What do you want from me? Stop it. I am tired of having to report to you like some exchange student away from home. Maybe I just want to get lost in Japan. I feel guilty for not posting more on a blog, but ironically you have all the time in the world but some things feel like a bother. This is a turn off for a reader I imagine. I think its more descriptive; however, of the reality of traveling in a foreign country for a long period of time. There comes a certain point where enough is enough. Why am I doing this?
Let me start off with saying that wherever you last think I was I have ended up on the island of Shikoku. Are you tired of hearing these words: It is amazing.
Shikoku is the hidden gem of Japan. Within the shadow of a week I have biked 50 kilometers across bridges leaping from island to island in the middle of the ocean. I have hiked to the top of two mountains where Indiana Jones style shrines are tucked away in mystical fashion. I’ve visited an island with wild deer and watched the sunset from a deserted beach. I have gone to the oldest onsen in Shikoku, reminiscent of Spirited Away’s bathhouse. I have met some very interesting people and spent several days wandering the coastline with two of them.
Yet it’s hard to write about. I think its hard to write about because no words or pictures can describe the emotional, visual and cultural experience that I am having. Wherever I go the work of God greets me. It speaks to me in words I can only feel but cannot hear.
I’ve turned a corner on the trip. I’ve officially moved from being a tourist, keen on seeing the sights, to a journeyman – looking for every day examples of life and experiences within the country itself. You can only look at so many shrines, and visit so many castles. You can see museums, parks, and special attractions. Now I look more for the events that will put me in touch with everyday life. I find it most interesting. How long can I keep this up? Actually, how long can I afford to keep it up. I am enjoying the traveling and seeing the different people, food and cultures throughout Japan but I also look forward to settling down in Tokyo for a long stretch to just live day by day.
For every journey however it definitely has its ups and down. Ironically I feel like I can go from one to the other in the matter of an hour several times a day. At moments you feel weary and your feet drag and within the hour something will change your demeanor compeletely. Usually it will be from noticing an amazing glimpse at life, an interaction between two people, are catching a sight that you wonder if anyone else noticed or would have seen the beauty.
Its been a real fitness buster for me as well. No I am not losing weight because I can’t stop eating the amazing food either, but my body was not ready for the ongoing trek of walking, hiking, climbing, biking and backpacking that has become my every day life. Tomorrow I will be dressing in my shirt and tie and strapping on a 50 pound backpack to trek through the streets of Kochi in order to go to church. This will be the smallest branch I’ve visited yet. I’m sure the people will freak. They will probably wonder if I am one of the brethren coming to speak to them. How can I complain though? Every where I look examples peer back at me of working hard. Elder folk are literally bent over at a ninety degree angle from farming. Office workers hustle to and from their fifteen hour work days. For them rejuvenation comes in the form of the Onsen, or bath house. It works wonders.
My biggest piece of advice for anyone that is trying to backpack long distances or for extended periods of time is to weather the difficult times with some rest. Tomorrow is a new day. I’ve gone to bed several times on this journey wondering if I have what is needed to continue on. I feel completely different in the morning. New people, new places, and new examples of human interaction that inspire and bring a smile to your face.
27iniche 