Cherry Blossoms in Japan

Even though Katie and I had a fantastic trip to Japan just a few months ago, there was no way I could resist a chance to go again. Not only would I get to help support my son Beau attempting the longest trail running race of his life, but we had plans for a week-long adventure in some more remote parts of Japan where neither he nor I had ever been.

Katie dropped me off at San Jose airport on March 31 and the Zip Air flight to Tokyo was routine and comfortable. There are now many different ways to get to town from Narita Airport so I tried a new one, the Skyliner Train. It’s quick and let me travel half of the classic Yamanote circle line around Tokyo to get to Meguro station. I lived in Meguro ku (district) back in 1990-92, when Beau was born. He and Kaori met me at the station and we walked to their new apartment. It’s right on the Shinagawa/Meguro ku border; their wall is less than a meter from Meguro ku. We tried a new to them restaurant specializing in Oden, but we also had sushi and absolutely delicious black cod (gindara, 銀鱈).

I slept well that night probably because when I finally went to sleep it was something like 7am for by body. Beau and Kaori both had to work in the morning so I headed out on a walk. I walked along the Meguro River with so many cherry trees in bloom. I explored Nakameguro where I used to work, visited the new (to me) Meguro Sky Garden, then another new place, Don Quixote, in Shibuya. This is a crazy store, 7 stories, chaos, open 24×7, most things you could want are there but good luck finding them. I bought some interesting snacks and an umbrella.

I walked back to meet Beau for lunch. He took me across the street to a local place. The lunch special there was excellent: fish, rice, salad. Simple but so good. My cousin Jonathan, a long time Japan resident, came over in the afternoon and he and I had a nice walk along the river. Many people were out enjoying the cherry blossoms and the weather had improved quite a bit since the morning. We took the bus with Beau over to Hiroo where he had to drop some stuff off at the German Embassy, then we had a look through National Azabu, the luxury food store I remembered going to once in 1990 and seeing $6 avocados (they now cost under $2). We met Kaori for dinner at a Middle Eastern restaurant and WOW, it was great. I loved catching up with Jonathan too.

On the morning of April 3, Beau and I took the train to Haneda Airport and just like last fall when we flew to Okinawa, it was a really painless experience. Domestic flights in Japan are just easier and more stress-free than in the US. We flew to Osaka, had udon for lunch, then flew to the Oki Islands in the afternoon. We had not been there, and I don’t even know anyone who has. When we asked Kaori, who is from Osaka, she hadn’t heard of them. It’s a small chain of islands in the Japan Sea. We had reserved a rental car and picked it up, a very narrow boxy car that turned out to be handy for the super narrow roads on the island. It was great weather so we drove out to the north point of the island. We did a little trail run to a gorgeous spot called the Shirashima Lookout. We drove a different way back and checked into our hotel, pretty modern and nice. We ate at a nearby restaurant, an amazing kai seki (many small dishes, elegantly presented) dinner featuring giant snails – I hadn’t had these since the 80s. What an amazing day!

We woke up and enjoyed the elaborate hotel breakfast, then had a whole day to explore the island. Unfortunately the weather had crapped out with rain and strong wind forecast for the entire day. First we checked out the UNESCO Global Geopark Museum at the port. Then, our fantastic navigator, Beau, routed us on quite a few interesting and adventurous roads. Most of the roads are barely one lane wide and the less frequented ones we drove were covered with debris from the recent winds and rain. We stopped and hiked to some waterfalls when the rain lightened up, and at one point sat in the car in a scenic pullout and had a nice video call with Katie back home in Santa Cruz. Lunch was sushi and onigiri from a store, eaten in the car too. Later in the afternoon Beau routed us to an onsen in the middle of the island. It was pretty nice with multiple pools to soak in, so relaxing. We made it back to the hotel and walked a short way to a restaurant for some scallops and local Oki soba (soba noodles cut short).

