Every day is its own destination

Behind the scenes of the 88 Temple Pilgrimage 🎏

Dear friends,

One year before I walked the 88 Temple Pilgrimage in Japan, I walked part of the Camino de Santiago in Spain. And while there were many ways in which the two journeys were different, perhaps the greatest difference of all had to do with their destinations.

If you look at a map of the Camino, it follows an almost perfectly straight line across northwest Spain — and at the end of that line is a towering cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, the place where the pilgrimage ends.

The path I walked in Japan, set on the island of Shodoshima, isn’t a linear journey, but a circular one. And instead of there being one singular goal awaiting you at the end, there are 88 temples to visit along the way — sometimes as many as ten or twelve a day — and I found this had a profound effect on me as I walked.

It kept me from looking too far ahead, keeping track of the miles and days until I reached the finish line.

It helped me be more present, and it made every day its own destination.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve loved returning to my time on Shodoshima, as I’ve shared the first two chapters of “The Well” with you.

For this month’s offering for paid subscribers, I wanted to give you a closer look at the journey, and help you picture even more what it was like to be a pilgrim in Japan. I’ve brought together 22 of my favorite photos, highlighting some of my favorite aspects of the experience. I hope you’ll enjoy them, and thank you as always for being here.

With love,
Candace

The temples

The first thing I want to share with you is simply the temples themselves, and how different they all were.

Some were set along the coast, overlooking Japan’s Seto Inland Sea; others were built into mountainsides and caves. Some were imposing and grand, like temple 58 with its tiered pagoda tower. Others were humble, even easy to pass right by, tucked as they were next to houses or set along a road.

Every temple felt like its own world, and had its own story to tell.