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Japan

March - May 2024
And off the beaten track first time exploration of a completely new to me culture. Read more
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  • TravelerJapan
    Day 12

    To cape Muroto

    March 22 in Japan ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    The day starts with a sunrise over the bay that I share with four young Japanese with big cameras.

    I walk as far as I feel like along the coast and off the beaten path through a fishing port and over dirt paths and hills.

    I find a super market and then a nice little cafe before I climb aboard a bus and it scurries through very narrow streets in the backwaters of the main road. Perfect, I get to see a lot.

    I need to change buses and get to talk with a 73 years old Japanese man who knows ten English words. We do get some good laughs from the translator on my phone which is hilariously inaccurate. He is 6 hours from home by car traveling by himself.

    I get off the bus early and walk the rest on this beautiful day along and on top of the Tsunami wall overlooking the Pacific. I leave my pack at the hotel and head out towards temple 24. It is very quiet in what I thought was a busy tourist area. I stay on top by the lighthouse to catch the sunset. Then I take another Onsen and retire.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan
    1
    Day 13

    To Kochi

    March 23 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    As I walk out of the hotel there is a drizzling rain and the Japanese couple points it out to me. I smile and indicate I'm walking. The rain soon subsides and gets replaced by a nice ray of sunshine and I find a small path by the ocean through volcanic formations that the waves are crashing on. As I walk further along the coast I find more of those kinds of places and they're pretty impressive in terms of geology. A hidden temple in a cave is a great off the path surprise. The folded lava that erupted 1.4 million years ago at 4000 meters under the sea makes interesting shapes. It has been lifted by the tectonic plate shift. The wind is blowing pretty good and the waves make for lively scenery as I walk along the coast.

    At the Sadamaru burger joint I meet up again with Christian and a Danish couple who have 7k left to walk. I reach my goal for today in Kiragawa and photograph the old street.

    I'm now a bus and a train away from my hostel in Kochi that I booked for 2 nights. It started raining just as a boarded the train so I'm quite happy to be inside and on my way to the big city and I hope there is some action and fun stuff to do around there.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan
    Day 14

    Kochi's old and new

    March 24 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    It's a rain day in the city. I have the hostel for two nights, no need to move. I got lucky to be in the city, the Danes are walking in the rain to get to the next hostel.

    I visit the Sunday market that has been going for over 300 years, it is located along a palm lined road 1.3 km long. Even in this persistent rain there are quite a few stalls open. I find locally made sushi and I know it's going to be fantastic so I buy some for breakfast.

    I was going to visit the castle but I'm starting to get drenched. There is a castle history museum on the corner so I hide in there to dry up and get a glimpse of Kochi history. After a few hours the rain lets up and I venture into the castle. Interesting but sparse, there is no furniture. I'm trying to imagine the Daishi reigning from here.

    Then I'm treated to an impromptu street party where the teenagers of the city have a stage to dance on and they are all dressed up in anime and other costumes. Great contrast to the old stiff times.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan
    Day 15

    To Sukumo

    March 25 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    It's another rainy day and I find myself on the platform at Kochi station to take the train to Sukumo. Several Henro and a cyclists are escaping the rain as well by taking the train to move on to their next destination. It's drab out there, but the foggy mist envelops the hillsides as we ride through them and we skirt a little bit of the coastline. Plenty of small roads and paths that look very cyclable.

    It's a 45 minutes walk to the hostel where I am going to base from for 3 days. I can be productive here. It's a solo affair though as the two other guests are Japanese and keep to themselves. We each have our own room.

    I make a trip to the local supermarket which is extremely nice and has a wide array of delicious sushi, I can really get used to their food.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan
    1
    Day 16

    Bike it is

    March 26 in Japan ⋅ 🌬 18 °C

    I'm a local today. Staying put for a few days, already got used to the supermarket, weirdly feels homey to be here. Sitting at a desk in my room I can get some of my admin done while it is still nasty out. The sun breaks through and Grandma's bicycle - meant to go to the supermarket - is beckoning to take it on a bigger tour. The road along the peninsula looks great. There are tons of frogs in the rice paddy fields and the white egrets have easy picking for food. The wind is fierce and a hawk drops out of a flowering prune tree barely able to remain stable in flight. A cherry tree grows out of a cliff and the hillside is dotted with blooming trees, even wild Camelia. I run into a group of young cyclists from Taiwan touring in Shikoku on their road bikes. As they set off I ride after them, catch up and at the next stop we get to talk some more. Great to speak with a fun group.

