Day 1: Kannonzaki - Kannai

Distance covered: 30 km
Weather: Mostly cloudy

After an early breakfast at Jonathan's, a 24-hour family restaurant just a few minutes' walk from my hotel in Kannai, Yokohama, I went back to my room and sorted through my things. The weather forecast was good, and since I'd be returning there at the end of the day, I was tempted to leave my rain gear and pack at the hotel and take just my bum bag. In the end, since my pack wasn't all that big anyway (22 litres), I decided to take it - a wise decision given the wild weather I would encounter on this, the first day of my journey on foot along National Route 16.

At 6.45 am I left my hotel and walked to Hinodemachi Station on the Keikyu Line. The platforms were thronged with commuters. However, the train I wanted to catch was heading south, in the opposite direction from Tokyo, and I naively imagined it wouldn't be very crowded. But it was standing room only for the first half of the 45-minute ride to Maborikaigan. There I transferred to a bus and not long afterwards I was in front of the Kannonzaki Keikyu Hotel, the starting point for my walk. I took a moment to look northeast out across Tokyo Bay towards Cape Futtsu in Chiba, where if everything went according to plan I would be finishing my walk in ten days' time. A distance of about 6 km as the crow flies, but 241 km along Route 16. At 8.30 am I set off.

I soon came to my first hill, just a small one but steep enough to have me breathing heavily by the time I reached the top. I definitely hadn't done enough training! But at least I was rewarded with a view. And thankfully it was mostly flat for the rest of the day. The traffic was also light for the first couple of hours, and this combined with the semi-tropical vegetation and ocean views put me in a positive frame of mind.

At Yokosuka I left Route 16 to do a little sightseeing. First stop was Mikasa Park, where Mikasa, a pre-dreadnought battleship that saw action in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5, is preserved as a museum ship. Next I took a stroll through Honcho, the bar district that caters mainly to personnel from the nearby US Navy base. I'd done a lot of research on the area for my novel, so it was interesting to see it "in the flesh," so to speak.

Not long afterwards, as I was passing through Oppama, it began to drizzle. Because it was almost lunchtime, I decided to press on until I came to a restaurant. But a few minutes later the drizzle turned into a downpour accompanied by thunder and lightning. I quickly sought refuge under a shop awning, where I donned my wet weather gear. The same wet weather gear I'd almost left at my hotel that morning. I'd bought the jacket the day before at a Montbell store in Shinjuku, so I was actually quite looking forward to trying it out. The pants I'd bought in Nagoya back in 2007 while walking the Nakasendo. I was also interested in seeing how my new "waterproof" New Balance walking shoes would perform in the wet. I waited for the thunder and lightning to stop, then braced myself and stepped out into the deluge. 

It was still raining when I eventually stopped for lunch at a bakery/restaurant near Kanazawa-Hakkei Station. As I ate my pizza set (which included a side salad and, somewhat bizarrely, a plate of three different kinds of bread) and drank my coffee, I became aware of blisters on the soles of both feet. I also felt cold. My mood, which had been so buoyant throughout the morning, was decidedly gloomy.

The rain had lifted by the time I set off again, but I still felt pretty glum for the remainder of the afternoon. Time passed slowly, and I was worried about the state of my feet. I was beginning to really regret having done so little training and having decided to cover such a long distance (30 km) on my first day. The last few kilometres were a real struggle, both physically and mentally. It was 4.30 pm by the time I arrived back at my hotel in Kannai. After dinner at a nearby Saizeriya, I had a bath in the hope that it would soak away the pain in my legs and tended as best I could to my blisters before hitting the sack.

Day 4: Nasushiobara - Shirakawa

Distance covered: 28 km
Weather: Rain

Clad in my wet weather gear for the first time (though my Gore-Tex hat, identical to the one my walking partner wore during our Nakasendo walk ten years earlier, had already served me well as a sun hat), I got down to reception at 7.50 am and found the taxi I had ordered for 8 am already waiting. Minutes later I was on my way back to the intersection of Routes 72 and 34. The driver was super friendly and asked lots of questions about my walk. It was the first of several cheering encounters on this otherwise gloomy day.

