2008-05-09 All along the ridgeline
If I wasn’t already awake the dawn chorus would have done it. I could pick out six separate songs above the general chatter of the other birds. The sky was pale grey but held no imminent threat of rain...
View Article2008-05-11 33km in a straight line
I left the thin cotton kimono of the Plaza hotel on the bed and my crumpled “waterproof” clothing in the bin and started the 33km, dead flat, almost straight, walk to Gillian’s place. By the time I saw...
View Article2008-05-15 Hello Honshu
A got a ticket from a police man today, he thought I deserved it so I took is as graciously as I could. But that’s skipping the morning. It doesn’t take much explaining that the thin inflatable mat I...
View Article2008-05-17 Okonomiyaki
I got out of Utsubo Park as early as I could. The roses looked much duller in the early light, if that hostel had been open I’d not have seen the flowers under electric light. The sun had risen above...
View Article2008-05-21 Electric baths
Sleeping at the road station was better than I thought, though the sky was getting light and the traffic picking up much earlier than I wanted. There then followed a day of occasionally getting lost...
View Article2008-05-24 Food glorious food
Mr Iizuka was friends with the owner of Nagoya’s most famous eel restaurant. That fact secured us a table while others waited two hours in the lobby. As far as I know this was the first time I’d eaten...
View Article2008-05-26 The kindness of strangers
(There’s a surprise ending. Skip down if you don’t have time to read it all) I spent a while this morning hiding in the disabled toilets outside the monastery charging my internet tablet. Other owners...
View Article2008-05-27 The adventurists
I dislike damp mornings like today’s, especially when camping on well turned soil that sticks on everything like, well like mud. But it was a blessing in disguise. After I cleared the town of...
View Article2008-07-01 Into Sapporo
For a town day I was pretty slow at breaking camp, but once I was moving I moved fast, pausing only to check emails and buy more food as I went. I skirted around Sapporo itself and eventually came to...
View Article2008-07-13 Barabara
The most interesting part of today was not that I’ve been rained on for the seventh day running. It’s not that I considered this a ’short’ day at only 38km nor that I’ve got shin-splints and the other...
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