Day 21 (three weeks already!)

MCT Day 2 — Taneichi to Rikuchū-Nakano

We began with an early hotel onsen and the included breakfast bento—an interesting cultural experience, although we are not impatiently awaiting the sequel.

After taking the train to Taneichi, we left our bags at the hotel and headed south along the Michinoku Coastal Trail. We covered 13 miles in perfect weather with temperatures in the 70s.

Much of the coast is protected by enormous seawalls, but inland we passed wonderful vegetable gardens, golden rice fields being harvested and elderly residents tending their plots in the late-afternoon light. We also encountered some impressively large spiderwebs and a “sausage tree” that turned out to be Japanese akebi fruit.

The cemetery was unusually busy for Ohigan, the autumn equinox observance. One family came over and kindly gave us juice and a donut—a lovely moment of unexpected hospitality.

We finished around 5:00 and rode the little coastal train back to Taneichi. Day 2 complete—and the nearby supermarket has enough provisions to keep us happily based here for three days.Read more