Departure!

Ruth and I will drive up to Minneapolis this evening at 5 so that I can depart from the Minneapolis aiport tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 9:30am.   We’ll be staying with a counseling cohort’s sister, who has graciously allowed us her living room floor for the evening.

I’ll have a single layover in Seattle and then land in the great sinking airport, Kansai, at 4pm on Sunday.  At the airport I’ll want to exchange cash for yen (Japan is still very much a paper money economy), with an exchange rate of 81 .9 yen to the dollar.  This is much, much lower than the 109 yen to dollar rate that I got in 2008.  I anticipated that the exchange rate, with the recent earthquake, to favor the dollar, but it looks like the earthquake had the reverse effect, with the dollar being at its weakest only a week after March 11th (someone more familiar with global economics will need to explain this to me!).

The plan is to then take the 17:20 bus from Kansai (I must again get used to military time!) to arrive at Tokushima station at 20:50 (8:50pm).  I’ll set up camp somewhere near Tokushima and then take the 7am train to Iyo-Mishima Station near temple 65.  Here I’ll meet up with David Turkington, our guide, and Eric Waite, fellow grad student in religious studies, to begin my portion of the walk.

I’ve finished packing the necessary essentials (e.g. 20+ protein bars due to my 30 lbs. weight-loss last time I was there), and am now focused on the research element of the trip.  I’ve laminated the most crucial documents, and will be approaching persons along the pilgrimage to ask for their time.  This is a little concerning, but I’ve been told that, because we’ll share the common bond of walking the pilgrimage, persons might be more willing to offer the 20 or so minutes to complete the questionnaire.  My research heavily relies on the generosity of strangers.  Luckily my experiences with the Japanese have been overwhelmingly positive and welcoming.

As I continue to discover more information through analysis of the questionnaires, I’ll be posting thoughts, conclusions, and findings in the research page.

Next time I post should be from Japan!

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