Soon after rejoining the Oshu Kaido I crossed the Naka River, which looked so pretty I felt compelled to stop and take a photo of it. Like most of the photos I shot this day, it was taken with my iPhone aside a plastic ziplock bag, which explains the somewhat foggy appearance.

Half an hour later, I once again felt obliged to stop and take a photo, this time of the ichirizuka (Edo period route marker consisting of a mound topped with a tree) at the former post town of Terago. I later found out this one is actually a re-creation built in the 1990s, but it was impressive all the same and was surrounded by a pleasant little park with a shelter under which I took my first break of the day.

The terrain was becoming more undulating, and in addition to the ubiquitous rice fields I found myself passing cattle farms and forests. Early on I had taken care to avoid stepping in puddles, but after an hour or so I realised my feet couldn't get any wetter and I abandoned this tactic altogether.

I trudged on, enjoying the scenery but also looking forward to lunch, which I had decided to take at a restaurant in Ashino just past the 10 km mark. When I got there, however, I found it was closed! Disheartened, I wandered over to the building next door which appeared to be some kind of community meeting place. I opened the door rather tentatively to be warmly greeted by two women who invited me to come in and sit down. They poured tea for me and gave me a plate laden with food including sansai (foraged wild vegetables). It was delicious! My hosts were so friendly and it was so warm inside I was reluctant to leave, but I knew I had to press on. Before I set off, one of the women warned me that there was nowhere to buy food between Ashino and Shirakawa. I already knew this from looking on Google maps, and was resigned to the fact that I would have nothing but Scrummy Mix to sustain me for the rest of the afternoon.  

The rain was relentless, and knowing that if I stopped I would get cold, I walked the next 10 km without a break, stopping only briefly to take photos of the many interesting sights along the way, including some lovely old kura (storehouses) and other interesting buildings with kura-like features.

A house attached to a kura (?)

A house (?) with kura-like windows

There was a bit of a climb at the end of this segment as I approached the highest point on the Oshu Kaido (428 m), which also marks the boundary between Tochigi and Fukushima prefectures, but it was nothing compared to what I had faced on earlier walks. Still, it was time for a break, and noticing a set of steps leading up to a shrine on my left I climbed up and found shelter under a large wooden gate. The shrine (Sakai no Myojin) looked intriguing, and had the weather been better I would probably have spent some time exploring it and taking some photos, but it was getting cold and I was eager to press on and so after a bit of a rest and a snack I set off again. 

I soon regretted not taking the opportunity to put on an extra layer of clothing underneath my wet weather gear, but I couldn't be bothered finding somewhere sheltered to stop again and rummage around in my pack and so I continued on until I reached a convenience store on the outskirts of Shirakawa, by which time I was warm again anyway. There I took a much needed bathroom break. I had less than 5 km to go, but I desperately wanted to sit down and eat something hot and I needed coffee, and looking on Google Maps I saw there was a McDonalds just a few kilometres further on. Getting there became my next goal.

I struggled on in the rain, taking little notice of my surroundings. I barely paid attention when a car pulled up beside me. Then I heard a voice with an Australian accent say, "Do you speak English?"

I stopped, turned to look at the driver and sole occupant of the car, a young woman with auburn hair in a floral dress. My first thought was that she was lost and wanted to ask me directions. But it turned out she had seen me walking in the rain and was concerned that I was lost. I reassured her I was fine and that I was walking the Oshu Kaido (I'm not sure she knew what that meant!), and we both laughed before the little traffic jam she had caused by stopping obliged her to drive off.

It was warm inside the McDonalds. I found a table and took of my pack and my wet weather gear and ordered an EBI Filet-O (like a Filet-O-Fish but with a patty made from shrimp), fries and a coffee. It was yummy! Checking on Google Maps, I saw that I was less than 500 m from my hotel. But the thought of putting on my (soggy) wet weather gear and leaving the warmth of the restaurant was not a pleasant one. I didn't want to leave!

When I did eventually get to my hotel room, the first thing I did was hang up my wet clothes to dry. I also took the insoles out of my shoes and gave them a good wipe down. I hoped they would dry by the morning. I was thankful that the next day was my last, and that I only had about 4 km to walk.   