On April 5, we enjoyed the same giant and excellent breakfast as the day before then caught the ferry to Nishinoshimi, the other main Oki Island. It was about two hours, relaxed, reminding me of so many similar ferry rides when I lived in Japan. The car rental place was right by the port. I flashed my International License (absolutely required in Japan), and in about two minutes we were driving away in another comically small car. We aimed for a trail I had found that climbs from sea level up Mt Takuhi, the highest peak on the island. The road Beau picked was not shown on the list of recommended roads to drive but we made it, very similar to the roads on Okinoshima. We got down to the trail start in a village at the shore but I accidentally drove too far up and ended up having to reverse a long narrow way back to the real parking place. We headed up the trail and initially it looked ok with only occasional downed tree to climb over. Soon it got very steep and the trail pretty much vanished. It was theoretically possible to continue but not really and we were not psyched, so we turned around and laughed about it as we clambered back down. We drove back up to the real trailhead, halfway up the mountain and hiked from there. We stopped at the shrine after a lot of steps and continued to the top. After lunch on the summit, we ran down and it felt like that took only 10 minutes.

After the climb it was still too early to check in so we headed for a pretty beach that had wild, sculpted rocks everywhere. We had a second lunch, then headed into town and to our inn. We were the only guests and the owner was very friendly. The place is old and budget, and really reminded me of similar places I stayed 35 years ago on various bike trips all over Japan. When it was dinner time, our host checked with us, “You know Asuka is the only place open, right?” We said yes and walked over. Of course it was closed so we had to drive back to the port town of Beppu. The first few places were closed but Beau found a Ramen shop that was open and we had a nice dinner there. Normally I don’t really like these places because often every option has meat but the guy made me miso vegetable ramen that was great. We watched TV, good old NHK was refreshing to see – the format and content hasn’t really changed in 40 years.

After an early sleep, we woke up on April 6 to decent weather and enjoyed a good breakfast in the inn. We liked all the different rice topping (furikake) choices. We had saved the most popular place in the Oki Islands for today: The Kuniga Coast. The drive wasn’t too far and from the parking lot we could already see some of the famous sea stacks and the view up to the top of the famous Matengai Cliffs. We hiked down to the beach then up to the top of the cliffs. The sea stacks and the incredible Tsūtenkyō Arch (multiple arches, giant size) were just great. It was cloudy and windy but not rainy so we were happy. I think this area would be super amazing on a perfect day. We sat in a shelter on top having a snack, then headed back down.

Our next target was a lighthouse at the end of another arm of the island and the drive there was on another super skinny road. When the road ended we started walking along the shore but it looked questionable. Sure enough after maybe 500m the trail was gone. We could’ve continued on the rocks but the incredible amount of trash on the shoreline was a deterrent for sure. We ended up heading back and calling it another fail.

We drove partway back then headed up some steep one lane roads to check out the higher observation points. We had a walk and another ‘fail‘ trying to connect to a trail to make a loop. Then another observation deck called Akao Lookout which had a good view of the Kuniga Coast plus a bunch of beautiful wild horses who were quite tame – they liked it when I talked to them and petted them.. I think we were getting tired of being in so much wind so we headed back around 3:30. Beau went for a 10 km run. For dinner, we walked to a nearby restaurant. I had saba teishoku (set meal with mackerel) and Beau had chicken. Ice cream for dessert then back home to sleep.

 It rained and was windy in the night but looked better when we got up on April 7. We had breakfast at 7:30 and left after 8. We drove back to Beppu, then out the north road where we hadn’t been. We had time for one last classic Oki backroad and it did not disappoint. Curvy, steep, super narrow, debris-strewn, deserted and pretty. The sun was coming out and the whole outlook was nicer. We stopped at a shrine/Imperial Residence, then headed back. Dropping off the car was dead easy again. This time we had to pay a per km charge instead of bringing it back full. Gas for 106 km ended up costing under $20. We shopped for souvenirs and food, checked out the visitor center, bought our tickets and left at 10:20 on the same large ferry as before, the Shirashima.

