Day 3: Kitsuregawa - Nasushiobara

Distance covered: 30 km

Weather: Fine then cloudy

I got up feeling none the worse for wear and after a Japanese-style buffet breakfast (minus the raw egg) at the hotel restaurant I packed and set off. It was just after 8 am. Minutes later I was at the bottom of the hill and back on the Oshu Kaido feeling confident about the day's 30 km hike.

The terrain was undulating for the first hour or so but mostly flat after that. If anything the scenery was more beautiful than the day before, with the constant verdant green of the rice fields and the woods in the distance forming the perfect backdrop to the splashes of colour provided by the blossoms and wild flowers and well-tended gardens. There were palatial farm houses, too, and while I appreciate the arduous nature of agricultural work (though most of the actual rice planting is mechanised these days) it was clear to me that the farmers in this part of the country make a good living.

The road varied from a broad, two-lane highway with footpaths on both sides to a narrow, unmarked lane barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass. Several times while walking along these narrow stretches I chose to step off the road to let vehicles coming from opposite directions get by, but this was more out of courtesy than a sense of danger, as the traffic was light and most drivers gave me a wide berth.

As I was passing through the former post town of Yagisawa after my second break of the day at around the 14 km mark I noticed an impressive-looking monument by the side of the road. Intriguingly, it marked the birthplace of Japan's first scholar of the French language, Hideyoshi Murakami (1811-1890), whose efforts in teaching himself French in the Edo period when Japan was largely cut off from the West and later teaching the language to others resulted in him being awarded the Legion of Honour in 1885.

No Walking Fool trek would be complete without a stop at a Japanese family restaurant, and so at around 12.45 pm I left the Oshu Kaido to have lunch at a branch of the Joyfull chain that I'd spotted on Google maps. I was pleased with my progress and had intended to spend a full hour relaxing in the restaurant with my shoes off, but on checking the weather forecast on my iPhone while enjoying an espresso at the end of the meal I saw to my horror there was a 60% chance of rain between 3 and 4 pm. I checked the time. It was 2 pm. I looked at my map. A further 13 km to walk. I quickly finished my coffee and headed out the door, eager to get as close to my goal for the day as possible before the heavens opened.

I completed the remaining 13 km without a break, arriving at the intersection of Routes 72 and 34 at around 4.30 pm. Of course, it didn't rain! My accommodation was some 3 km off the Oshu Kaido in the direction of Kuroiso station. Having already slogged 30 km, I wasn't keen to walk any further, so I went into the convenience store on the corner and asked them to order me a taxi. That night I dined in my room on sushi and a can of beer bought at a nearby supermarket. My legs felt weary after the day's marathon effort, but I was more concerned about the weather. The television news warned of the possibility of severe downpours in some parts of the country the following day. And the chance of rain along my intended route was 100%.

Day 1: Utsunomiya

Distance covered: 2 km
Weather: Cloudy

I arrived in Utsunomiya on the bullet train from Tokyo just before 2pm. After wandering around the voluminous JR station building for a while (I had not ventured inside it during my only previous visit to the city, in 2014 when I walked the Nikko Kaido), I walked to my hotel and checked in. The weather forecast for the next day said it was going to rain, so with several hours of daylight left I decided to walk the first couple of kilometres of the Oshu Kaido that afternoon, thereby reducing slightly the distance I would have to cover the next day.

After borrowing an umbrella from reception (it was meant to drizzle later in the afternoon), I set off down the main road to the starting point of my walk, the point where the Nikko Kaido and Oshu Kaido deviate. I then ambled back towards my hotel via the Oshu Kaido, which took me off the main road and through a covered shopping arcade for part of the way. I used both my paper map and the Oshu Kaido app I'd bought for my iPhone to guide me, the latter proving useful for identifying my exact location and ensuring I didn't miss any turns.

The drizzle had held off, and so after reaching the intersection of Uekawahara-dori and Route 125 I left the Oshu Kaido and followed the Ta River as far as Ishu no Kura, an old stone storehouse that has been converted into a cafe and restaurant. I'd read about it on the internet just the day before and had considered having a coffee there, but in the end I just had a good look around (a friendly waitress even showed me some of the private rooms that had been set up for intimate dinners that evening) before retracing my steps back to my hotel. I had dinner at a soba restaurant inside the station building before hitting the sack at around 8.30pm, filled with nervous excitement about the following day when my walk was set to begin in earnest.

