Walk Japan

I had stayed a night at Nagoya so that I’d be ready for the Walk Japan trek the following day. But as we know, the well made plans of man are often thwarted by poor sleep.  I had woken at 2:30 and couldn’t go back to sleep so got up and organised myself for the day, waiting for breakfast which I thought was at 6am but turned out to be at 6:30am with nothing I really cared for. Sweet bread with sweet spreads and a small bowl of salad!  Here they served their free coffee for breakfast not at 3pm like the previous hotel.  I brought my drinking container down to fill up with ice before adding a shot of coffee from the machine and a heap of tiny little shots of cream before adding the almond milk which was left over from my muesli.  I had eaten this earlier with a banana and some fresh blueberries.  It’s a much healthier way to start the day. I was ready to go by 7am but decided I’d try to get a bit more sleep as I didn’t need to meet the Walk Japan group till 10am.  Praise the Lord I was able to sleep for about an hour and felt much better.  I decided as I had so much time on my hands I would casually walk to the station, arriving well in advance but not before our guide Yuka. Not long after Yuka welcomed me, a couple with their teenage sons arrived and then another couple both families from the US and the last couple from Sydney, Australia.  There were 11 in our group.

Yuka had purchased our train tickets and led us to the platform for the train going to Nakatsugawa where we were to begin the Nakasendo Way: The Kiso Road trek which is an old trade route from Kyoto to Tokyo during the reign of the Samurai.  The train was an hour journey through the countryside with rice fields, forests and vegetable farming.  Everything was lush and green, I’m not surprised, it is the rainy season.  At the end of the line, literally, we disembarked to take taxies to our lunch stop.  Usually it’s a half hour walk but due to predicted rain Yuka had pre-ordered taxies.  We had a set menu, a choice of hot or cold noodles.  I’d never had cold noodles so thought it was worth a try.  They were delicious.  I asked for buckwheat noodles (soba) which came in a bowl of cold soup with a huge Tempura prawn and a side dish of three types of nigirizushi and hot salty custard.  It was only $20 although this was included in the price of our trek. We were also served Matcha Mocha ice cream, it was all very delicious.

From here we started our walk. Yuka said we needed to follow the Yellow Brick road which was laid for the pilgrims so they knew which way to go.  There were small yellow and white gravel stones imbedded into the bitumen but in places where there had been repairs it no longer was visible.  The road was quite steep in places as it ascended the hills, weaved up and down the gullies till we reached Magome and the Shinchaya Inn where we stayed the night. I found the steep climb a little too much for me especially as my left knee started at times to ache. Personally I would have preferred a slower pace so I could enjoy the surroundings and take in the tranquillity and vegetation along the way.  There were some lovely gardens, bonsai trees formed by nature, cedar, pine, cypress and bamboo in groves along the road.  Yuka stopped several times to describe different places and their significance to the area. She pointed out the old inns and tea houses, although many of the lovely old buildings had been pulled down and replaced with modern homes. There were lots of Shinto shrines, a few Buddhist temples mixed in with animism.  I was often left behind as I stopped for a photo shoot or to check out a plant or the road was too steep and everyone had raced ahead of me. Some of the ladies occasionally stopped to wait for me, which was lovely of them but I really didn’t mind walking alone with my thoughts and the beautiful surroundings.  Some times I started off ahead of the group so that I could get a head start.  Once during this time I saw an elderly local lady weeding her garden and stopped to say hi.  She smiled at me as I gestured to her fish pond where she had Shubunkin, which is a smaller fish but similar to koi. Not far from here we headed up a large cobble-stone trail.  It was raining again and we had to be extremely careful as some of the stones were very slippery.  Praise the Lord it hadn’t rained till this last half hour of our trek and even then it was off and on. It had been such a lovely day out in nature away from the cement jungle but I was glad to arrive at our destination by 3:40pm.

We were asked to take our shoes and wet jackets off and leave them with our umbrellas at the door before entering.  Our rooms were traditional Japanese rooms with thin walls, tatami mats and futons. I was relieved I was able to open the window to let the fresh mountain air in.

Yuka allocated our rooms and then the order in which we used the Onsen, hot tub. I was first out of two groups, it was my first time to experience this.  First you shower and wash yourself thoroughly before rinsing everything off before taking the plunge into the tub.  The water is kept warm with cedar covers which due to the steam, give off a lovely scent.  I don’t think I soaked for long as I was thoughtful of those waiting their turn.  It was a lovely way to soak off the day’s walk and a nice relaxing way to start the evening.  The clothes I’d worn were soaked through from the rain, unfortunately there was no washing machine here and washing by hand would only leave them wet for the following day due to the high humidity and cool temperatures.  Praise the Lord, I was informed that our next lodgings had washing machines and dryers.