It was uncrowded and relaxing. We walked on the decks in the sun. We landed at Sakaiminato in Tottori-ken at 1:20 and walked via the train station to our hotel. It is 12 stories tall, and quite modern. We had to wait until 3 so left our bags and had lunch at a seafood place. We both had maguro (tuna) ramen with a side dish of squid over rice with tobiko (flying fish eggs). We walked and looked at stores – the whole town is peppered with anime/manga character sculptures to honor Shigeru Mizuki who was born here. We checked in and got a great room on the 10th floor. Beau had a nap and I relaxed until it was time to go shopping for dinner. We bought lots at a supermarket. Then we did laundry in the free washers in the onsen on the 12th floor with free ice cream. We had sushi and sashimi for dinner in our room while it washed and soaked in the onsen while it dried. The sauna was 94°C, over 200°F and Beau managed to stay in for the prescribed 12 minutes. I lasted 5. It was beautiful looking out at the lights soaking in the 40°C pools. At 10pm it was time for free ramen in the restaurant downstairs. What a place – everyone was wearing the free clothes they provide. If you come too late, they give out free cup noodles from 11pm to 1am. We finished with the strawberry jello they provide in the room. If you stay in Sakaiminato you could do way worse than Oyado Nono.

We woke up on April 8th and had breakfast in the room. We went out for a walk, and soon Beau returned to work. I walked along the waterfront, to the lighthouse, then back along the Shigeru Mizuki street. It turned out the train to the airport wasn’t until 11 but there was a bus at 10:30 so we took that. We got off and had a short walk to the Yonago Airport where I had reserved a rental car. There was no Hertz counter but we looked it up and their partner is Toyota Rental Cars in Japan. I called from the Toyota phone and soon a guy arrived and drove us to the lot. It was a little more complicated this time, requiring a passport. We also got an ETC card for auto-paying tolls. But in a few minutes we were rolling toward Matsue.

Beau was a great navigator as usual, and took us over the famous Eshima Ohashi, then on a causeway and eventually by a more adventurous route to Matsue. He also had a soba restaurant all picked out and it was truly great. We shared soba with clams and a large assortment soba lunch with many great foods. From there we walked to the famous Matsue Castle, marveling at how great everything looked in perfect weather. We crossed the moat and wandered up to the castle and bought tickets for the tower. It’s a 5 story building and there were quite a few people checking it out with us. I think it’s now my favorite Japanese Castle! We returned the back way, past school kids playing on the grounds, past the Lafcadio Herne museum, some samurai houses, back to the car. We had about an hour and a half going along the huge Lake Shinji, then along a gorgeous coastline on a one-lane road. Finally at 4:15 we made it to the Hinomisaki Lighthouse and it looked glorious. It’s the tallest in Japan, and we could see people on top but unfortunately we were 10 minutes too late. We walked all around, and had a private walk through a massive shrine nearby, then back to the car.

It was another hour to get to Yunotsu Onsen, on a wanna-be expressway some of the way. We arrived about 6:15 and found the check-in place next to an excellent looking restaurant. We got the info and keys, then drove to the inn and found our parking spot. The village is small, with very narrow roads; it must be a madhouse in high season. It was pretty quiet now. We found our room in the shared house. One other guy was in another room. We walked back to the restaurant, Kan. The guy welcomed us in – it seemed like THE happening place in town. We had the seafood special dinner and I had their local delicious beer. The dinner was rice, fish and condiments, plus a special raw egg. You mix pretty much all of it up with the egg, then pour over rice. Boy was that good! We upgraded to extra rice too. When we got home it was just after 8pm and the local onsen was open until 9. We grabbed yukata (men’s informal kimono) and put on geta (old fashioned wooden flip flops) and walked over. It was a classic old place with strict rules, even written in English: drink a cup of water first, wash off, go in for 2-3 minutes, come out, repeat many times, don’t wash yourself after but drink another cup of water. After all that you go upstairs to “rest” in a little lounge. It was after 9 when we left, so fun. I think the best was walking down the narrow street in yukata and geta and the few other people who were out were dressed similarly.

