Review

We just returned from Samurai Tours\' Shikoku 88 Temples Pilgrimage. Normally, I don\'t write review of our trip. But our experience on this pilgrimage is so different from other trips, I feel I should share with others. We first learned about 88 Temples Pilgrimage when we visited Japan right after Covid, also with Samurai Tour. On that Best of Japan tour, we learned for the first time a place called Koyasan and a monk named Kukai (Kobo Daishi) What a magical place and a very interesting monk. We also learned Koyasan was founded by Kukai, who also built many of the 88 temples on Shikoku Island. around the year 819. Since even a cemetery at Koyasan is designated World Heritage Site, we can\'t imagine the look of those temples This pilgrimage is true pilgrimage in the sense that we (and you will ) get to see ALL 88Temples. In a relatively short time of around 20 days, we traveled from N Shikoku southbound on east side to tip of the island, then turning north on west side to make complete circle. Since the 88 Temples were originally built over 1,200 years ago, Kukai somehow magically built and/or restored most of these temples without modern mode of transportation On this trip, we used van and also hiked to some temples. To me, please be aware of the followings if you decide to join the pilgrimage : ---you\'ll be spending time in somewhat \'rural\' Japan. Certain small towns we visited do not accept credit cards. Bring plenty of cash (yens only, please !) ---most or all tourists like us carry empty book for monks or officials at temples we visited to stamp and write calligraphs that we keep as souvenirs There\'s fee of 500 yens for this service ( 300 x 88 = 26,400 yens ) Please be ready to pay, in cash only, in yens ---in most towns and places we visited, there\'s no money changing machines. Again bring yens from Osaka ---do not be too concern about not being able to walk for hours. The van and your tour guide will help accommodate in case you need additional rest Other than above inconvenience, Shikoku is beautiful with ambiance and feel very different from cosmopolitan Japan. From the first temple, you\'ll realize you\'re embarking on a different journey to another Japan. This is rural Japan in very true sense of the word with people living, working and conducting their everyday life unlike anything you see in Tokyo, Kyoto or even Nara My opinion of the trip is 88 Temples Pilgrimage is a MUST trip for all seekers. To me, Kukai is a monk and a man who accomplished what great women and men in history accomplished : he built structures and routes that may last forever for all mankind to see and enjoy