Day 6: Yoshinohara - Kasukabe

Distance covered: 16 km
Weather: Fine

After breakfast at my hotel in Omiya I rode the New Shuttle to Yoshinohara Station, which is where I had originally planned to finish walking on Day 5. It was a beautifully fine day and my blisters weren't bothering me at all. I felt confident of reaching my goal of Minami-Sakurai, some 22 km east along Route 16. But soon after setting off I had to negotiate a pedestrian overbridge, and on the descent my knees again started hurting. I reminded myself that pain never killed anybody (I don't know where I heard that expression, but it seemed appropriate) and tried to think positively as I pressed on. But the traffic-clogged road and less-than-scenic surroundings made it difficult to remain optimistic.

Thankfully, the congestion eased as the morning progressed, and I was even treated to some semi-pastoral scenes in the form of rice fields complete with one or two egrets. Further on I noticed some farmers planting rice, and stopped to watch them working.

But such enjoyable moments were few and far between, and by lunchtime the pain in my knees and the constant noise and fumes from all the cars and trucks had become unbearable. I looked at my map and saw that Kasukabe Station was just a couple of kilometres away. I could head straight there and catch a train to Chiba, where I had booked a hotel for the next few nights. The pain and suffering would end. It was very tempting.

Up ahead was a Saizeriya, so I decided to stop for lunch and think over my options. By the end of the meal I had made up my mind to abandon my walk. It all came to the fact that I simply wasn't enjoying it. Also, I had very little to lose by stopping. I wasn't doing this to prove anything to myself or anybody else. The only downside I could think of was that I would have to admit that the people who told me I was foolish to try to walk the length of Route 16 were right. Sure, it's possible. The fact that I had made it this far proved that. And there are some pleasant stops along Route 16 that have much to offer the traveler on foot, such as Yokosuka, Yokohama and Kawagoe. But with the exception of the stretch along the coast of the Miura Peninsula (and possibly on the opposite side of Tokyo Bay in Chiba Prefecture, though I don't know because I didn't get that far), there didn't seem to be enough in the way of pleasant scenery in between these places to provide relief from the monotony of the bland suburban landscapes and relentless traffic. Maybe I'll go back some day and complete this walk (I don't like leaving things unfinished). But somehow I doubt it.  

Day 5: Rest day

Distance covered: 0 km
Weather: Gloomy

Dear reader, the knees were still sore. I decided they needed a day off, which would also help my blisters heal. So after hanging around my hotel in Shinjuku for most of the morning, I took the train to Omiya, from where I was determined to resume walking again the following day.

Day 3: Sagami-Ono - Hachioji

Distance covered: 20 km
Weather: Fine

With just 20 km to walk today, I departed at the relatively late (for me) hour of 8.30 am. To start with I felt OK, but after a while my blisters started hurting, and more worryingly, my knees started to get sore. Luckily it was flat for most of the day, otherwise I might have really struggled. As it was I had to take a lengthy break after walking for an hour, and an even longer one later in the day after lunch.

The road was four lanes and pretty straight for the first 10 km or so. The traffic was unrelenting, and there wasn't much variation in the "scenery." It was quite a relief when the narrow footpath gave way to a lengthy section with separate pedestrian and bike lanes, a rarity in Japan. At least it meant I didn't have to keep stepping aside to make way for bicycles on the footpath, which is quite narrow in some places along Route 16.  

Near Hashimoto Station, I stopped at a branch of Komeda’s coffee for lunch. I ordered the "egg pizza toast," which was basically a super thick toasted egg sandwich with a pizza-like topping of tomato sauce and cheese. It was pretty gross!

After lunch the road narrowed and became windy. It was nice to escape the heavy traffic, but I didn't enjoy the hills, which hurt my knees and sapped my energy. It was also getting pretty muggy.

With just a couple of kilometres to go, I noticed a pleasant-looking park on my left and decided to stop for a rest. Katakurajoseki Park is a popular bird-twitching area and also has some funky statuary.

I lingered in the park for quite a while before tackling the last stretch of Route 16 into Hachijo. It was downhill, but I had to go up and down some stairs to get to the other side of the station, and as I was descending I experienced excruciating pain in my knees.

It was too early to check in to my hotel, so I treated myself to an iced coffee and cake (with ice cream) at a Tully's coffee shop. Later, after dinner, I decided that if my blistered feet and knees weren't any better by the morning, I would take the train to Kawagoe instead of walking.