The munted nose

Quite tired today. Lay awake for a few hours after going to bed last night. Finally decided to get up and take some paracetamol for the nagging pain in my neck (the nose wasn't sore at all by this stage). Got a bit of sleep after that.

Nose is still a mess. Didn't feel like going outside today, let alone walking. Spent the day working, reading, and listening to Keith Jarrett's At The Blue Note: The Complete Recordings after weeks of a strictly Tomasz Stanko diet. I always go back to good old KJ in the end.

Distance walked today: 0km
Total distance walked since Tokaido training began: 149.5km
Days left until departure: 40

A midday encounter

I lay face up on a couch in the middle of the room, my feet pointing towards the door. The two women entered silently. They were younger than I expected. Both were tall and slim, one brunette, the other blonde. I was trembling slightly, not because it was cold but with nervous anticipation. The brunette walked over and stood on my left just centimetres from my face. The blonde took a similar position on my right. The blonde was the first to start working. I closed my eyes as she slowly reached over with both hands. It's the natural thing to do when someone is thrusting a long needle towards your face.

The first jab of the unaesthetic - right at the base of the nose - was bad enough. But jabs three, four and five along the side of the bridge were the worst. Compared to these the jabs into the side of my neck, from where they were taking the skin for the graft, were relatively painless. I kept my eyes firmly closed for the next hour or so as I listened to the inane conversation the two surgeons kept up in an effort to keep me relaxed. From time to time they asked me questions, and I mumbled replies, scared that talking would cause my head to move resulting in a scalpel or needle missing its target and ending up in my eye.

Several hours later I have a bit of sore nose but otherwise I feel OK. Hopefully they removed all of the carcinoma and hopefully the graft will "take". I'll know in ten days or so. In the meantime, I don't think I'll be doing a lot of training.

Distance walked today: 0km
Total distance walked since Tokaido training began: 149.5km
Days left until departure: 41

Auckland

There are no direct flights from Christchurch to Kansai International Airport, so I have to spend a night in Auckland on my way to Japan in May. I was originally going to spend the night in a hotel near the airport, but since I have a whole afternoon and evening in Auckland I've decided to stay in the city. I also plan to take the opportunity to ascend the Sky Tower, which I haven’t done before.

Hopefully things will go a bit more smoothly than they did the last time I made such a plan. This was in 2007 when I had to spend something like ten hours in Auckland on my way to Myanmar. My onward flight wasn't until around midnight, so I planned to take the bus into the city and have dinner at Orbit, the revolving restaurant at the top of the Sky Tower.

Unfortunately, on that occasion my arrival in the City of Sails coincided with that of the Cunard Line's Queen Mary 2, and the streets around the harbour were clogged with cars as people tried to get a view of the world's longest, tallest and widest ocean liner. The traffic was so bad that for a time the airport bus couldn't even get to the airport. In the end I decided it was too risky going into the city so I canceled my booking at Orbit and stayed at the airport.

Distance walked today: 3km
Total distance walked since Tokaido training began: 149.5km
Days left until departure: 42

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
  

"Where the greatest luxury is to do nothing at all"

Yesterday I confirmed the last of my accommodation bookings (at Suzuka in Mie prefecture) for my Tokaido walk. It felt like putting the final piece into a jigsaw puzzle.

Near the end of my walk on day 22 I'll be enjoying a well-earned night of luxury at the Oiso Prince Hotel, where I'll be able to "look out onto the blue ocean and luxuriate in the sea breezes wafting through the trees". Well, maybe not from my "mountain view" room, where I'll have to be content with "a view of the night lights and the mountains of Tanzawa".

The hotel has a private pool exclusively for the use of hotel guests and is adjacent to Oiso Long Beach, a complex that includes "ten unique pools". Unfortunately these pools only operate in the official summer season of early-July to mid-September, so even though it may well be very warm when I'm there (June 10), I'll have to settle for a paddle in the indoor pool or a dip in the open-air hot spring. Life's a bitch.

And just in case I haven't worked up enough of a sweat walking the 24.5km from Hakone-Yumoto to get to Oiso, I could always make use of the hotel's bowling alley, golf course, tennis courts, or futsal courts.

Distance walked today: 3km
Total distance walked since Tokaido training began: 146.5km
Days left until departure: 44

Scenes from a 14.1km walk

A chilly morning followed by a beautifully fine day. Winter is definitely on the way. Down at the park they were marking out the football fields and setting up the goalposts.

I'm a bit worried about my lack of training. It's tempting to think that, because I've done it all before, I don't need to train as thoroughly this time. This morning I went for a three-hour walk out to Halswell and back. Everything felt good.

Every time I pass this house I feel like I'm back in Japan...not!

Hoon Hay Valley

Hoon Hay Valley

Speaks for itself

Old Halswell Quarry (now a park)

Distance walked today: 14.1km
Total distance walked since Tokaido training began: 143.5km
Days left until departure: 45

Ohashiya

Today I confirmed another accommodation booking for my Tokaido walk. It's at Ohashiya, an inn in the post town of Akasaka which has been in business since 1649. Apparently the current building, photos of which you can see here, dates back to 1716. It's not cheap, but if the experience is anything like our stay at Daikokuya back in 2007, it'll be well worth it.

Distance walked today: 0km
Total distance walked since Tokaido training began: 129.4km
Days left until departure: 46