Koshu Kaido gear list

Bought a new long-sleeve top (half price at Columbia), a sun hat, and a pair of hiking socks last week. So this is what I'll be taking with me when I walk the Koshu Kaido:

• Osprey Aether 60 pack (Sunburst)
• Yellow pack liner with outdoor survival tips
• Bum bag

• Marmot Precip rain jacket (Grey)
• Mont Bell Gore-Tex rain pants (Black)

• New Balance 967 shoes
• Columbia sandals

• Outdoor Research Transit sun hat (Barley)
• Nike cap (Black)

• Kathmandu Ecofleece long-sleeve top (Blue)
• Columbia Mountain Tech T-shirt (Night Train)
• Columbia Mountain Tech long-sleeve T-shirt (Flame)
• North Face short-sleeve top (Light Blue)

• Columbia Silver Ridge convertible pants (Fossil)
• Kaepa Shorts (Navy)

• Underwear (5 pairs)
• Thorlos socks (3 pairs)
• Small towel (White)

• Olympus µ 770 SW digital camera & charger
• Cellphone & charger
• Shaver & charger
• Timex Ironman watch

• Koshu Kaido walking map
• Compass
• Sunglasses
• Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, sunscreen, lip balm)
• Nail clippers
• First aid kit
• Insect repellent
• Travel umbrella

• Passport
• Money, credit cards
• E-ticket
• Diary
• Pen
• Book
• Bear bell/shotgun
  

Distance walked since last post: 13.4km
Total distance walked since Koshu Kaido training began: 262.7km
Days left until departure: 10

Jacket shopping

Although not on the scale of that caused by my ingrown toenail and the lingering effects of my old groin strain, the discomfort caused by my Gore-Tex rain jacket during last year's Tokaido walk was of some concern. The jacket, which I bought at Kathmandu, performed well during 2007's Nakasendo walk when we encountered a couple of day's of heavy rain caused by a passing typhoon, but that was in late-October, when temperatures were relatively cool and humidity low. In contrast, it was warm and humid when I walked the Tokaido, and although I encountered very little heavy rain (it did pour for a whole day once but luckily it was one of two scheduled rest days), I did get sick of the drizzle, mainly because my jacket didn't seem to breathe as well as it usually did and I ended up feeling quite sweaty while wearing it. I've since learnt that this is a common complaint about Gore-Tex. Apparently the humidity outside needs to be considerably less than that on the inside in order for the fabric to breathe properly, as a result of which it performs poorly in warm, humid conditions.

The thought of experiencing the same discomfort when I walk the Koshu Kaido in September (the end of summer in Japan, and also the typhoon season) prompted me to start looking for a new rain jacket a couple of weeks ago. But there was another reason. I want to save weight, and my Gore-Tex jacket is probably the heaviest item of clothing I had with me on the Nakasendo and Tokaido walks. I remember leaving to walk the Nakasendo and being quite proud of the fact that I'd kept the weight of my pack down to below 10kg (8.5kg to be precise). I probably carried about the same weight when I walked the Tokaido, but my groin problem as well as a couple of encounters with other walkers along the way, most notably Aki, got me thinking about how I could cut down on weight.

I started doing some online research. I came across a fabric called eVent, which supposedly transports moisture away from the body up to 250% faster than Gore-Tex. Unfortunately it's also hellishly expensive. Eventually I decided to go for a Marmot PreCip jacket. The fabric may not be as breathable as eVent or even Gore-Tex, but it's super light and the jacket has a couple of huge "PitZips" under the armpits which you can unzip to cool yourself down. But the best thing is I found one on special for about $100 less than the normal price. Unfortunately, it being the start of winter here, I have no way of testing it in warm, humid conditions before the Koshu Kaido walk. I have worn it a couple of times in the rain, though, and it definitely kept me dry.

Back to nature

My love affair with synthetics is over. With a couple of exceptions (the Columbia Mountain Tech T-shirts and the Columbia Silver Ridge pants), I've been disappointed with the performance of my new synthetic gear. Worst is the Columbia Boar Butte Long Sleeve Shirt, which not only feels horrible but starts to smell very quickly. The Kathmandu Polartec long-sleeve top feels a lot nicer, but it also stinks.

