Walking Pilgrimage in Tokushima
7
days
¥298,000
starting price
8
People max.
Temple #1
starting place
Overview
Walk ancient trails to the first 23 temples of the Shikoku Pilgrimage like a real Henro.
This trip is for two or more people seeking an authentic experience of the Shikoku Pilgrimage. You visit all of Tokushima’s 23 numbered temples on foot, with a private car on standby to carry baggage and bridge distances between the trail and accommodation. This route includes walks of 10-15 km per day, with options to shorten or extend them to suit adventurers of all ages and physical capacities.
The route features stays at inns and temple lodging along the pilgrimage trail. While these accommodation are often simple, they’re renowned for being places where people experience Shikoku’s famous hospitality, and for sumptuous home-cooked food. Staying at temples, you also have the opportunity to participate in unforgettable Buddhist rituals.
Tokushima’s pilgrimage trail features stretches of stunning natural beauty as well as walks through towns and cities. This variety is one of the charms of the pilgrimage. We also offer a Shikoku Pilgrimage with Walks Tour for those seeking a more thorough escape into nature.
This private tour can be booked year round at your own convenience.
Who is this tour for?
This is a private tour for two people or more who like to travel with a guide. It’s for people who want to walk part of the Shikoku Pilgrimage like a pilgrim, visiting every temple and staying in typical pilgrim’s accommodation. If you’re thinking of walking the entire pilgrimage route in manageable sections, this is the place to start.
Some of the walks are tough and so you must be fit enough to maintain a good tempo through the daily ups and downs. You’ll also need to have appropriate clothing and footwear. You stay at temple accommodation that has ensuite toilets, but only a shared bath, so you need to be OK with getting naked with strangers, or flannel bathing in your room.
Important: If you like to walk slowly and don’t enjoy hiking hills, this tour is not for you. Also, the pilgrimage route consists of mixed trails, with sections on mountain tracks, gravel paths, and paved roads. It isn’t all through pristine countryside.
If you don’t relish a long hike every day, then the Best of Shikoku Pilgrimage tour will suit you better.
Price
From
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¥558,000 / person with 2
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¥388,000 / person with 4
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¥328,000 / person with 6
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¥298,000 / person with 8
Itinerary
Highlights
Temple 01, Ryōzen-ji
Ryōzen-ji is temple No. 1 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, stands near the foot of the Sanuki Mountains in the Tokushima rift valley.
Temple 02, Gokuraku-ji
Gokuraku-ji is temple No. 2 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands in the foothills of the Sanuki Mountains in the Tokushima rift valley, and the temple is surrounded by wooded mountains on three sides. The temple is next to a dairy farm, and you can hear the cows mooing. What to see From...
Temple 03, Konsen-ji
Konsen-ji is temple No. 3 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands in a residential area at the foot of the Sanuki Mountains. What to see From the approach, little can be seen of the temple apart from an imposing red and white two-storey gate, with dark grey and gold guardians. Beyond the gate...
Temple 04, Dainichi-ji
Dainichi-ji is temple No. 4 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, or Henro. It’s tucked in a valley off the Tokushima rift valley, just outside the city of Tokushima. Temples No. 13 and No. 28 are also called Dainichi-ji. What to see A large stone engraved with the name of the temple stands at the entrance in...
Temple 05, Jizō-ji
Jizō-ji is temple No. 5 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands in an old residential area at the border of the Tokushima rift valley and the foothills of the Sanuki Mountains. It’s almost directly south of Temple 4, Dainichi-ji. Jizō-ji is a large and beautiful temple that repays a lengthy stop. What to...
Temple 06, Anraku-ji
Anraku-ji is temple No. 6 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands in a little village in the Yoshino River valley. What to see The main gate is in the Ming Chinese style. There are dramatic temple guardians on either side. In the old days, pilgrims who didn’t stay in the temple lodging would...
Temple 07, Jūraku-ji
Jūraku-ji is temple No. 7 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands at the foot of the Sanuki Mountains in the Tokushima rift valley. What to see The most conspicuous feature of Jūraku-ji is its two Ryūgū gates. One of these Chinese-style gates is painted vermillion and the other is plain wood. They’re offset...