    The clouds come back in and I hit the market up for dinner. Take a quick break and head out again along the other coastal road. I'm getting a great workout in, biking is the way to travel. Should I buy one?

    A day that could have been completely ho hum, nowhere near any tourist spot, turned out just excellent. I have to many pictures.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan
    Day 17

    Brain, heart or intuition?

    March 27 in Japan ⋅ 🌩️ 12 °C

    My brain said; go to the cape, it's a sunny day and you'll be able to walk all around it and take in the views. My heart is rejoicing for the good weather and is happy to get out. Along the way my intuition spoke up and said; no get off the bus here this sounds like a great spot. So I did.

    As it turns out I never made it to the cape and I didn't need to.

    The shapes in the sedimentary sandstone turned on its side eroded by the sea we're just astounding.

    I also visited and undersea portal built in 1972.

    It was nice to be a tourist today.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan
    2
    Day 19

    Back on the Henro

    March 29 in Japan ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Today I move on to my next lodging by walking a part of the Henro trail that goes through the woods. It's an overcast day with rain forecast for later on, which turns out to fall earlier.

    Along the trail I meet Steve from Ottawa Canada and we walk together until Temple 40 having a nice general conversation.

    Temple 40 is the furthest from Temple 1 geographically. So it makes it feel like this is the midpoint. I'm not doing all the temples and not all of the walking because most of it is through cities or busy roads. But it was nice after a break from the trail to get some 25K in.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan
    Day 20

    Spring is here

    March 30 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    I have two nights in Tsushima and it allows me to walk the 700m climb of this 15K Henro section with a very small backpack. It's sunny it's in the '70s spring is finally here and the trees are blooming all over the place. It's just a fantastic day to be alive and free to roam.

    Thought I would run into Steve or Christine as I'm walking the Henro track backwards but they must have all taken the road down below by the coast. It turns out to be a solitary introspective day. I walked almost 30km. Two good days in a row I can definitely feel it.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan
    Day 20

    Nanrakuen Garden to Uwajima

    March 30 in Japan ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    This is one of the quintessential Japanese gardens. Not the most famous one but definitely a beautiful example. I go early so I can leave my pack in the house. There is nobody in the gardens and I'm here all by myself, it feels strange, but I'm lucky that in such populated place as Japan I can have a solo experience of Sakura at its peak. Some of these cherry trees are over 200 years old.

    In Uwajima I visit the castle and find even older cherry trees. I'm thinking of getting dinner rest in the park but it's Saturday and there is a kids performance on stage with food trucks all around. More fun to be had.

    At the hostel I run into Christine from Denmark again and meet Benjamin from France. But astonishingly Agnes shows up again. I thought I was way ahead of her. Nice kitchen dinner conversation in French after the Onsen with lots of Japanese and Benjamin.    Read more

  • TravelerJapan
    Day 21

    Ferry to Beppu

    March 31 in Japan ⋅ 🌙 12 °C

    I took the bus from Uwajima to Yawatahama and bought the ferry ticket. I met Leon from Germany, who also walked half of the Henro and is moving on to Kyushu. At the port was a speciality market which had unbelievable Japanese food items. The weather was also just perfect, sunny warm, that San Francisco Bay feeling, it was glorious. I'm excited to get on a ferry and be on the water and have a different mode of transportation.
    In Beppu, Leon and I go to a food court of all places and I get to try out a restaurant-made Ramen dish. I end up walking all around the town and then hiking up by the side of a river where the Sakura are blooming. That evening I go soak in the Hyotan Onsen. Beppu is a city of steam vents. If you built a city on top of Yellowstone park you get the idea.    Read more

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