I slept really well – the futon here is two layers, a nice thick bottom one, then a second one with a sheet around it. Beau had a call at 8, then he went out for breakfast at the cafe – I wasn’t hungry. We both worked until 11, then walked to the grocery store for lunch. We got onigiri, bananas and more and then headed out of town on a route I picked out. We got to the coast and the trail around Kushi Island seemed to be real. We walked around it and had lunch on the backside. There was one section where the trail died in a thicket but we were just able to push through the stickers etc. We saw a lively big green snake, then headed back. To avoid retracing our steps all the way we tried to find the trail on the map coming down to town from the abandoned school (or whatever it was). We climbed a fence, then found the trail but it was super overgrown in a bamboo forest. We slowly picked our way through and finally came out near a road up from town – success!

I relaxed after we got back while Beau went on a 10 km run. It was raining most of the time, sometimes hard. Around 7 we walked down the road to a Nepali Restaurant. Dinner was dal bhat with other stuff – good but not exceptional. They only had my least favorite beer (Asahi Super Dry) so I had Nihon-shu (sake) but it was average. We walked back in the rain and tried to sleep. But the place was pretty much full tonight and the walls were so thin it was loud. Also the window panes rattled in the wind a lot. I think it was 1am before I actually got to sleep.

In the morning of the 10th of April it was still raining quite a bit. We checked out at 10 and drove east on small roads all the way to Kitahiroshima, about 70 km. It was 11:30 and Beau picked out an Okonomiyaki restaurant. It was in the countryside but very popular. We were 10th in line! We shopped for more Tough Gummies nearby, had a video call with Katie then finally got to go in after noon. We ordered and the cooks were very busy so it still took a long time. We ordered “double” and while cooking they were HUGE but the cabbage cooked down so they were only very large when served. I have to say it was an amazing first experience of Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki for me. We finally left after 1pm and drove the rest of the way to Hiroshima. First stop was a gas station, ¥2200 ($14) for 250 km of gas. Then we dropped off the car by the station, and caught a street car to our hotel.

We checked in and Beau went to get Kaori who had come by shinkansen with his bag of race equipment. Once he was organized I went with him to check in for the race. You must carry waterproof rain pants, jacket, survival blanket, whistle, two headlamps with spare batteries and various other things. They carefully checked. We walked home along the river by the Atomic Bomb dome, aka the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. Pretty much right away we headed out with Kaori for dinner. We met Oliver on the way and ate at an Italian Pizza/Pasta restaurant. We met their friend Karthik and his wife and daughter. We had a big and relaxed dinner, then bought groceries for breakfast and walked home. I watched a little Disc Golf then went to sleep.

The alarm went off at 6:30 but I was already awake. We met at 7:15 and walked to the starting area. Beau, Olivier and Karthik got ready, very excited. It was perfect, cool, clear weather. The event photographer took a shot of us, then a local TV station asked to interview the three non-Japanese racers (actually there were two more in the 109 km and a couple more in the 50 km). The opening ceremony was done by a radio personality with an organizer translating to English. Around 8:30 we all walked over to a giant boggy field for the official start. After last minute bathroom stops and photos the countdown started and they were off, right at 9 am. There were 219 registered 109 km racers and Beau was 113th across the line.

Kaori and I walked to the castle but it had just closed a few weeks before due to not being earthquake safe. So we walked back and she took a nap while I relaxed until 11:20. Our plan was to meet the runners at a couple of the aid stations in the middle of the day. We took the tram to the station but it was delayed so we just missed our train by 30 seconds. Half an hour later we caught the next one. The Kamifukawa Station was so small and old fashioned. We saw a runner come by and checked his bib on the results – 14th place. Beau and Olivier had moved up to 97/98th place at the first station and then to 74/75th at the second so we had some time. We checked out a shrine and walked to the river and ended up waiting in the shade near the station. The air was only 22℃ but in the sun it felt hot. Finally the two of them came running up and we gave them both big hugs. They were both in great spirits and had advanced to 57/58th place. Karthik was 20 minutes back. We walked with them for maybe 500m chatting about their run, then they headed off, up another giant hill.

