Day 5 opens with a pre-paid taxi to Temple 20 Kakurin-ji, then a varied hike crossing the Nakagawa River and winding up stone paths to Temple 21 Tairyu-ji. Here, halls perch among towering cryptomeria, and the air carries resin and moss. The route mixes shaded forest with village edges, inviting steady, meditative progress between ancient gates.

Cap the day by descending on the Tairyu-ji cable car, a serene glide above a sea of cedar tops, with views to the town below. This classic pairing—forest ascent, aerial descent—captures the contrast of the Shikoku trail: intimate paths under leaves and wide, wind-brushed panoramas that reveal the island’s rugged heart.

On day 6, travel by train, bus and pre-booked taxi to northern Kagawa for a rewarding ridge-and-plain circuit linking Temple 82 Negoro-ji, Temple 81 Shiromine-ji and Temple 80 Kokubun-ji. Trails thread through pine and laurel, then ease onto lanes overlooking the Sanuki Plain, where tiled farmhouses and persimmon orchards patchwork the land.

Learn how Kagawa’s temples guarded coastal routes facing the Seto Inland Sea, where merchants and monks exchanged ideas for centuries. As evening falls, arrive in Kotohira Spa, a town famed for hot-spring hospitality. Enjoy the lilting clack of geta on lantern-lit streets and unwind in your ryokan’s baths before a refined dinner showcasing regional flavours.

Day 8 begins with a gentle descent from Senyu-ji, passing hamlets where vegetable plots and drying nets fill sunny yards. Return to Imabari and consider a short, paved town stretch if you wish before transferring by train to Matsuyama, then tram to the storied hot-spring quarter of Dogo Onsen.

As dusk falls, stroll arcaded streets where noren curtains sway and bathhouse steam curls into night air. Many ryokan offer communal hot-spring style baths; those who wander the district will sense why writers since the Meiji era praised Dogo’s curative waters and festival spirit. The evening is yours to soak in the lakeside atmosphere of Japan’s oldest celebrated onsen town.

On day 9, a pre-paid taxi brings you to Temple 45 Iwaya-ji, built beneath overhanging cliffs. Here you can climb the iconic ladder to Kobo Daishi’s meditation spot, a ledge with stirring views over the green folds of Ehime. The air is resinous, cicadas hum, and prayer flags snap against the rock.

From Iwaya-ji, follow a serene woodland path to Temple 44 Daiho-ji, where moss-clad lanterns and cryptomeria frame the precinct. The route embodies the pilgrimage’s rhythm—effort, contemplation, arrival—before your return by bus and tram to Dogo Onsen. Pause for photos and reflection as you close another spiritually rich stage.

Across the journey—especially on days 3–4 and 6–9—you’ll sit down to Shojin-Ryori Buddhist cuisine at shukubo, minshuku and ryokan. Expect lacquer trays of delicate preparations: sesame-dressed greens, mountain herbs, tofu simmered in dashi-style stock alternatives, pickles and clear soups. The flavours are subtle, seasonal and deeply comforting after a day on the trail.

These dinners illuminate the monastic principles behind the pilgrimage: balance, attentiveness and gratitude. With tatami underfoot and paper screens aglow, you’ll notice the quiet choreography of service and the aesthetic of restraint that defines Japan’s culinary heritage in temple settings.

When staying in shukubo temple lodgings (notably after day 3 and day 7), there is often the chance to join the early morning service alongside resident monks (subject to temple schedule). In the half-light, the rhythmic cadence of sutra chanting fills the hall, punctuated by the thud of the mokugyo drum and the chime of handheld bells.

Sitting quietly with other henro, you’ll sense how daily liturgy underpins the 88-temple route. The service offers a rare window into living Buddhist practice—a contemplative counterpoint to the kilometres walked—before breakfast and the day’s onward stage.

On day 7, walkers seeking extra distance can add a detour to Temple 56 Taisan-ji from the Eifuku-ji–Senyu-ji stage. The route follows quiet pavements and farmland before entering low woodland, revealing another facet of Ehime’s temple architecture and its ties to local communities.

