The Shikoku 88-Temple Pilgrimage.
The only pilgrimage in Japan that circles an entire island, and the one your clients have seen photographs of without knowing its name.
What is the The Shikoku 88-Temple Pilgrimage?
The only pilgrimage in Japan that circles an entire island, and the one your clients have seen photographs of without knowing its name. Around 1,200 km · 88 temples · 40–50 days on foot, in All four prefectures of Shikoku.
Last updated: 6 July 2026
What it actually is.
Eighty-eight temples associated with Kūkai — Kōbō Daishi — laid in a loop around Shikoku, walked clockwise from Ryōzen-ji in Tokushima. Pilgrims wear a white robe and a sedge hat and carry a staff, and the hat is inscribed dōgyō ninin, "two travelling together": the walker and the Daishi. Most Japanese pilgrims now drive or take a bus and complete it over several years in sections. Walking the whole loop takes six or seven weeks.
What an agent needs to know first.
- Very few foreign clients walk all 1,200 km. The sane luxury product is a curated section of five to ten days, usually in Tokushima or Ehime, with the rest of the circuit explained rather than attempted.
- This is a working devotional circuit, not an attraction: temples have services, and pilgrims are praying, not sightseeing.
- Accommodation on the route is minshuku and shukubo, not hotels — a client who needs a five-star bed every night is being sold the wrong trip, and it is kinder to say so at the quotation stage.
- Osettai, the tradition of local people giving pilgrims food or money, is a religious act. It is accepted with thanks and never refused or repaid.
One party, one itinerary.
- A section itinerary matched to fitness and interest, with the walking days chosen for what they actually pass rather than for distance
- A licensed guide who has walked the circuit, not a general-purpose interpreter
- Temple lodging where it is the right choice and a comfortable base where it is not, with daily transfers between them
- Baggage forwarded ahead each morning, so the walk is done with a day pack
- The full pilgrim outfit sourced and correctly worn, if the client wants it — and the etiquette that goes with it
When to start.
Six months for a section in spring or autumn; the shukubo on the popular stretches are small and fill early. Full-circuit walkers should plan a year.
SeasonMarch to May and October to November. Shikoku is hot and humid in midsummer and several passes are exposed.
The Shikoku 88-Temple Pilgrimage — what agents ask.
What is the The Shikoku 88-Temple Pilgrimage?
Eighty-eight temples associated with Kūkai — Kōbō Daishi — laid in a loop around Shikoku, walked clockwise from Ryōzen-ji in Tokushima. Pilgrims wear a white robe and a sedge hat and carry a staff, and the hat is inscribed dōgyō ninin, "two travelling together": the walker and the Daishi. Most Japanese pilgrims now drive or take a bus and complete it over several years in sections. Walking the whole loop takes six or seven weeks.
How long does the The Shikoku 88-Temple Pilgrimage take?
Around 1,200 km · 88 temples · 40–50 days on foot. Six months for a section in spring or autumn; the shukubo on the popular stretches are small and fill early. Full-circuit walkers should plan a year.
When is the best time to walk it?
March to May and October to November. Shikoku is hot and humid in midsummer and several passes are exposed.
Is the Shikoku pilgrimage a UNESCO World Heritage site?
No. Shikoku is not inscribed — the Kii Mountain Range listing covers the Kumano Kodo and the Koyasan routes, not the 88 temples. Shikoku has been proposed but is not listed, and any operator implying otherwise is wrong.
Does Explera sell this to travellers directly?
No. Explera is a B2B ground operator: we build and run the journey at net rates for a travel agent or tour operator, who keeps the client and the margin. We never market to your client.
The other routes.
The Kumano Kodo
Nakahechi route: about 38 km, 2–4 days walking
Dewa Sanzan
Three mountains · 2,446 stone steps to Haguro's summit
The Nakasendo
69 post towns Edo to Kyoto · the walked section is about 8 km
The Koyasan Choishimichi
About 24 km · 180 stone markers · one long day
The Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage
33 temples · the oldest circuit in Japan
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