Neon Pilgrim by Lisa Dempster

Author:Lisa Dempster
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ventura Press

PESTS AND OTHER PEOPLE

I was totally out of cash. I rummaged in my temple bag and found ¥110 to buy a Coke from a vending machine. It was hardly the ideal breakfast, but a calorific and caffeinated one. It got me going.

Four hours later I found a post office with an international ATM, got some cash, and headed on to a small grocery store, ravenous. Unfortunately, the store was shut. Checking my map, I realised it was a good ten kilometres to the next town, Otsuki.

My tummy grumbled. A stocky, darkly tanned man pulled into the parking lot of the store, jumped out and bought two drinks from the bank of vending machines. He came and held a bottle of flavoured water out to me.

‘You look hot,’ he said.

I nodded, taking the water and gulping it down.

‘Thanks,’ I said.

‘Where you going?’ he asked.

‘The next temple,’ I said, ‘but it’s far – right now I’m heading to Otsuki, then Sukumo.’

‘I can take you,’ he said. ‘Hop in my car if you like.’

I wavered for a second. Except for one time, when my saviour Kanou had driven me to the ryōkan in Tokushima, I had walked every step of the henro michi. Did I want to accept a lift now? My tummy rumbled again. Hell yeah, I did!

He threw my bag in the back, and we hopped into the front seats and zoomed off.

‘I’m a teacher,’ he said in English. ‘Mr Yamamoto.’

‘English teacher?’ I asked.

‘No, no, no! Sports teacher!’ he replied in Japanese. ‘Today is my day off. Holiday.’

‘Cool!’ I said. ‘Where are you from?’

‘Sukumo,’ he said. ‘I can take you to Sukumo now if you like?’

‘Nah, Otsuki is fine,’ I said. ‘There’s a road station, from there I’ll walk to Sukumo.’

‘It’s too far!’ he said. ‘Sukumo – it’ll take you all day.’

‘Um, I’m used to it,’ I shrugged.

‘So you’ll be in Sukumo tonight?’

‘Yep, hopefully – if I don’t walk too slow!’

‘I’m from Sukumo. Let me take you out for noodles.’

We were pulling into Otsuki road station. I couldn’t believe how quickly the journey went; walking that distance would have taken me several hours.

‘Noodles?’ I said, grabbing my bag out. ‘Sure, I love udon.’

His face lit up into a big grin. ‘Cool!’ he said. ‘Well actually, you’ll probably be really tired later, right?’

I nodded.

‘I can take you into Ehime prefecture,’ he said. ‘There’s a big onsen and sports centre there. We can have a bath and a swim and then relax over a meal.’

I hesitated. Now, this isn’t as dodgy a request that it might sound. In Japan, public baths are always segregated and it’s completely socially acceptable to go to an onsen with a mate. It’s just a different way of relaxing.

But as nice as a warm bath sounded, a trip to the onsen and dinner felt a bit much compared to getting noodles. Surely Mr Yamamoto wouldn’t be asking a filthy walking pilgrim on a date?

‘Noodles sound good,’ I said.

He wrote his number on a piece of paper for me.

‘Call me in the evening,’ he said.

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