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There's actually a brief book about doing the pilgrimage by bus and train,
88 Temples in 24 Days: Visiting the 88 Temples of Shikoku by Bus and Train
by Oliver Dunskus: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C78HVNDF?tag=casaivar02-20
As you say, some need advance reservations. There's a book called Shikoku Japan 88 Route Guide by Naoyuki Matsushita. It's the bible for walking pilgrims who can't read the Japanese guidebook. (Actually, some Japanese pilgrims use Matsushita's book because the maps are better.) There are some...
It doesn't require ceremonies at the temples (shrines are for Shinto, temples are for Buddhism, though there is some mixing) and about 95% of pilgrims stay in small inns and guest houses. A handful of temples have lodgings, and those are wonderful. It's very, very rare to stay in a private home...
A professor at my old university (UCSC) plans to lead a group of students here to do the Shikoku Pilgrimage. It must be a wonderful way to spend a quarter, out of the classroom, learning by doing.
I've been wondering, of the roughly 450,000 pilgrims who got their compostelas last year, about how many walked the route with a paid guide? I can't find that information from either the pilgrim office or my old friend Google.
Hello from Japan. I've done the Shikoku 88 Temples pilgrimage several times. Now I'm thinking about the Camino. I look forward to learning from your collective expertise.
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