Kaori and I took the train back two stations then transferred to a bus, then a second bus, finally getting to the town of Obayashi. We got off at an Okonomiyaki restaurant. We were the only customers. Two friendly women owned the place and were quite interested in the race but had not heard about it coming through their town. The okonomiyaki was great, this time I had it with udon and seafood, also “double”. Beau and Olivier were still a ways out so we took a leisurely walk that included a stop at a cool shrine. At the 4th aid station, in a school gym, the staff were really nice. We were the only supporters it seemed and they invited us in. There were changing tents, lots of food and drinks and places to sit. All the drop bags were spread out on the floor. Outside, we cheered on the runners as they trickled past. Soon we saw Team Beau/Olivier coming and they looked great! More hugs and we all went to the aid station. 8:47 for 47.7 km and they had moved up to 46/47th place. They relaxed and ate for quite a while, their one long stop during the whole race. When they found the udon ration was just one bowl per racer, Olivier pulled out Cup Noodles from his drop bag – pro move. Beau changed his shirt but decided to stick with his old and blown out but comfortable shoes. We said goodbye and they headed off – it was getting close to dark so they had headlamps ready.

We walked back to the Okonomiyaki restaurant and caught the bus from there. While we were waiting we had a video call with Katie who was up at 2:38am! The ride back was about 50 minutes, direct. We walked home from the station via our supermarket (Your Liv). First thing up for me was a soak in the onsen. It’s on the second floor, one big pool at a perfect temp, 41℃. I had some sushi and watched disc golf. I tracked Beau and Olivier as they got to the 5th aid station, at 59.1 km in 11:28, now in 45th and 46th place. Right before I went to sleep they hit the 6th aid station at 75.9 km, improving to 39th/ 40th place at 11:55 pm (14:55 racing time). It’s hard to believe but 4 minutes later, the first of the elite invited runners finished in 14:59:35, just Wow.

We had set a time of 4:50 am for a check-in so I set my alarm for 4:49. It jarred me awake then Beau shared their location. They had improved to 35th/36th place by the 7th aid station, at 82.1 km with a time of 17:18 at 2:18am and were nearing the 8th station. They made it there in 20:29 at 5:29am, moving up three more places. The AI was predicting a finish at 9:57 but Beau thought they could make it before 9am. Kaori and I decided to leave at 8am and meet them at the finish. At the 9th station at 97.6 km they had moved up one more place by 6:55am, predicted finish 9:32am. But they crushed the last leg which was mostly flat. We were two minutes away by the Atomic Bomb dome when the text came: Finished! We found them at the finish line, looking very “finished” indeed! Their final time was 23:12:30, and their places were 31 and 32 (36/37 overall since 5 women were faster). Beau took 5th in his 30s age group and Olivier 11th – stiffer competition for the 40s. How great that they paced each other the whole way and completed each section 1 second apart. How often do you spend over 24 hours awake with one person the whole time?

Their motivation to walk back to the hotel was exactly zero. Kaori called a taxi but it couldn’t reach us at the finish so it was a slow walk to the street. Then back to the hotel for some sleep. WOW! What an accomplishment. Beau’s Strava Activity says 112.94 km, 19:36:37 moving time and a staggering 6,712m of climbing and descending. That’s 70.2 miles with 22,000′ of climbing AND descending, some of it ridiculously steep, all with no blisters!

We all had naps after that, and met for lunch at 2pm. We walked slowly to an Udon restaurant and the runners ordered big. We saw Karthik had just passed the final aid station and was headed for the finish. He ended up beating the cutoff by just over an hour finishing in 30:56:58, what an effort!

After Kaori headed off to Kobe to visit her sister, we got together again with Karthik, his family and Olivier for dinner at a nice Izakaya that advertised lots of veggie and vegan dishes. Its best feature was how close it was to our hotel. Beau was not walking fast, that’s for sure. It was a relaxed time and I was so impressed with how good Karthik looked after his 31 hour effort. We all got some ice cream from a convenience store afterward. Olivier, Beau and I ended up soaking in the Hotel Onsen around 9pm. I think the two of them loved it even more than I did!

