Shikoku Island Pilgrimage.
Join us on a 6 day pilgrimage on the smallest of Japan's four main islands, Shikoku — home to a sacred route that connects the 88 temples where the famous
monk (calligrapherand poet) Kūkai, trained over 1,000 years ago. Recognized as a UNESCO World
Heritage site, this pilgrimage has been practiced for centuries and
remains a vital part of Shikoku’s cultural identity. Fully guided walks with our own mini van and driver. Visiting a select few of the 88 temples we will have an opportunity to learn about the history and culture of an extraordinary lineage, reflect on the lives of
past pilgrims and poets who travelled these paths, and experience a timeless tradition through a guided
walking tour.
We start our journey in the east of the Island, in Tokushima, whose temples mark the spiritual gateway to
this sacred route. Tokushima
is defined by its rugged mountains—an ideal destination for hikers, poets and ascetics.
Among its many trails, the ridgeline path around Mt. Tsurugi is
considered one of the most beautiful in all of Shikoku. Deep in the mountains, time-honored villages offer a glimpse into
Japan’s traditional rural life. With steep valleys and preserved
landscapes, these hidden hamlets are beloved by travelers seeking
something other worldly. Over days 1 - 3 we pay our respects at the first 6 temples (read a pilgrim's description here) before visiting Zensuji, the birth place of Kobo Daishi (Kukai) the founder of Shingon Buddhism and proceeding to Kotohira-gu Shrine, a significant Shinto shrine and major pilgrimage site. Daily haiku workshops, guided walks and scenic drives take us deep into the autumn landscapes where we gather observations for our haiku explorations.
On days 4 and 5 we head westward along the coast. Views to the Seto Inland Sea and its small floating islands offer peace and tranquility, as we embark on a different kind of pilgrimage — to the birthplace of the haiku poet Matsaoka Shiki. Born in 1867, Shiki is credited with reforming the art of haiku and championing an approach called shasei or 'sketching from life'. He encouraged finding poetic natural beauty in everyday objects and pioneered the use of accessible contemporary language rather than outdated classical vocabulary. Arriving in Matsuyama we explore places connected to his life and the haiku tradition. Known as Haiku City, Matsuyama celebrates haiku on trams and buses, in haiku bars, and with an annual competition for highschool students. There are post boxes around town where you can post your haiku, stones with carved haiku and poets' hermitages to visit. We conclude our journey at Dogo Onsen considered to be Japan's oldest onsen, which features the original 1894 wooden Honkan bathouse which has been an inspiration for Japanese poets and writers across time.
Experience the journey
DIETARY PREFERENCES.
Vegetarians can be catered for however, due to the essential and widespread use of dashi stock throughout Japanese cooking, which typically uses fish, or other stock with meat as its base, we are unable to provide strict vegetarian meals on tour. With advance notice our accommodation hosts will try to replace any fish or meat dishes with alternatives. Gluten free is more difficult. While it may be possible to omit certain items that obviously contain gluten, such as bread or noodles, it is impossible to provide fully gluten-free meals due to the use of certain staples that serve as the basis of so many dishes in Japanese cuisine. Please let us know in advance of any allergies or ingredients you may wish to avoid. However we cannot take responsibility for what may or may not be in any particular dish.
FULL ITINERARY coming soon!
Day 1 – Tokushima: The Beginning of the Pilgrimage
We begin at Temple No.1 of the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage and visit several early temples up to Temple No.6 (Anraku-ji). Overnight stay at a temple lodging (shukubo), allowing you to experience the rhythm of temple life.
Day 2 – Zentsuji: The Birthplace of Kobo Daishi
We visit Zentsuji
Temple, believed to be the birthplace of Kobo Daishi (Kukai), founder of
Shingon Buddhism. Along the way, you will enjoy the serene mountain landscapes
that define the heart of Shikoku.Overnight stay in local ryokan.
Day 3 – Kotohira-gu Shrine (Konpira-san)
We dedicate a full
day to walking the historic stone approach to Kotohira Shrine. The long climb,
river scenery, and quiet forested paths create a contemplative atmosphere —
perfect for observation and reflection. Overnight in local ryokan.
Day 4 – From the Seto Inland Sea to Matsuyama
Traveling westward,
we take in the tranquil beauty of the Seto Inland Sea, dotted with islands. The
gentle scenery offers a different expression of Japanese landscape aesthetics. Overnight local ryokan.
Day 5 – Matsuyama: Haiku and Onsen Culture
In Matsuyama, closely associated with the great haiku poet Masaoka Shiki, we explore places connected to his life and the haiku tradition. We conclude the journey in Dogo Onsen, staying at a refined ryokan where you can enjoy carefully prepared Japanese cuisine and a peaceful atmosphere.
Our Shikoku pilgrimage will be our 6th Haiku Walk in Japan. See here for our other tours. Here is a haibun account by one of our writers from our 2025 Haiku Walk on the Nakasendo Way.
Along the Kiso Road — Walking, writing and shared days in Japan.
by Edwina Cowdery
Each morning after breakfast we write together the way we walk; side by side, sometimes in step, sometimes drifting apart—trusting the path ahead will hold us all. Japan gives us the cadence. Trains arriving precisely on time. Tea poured without hurry. Toilet shoes. Between these rituals, we open notebooks, uncap pens.
First, we read the haiku masters, taking turns. Bashō. Chiyo-ni. Shiki. Short poems, long silences. The room listens, too. These voices do not instruct; they tune our listening. Their lightness gives us permission to be exact without being heavy, brief without being small. Reading them aloud steadies the air between us.
thin autumn light—
a single line
holds the room
We walk during the day—through forests, along shrine paths, between post villages. Some of us stop to write as we go; others carry the day quietly, storing it in the body, in a photograph, in a remembered turn of light. Later, it finds the page. Our feet shape our sentences. Our breath creates spaces between words. Writing becomes a way of letting the day move through us before it settles into memory.
In the evenings, Jan invites us to read—not drafts, not explanations, just a share from the day in whatever form it has taken: a haiku, a fragment, a list, a sentence still warm from our writing hands. There is no critique. No fixing. The words are quietly received, like offerings placed at a forest shrine. We listen without reaching for anything.
open notebooks—
what was seen today
rests between us
This cadence offers companionship without pressure. You can speak or remain silent. Either way, you are counted. Hearing another person read their day enlarges your own. A detail you missed—steam lifting from a ramen bowl, a crow’s angled hop—finds a place in your own mind. Connection happens sideways, without declaration.
Jan holds the space with an ease that feels fearless because it is so grounded. She trusts the form, trusts the silence, trusts that attention is enough. Her invitations are gentle and exact. Read when you’re ready. Listen fully. Let it land among us.
She understands that legacy lives in practice, not polish. That humanity shows itself when words are allowed to be provisional. Under her care, we learn that reading aloud is an act of courage and of service—offering the day back to the group, unarmoured.
shared breath
one voice, then another,
night settles in
Over time, something collective forms. Not a style, but a tempo. Reading together slows us into a common pulse. Writing together keeps us porous. We begin to notice thresholds everywhere: between walking and resting, seeing and saying, solitude and company. Our writing teaches us how to belong—to place, to one another and back to ourselves.
When we leave, we carry home more than notebooks full of jottings. We carry a rhythm sturdy enough to return to: read, walk, listen, write, read. Repeat. This is what the cadence offers—connection without demand, growth without force, a quiet lineage of attention passing from voice to voice, day to day.
bowls cleared away
our favourite haiku
still between us as we part