• Enjoy pilgrimage trails in Tokushima!

• Accompanied by an experienced English-speaking guide.

• Visit Temple 11 Fujiidera and Temple 12 Shōsan-ji.

Departing Tokushima city, we walk the most strenuous and picturesque pilgrimage trails in Tokushima, visiting Temple 11 Fujiidera and Temple 12 Shōsan-ji, the second highest temple on the pilgrimage. This is the first challenging walk that pilgrims attempt. Your guide will explain how pilgrims worship at the temples. Shōsan-ji is so high up, it’s often wreathed in mist.

We also visit four small Buddhist shrines and temples dotted along the route.

Temple 11, Fujii-dera Fujii-dera is Temple 11 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands in a side valley off the Yoshino River rift valley. It takes its name from the wisteria that grows there. Of the 88 sacred sites in Shikoku, it’s the only one where the character for ‘temple’ is read “dera” instead of “ji”.

Temple 12, Shōsan-ji Shōsan-ji is temple No. 12 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. Located at 800 m up a mountain, it’s the second highest temple on the pilgrimage, and it’s known as a nansho, or ‘difficult place’, with a lot of up and down along the way. On a clear day, you can see all the way to Awaji Island. However, the temple is frequently wreathed in cloud, making it very atmospheric.