Another O-henro san that stayed with us that we know we will see again, is Morris Brown.  A retired professor from California, he has been in contact with us from the start.  Just a warm, sincere man with a strong passion for Japan, Buddhism and the 88 temple pilgrimage.  Of course he had some amazing stories of generosity, pain, and all the ups and downs of Shikoku.  He’s been to Japan 15 times and plans on coming again to Japan this Summer, and you guessed it, he’s coming to Matsuyama and a couple of other places in Shikoku with his wife.

So, this last 3 weeks or so has been pretty full on in terms of O-henro experiences.  We’ve witnessed O-henro beginnings, endings, documentaries (plus a  massive party) and a huge number of people from many countries putting on the vestments of pilgrimage and hitting the trail.  We’ve met so many new wonderful people, made tons of friends and really reaffirmed why we began the guesthouse in the first place.  We are constantly looking for ways to increase the exposure of Shikoku’s 88 temples to people from around the world, and both March and April have been great months for that.