Day 11 and we’ve made it to 85.  We’re taking it slow from here in order to finish 88 on Friday.  This way I can prolong the time we spend at each temple collecting data.  Ordinarily we do 20 km days, but the next few will be around 15.  It’s a nice change of pace, especially because we’ve climbed two large mountains near yashima-konko.  Holding out for some good weather and questionnaire-filled days.  Realizing now that I am asking favors of strangers in a foreign language (3 strikes against me) I’m fairly content with the work I’ve done.  I’ve been turned down, sometimes rudely (though I feel fairly rude in asking persons to spend 15 minutes of their time without compensation), and keep ganbatte – ing (doing my best).  Knowing that my time in Japan is limited has really helped in this endeavor.  Only 2 days left, for better or worse.

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