Day 1 : 07 April 2009
On arriving at Temple 1 Ryozenji (Spirit Mountain Temple) we were confronted by chaos as two bus loads of henro arrived at the same time as we did and we were all in the tiny little shop trying to buy our outfits at once. We purchased a stamp book and name slips to fill out and drop at the various temples as well as a walking stick and sedge hat to look the part. The hats had to go back to the shop, as they did not work with our large packs.
A typical temple compound usually consists of an entry gate, a place to wash hands, a bell tower, a Main Hall, a Daishi Hall and various other buildings.
We had made it in time to see the cherry blossoms, which were especially beautiful amongst the buildings of the temples.
Temple 2 Gokurakuji (Temple of the pure Land) was reached by following red way marks of a walking pilgrim.
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Temple 3 Konsenji (Golden Spring Temple) was a short walk away.
 
We decided that was enough for day 1 as it was getting late and we still had to buy food and find a place to sleep.  After a bit of searching we were directed to a sports park where we spread out our sleeping bags on benches in a shelter shed, cooked our dinner and slept well.
(34.1381 N 134.4554 E)
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