Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage

On August 22nd I travelled alone to Japan to take part in the 88 temple walking pilgrimage on the island of Shikoku. I had no real expectation of what I would see or how it would effect me. What I found was an island full of beauty and wonder. Along the way I met many amazingly kind people that I will never be able to repay for their kindness. I will try to "pay it forward" whenever and wherever I can. Over the course of the 42 days this journey took I was thankful for the amount of time I was able to spend alone with nature to contemplate my thoughts and reached a much deeper understanding of who I am and how I think. Reflecting on the teachings of Kobo Daishi helped me overcome many challenging days and nights. For anyone that has considered doing this pilgrimage I would recommend doing plenty of research, physical training and go for it. I can not stress the physical training enough. Shikoku has lots of elevation changes and I found myself averaging marathon distances (sometimes more) nearly every day with a pack that weighed nearly 20 pounds. Everyone should go at their own pace though and structure the pilgrimage to suit their personal style and needs. This trip was by far the most enjoyable adventure I could ever imagine. In this video I tried to capture some of the feel of being out on this journey. Whether high up in the mountains, drenched in pouring rain, walking through terraced rice fields, along beautiful beaches, at 500+ year old temples, or in the forest trying to avoid poisonous snakes and giant spiders; these were the moments I tried to capture. Using only a handheld point-and-shoot camera (sorry it is shaky at times!) I tried not to shoot too often as I felt it took me out of the moment and I really did want to stay focused on the pilgrimage. Sometimes I wouldn't film anything for days. So the video is what it is. One day I hope to return to Shikoku to do the pilgrimage in the spring at a much slower pace.