Walking The TOKAIDO Days 3 & 4

MARCH 6th, DAY THREE *pictures will be added later


After writing my last post I was able to get an hour of peaceful sleep. I left the net cafe by 7am, pleasantly refreshed by the bright morning sky (compared to the dull and dark cave I had slept in).


I started making my way back to Route 1. On the way I did find another 24 hour net cafe called the Hours. It didn't appear in my Google search, so I thought there was only one option in Hiratsuka - one whose website wasn't working. I was stressed a bit because of the possibility that I wouldn't have a place to stay, and lo and behold there was another option. Strike two Google Maps.


When I left the city it was a little sunny, but clouds were already creeping in. I stopped on the way at a Lawson to get breakfast. This time I tried out their low carb bran pancakes. I was surprised to think that they were too sweet, but they were made with agave syrup, and had some more syrup and whip cream or something between them. It was a nice treat, since I had been craving pancakes for a long time.


The rain was light and misty for the next few hours. My route took me near the ocean, which I kept looking at longingly between the houses until I crossed a narrow stairwell down to the beach. It was a good time for a break, I figured, so I took a minor detour and went down to the beach around 10am. Despite the light rain and wind, being near the ocean was very calming. Before I knew it 45 minutes had passed of me just staring at the waves. The rain had also let up at this point so I thought it was going to be a good day. I had only 4 more ours or so to my destination, a guesthouse in Hakone, and it wasn't even noon yet.


Unfortunately, after I left the beach, things steadily got harder.  The rain began to fall steadily, not large heavy drops, but a constant blanket of light rain. I took another break at noon for lunch, hoping that the KFC would have grilled chicken, but to my disappointment they only had their original recipe fried chicken. Not the best for this low carb, healthy fat lifestyle I'm trying to commit to, but at least it would be some good protein and I could rest my legs.


I forgot to mention on my way to KFC I saw another possible Tokaido walker on the opposite side of the road; it was a man, possibly in his 40s or 50s, heading in the same direction as I. He seemed tired from going up the incline, but my legs were still fresh at the time and I overtook him. I noticed he kept glancing at me, but when I looked back he would turn away, so we never made contact. Oh well, if we are meant to meet, then we will.


I managed to stick around KFC for almost an hour. The rain wouldn't let up, so I decided to try out the plastic shoe covers that I had bought from Donkihote. It took some getting used to, but I adjusted to the feel of the rubber bands around my legs and the slightly drag of the plastic, then I was well on my way. I also covered my bag in its waterproof cover and put on my cap and hood. I didn't take out the poncho this time.


The rain continued, falling harder as the route began to incline up towards Hakone. I was grateful that it was only a slight incline most of the way, but I had a strong notion that I was in for a long walk. Usually I enjoy the rain, but having to walk in it with 20lbs on my back, essentially up a mountain, was not preferable. Also, the approach was not very well defined in several parts. Route 1 became unwalkable, but the way to the walking route wasn't easy to find. Just unneccessary added stress.


Somehow I managed to stay on the right path (here I will thank Google) and I entered the Hakone area around 4pm. Perfect timing because the guesthouse check-in was available from that time. I remember thinking that everything seemed closer on the map, but maybe it just felt longer because it was all uphill. In any case, I grabbed a few grocery items from the 7i convenience store on the way up the mountain, including eggs, 2L of water, and some peppered beef strips. Slightly drenched I arrived at Guesthouse Azito at just after 4pm.


Let me give a shout out to the staff at Guesthouse Azito for being awesome and kind. The place had a very nice atmosphere and instead of a shared room, the rooms were private - just a bed and a little space, but private nonetheless. I wasted no time in dumping all my stuff in my room and claiming it as my own for the next half a day.


It was still only the early evening, but it was a rainy day, so instead of walking around the area (which was really beautiful, but I had already walked ALOT anyway) I I took a shower, hung up my only slightly wet clothes (yay water proof/quick dry stuff!) and cooked my dinner. No other guests were around, so I privately ate up my salad with avocado, eggs, peppered beef and cheese, and then I went to bed.

[+26.5km = 89.5kilometers total]


MARCH 7th, DAY FOUR



I slept from 7pm until about 5am. No regrets. I wanted to start my day early because I knew it would be about a 7 hour walk to my next destination in Numazu. Before anyone else was awake, I quickly slipped out and headed to the nearest convenience store (only 3 in the area from what I saw, and no supermarkets). This time it was Family Mart. I knew they had some kind of low carb stuff, which I had never tried before, so I sought them out.



