day 35, 6:02am, the henro scourge

i'm up extra early today. seriously, who walks their dogs at 4:30am? apparently, a lot of people.
one older gentleman walking his dog decided to tell me off about sleeping in the sports park. i didn't catch what he said. he didn't seem to care that i understood. he sounded pretty angry.
i guess i'd be a bit upset too if there was a constant stream of transients going through my neighborhood, regardless of the reason.
although from what i read it's mostly the young, the homeless and the foriegners who do all of the camping out. it's called "nojuku henro". i was under the impression that going "nojuku" was highly respected, but i've learned now it's mostly the bus henro who are impressed. i think most everyone else would prefer it if i stayed at hotels. it's better for the economy.

i was told 300,000 people do the pilgrimage every year. i think that messes up my previous numbers about henro. it's a lot of money. there are a lot of businesses who rely on the pilgrimage. i also think the reason there are so many vending machines along the route is that a lot of people who live on the trail get one put in front of their house.

i wasn't feeling too hot after getting yelled at by the old guy, but about 10 minutes later another man passed by. he stopped to chat. he and his wife did the pilgrimage by bus a few years ago. he gave me 200yen as osettai, but more importantly he thought it was great i was doing the walk "nojuku". maybe he saw some value in maintaining the image, the romanctisism, of the "nojuku henro".

i'm just waiting for temple 70 to open. i'm in the 70's! there isn't much opportunity for long hikes anymore. my walks are now governed by the 7am-5pm schedules of the temples.
that's ok though, i can use the rest. :)
later,