Monday 4 May 2015

Another Long but Happy Day - 30th April 2015

As it turns out the spot I stumbled into late last night was one of my best yet. Have a look:

Perfect little spot

With great views to wake up to

There was this tree behind me also that looked like several trees had combined into one:

I found out later it was a bit famous in the area


As I was cooking breakfast a guy came over and asked me if I had stayed the night. Sprung I thought, and started going on about how I was going to clean up straight always. But he said it wasn’t a problem, he just wanted to know what was going on. I have not had one hostile experience yet to my unorthodox camping style, just curiosity.  It’s nice to know it’s highly unlikely someone is going to come at me with a pitch fork for sleeping in their local park.

So I powered on up a mountain road towards Kiyosasa pass. I saw an old lady along the way hobbling along and said good morning as I passed. She shouted to me “you’re fast because you’re young” which I had a bit of a chuckle to myself about. Actually the reason I am fast is because of these babies:

Buying these was the best idea ever
They have made the walk so much easier to the point I cannot comprehend going on without them. They make climbing mountains feel like you constantly have railings to pull yourself up with all the time, and when descending they really take the weight off my knees. I highly recommend them. And because I now have something to do with my upper body, I may not end with tree trunk legs and spaghetti stick arms by the end of the trip.

With that all said I was up Kiyosasa pass by 10am and down the other side by 11. There was this waterfall down the bottom:


I soaked my feet in the water for a while until a mouse ran over my hand that was resting on a rock. I think it was a sign it was time to leave.

So I kept following the mountain road along and saw sights like these:





I eventually made it into the town of Setonoya. I was hoping to resupply here but the shop was closed. I have had this experience again and again, I’m in a small Japanese town with absolutely nowhere to buy anything except the odd vending machine.

The next part of the day was on Mt . The sun came out and I got some great views:






The tea fields never stop amazing me. They are consistently stunning. Actually to be honest whilst the scenery has been pretty much the same for the past week, I have not gotten sick of it at all. 

Oh and whilst I was up the top having a break, it turns out the toe nail on my left foot is starting to come off too:



At this rate I am going to have no nails left! The thought of help the process along and ripping it off myself still repulses me, and so I am just going to leave it, and eventually they should just fall off on their own.

I continued on:

Second suspension bridge of the trip


The road went on...


And on...
The trail descended into a valley with another sleepy Japanese village. A worker at a tea processing factory saw me and asked me what I was doing. I explained to him my situation and he started giving me all sorts of information about the area, like where the good hot springs were in case I want a bath. I thanked him and bid him farewell, and then fifteen minutes down the road a car pulled up beside me; it was him offering me a lift down the mountain. I would have liked to but I have a policy that I have to walk the Tokai, and thus I had to refuse, but it was really nice of him to offer.

Turns out the town I was going to was a bit further than I thought and I found myself walking in the dark again. I finally got to civilisation though:

Civilisation = food = happy Tom
First thing I did was go to the local Seven Eleven and get some food:
Rice ball with caviar
The town of Kawane is a decent size, with a handful of restaurants and a super market (although the latter was closed by the time I got in so I will have to resupply tomorrow). I found a place to eat, ordered a meal and a beer:

Very typical Japanese restaurant

With a typical sized beer
Now I have come up to the local park, set my tent up in a nice quiet spot. I did over 34kms again today according to my GPS, so I think I am going to go straight head straight to bed.

Night night





Distance: 32.4km (according to google)

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