I am currently looking to make some connects (as they might say in the Wire) in Japan. To this end, I have joined the couch surfing network. This may result in connecting with some people who might put me up for the night or simply some people to meet and perhaps visit a few cultural sites with.

I have also, with the help of Kyōshin,  identified a few locations in the Kyoto area associated with the life of Shinran, a Kamakura Buddhist visionary who has inspired me a great deal over the past few years. I hope to visit some or all of these sites. Fortunately, one of them, the Rokkakudo, is on the Saigoku trail anyway!

I have also come across a book by Shiro Usui called A Pilgrim's Guide to Forty-six Temples which includes both some of the Saigoku temples but also quite a number of other temples in the Kyoto area that I aim to visit. It's not a great book but does have some useful information in it.

Another friend, Shengyen, has been helping me with some advice on my route which is shaping up nicely. The main thing that I am now concerned about is that I won't have long enough in Japan to see everything I want to! But then, perhaps one can never have enough time.

Sites Around Kyoto Associated with Shinran

Higashi Honganji - The 'cathedral' of the Higashi Honganji branch of Shinshu.