Rizap has released many low sugar products, oddly enough mostly sweets. I wanted yogurt but settled for trying their cheese cake, and also grabbed aWalnut Roll. Of course, the cheese cake had artificial sweeteners and wasn't as low carb as I was aiming for, but I figured I'm in for a long walk, so it wouldn't hurt. Nevertheless it was sweet - no surprise there. I'm glad to say that I have not been craving sweets since I changed my eating habits, but I feel that it's good to have the options available, if and when I just want a treat. The Walnut Roll was delicious, perfect, I would definitely get that again.



Enough about food! Haha. Back to the grind.



As I'm writing this, I am starting to feel tired again just from the thought... It was a LONG day. As soon as I left the guesthouse I noticed that the path was going up hill. Everytime I thought it would level out or start to go down, I turned the corner and there was another incline. 

For the most part, the route along 732 is actually ON the road, as in on the edge where there is a "designated walking space". It is NOT enough space. There is literally a white line on the edge of the road, and half the time foliage has taken it over.  That goes on for long enough to where you start to think any sort of real designated walking area is better than feeling like you shouldn't be walking on the road with (occasional) cars going by.

This area of Hakone is also one of the locations where the Old Tokaido Route has been preserved or reconstructed. For the record, it's literally a hike through the mountains. You are either climbing up an uneven stone path, which I enjoy because it's a little more interesting, or you are going up several flights of stairs, which I did not enjoy. There are also a couple river crossings that will have you think "This is awesome, but am I supposed to be here??"

Climbing the mountain was rough for me. My brain made sure to remind me off the weight on my back, the strain in my legs and the slightest change in body temperature. It was mentally draining more than anything.

However, on the road I happened to meet an old man heading in the opposite direction of me. He too was walking the Tokaido, though he had started in Kyoto. He seemed to be pressing on well, and when I asked how long he had been walking he said about 16 days. 16?! That was faster than I expected. But he was also staying in business hotels for about 5000 yen a night, which I'm sure is a big comfort. We wished each other luck on the remainder of our trips. That meeting was just the bit of push I needed to will myself up the mountain: if an old man can do it, so can I.

If and when you survive the hike up the mountain, don't expect much of a view. The trail eventually descends a bit and takes you to the shores of Lake Ashi. The little resort area was booming with people despite the chilly weather.

And it was cold. I was hot and cold and everything in between while going up the mountain so I ended up with my jacket around my waist, long undershirt and tshirt, and a full set of knit cap, neck warmer and mittens... and sunglasses. Other people were not so well-dressed - I questioned what kind of humans they were, but apparantely I am the odd one out.

I walked along the shore of the lake looking for a place to have lunch, but nearly every shop was either selling soba noodles, or curry and rice. I was about to settle for karage (fried chicken) when I saw a 7i at the end of the road. You may be wondering why I am not enjoying the "local" cuisine or going into restaurants more and there's two obvious reasons for that: 1) to save money, and 2) low carb means no bread, rice, noodles, sweets, etc. for the most part. Besides, I live in Japan, if I really want something, I can get it almost anywhere.

So, I bought my lunch from 7i, ate it in the waiting room for the boat rides because it was too cold for me to eat outside, and then with nothing else to do continued along the path. I really hoped that it would continue to decline, but nope, not yet. There were a few more hills, up and down, roads with no sidewalks, unclear signs which route to take, I lost my knit cap and hairband too - stress stress stress - but FINALLY signs for Mishima City meant I was really getting out of the mountains.

I have never been happier to walk into the outer limits of a city. Civilization! Sidewalks! Marked streets! How lucky we are.

The walk through Mishima, though welcome as it was easy to follow, was still a good two hours or so from my destination in Numazu. On the way I stopped at Coco's, which is like a steak house that I have never been to before, and had some beef hamburger steak.

After dinner and a quick rest, I made the final push to Numazu. To my surprise there was a SEIYU (Japan's Walmart, literally) and grabbed a few groceries. It was mostly cheese, some marked down spinach and a couple avocados. My lodgings for the night were at Media Cafe POPEYE in Numazu.  Since my legs were so tired, and I DID climb a mountain and all, I chose the 12 hour night pack in the massage chair booth.

It wasn't easy to sleep in the chair that couldn't fully recline, but I managed to sleep quite a bit. I think the massaging helped with that. In more than one way I hoped that was the last mountain I had to climb this trip.

