Pilgrims

What is famous in Shikoku? I don't know much of Shikoku because I was born and grew up in a different place other than Tokushima. The first time I came to Tokushima, I checked a tourist guide book and tried to find features of the place I was living in. According to the book, Pilgrims' temples are the most famous in Shikoku. There are 88 pilgrimage temples in total on this island. The famous monk, Kookai associated his new religion and made those temples under his beliefs, so people who admire him or tried to discipline themselves visit all 88 temples. Some of these pilgrims will  walk across Shikoku, while some drive and some use train. Shikoku islanders are very hospitable to  those people.  I am an agnostic and my husband is a christian. However, everyone can enjoy going to the pilgrimage temples without being Buddhists. Tokushima is home to temples 1 through 23. My favorite is Kakurinji (鶴林寺). You can find stone guideposts there that were placed there in the 1300s. That is amazing. Isn't that beautiful, that we can share time with such old era relics in the form of the stones? And Kakurinji is located in the mountains, it is a little hard to get there, but trees and vegetation are phenomenal. I appreciate that I could come here and live. Shikoku rocks!