Ishi no Kura

Day 4: Koga - Oyama

Distance covered: 16.5km
Weather: Fine and warm

This morning I slept until 6am, a sure sign that my body clock had finally adjusted to Japanese time (until today I'd been waking at between 3 and 4am). I got down to the restaurant at 7am to find it already full. The food was OK, but the coffee was the worst I'd had for some time.

Today I was to have company! Mr Iwakawa, who stayed with us in Christchurch earlier in the year while traveling around New Zealand, was meeting me at Koga Station. I got there early and wandered around for a bit. In front of the station I spotted something unusual, even for Japan, where vending machines are ubiquitous: an umbrella vending machine.

Mr Iwakawa arrived on time at 8.34am. Since we only had 6.5km to walk, we decided to go and check out the cluster of kura I'd passed the day before. Some of them have been restored to their original condition, while others have been converted for other uses: a restaurant, a hall, and even a rest room! While we were looking around, an attendant invited us to have a look inside one of the restored kura, which was originally used to store rice for use at nearby Koga Castle. It was the first time I'd seen inside such an old kura.

We eventually rejoined the Nakasendo near Koga Station and wandered through the old post town of Koga. At the point where the Nakasendo joins busy Route 4, we came across this structure, modelled on an old lantern.

We followed Route 4 for most of the rest of the day. The scenery wasn't great, but there was the odd reminder of the days of old. Before lunch we passed Mamada-juku, which marks the halfway point on the Nikko Kaido. Cue for a commemorative photo!

We stopped for lunch (rice balls and other yummy Japanese food prepared by Mrs Iwakawa) outside a convenience store just before midday. Later, as we were approaching Oyama, we passed the Wakazakari sake brewery, which is a nationally registered tangible cultural property! This was a cultural experience we weren't going to miss. We went into the showroom and wandered around until one of the staff invited us to taste some of the sake. I thought they'd never ask! After four small cups, I was feeling a bit tipsy. I went off to use the restroom, which was out the back in the brewery complex proper, and on my way back I got a bit lost.

We stumbled on, arriving at Oyama Station at around 2.45pm. After seeing Mr Iwakawa off, I checked in to my hotel. For dinner I went to a nearby Coco's restaurant, where I gorged on a mozzarella and tomato salad, the seafood soup spaghetti (which I first tasted while walking the Nakasendo and which remains one of my favourite Japanese family restaurant dishes), a glass of white wine, and a hot apple pie, which was more like a crumble and came on a hot plate that sizzled when you poured the accompanying caramel sauce over the top (luckily the hot plate had a handy paper "skirt" around the outside that prevented the sauce splattering my clothes - the Japanese think of everything!).

Before going to bed, I turned on the TV and discovered there was a program about the Koshu Kaido, the fifth of the gokaido, or five highways, which I hope to walk in the not too distant future. The producers had roped in three "celebrities" to walk the route relay-fashion, each of them covering around 40km over two days - with varying success.

Day 2: Minami-Koshigaya - Satte

Distance covered: 23.7km
Weather: Cloudy then fine then cloudy again

Breakfast at the otherwise unprepossessing Hotel Sun Oak was a delight: a beautifully presented tray of tasty Japanese fare (including a couple of meat dishes, which, being a pescatarian, I didn't touch), augmented in my case by a couple of slices of non-traditional toast and jam and a cup of coffee. Thankfully, there wasn't a raw egg in sight. The other guests were a mixed bunch, including a group of elderly travellers and a couple of Buddhist priests.

I set off at 7.45am. It was cloudy and cool outside, perfect weather for walking. Though later the cloud would disappear and it would get quite warm. For much of the day I was walking along Route 4. It's a busy road but there was a generous footpath and the traffic never really bothered me. The scenery was similar to the day before - lots of rundown, retro-style buildings like those in the photo above. Just before reaching Kasukabe I spotted a Saizeriya and stopped for lunch (if you hadn't realised it before, I'm a sucker for Japanese family restaurants). Kasukabe itself was quite pleasant, with photos in the windows of some of the older shops showing what they looked like in what I guess was the Meiji period.

From Kasukabe onwards the scenery became increasingly rural. There were vegetable plots (including cabbages) and rice fields. I was making good progress, and it looked like I'd arrive at my hotel in Satte before check-in time. Seeing a McDonalds up ahead, I decided to stop for a coffee. I hadn't checked my email or Facebook since leaving Tokyo, and for some reason I assumed they would have free Wi-Fi. Unfortunately they didn't, but I did have a nice chat with an old man sitting at the next table, who saw my backpack and asked me if I was heading into the mountains! He was born in Kagoshima but had moved around Japan throughout his working life. Now retired, he lived in the nearby Satte Danchi. I never got around to asking him how he ended up in Saitama.