That evening our dinner was at 7pm (very late for someone who doesn’t eat after 4pm).  I had decided I would join everyone to avoid insulting the hosts, plus I’d payed for the meals in our Walk Japan package.  It was an amazing spread of dishes in little ceramic bowls and dishes and a delight to the tastebuds. We were also offered an array of alcoholic beverages of which I chose the plum wine, which is a very sweet local wine this region is renowned for.  The dinner finished late as Yuka first explained every dish before we ate, which was also very interesting.  After dinner I made up my coffee for the next day; which I showed Yuka and the host how I did it with my tiny press.  Yuka explained I’d like it kept in the fridge and in the morning add ice and milk, our host was very apologetic saying she only had a few tiny containers of cream.  I told her not to worry as I could buy some milk along the way as we would be stopping at a small town shortly after departure in the morning.

It was after nearly 9pm, by the time I crawled onto the futon on the floor which I’d made up with their doona as an extra top mattress layer as it wasn’t cool enough to need a cover.  I had brought my own single sheet for that which was more than sufficient. I also took another Phenergan to help me sleep as we needed to be out the door by 8:15am.  Unfortunately the Phenergan was not very effective as I woke at 10:30pm and didn’t sleep again till around 1:30am!  So exasperating!

At 4:40am, even with my eye mask on, I could see it was broad daylight.  I was instantly awake thinking I had missed my alarm.  Too late I was wide awake now so got up, packed and wrote up more of this journal.  An hour later I was feeling sleepy but there was no time to sleep again.  I ate my own breakfast in the room trying to be quiet as the walls were the typical Japanese thin paper partitions. Later I joined the others for our prepaid breakfast which I shared with those who wanted more. We left our lodgings at 8:15am

This was the beginning of our longest walk 13km actually by the end of the day I had walked 19km and was totally exhausted. The walk itself I felt was a little easier, maybe because whenever I could, I would start walking before the others so that I could get ahead of them for the steep climbs so as not to lag behind as much as I did the day before.  This worked well most of the time as the group would catch up with me on the steep ascents.  Then on the downward slopes I was able to catch up and on occasions overtake them.  I had come to realise my 60% lung capacity (I found this out when diagnosed after being tested for scuba diving in 2022) was slowing me down as I was puffing and gasping for breath on the climbs.  There was a 76yr old gentleman in our group who was also struggling with the climbs although he wasn’t out of breath as much as I was I think just not as fit as I am.  The rest of the group where in their sixties and two young guys 15 and 19 years old with their parents in their forties. Yuka, I later found out was in her fifties, she was very fit having taken many treks.  Her explanations were very good, explaining the history and information of so many places along the way. Too many for me to include in this blog.

This trip The Kiso Road trek with Walk Japan covers the most scenic routes along the Nakasendo highway dating back to the 7^th Century.  Nowadays much of the old roads have been replaced with modern roads and trains, leaving the old roads in large part unused.  It is these long-ignored sections that retain the feel of the old historic roads with insights into Japan as it was then and is now.  Along many sections of this trail are some of the best preserved and most interesting parts of central region of Nagano Prefecture.  The section we covered is roughly halfway between Kyoto and Tokyo and one of the best to explore on foot. This highway was built on the imperial Chinese pattern of a well-maintained road with carefully spaced post-towns that offered travellers a place to stop, rest, lodge, restock at the shops as well as porter services. The tree-lined highways provided frequent tea houses, distant markers as well as both Buddhists and Shinto shrines and deities.

Margomay is one of these post-town; its name means Horse Stables; where the porters and horses were refreshed and changed before the next section of road.  Each post town was a day’s journey from the next.  Here at Margomay, on clear days, there were spectacular views of the snow-topped mountains which, unfortunately, were shrouded in clouds the day we arrived. Leaving the town we left the Yellow Brick Road entering the woods to follow a meandering path upwards towards a historic natural waterfalls, then through the Magome Pass, then slowly downhill before reaching a small hamlet of Ostsmago.  20mins later we entered a well preserved post town of Tsumago where the selling of land, demolishing the old historic buildings and constructing new buildings was banned.  There are no vending machines, electric poles or lines on the main streets to keep its authentic old world charm.  Here we followed the cobbled highway, passing agricultural fields and idyllic hamlets, eventually descended into Magiso.  It was here I was able to stock up on bananas, blueberries and milk for my breakfast as this was the only convenience store along the trail.  From here we took a local train 25mins to Kiso-Fukushima where we stayed the night.  I was pleased to see there was a small laundromat where I could dry my clothes, which I washed in my room.

