Sanbutsu-ji on Mt. Mitoku

The man at the ticket gate didn’t say anything about hiking up solo to see Sanbutsu-ji being prohibited. You can imagine my surprise when I got to the hike registration station and being told me I couldn’t go on alone. What was I supposed to do? That’s when another woman traveling solo appeared and said we could go together. What timing. Turned out she knew all the ins and outs of the trail. Thank God. I didn’t know it would be such a physical hike. (How did the priests do it with their straw shoes and in the snow?) One of my best vacation memories, and a true ichigo ichie experience.