[+34.3km = 123.8 kilometers total]


ON TO DAY FIVE & SIX!! >>>>

Walking The TOKAIDO Days 0, 1 & 2

Well, so much for falling asleep. I guess I will take this opportunity to catch you all up on how my time has been so far.

****I WILL ADD PICTURES LATER I PROMISE****

It's been 2 days since I left Nagoya.



FRIDAY, MARCH 3rd, DAY ZERO


I caught a bus from Nagoya Station to Tokyo. That morning I went to my student's graduation. To be honest during most of the ceremony I kept spacing out and running over the day's plans in my head. One thing did stick out to me however. In the student representative's "Thank you" message they said something like this:

"I know there will be good times and hard times. But in those hard times, instead of saying "I'm tired" I think we should say "Look how far I've come / Look how much I've done.""

At the start of what I knew to be a tiring trip, I really took those words to heart.

**

The bus took about 6.5 hours from Nagoya to Kawasaki, via Tokyo. It did stop in Shinjuku, but I had plans to stay with my friend in Yokohama (just south of the Tokyo Metropolitan), so Kawasaki was the closest I could go by bus. Normally, I enjoy bus trips, but normally I am only on the bus for 3 hours. You can guess how happy I was to get off at my destination.

My friend came to meet me at the station and we went back to the apartment he shares with his girlfriend. I was in for my first surprise. He lives UP on a hill. There was a hundred stairs to climb (it seemed). First the bus, now this trek up a small mountain... my mind was telling me all kinds of trouble must be coming.

The reality that I was doing this trip still hadn't set in however. I was just hanging out at my friends house. Nothing challenging yet.

**

MARCH 4th, DAY ONE, 7:20 a.m.



The alarm on my watch didn't go off. I was getting started an hour later than I had planned - but in reality, I probably would have woken up an hour too early. I quickly ate breakfast (2 eggs and some cheese), packed up my bag, and told my friend that I would be back around 6 or 7 p.m.

I caught the train from Yokohama Station and rode it into Tokyo. The official start of my trip would be at NIHOMBASHI.

But first, a coffee.

Many of you reading this know that I don't usually drink coffee, and I generally tend to avoid cafes. The only reason I chose to go was because I was going to meet a friend from university who I haven't seen in almost 2 years. She now lives and works in Tokyo, so it was a perfect chance to meet again.

After our meeting, she walked with me to Nihombashi. This was it. It was actually starting!!

But first, let me take a selfie (haha).

Now with full spirits and a good picture to mark the moment, I took my first step on my journey.

Walking of course came naturally. This is what I had been training over 2 months for. I kept my eyes open for markers of the Old Tokaido trail, but there was little of interest to me in those first hours - just buildings, people, streets.... you know, a city. Thankfully, sightseeing is NOT the purpose of this trip!

**

3 hours from Nihombashi I made a stop in Kamata to meet another friend who I hadn't seen in almost 2.5 years! We had hung out a lot while I was an exchange student, so we were very close. It was just like old times.

He also bought me lunch: Freshness Burger's Avocado Burger, without the bun. Thank you~

We talked for over an hour and I was feeling rejuvenated. 3 more hours to go and I would be back in Yokohama.  I realized how lucky I was that my first day went so well. The weather was great, not too hot and with a slight breeze. I had the chance to reunite with my friends.  And free food. That always makes for a good day.

Eventually I reached my friend's apartment in Yokohama. His girlfriend made gyoza (meat dumplings, mine were chicken) for dinner, which I had no guilt in eating after the 6-7 hour walk.  We played a couple rounds of Jenga and then went to bed around 11 pm.

I'm glad it was a good day, but I also knew that my journey had only just begun. If I was taking the ring to Mordor, day one would be the start of the journey where we are all still innocent and having fun... before the orcs attack us.

Starting tomorrow, I'm alone.

[30 kilometers]



**



MARCH 5th, DAY TWO, 7 am



Two more eggs for breakfast. I am going to miss being able to cook my food.

I have two possible destinations today, either Chigasaki or Hiratsuka. Hiratsuka is slightly farther of the two, and I preferred to go there because it would make my walk on the 6th an hour shorter. Either way, I was planning to spend the night at a net cafe.

Just before I left from Yokohama, another friend of mine stopped in to take my place at the apartment haha. The three of them sent me off with well wishes, and day two began.

