Day 10 -End of the day

At one of the little roofed rest areas for Pilgrims, we were having a drink and resting, when a Japanese woman walked up and greeted us. She was traveling alone but going in the other direction. We chatted about the usual stuff - how long we had been walking, how far we were planning on going before going home, road conditions, blisters, etc. After a while we went on our separate ways. As I walked, I realized that the woman had illustrated one of the things that I love about Japan - a woman, all alone, has few worries about walking 1400 kilometers, much of it in the mountains and along deserted roads.

After walking a total of 28 kilometers (remember we were carrying about 8 kilograms in our backpacks and Henro bags), we finally reached our lodgings. I do not mind saying it but I was completely bushed. At supper, we talked with a Japanese man who was doing just a few days and was only going to temples that are not numbered. These are called bangai (outside the numbers). He said that he was collecting beads from each of the temples and that he was going to make a bracelet from them when he returned home.

Also I got a phone call from my wife, it was good to hear her voice. Ian was calling home just about every day to speak to his sons and wife. I had decided that the Pilgrimage would be more effective if I had little contact with the world outside, so I was not calling at all. I was right, hearing my wife's voice did change my view of things, but it only held up the process of change that was taking place until the next morning.

Our room was typical of that found in a ryokan, a Japanese style inn. If you opened the sliding doors, you were in the room next door where other people were staying. You have privacy but not much.

On the way to the toilets and the sinks for brushing teeth, etc, there was a very interesting - hum, I wonder what to call it? It was a heart-shaped hole in the wall filled with branches and bamboo and covered with white paper. It added a nice highlight to an otherwise drab hallway.
This is Ian wearing the night clothes that you are always given. The white with blue stripes thing is like a bathrobe. It wraps around your body and is held in place with a long strip of cloth that forms a belt. It goes around your body twice and is tied in the front. The dark top is for warmth, and again is just tied in the front. Notice all the white on Ian's feet. These are bandages covering the various blisters that he has raised.
The next picture is me just before I went to bed. I do not have any white on my feet, not because I did not have blisters, but because I was using skin colored bandages. Also I was only having trouble with my left foot. My right foot was fine, but the ball of my left foot and its little toe both had huge blisters. Also the toenail on my little toe was beginning to look ugly. I used a needle and punched little holes in each blister and then coated it with disinfectant before applying the bandages, so the pain was not too bad. Ian left his alone and I think he had a lot more pain, but ignored it.
As I said, I was pretty out of it, so I decided to go to bed immediately. Ian wanted to do his laundry before retiring. I said that I would pay for it, it he would add my stuff to his. I gave him 300 yen, but when he found the washing machine, it was free. I told him to keep the money anyway. A few minutes later I was sound asleep.