Temple 08, Kumadani-ji
Kumadani-ji is temple No. 8 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands in a valley of the Sanuki Mountains in the Tokushima rift valley. What to see The Niō Gate is the biggest of all the 88 temples. The towering gate stands alone in fields on a narrow road, separate from the main compound...
Temple 09, Hōrin-ji
Hōrin-ji is Temple No. 9 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands among fields on the plain at the bottom of the Tokushima rift valley. What to see The temple resembles a fortified compound, being surrounded by a high wall over which mature trees extend their branches. The main gate is a small, elegant...
Temple 10, Kirihata-ji
Kirihata-ji is temple No. 10 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It’s located high on the southern side of the Sanuki Mountains facing the Yoshino River in the Tokushima rift valley. The main gate is a considerable distance from the valley bottom, and the main temple compound is higher still. What to see The single-storey...
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”. What...
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...
Temple 13, Dainichi-ji
Dainichi-ji is temple No. 13 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, or Henro. It’s located between the hill on which Ichinomiya Castle stood, and the Akui River, a tributary of the Yoshino River in Tokushima city. Temples No. 4 and No. 28 are also called Dainichi-ji. What to see The temple stands across a busy, narrow road...
Temple 14, Jōraku-ji
Jōraku-ji is temple No. 14 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands in the hills on the south side of the Tokushima rift valley, just outside the city of Tokushima. What to see This temple has one of the most unusual courtyards of the pilgrimage. It was built on a tilted outcrop of mudstone,...
Temple 15, Awa Kokubun-ji
Awa Kokubun-ji is temple No. 15 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands among rice fields on the floor of the Tokushima rift valley, not far from Tokushima city. Awa Kokubun-ji is one of only three Zen temples on the pilgrimage. The other two are Temple 11 Fujii-dera and Temple 33 Sekkei-ji. What to...
Temple 16, Kan’on-ji
Kan’on-ji is temple No. 16 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It’s quite a small temple within Tokushima city. It shouldn’t be confused with Kannon-ji Temple in Kan’on-ji, Kagawa. What to see The main gate is a majestic two-storied gate of Japanese style, giving an air of solemnity to this very small temple. Nevertheless, the...
Temple 17, Ido-ji
Ido-ji is temple No. 17 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands in a residential area in Tokushima city next to a Shintō shrine. What to see The Niō Gate stands in isolation from the other buildings. Painted vermilion red, it’s a large gate in the style of samurai architecture. It was relocated from...
Temple 18, Onzan-ji
Onzan-ji is temple No. 18 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands in a side valley on the northern edge of the Tokushima rift valley. What to see The little temple gate is located a good distance from the temple itself. It stands athwart the pilgrim’s trail beside a red bridge over the main...
Temple 19, Tatsue-ji
Tatsue-ji is temple No. 19 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands in an old neighbourhood near an inlet in the port town of Komatsushima. In the Edo period, travel was regulated by gated checkpoints called ‘sekisho’. On the pilgrimage, there are ‘sekishodera’ in each of the provinces, and these temples are considered spiritual...
Temple 20, Kakurin-ji
Kakurin-ji is temple No. 20 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. Located 490 m above sea level, the path up to it is rated among the “pilgrim-killers”. It stands across the Naka River from Temple No. 21, Tairyū-ji, another mountain-top temple. From Kakurin-ji, you can see as far as Awaji Island and the Pacific Ocean....
Temple 21, Tairyū-ji
Tairyū-ji is temple No. 21 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. Located at 610 m above sea level, it’s one of the “nansho”, the difficult temples to reach on foot. Nevertheless, the climb isn’t particularly arduous. Whether you walk or take the cable car, Tairyū-ji is one of the most rewarding of the eighty-eight locations to...
Temple 22, Byōdō-ji
Byōdō-ji is temple No. 22 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, or Henro. It stands at the foot of a low range of mountains in Anan near the Kuwano River. What to see A two-storey Niō Gate flanked by stone lanterns stands atop a dozen steps up from the road. There’s a belfry on the left, then...
Temple 23, Yakuō-ji
Yakuō-ji is temple No. 23 on the Shikoku pilgrimage or Henro. Yakuō-ji offers a beautiful view of Hiwasa Bay and Hiwasa Castle from the viewing area around the modern pagoda, while the pagoda can be seen from a considerable distance away. What to see From the town, the temple rises steeply up the hill with...