I was taking Route 1 from Yokohama and finally seeing markers of the Old Tokaido road. On my way down from Tokyo I stayed on Route 15, so I only had markers which told me how far I had walked from Nihombashi.  I took a few pictures of the trail markers, but as I mentioned before, I'm not doing this to sight-see.

About 2 hours in to my walk I spotted a pair of backpackers ahead of me. I suspected they were walking the Tokaido as well (not alone after all!) However, they made a stop at a convenient store, while I still wanted to continue walking. If they were really on this road for the long haul, we would probably run into each other again, I thought, so I kept on my way.

Initially, I had marked a restaurant on my map to rest at. Every 2 hours or so I plan to rest my legs and shoulders, and maybe eat something too. My luck was good. There was a small department / supermarket in Totsuka on the way. I stopped in with the intention to buy some food and then eat it at a nearby park, but I noticed they had a small sitting area which we could use freely. Don't mind if I do. Second breakfast was green tea, a small salad, and bran rolls with butter.

I was feeling good and confident about my plans and training thus far. My legs were sound, and even my shoulders were adjusting to the weight of my bag (8-9kg, or about 18 lbs). The weather was actually warmer than I had been expecting, but thankfully I planned for that too. Also, I could take breaks on my own time, and eat what and when I wanted - freedom!

It was during my second short break at a Lawson that I spotted the two backpackers from earlier. Yup, they were walking the trail. Time to make my day a little more interesting. The hunt was on.  I quickly jumped back on the trail and followed after them.

If I caught up, I would say something... well, I did catch up because they stopped at the bottom of a hill to rest a bit. I sort of awkwardly said "Hey" as I drew closer and confirmed my suspicions. They were indeed walking the Tokaido route, but only to Kyoto. The pair of them were also planning to stop at a hotel in Hiratsuka that night. Maybe I am a little competitive, but that set my mind to going as far as Hiratsuka as well.

Figuring we would run into each other again, I excused myself and pressed onward. I don't mind talking with someone on the way, but I'm actually not in the mood to join a party.

The walk from there went relatively smoothly. I discovered there is a part of Route 1 that you CANNOT walk, despite what Google thinks. Google, I am not a car. I cannot go ON the highway. In any case, that area naturally leads pedestrians onto Route 30, so just trust the road.

Two hours later I was lucky again to find a shopping mall on the route. I grabbed some sashimi (raw fish) from the grocer and ate it in the food court. From there it was a 1 hour walk to Chigasaki (where I also stopped at a Gyomu Super to grab avocados and cheese haha). While in Chigasaki I called the net cafe in Hiratsuka to confirm if they were open. Their website would not load, so I was worried something happened, and should worst come to worst the next place I could stay the night would be an hour away.

The call confirmed that the net cafe was up and running, so I walked one more hour to Hiratsuka.

I always feel the most energetic in the first and last hour of my daily walks. Today I couldn't help but dance a little with my hands (legs are kinda busy), and when a language course came on I was ready to repeat all the phrases aloud as I walked. No one will bother to stop me, so why not. They probably think I am on a call with someone. Singing is more difficult... people will know when you're singing.

Finally, at about 8:30 I reached the center of Hiratsuka. I found the net cafe I planned to stay at and chose the best time package. I decided to get the 9-hour pack for 1800 yen. However, I had to wait until 10 pm. Fine, no problem.

As I was waiting a Japanese man asked me if I needed any help, but when I spoke back in Japanese he was surprised to hear me speak. We spoke a little and he offered to buy me a drink while I waited to go into the cafe. I accepted the company, ordered a hot tea and we talked for an hour until 10 pm.

Day two was coming to a good end. I got into the net cafe, paid for my time package and got a flat seat booth ("for sleeping"). The manager was very kind, and my flat booth was perfect. There was also a couple good movies I could watch while I ate my dinner (avocado, cheese, sliced chicken and another small salad).



[+33km = 63 kilometers total]



Yeah, this is the best net cafe I have been to yet.

Halfway through the movie, at midnight, I decided I would sleep until 6 am.

My wish was not granted.

THE GUY IN THE NEXT BOOTH SNORES LIKE A BEARRRRRRRRRR. WHYYYYY???? HOW CAN YOU SLEEP? NO ONE ELSE CAN SLEEP!!!

*tears tears angry tears*

So.... that's why I can't sleep and I wrote this blog haha. Now it's 5:15. The man left 30 minutes ago. I am going to try and get a little sleep in now!



Until next time, take care!

ON TO DAY THREE & FOUR>>>