I have been in Japan for nearly two weeks now and it is time for a little recap. First things first. It always surprises me how fast I adapt to Japanese culture and despite the fact, that I have not been to Japan for six years and practically spoke hardly any Japanese during that time, I had no problem communicating from the get-go. Sure, my vocabulary and my grammar are a bit sketchy in places, but I get what I want and find my way around.
What really surprised me though was the fact that I hardly get the obligatory Nihongo jozu desu ne 日本語は上手ですね (your Japanese is excellent), which I really like.
My first night I stayed with my amazing friend Eva, who fed and helped me staying awake to overcome the jet lag trap. She and her family live in Chiba and their house is only a short walk from the station where the airport bus stops. Very convenient, indeed!
The next morning, I already made my way to Soma the starting point for the michi no ku if you hike NoBo (north bound). I arrived quite a bit early before checking in and thought I just find a nice little café to spend time, read and write a bit…
I opened google maps searched and found three places that supposedly were open… How could I have forgotten that that is like gambling in Japan… Yes, they do register their business, however, they always forget to update their opening hours and days. In this case it was a one out of three and I took what I could get because it was scorching hot. And hanging out in a Seven Eleven or Lawson for a couple of hours is not really an option. I ended up in a very sweet little place, quite old fashioned in its interior decor. Same applied to the customers. And that is something I realised very quickly, Japan has grown old, but it did not really age well. At least in the areas I have hiked through, I hardly see young people in the streets in smaller places. To be honest, I see hardly any people.
That has partially to do with the heat of course but it also is an impact of the tsunami in 2011. As I have never been to this area it is hard for me to tell, but I talked to the landlord of the place I am staying at and taking a zero day and he told me, that in the area I am looking at right now about 165 people used to live, now only 15 are left who had to built their houses further up the hill. One of them a 95-year-old fisherman who still sails out in his boat to fish. He lovingly calls him “my captain“.
I already have seen so many things, experienced so many different, situations, that it is hard to put everything into one blog entry. Having said that, I will use the day today, sitting on a veranda with a nice cup of coffee and writing a few different entries for different topics, which will be published while I am happily hiking my way up further north until I have another zero day.
Talking of zero days, I only have three months in Japan and really want to make the best use of it. Hiking is one thing, but I also want to see places I have never been to. So, at times, depending on the weather, the possibility to stay at places, my exhaustion level or even just being able to get my hands on food, I decide to to jump on a bus or train to save some time. Do I feel guilty about it? No! My hike, my rules. And latest when I start hiking in New Zealand I will not be able to adapt my wishes to the trail….
One Year - Five Continents 