Today I went into town and bought an Icebreaker Bodyfit200 Mondo Zip top (Black). It's made of 100% superfine merino wool, which according to the packet "responds to the climate to keep you at an even temperature". The fibres "lock in body heat in the cold, but are highly breathable so you don’t overheat". But best of all, merino wool "won't stink like synthetics". In fact, according to the Icebreaker website, "the known record for wearing an Icebreaker non-stop is 196 days in extreme conditions".

So here is my revised gear list. Gone are the Mont Bell long-sleeve T-shirt and the Kathmandu Polartec long-sleeve top. My new Icebreaker top, which I plan to wear on the plane, while walking if I need another layer over my T-shirt, and in the mornings and evenings when it gets cool, will replace both of these.

• Osprey Aether 60 pack (Sunburst)
• Yellow pack liner with outdoor survival tips
• Mont Bell shoulder bag
• Bum bag

• Kathmandu Gore-Tex rain jacket (Ocean)
• Mont Bell Gore-Tex rain pants (Black)

• New Balance 965 shoes
• Columbia sandals

• Outdoor Research Nimbus Sombrero (Java)
• Nike cap (Black)

• Columbia fleece vest (Beige)
• Icebreaker Bodyfit200 Mondo Zip top (Black)
• Columbia Mountain Tech T-shirt (Night Train)
• Columbia Mountain Tech T-shirt (Black)
• North Face short-sleeve top (Light Blue)

• Columbia Silver Ridge convertible pants (Fossil)
• Kathmandu Almonte trousers (Granite)
• Fleece pants

• Cotton T-shirts (2)
• Underwear (5 pairs)
• Thorlos thick cushion running sox (3 pairs)
• Small towel (White)

• Olympus µ 770 SW digital camera & charger
• Cellphone & charger
• Shaver & charger
• Timex Ironman watch

• Tokaido walking map
• Compass
• Sunglasses
• Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, sunscreen, lip balm)
• Nail clippers
• First aid kit
• Insect repellent
• Travel umbrella

• Passport
• Money/credit cards
• E-ticket
• Diary
• Pen
• Book

Distance walked today: 0km
Total distance walked since Tokaido training began: 228.1km
Days left until departure: 21

Gear list

Below is a list of all the gear I plan to take when I walk the Tokaido:

• Osprey Aether 60 pack (Sunburst)
• Yellow pack liner with outdoor survival tips
• Mont Bell shoulder bag
• Bum bag

• Kathmandu Gore-Tex rain jacket (Ocean)
• Mont Bell Gore-Tex rain pants (Black)

• New Balance 965 shoes
• Columbia sandals

• Outdoor Research Nimbus Sombrero (Java)
• Nike cap (Black)

• Columbia fleece vest (Beige)
• Kathmandu Polartec long-sleeve top (Light Blue)
• Mont Bell long-sleeve T-shirt (Blue and Grey)
• Columbia Mountain Tech T-shirt (Night Train)
• Columbia Mountain Tech T-shirt (Black)
• North Face short-sleeve top (Light Blue)

• Columbia Silver Ridge convertible pants (Fossil)
• Kathmandu Almonte trousers (Granite)
• Fleece pants

• Cotton T-shirts (2)
• Underwear (5 pairs)
• Thorlos thick cushion running sox (3 pairs)
• Small towel (White)

• Olympus µ 770 SW digital camera & charger
• Cellphone & charger
• Shaver & charger

• Tokaido walking map
• Compass
• Sunglasses
• Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, sunscreen, lip balm)
• Nail clippers
• First aid kit

• Passport
• Money/credit cards
• E-ticket
• Diary
• Pen

Update:

• Book
• Timex Ironman watch
• Insect repellent
• Travel umbrella
  

Synthesization

What would this blog be without the occasional post on my latest clothing and equipment purchases?