This add-on is at additional cost if supplementary transport is required and is bookable on tour through your local agent, who will advise on timings and route notes. The detour deepens your appreciation of the henro’s layered geography, linking urban edges to forested hills in a single outing.

On day 8, after descending to Imabari, you may opt for a paved town hike to Temple 59 Iyo Kokubun-ji, the provincial temple for old Iyo. The approach passes workshops, neighbourhood shrines and groves of camphor before the tiled roofs of the precinct appear.

At additional cost if arranging extra local transport, this extension is bookable on tour and pairs urban textures with spiritual landmarks. It’s an engaging way to trace how pilgrimage routes thread through everyday life before transferring to Matsuyama and the Dogo Onsen quarter.

On day 2, enhance your rest day with a guided excursion to Nara, Japan’s first permanent capital. Visit Todai-ji’s Daibutsu (Great Buddha) within a vast wooden hall, wander among friendly deer in Nara Park, and admire the lantern-lit paths of Kasuga Taisha, where Shinto traditions still infuse daily rituals.

This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour via your local agent, including rail tickets and guiding. The outing sets Kyoto’s temples in context, illuminating the Buddhist–Shinto tapestry that later shaped Kobo Daishi and the spiritual climate of the Shikoku pilgrimage.

On day 4, a pre-booked taxi delivers you to Temple 11 Fujii-dera, gateway to a rewarding ascent through cedar and cypress forests. Continue via Ryusuian and climb to Temple 12 Shosan-ji, one of the route’s celebrated tough sections, where quiet halls meet sweeping views across Tokushima’s valleys. Pause for photos and reflection before descending east to Yorii.

By evening, transfer to the rural onsen village of Kamiyama for your inn stay. The day’s effort is balanced by the unhurried rhythm of countryside life—woodsmoke on the air, river murmurs, and hot-spring style baths at the inn. This stage blends physical challenge with the timeless calm that defines Shikoku’s pilgrim mountains.

On day 3, take the included coach to Tokushima and begin your pilgrimage on peaceful lanes leading to Temple 1 Ryozen-ji, Temple 2 Gokuraku-ji and Temple 3 Konsen-ji. Follow waymarkers between neighbourhood shrines and rice fields, pause to purify hands, sound the bell, and collect vermilion temple stamps as generations of pilgrims have done. The rhythm of chanting sutras and the scent of incense set a contemplative tone.

By late afternoon, settle into a Shukubo temple lodging. Sleep on tatami with futon bedding and dine on Shojin-Ryori Buddhist cuisine crafted from seasonal vegetables, tofu and mountain herbs. Learn how the 88-temple circuit honours Kobo Daishi (Kukai), the 9th-century founder of Shingon Buddhism, whose teachings shaped Shikoku’s spiritual landscape.

On day 7, begin near Betsumyo and trace a gentle transition from townscape to farm lanes and finally mountain forest. Visit Temple 57 Eifuku-ji, then climb to Temple 58 Senyu-ji, where views open towards the Seto Inland Sea on clear days. Bells echo softly across cedar groves as you step beneath vermilion gates and weathered eaves.

Tonight offers the rare chance to stay at Senyu-ji’s shukubo (or a hotel in Imabari). Over low tables, savour vegetarian dishes shaped by monastic restraint—silken tofu, sesame, seasonal mountain vegetables—before rolling out futons on tatami. The setting invites quiet reflection on the centuries-old henro tradition still alive in Ehime’s hills.

Day 10 carries you by tram and bus to Ooto, then via pre-paid taxi to the trailhead for a classic rural section linking Temple 60 Yokomine-ji, Temple 61 Koon-ji, and Temple 62 Hoju-ji. Expect quiet farm roads, bamboo rustle, tea fields and shrines tucked beneath camphor trees as you pass between wooded hills and smallholdings.

This closing hike showcases the everyday spirituality of Shikoku—pilgrims bowing, families tending plots, incense drifting from open halls. After your final temple visit, connect by local trains to Osaka, arriving mid-evening with a deeper sense of the island’s landscapes and lore.