Passing Sugito, I came across this monument marking the 36th parallel. The sign nearby informed me that this was the same latitude as Teheran, Nashville and Las Vegas. So there you go. You learn something new every day.

I arrived at my accommodation, the intriguingly named Hotel Green Core +1, just after 4pm. Though there was no Wi-Fi, the receptionist kindly lent me a personal LAN device, and soon after settling in to my room I had it up and running. For dinner I headed back down the road a few hundred metres to a Gusto I'd passed earlier. When I ordered my meal (deep-fried oysters with rice - yum! - and a glass of beer), the waitress asked if I would be alright driving home. I thought this was pretty funny in the circumstances, and an odd thing to ask, but it turns out servers at family restaurants in Japan now ask this of every customer who orders alcohol. 

Interlude: Kura of the Koshu Kaido

Below are just some of the many photographs of kura (storehouses) I took while walking from Shimo-Suwa to Tokyo. Enjoy!

Day 6: Kofu - Tsuruse

Distance covered: 28.9km
Weather: Rain

Conscious that I had a long day ahead, I got up at 6am with the aim of leaving my hotel at 7am. Seeing as I was staying at the same hotel that night (I intended to catch the train back to Kofu at the end of the day's walk), I didn't even need to pack, but for some reason I was late getting away and didn't hit the road until 7.15am.

Rain was forecast but for the first couple of hours it was dry and the road flat. I'd left my pack at the hotel and had with me just by bum bag. With no room for my rain jacket and pants, I'd be relying on my folding umbrella if it did rain. After days of having at least one hand free, it felt a bit awkward carrying my water bottle in a plastic bag in one hand and the walking map in the other. Things got really awkward when it did start to rain and I had to hold the umbrella as well. I eventually thought I'd sorted everything out, but then I realized I was missing something: the map! I looked back and saw it on the road about 20m behind me. Luckily I was able to run back and pick it up before it blew away or was run over by a truck.

The vineyards of Katsunuma

I spent the entire day in the Kofu basin, which is famous as a fruit-growing region. Grapes are an especially popular crop, having been grown here for some 800 years ago. Wine production only started in 1890, although today Yamanashi is the number one wine-producing region in the country. The area around Katsunuma in particular is full of vineyards where you can stop to pick your own grapes for eating or taste the local wine. I also saw many excellent kura, including a rare three-storied one and one converted into a wine shop.



After Katsunuma the road started to climb as it approached the Sasago pass, which I'd be walking over the next day. I reached my goal of Tsuruse at 1.30pm and bought lunch at a convenience store before heading to Kai-Yamato station to catch the train back to Kofu. I had to wait 25 minutes for the next train, which to make matters worse was five minutes late (a rarity in Japan). Although the temperature was in the mid-twenties for most of the day, I felt quite cold as I waited on the station platform in the wind and rain. I just hoped the weather would be better the next day, when I'd be making my first foray into the mountains.

Interlude: Kura

Kura (traditional Japanese storehouses) are a uniquely Japanese response to a uniquely Japanese problem. Being made of wood and paper, traditional Japanese houses are prone to fires. As well, rooms in these houses are usually sparsely furnished. Kura were built to protect a family's valuables and store furniture and other items not used in the main house.

Although designs and materials vary from region to region, kura typically have thick clay walls covered with white plaster to reflect the heat and act as a fire retardant, tile roofs, and small, often richly decorated windows with thick shutters.

As more and more Japanese move into modern houses made of permanent materials, there is less and less need for kura. Consequently, their numbers are declining. During my journey across Japan from Kyoto to Tokyo I came across kura both old and new in many different styles and made of many different materials. Some of the older kura were in a poor state of repair. Others had been converted into shops or cafes. I also came across modern buildings designed to mimic the style of kura. Below are a few of the photos of kura I took during my walk along the Tokaido.

Reconstruction of Edo-period kura at Shukuba no Sato, Ishibe (note the raised floor)

Unusual kura near Minakuchi
Dilapidated kura, Minakuchi

Kura near Kameyama

Close-up of window

Modern kura near Akasaka

House built to resemble kura, Arimatsu

Kura converted into Chinese restaurant, Hamamatsu

Coffee shop built to resemble kura, near Fujieda


Stone kura, Odawara

Kura with ladder, Odawara

Kura converted into coffee shop, Oiso

Dilapidated kura, Totsuka

Close-up showing layered construction