It's preparation.

It's respect.

It's thinking about what you're doing, and at the end it's saying thank you.

Some temples are tucked away in rice fields. Others are along busy routes and your sharing them with traffic. They are on mountaintops and near oceans. In the beginning you can visit 3-4 a day. After temple 26 you don't see another one for 75 kilometers! That's 3 days for a walking henro.

Incense, bows, wishes, and prayers welcome you at the main gate. Inside the routines and landscapes are similar, but each temple has it's own uniqueness.

The Heart Sutra's rhythmic beat reminds us that existence is transient. Reciting the chant with other henros creates a sense of understanding and oneness.

The 88 temples of Shikoku are spiritual places where pilgrims rest, reflect and pray. Reaching them is their goal. Leaving one and arriving at the next is their reward.

--Henro Alicia