I was hoping to have some time for the Onsen but needed to set up for the evening and have dinner which once again was delicious.  Praise God that night I crashed out even though there was a men’s business meeting, in a room near mine, which had become a little rowdy.

I woke at 4:30am and got stuck into my Bible study and language studies before making my breakfast and packing.  I still met the group at breakfast but didn’t stay to eat.  It’s just not my kind of start for the day. Mind you I did eat the panacotta that was served.  Instead I sat in the foyer typing my notes till just before our group gathered before our departure.

We had a transfer part-way to the Kaida Plateau where our morning walk began.  We were given the option to take the morning off and meet the group for lunch or the afternoon off and take a local bus to the hotel.  I didn’t really think I needed the break as these were shorter walks although some very steep climbs, but I changed my mind after the first walk. It wasn’t that difficult though it was helped by Pamela offering me a puff on her Ventolin.  I hadn’t thought to use Ventolin and in fact had left my puffer in Bali. (not much good it being there)  Just a few puffs certainly helped me stop gasping for breath.  We had taken a taxi and hire bus to the first leg of our walk which was at the foot of a mountain peak at Jizo Pass where there is a tall and gushing waterfall.  It was just on 9am. Here we took a very overgrown mountain trail up the steep hill, crossing the stream in many places.  As we walked we had to be mindful of where we put our feet to try and avoid the rivulets and mud along the trail. Thank God there are no leaches in this part of Japan but there are snakes, we saw one crossing our path.  Yuka said it was harmless, I later looked it up on the internet; it was so cute, a little yellow rat snake.  Descending, we came out into more agricultural fields till we reached the Kaida no Poppo-Ya souvenir and lunch stop. Here I was greeted by an eight month old puppy, who came straight to me and wouldn’t let me go.  She was so cute.  What a treat we had here, the older couple here had done quite a bit of traveling all over the world, even to Cairns, Queensland. He was a model train enthusiast and built his own track outside the shop just where we were seated for lunch.  He had also been taught the art of pizza making by an Italian chef in Tokyo.  We were served pizzas and homemade sweet buns.  He also played the shamisen, a Japanese three-stringed instrument like a banjo.  His wife played some Japanese and some international tunes including Bonny Boy on a harmonica.

From here we walked through a horse breeding farm.  This farm is trying to bring back the extinct Kiso horses which were used for agriculture and carrying loads through the mountains.  They were stocky short legged animals used mostly as pack horses.  From here we walked to a town where we caught a bus which would take the group towards the Nishino Pass.  It was at this point I decided not to do the afternoon walk but instead take another bus back to where we were staying the night.  Yuka explained to the bus driver where I wanted to get off and he said he would drop me at the door.  Yuka then gave me the ticket which I was supposed to give to the driver but thought it was a special pass so kept it and gave it back to her. I wondered why the driver gave me a funny look as I left.

At the guest house I collected my bags and was taken to my room on the second floor where I unpacked and did some language study till 3pm when the Onsen was open. I was glad there wasn’t anyone else there, even though there are separate men and women’s Onsen’s I don’t like bathing with other people. I don’t even like baths, I feel you are swimming in your own soup let alone everyone else’s! It’s just not my thing. After 10 mins I’d had enough and got dressed, I decided I’d have a massage as there was a massage chair available. I couldn’t read the remote so just took a guess at a few buttons.  It was lovely.  I kept thinking it would soon finish but it went on for 20 mins. What a blessing!  Back in my room I posted my last blog and worked on this one.  The team was back around 4pm, then dinner at 6pm which is always an amazing banquet of typical Japanese food. I’ve never eaten so much!  Back to the room to do a bit more writing than bed.

To be continued……..

Photos:   1. Cockspur coraltree – Erythrina crista-galli    2. Old style building and home    3. Me on the cobble-stone street    4.Walking through the forest    5. Water-wheel mill    6. Once of our dinner feasts    7. Beware of the bears

Prayer & Praise Points:

Praise the Lord for a safe and amazing journey and all my walking companions with Walk Japan.

Praise the Lord for answered prayer and all the wonderful weather I have experienced in Japan, even though it is the wet season with high humidity.

Please pray for all those who received Gospel tracks which I have been distributing while in Japan.

Please pray for the next leg of my journey to Hanoi, Vietnam and my stay there.

Please continue to pray for Jen and Ralf as they travel throughout Europe, may they be kept safe and enjoy their adventures too.

Continue to pray for world peace and countries dealing with major disasters, wars and the unbelievable hardships they cause.  Pray for all those caught up in the suffering these events have caused.  Pray that God’s peace may be known by all people especially for those who live with despair, that they will find hope in Christ Jesus.

Please keep my sisters, Tricia, Jen and Kat, in your prayers.  Pray that they will come to know the love of Jesus.