Day 1: Henro Life: Homeless, Hornets & Red Snapper Charades
March 9th 2025
Woke up around 5:30am feeling shockingly rested—and a little proud of myself for making it this far. Chatted with Sabrina and Reece for a bit before heading downstairs for breakfast.
Breakfast & Mini Bento Moment
The meal: salmon, rice, various mysterious pickled things, and a hard-boiled egg (Japan’s fave). The hosts even packed me a cute little lunch to-go, which made me feel like a kid going on a school field trip. Love that for me.
I chilled in my room until 9am checkout, awkwardly filming myself for whatever this project is turning into. (Still unclear what I'm making, but the footage will be vulnerable content for sure.)
Homeless & Free
My next accommodation was only a mile away, but I couldn’t check in yet—so I was technically homeless. The night before I asked my host if I could leave my pink rolly luggage with him and return for it after I complete my walk. I didn’t see him in the morning so I left it in my room without asking (classic me) and hoped the host would just get it. A little rude? Maybe. But it was very much a “this bag is yours now” situation.
First Shrine Vibes (and Pee Desperation)
It felt amazing to head out with just my backpack. The sun was shining, and I felt strong. Invincible. Except... I had to pee. Badly.
I made my way to Oasahiko which is considered “temple 0” and included a shrine specifally for Henros to pray for a safe journey before they begin. I wasn’t sure which shrine was the shrine for official prayers. So I did what any confused pilgrim would do: threw coins into several of them, bowed randomly, and clapped at inconsistent intervals. A spiritual mess.
Eventually, I noticed other people and realized there’s a rhythm to it: coin, bow, bow, clap, clap. Got it. Filed that away for future me.
Murder Hornets & Baby Ceremonies
Saw a murder hornet warning sign and immediately texted a picture to my roommate Terrell, who had half joking warned me of the danger of murder hornets. Pretty much as you’d expect - their sting can kill you.
Also witnessed a beautiful family doing what seemed like a baby blessing. Two grandpas walked quietly and proudly with their hands behind their back, two new mother-in-laws were giggling and gossiping like future BFFs. Two new scared parents walked around holding their baby in a long decorated cloth.
I restarted my temple donation journey so I could “do it right.” I felt like I had observed for a few hours now and wanted to try again. Threw another coin, and the translation said “prosperity in business,” so I guess the gods are rooting for my creative empire. I began to pray for claritrty and guiadance into new career and whatever business journey I would embark on after this was all done. Did I cry a little? Take a guess.
On my walk out I stopped a new bride and groom, dressed in traditional wedding attire. I asked them for a picture and they were surprised I would want one. They had no idea how beautiful they looked.
Henro Gear & Mild Humiliation
Next stop: buy my official Henro gear outside temple 1. I had no idea what I was doing, and the guy working there absolutely hated that about me. I think he was starting to hate his job and the amount of non-Japanese speaking tourists he has to deal with each day. I bought all the things I read about. My stamp book (size medium), candles, incense, a lighter, a walking stick, a pointy hat, prayer beads, name slips (Osamefuda), and my white robe.
I entered the temple with my new gear and felt nervous. I had read so much about the temple prayer procedure. Bow, light a candle, light 3 incense, ring a bell once, do to it twice at two different places? Something in me wanted to do temple 1 correctly. I wanted to pray perfectly - complete the procedure properly at all 88 temples, so I didn’t want to mess this one up. I eventually admitted to myself I didn’t full understand what I was doing and began to walk away defeated.
Thankfully, things turned around when I asked a mom and daughter to take my photo. They asked for one with me afterward, called me beautiful, and completely restored my will to live. Women supporting women—international edition.
Got my first official Henro Temple 1 stamp and the man doing it was… extremely cranky. I think it’s part of the job description. I had not yet gotten the hang of the money, and how much each coin was worth so he groaned and rolled his eyes as I shifted through my change placing one coin at a time on the table until he nodded at the correct amount.
Back to the Fancy Spot & The Forgotten Stick
Finally I was time to check in! I walked to my fancy expensive guesthouse located directly outside temple 1 (obsessed with this room, by the way), showered, and got my stuff organized. That’s when I realized… I left my walking stick at Temple 1. Rookie move. Will fetch it tomorrow.
Dinner Shenanigans & Fish Charades
Dinner was a multi-course adventure. Some dishes were hits—like the sashimi. Others were, uh, mystifying. At one point an older woman who was finished with her meal gave me her extra piece of sushi and said something I assume was “good luck on your journey” (bless her). The kitchen staff became confused when they brought out that same sushi course next and noticed it already half eaten on my plate. How did it get there? I pointed to the empty seat of the woman who left and they realized and giggled.
Best part? The staff translated each course for me. When one woman didn’t know the English word for a fish, she started flapping her arms and wiggling like one. We both cracked up. Turns out via charades it was red snapper, but honestly, I would’ve believed her if she said it was a dolphin.
Winding Down
Dinner? Decent! Some bites were tough (looking at you, octopus), and I still hate mushrooms, but I powered through like a champ.
After dinner, I noticed the pillow is basically a beanbag but I didn’t mind, it worked fine the night before. I slept like a rock. Right before bed, I had another quick mini panic spiral about earthquakes—the room looked very earthquake-ready—but then I knocked out around 8pm. A+ sleep.
Coming Up Tomorrow:
Go back to Temple 1 to reclaim my beloved walking stick
Eat more strange and mysterious things
Try not to get stung by a murder hornet
Stay tuned.
