hoped for a village store where i could buy provisions for the long haul, but was out of luck. Eventually i found a Henro Hut alongside the beach, where i could rest up a bit and change into dry clothes

 these photos pretty much sum up todays hike, so out of sheer frustration, I eventually caught a bus and broke my rules.

I just didn't have it in me to walk any further in these conditions and along a highway.
When I arrived at the village below the temple, ( of course a 500 meter climb) I found a tourist center. I went in to see if they could book me a room at the temple for the night, they could'nt, but assured me because of the rain, it would be empty. During this chat, i discovered that my guide book had fallen out of my pocket, OOOOH shit, that was my lifeline, with maps and distances and elevations, as well as where to stay the nights.  If i wasnt feeling destroyed before, I was now. The lady was kind enough to give me an umbrella , as she saw that mine was completely useless now. In fact it was more comfortable to just cover my back pack and walk in the rain with no protection, it cooled me down somewhat, and I was drenched anyway.

walking along the top of the tsunami barrier wall which continues all along the coast 

more road, no foot path. I put my flashing light on my backpack for safety

a glimmer of sin today

I headed for the temple 24. I face timed a friend who had the ability to get the walk route on her computer, and she sent me a text with a photo of the elevation chart and distances, this helped a lot( in fact, a life saver). Upon reaching the temple , now close to dusk,

Oh!! do I need a prayer of help today??

I bowed at the gate and sat for awhile, taking in my predicament, after a quiet chat with the powers that be, the deities, and Kobo Diashi, I asked what it was that i had done to deserve such a tough journey, and what is it that I needed to learn, if anything at all.

 If nothing else, I asked to be left with at least my sense of humor. I made my way to the boarding facility at the temple, it was full,,,,,,,,Ha Ha Ha Ha  really. a bus load of Japanese had beaten me to the top, glad I still had a sense of humor, NO, not really

I walked down the road and into a small coastal village,

coming down from the full Temple today, after finding out my guide book was gone.

Another brief but, heavy shower on my way to the next village, I didnt even bother with my rain gear, I almost welcomed the cool relief from the heat and humidity

after not finding any accommodation here i walked on to a fishing harbor 4 km ahead , mostly walking along the top of the huge concrete tsunami protection wall that straddles the coast, and got a room at a local dive.

the quiet fishing village

After a shower I walked into the village and found a store that had some food and you guessed it, a can of cold beer. i purchased that and headed back to my room where i got everything out of my bag and hung it to dry, then died on my straw mat for the night. Trust me, food at you local american japanese restaurant, is not what you get on the island of Shikoku, thats not how the Japanese eat. For one thing, they have fish, but I eat a whole fish in a meal, 10 of them eat one fish for a meal, tiny portions.
Tomorrow is another day, and the sun with come up either way. so on wards and upwards I say.