I've always been bit of a die hard when it comes to natural fabrics. Although I quickly cottoned on to the advantages of breathable synthetic fabrics like Gore-Tex for rainwear, when it comes to what I wear underneath, I've never felt inclined to ditch good old cotton. I put this down in part to a bad experience with some cheap Kathmandu travel pants that were meant to be breathable but left me feeling all sweaty when I wore them during a trip to Thailand or another of those hot and sticky Southeast Asian countries a few years back.

So when we walked the Nakasendo in 2007, while Erik took along a wardrobe consisting entirely of clothes made out of the latest breathable synthetic materials (I remember him telling me about an incident that occurred when he was "provisioning" in which a shop assistant told him he'd "die" if he wore anything else), I stuck fairly religiously to cotton underwear, t-shirts, trousers, and shirts. Needless to say I didn’t die. But I did envy Erik's ability to wash his clothes in the evening after a day's walking and have them dry and ready to wear again the next morning. I, on the other hand, had to wait either until we came across a hotel with coin laundry facilities so I could dry my washing in a dryer, or until we had a rest day so I could hand wash and dry things properly in my room.

I've been satisfied for some time that the latest breathable fabrics are in fact breathable. But there's another problem. I did take one synthetic top when we walked the Nakasendo, but I noticed it got rather smelly over the cause of a single day's walking even with a cotton t-shirt underneath, something I never experienced with cotton tops. However, this problem has now been solved with the introduction of "anti-microbial" clothing. So, to cut a long story short, the other day I popped into Columbia Sportswear Company's "flagship" New Zealand store on Colombo Street and splurged on some Silver Ridge Convertible Pants (Fossil) and a Mountain Tech Short Sleeve Tee (Night Train). I've yet to wear either on a walk, but I'll let you know how they perform when I do. I just hope my Night Train shirt doesn't clash with my Sunburst backpack.

A weight off the shoulders

Still a bit concerned about my ability to carry a heavy load (i.e. full backpack) over a long distance (i.e. 530km) in a relatively short space of time (i.e. 21 days), today I sorted out what clothes I think I'll be taking based on the list on the wiki, stuffed them together with a few other items (shaver, iPod, etc.) into my Osprey Aether 60, and weighed it.

To my surprise, it barely came to 9kg. Here was me thinking I'd be struggling to keep the total under 15kg, but it looks as though 10kg will be closer to the mark. That's actually less than what I carried up the hill on Saturday. So I'm on track. I reckon I just need to do a bit more training with that same load, including some 35km-plus walks, and I'll be ready. I must admit a few doubts have crept into my mind over the last couple of weeks, but my confidence is returning.

Distance walked today: 3km
Distance walked yesterday: 7.2km
Total distance walked since blog began: 489km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 63

Weight + hill

This morning I did a variation of the hill walk I did in late-April. It's not a walk I remember that fondly. It was raining back then, and I was trialing a cheap blue plastic poncho that ended up being a bit of a disaster, both aesthetically and practically. It was also the day my last round of toenail troubles started.

Things were a lot different today. For a start, I had an extra 10kg on my back. On the advice of my brother, I ditched the weights and instead filled the pack with clothes so that it was evenly balanced and nothing hard was rubbing against my lower back. Like last week, I found the going a bit tough at first, especially at the start of the ascent, but I generally felt pretty comfortable throughout. Funnily enough the pack actually seemed more stable during the hill climb. Must be something to do with my gait.

All things considered, the body seems to be coping well with the extra weight. However, restricting my luggage to 10kg during the Nakasendo walk might be pushing it. Fifteen might be more realistic. We'll see.

Distance walked today: 12.4km
Total distance walked since blog began: 475.8km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 65

Excess weight

Yesterday I bought a waterproof pack liner from Kathmandu. I was unsure whether I should get a liner or one of those waterproof covers you put over your pack, but in the end I went for the liner, firstly because it was cheaper, and secondly because they didn't have the covers in any decent colors (like Ocean or Sunburst, for example).

The liner also has printed on it a handy list of outdoor survival tips (things like "keep warm," "drink plenty of water," and "be determined to survive") along with instructions for building an emergency shelter. Unfortunately there's no information about avoiding bears, or on what one should do when confronted with one, which would have been handy in light of this news.

