Marta and Chester's Maleficent Adventures

“Roof of Shikoku” – Mt Ishizuchi is the highest mountain on Shikoku Island, albeit only 1982m heigh. Thrilled with our success on Mt Fuji, Zosia Zgolak and I were ready for our next challenge. The weather did not look good though. Determined, we figured out how to use our Japan Railway passes to travel from Kyoto to Saijo, Shikoku. We departed Kyoto in pouring rain, but Saijo was still dry when we arrived in the afternoon, though rain was expected later that night. Our hotel offered free bikes giving us a chance to explore rural Japan: rice fields, seashore, shrines and a Temple 64 – beautiful, quiet, devoid of tourists, with only a few locals in sight.

The next morning we woke up to pouring rain, grabbed our backpacks, ponchos (!), and headed to a Setouchi Bus stop by the JR Iyo-Saijo Station to catch the first bus to the Ishizuchi Ropeway (gondola). Soon we were joined by Jonny. We met Jonny the previous day. He failed to reach a Temple and was on a mission to make up for it today. Jonny, an enthusiastic American high school teacher had the goal of bicycling to 88 sacred temples on the Island in just three weeks.

Shikoku Island is renowned for its 88 Sacred Temples Pilgrimage, ‘Shikoku henro’. This 1400 km route circumnavigates the island and has a history spanning over 1200 years. The first guidebook for the pilgrimage was published over 300 years ago, in 1685.

For over millennium people would begin Shizoku henro and often vanish into the Island for years, dedicating themselves fully to the spiritual journey. Today, the pilgrimage can be completed by bike, bicycle, bus, car or on foot. Jonny chose his bicycle to reach all 88 temples. Unlike the pilgrims of the past who took years to walk the route Jonny was determined to complete it in just 3 weeks. He sure was in a hurry but still found the experience profoundly spiritual – and at times dangerous, given the lack of shoulders on the roads.

Mount Ishizuchi, or “Stone Hammer Mountain,” also has a temple at its summit. While it’s not one of the 88 Sacred Temples, the mountain holds deep spiritual significance. During the first few days of July, up to 150,000 pilgrims dressed in white climb to the summit to worship Ishizuchi Okami, the god of kindness, wisdom, and courage. (Best Day Hikes Japan, Lonely Planet).

We missed this extraordinary procession by just a few days. On the morning of our hike, pouring rain meant there were only four people on the very first ropeway gondola: us and a French couple.

This mountain has 3 long chain sections. We scrambled up the first two. The first one was relatively easy, while the second presented a few tricky moves. The third section, however, looked steep and challenging. Given the wet and slippery rock surface, we opted to bypass it and take the trail instead. We also wanted to ensure we caught the last ropeway/gondola down. Taking the trail up was faster but it would have been more fun to try this third section. Maybe next time 😊

Mount Ishizuchi has 3 summits and Zosia and I made it to all three. The first, Mount Misen, features a shrine and is the easiest to access, especially if you follow the trail instead of the chain sections. The second summit, which shares the mountain’s name, Mount Ishizuchi, stands at 1,982 meters. It involves some easy scrambling with a bit of exposure, but nothing too serious. The final summit, Minanisenpou, also reaches 1,982 meters, completing the trio of peaks.