Day 11 – Onsen at the bottom of Temple 21

Out the door at 6 am and a bit of coffee at 7/11. Yup, 7/11 is a very good place to get coffee in the morning and food during the day. So weird to complement 7/11. I’m still not used to it being a quality establishment. 647 am train to Tatsue Station next to Temple 19, right where I left off before the typhoon. It is a nice flat section until I reach the base of Temple 20. All up hill! Stairs upon stairs. Tons of Ohenro Falldown spots. Ugh. I make the top and shoot some video, get my stamp and leave. Ugh, 3km of down the stairs. I finally make an ohenro hut by the river a little past an abandoned elementary school. A very kind lady gives my fruit as ossetai. I notice that there is a ropeway to the bottom of Temple 21 and there is an onsen. Then I remember that mountain days equal onsen nights and a nice place to sleep. So I start up the path to Temple 21 thinking this is not bad. With 1.5km to go, it is nothing but stairs and stairs and more stairs. How many stairs in a kilometer? I should have a great toosh after this one. I get to the top and it is stunning. Best temple so far…..and more stairs. I take the ropeway down. Highly recommend. Very beautiful and leads to a very nice onsen that you can stay at. I check in and hit the baths. Next I head over to 7/11 for dinner. Very nice as usual. I am now wrapping up my blog and video while watching Japan play Scotland in the Rugby World Cup. Japan loves its rugby team. Everyone is watching. No joke. Good night all.