Karuizawa isn't a wee country town, either; it's a major tourist resort with a population of over 18,000. What's more, the incident occurred just 600m from the main station. We're due to stay in Karuizawa on 8 November. Things like this weigh on my mind.

Distance walked today: 3km
Total distance walked since blog began: 463.4km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 66

Instant hydration

I confirmed reservations at three more hotels yesterday. That leaves just seven more to go.

While in town today I looked into hydration systems. It's important to stay hydrated while walking, and carrying a water bottle can be a bit of a pain sometimes. With one of these water bladders in my pack, I wouldn't have to stop or fiddle round trying to find my water bottle. I'd just put the valve in my mouth and hey presto, instant hydration!

Distance walked today: 10.2km
Total distance walked since blog began: 367.1km
Days left until launch of Kisokaido Project: 80

Gear

Choosing the right gear - and the right amount of gear - will have a considerable bearing on the success of the Nakasendo walk/art project. I've already spent quite a bit of time thinking about what I'm going to take in the way of clothing, footwear, rain gear, pack, and other equipment.

Earlier this year, before the thought of an epic walk ever occured to me, I invested in a pair of New Balance 748 walking shoes. I wore these during a recent trip to Myanmar (where I did quite a bit of walking), and have worn them on all of my training walks, and they're nice and light and definitely very comfortable. So chances are I will take these in October. I'm in two minds as to whether or not I should take an extra pair of shoes. It would be an advantage to have a spare pair if the first pair got wet, but the extra weight and bulk would be a disadvantage. I may just take a pair of sandals (I got some nice Columbia ones last year), which wouldn't be ideal for walking, but could serve as backup footwear in an emergency.

Shirts and trousers I have. I bought a neat hat with a wide brim around the same time I bought the shoes, and I recently purchased a zip-up fleece vest. The hat, fleece vest, jeans, and check shirt make a nice cowboy outfit.

I'm not sure about rain gear. I was considering buying a fancy Gore-Tex raincoat, but while rummaging through a cupboard the other day I came across a poncho I bought two or three years ago for a trip to Vietnam that never got beyond the preliminary planning stage (i.e. I bought a copy of Lonely Planet Vietnam), and thought that may do the trick. I plan to test it out on a walk in the rain some time to see how it performs. I'm sure it will do a fine job keeping the rain off, but my main concern is ventilation.

The most important item of equipment will be the pack. I have a Kathmandu travel pack which I use on most of my solo overseas trips. It's like a soft suitcase really with wheels and a pull out handle. It does have straps like those on a backpack that tuck away when not in use, but these seem to have been added as a kind of afterthought. Size-wise this bag is just right, but I tried shouldering it for about the second time a few weeks ago and decided there was no way I was going to have that on my back for two straight weeks. So I hit the Internet and did a little research, and discovered that backpacks are pretty high-tech, specialized items these days. (Maybe they always have been, and I was just ignorant of the fact.) There are travel packs, day packs, two-day packs, hiking packs, alpine packs...you name it they have it. They also come in different sizes. You're supposed to measure your back with a tape measure to find out what size you take. (One website even had a short video showing you how to go about doing this.)

As for capacity, I think something in the 60L range should be about right. I was originally thinking 35-40L, but when I went and had a look at a 35L pack in a shop it looked positively tiny. Erik pointed me in the direction of this Osprey Men's Aether 60, which apparently is similar to one he used during a walk/art project in Shikoku a few years ago. So I might go in and take a look at one of those at some stage. Incidentally, one thing I didn't realize is that good packs are designed so that a lot of the weight rests on your hips instead of on your shoulders. Makes sense, really.

Another thing we have to consider is what equipment we'll need to implement the as-yet-unspecified art project associated with the walk. As this project is still in the gestation phase, it's unclear what exactly we'll need, but possibilities are a laptop computer (which will also come in handy when it comes to maintaining this blog while on the road), video camera, still camera, pen and paper, paint and brushes, scissors, clown suits (red noses optional), portable solar charger, and several balls of string. Since it was his idea to do the art project, Erik has kindly volunteered to carry all this art-related equipment. Thanks buddy!

Distance walked today: 0km
Total distance walked since blog began: 16.5km