In the morning Beau and I had breakfast in his room, packed up and took the tram to Hiroshima station. We left plenty of time for delays and for not walking fast. We bought classic bento box lunches at the station and I found a real surprise, a special bottle of local Hassaku beer. Our shinkansen left right on time at 10:18 and within minutes we were blasting along at 300 kph. What a transportation system Japan has built! It’s so comfortable and efficient, it’s no wonder so many people use it. It stops for about two minutes at just a few stops and the four hours passed quickly – we both had a little nap in there. It’s super convenient to get off at Shinagawa and then just a couple of stops to Meguro Station.

It was great to get to Beau’s apartment since we were both carrying somewhat heavy bags. A little while later we took the subway downtown to Hibiya and walked to the Toho Theater. We followed the signs to Screen 12 and walked in to the beautiful, large underground theater. I had bought our tickets online, seniors ¥1300 and regular ¥2000, similar to the US ($8 and $12.50). Seeing Project Hail Mary a second time was fantastic. I really got more from it and Beau loved it as well. See it on the biggest screen possible if you haven’t yet.

We took the subway back to Ebisu, Beau’s old station. We went to our favorite ramen place there, Afuri, hoping they might have their legendary yuzu beer in stock this time (they were out both times we went last fall). We were in luck with the beer but their one veggie dish I love so much, Rainbow Vegan Ramen, was the one thing they didn’t have. Beau’s plan: just enjoy the beers and go somewhere else for dinner: PERFECT.

I remembered a tiny local fish restaurant called Senryo that Beau and taken me to with Katie and Jonathan, but he’d never been there for dinner. We gave it a try and ended up having the most fun dinner of the whole trip. It’s run by an older couple and there was only one other customer. We joined her at the counter and had a two hour feast with sashimi of scallop and hotaru ika (aka Firefly Squid, a glow-in-the-dark small squid from Toyama-ken). We had grilled fish, rice, some amazing snails, and half of a delicious giant eggplant cooked with miso, so perfect. We each had sake, served the classic way: a glass inside a wooden box, filled way past overflowing. We chatted the whole time with the owners and the other customer, Megumi, a local. After we finished eating, there was lots of talk of drinks and they gave us quite a few samples, local shochu, a special one from Okinawa, and even glasses of beer when the conversation turned to beer. They were so warm – what an experience.

The next morning was my last full day in Japan. Somehow, I managed to sleep until after 8am – I woke up not knowing where I was to find Beau had been up, working silently for a while. He made us his standard breakfast, then I went out for a walk, going down the Meguro River where I hadn’t walked before. I got back just at 10:30 which was 6:30pm in California, time for family zoom. We chatted for an hour, mostly family members curious about Beau’s amazing 110 km race. After that it was time for lunch so we walked to Beau’s favorite but slightly further away supermarket for bento lunches. Mine was Gindara (block cod) at a cost of $4.13! How could there even be such a great thing? We shared some sushi as well.

After lunch I took a trip to Harajuku and did some gift shopping at the store I remembered from 1992, Oriental Bazaar. It’s moved to a smaller space, just off Omotesando near where it used to be. Still the same high quality for a fair price with very friendly service. I got some presents, had a quick look at the entrance to Meiji Jingu, then headed home.

We took the subway across town to Tokyo Skytree where I had reserved us tickets. We got in the elevator and it took off. There was a elevation and speed display and we just stared at each other…how was this even possible?? In a few seconds we were going straight up at 600m per minute but there was no perceptible acceleration at all, just your ears popping. You have to experience this to believe it. In under a minute, we got off at the 350m level and checked out the gallery. It was a bit crowded. The view in every direction was great, WOW is Tokyo huge. There were giant screen 8k time lapse displays pointing in each direction taken in perfect conditions. It’s staggering. You have to see this if you get a decent day in Tokyo.

After a while we went up the final elevator to the 450m level. The view is even more amazing although you’re so high that you actually can’t see stuff on the ground as well. Tokyo Skytree was completed in 2012 and is 634m high, the 3rd highest building in the world nowadays, but not for long. The deck at 350m (1150′) holds 2000 people and the deck at 450m (1480′) holds 900 people. The main purpose of the building is actually telecommunications. It had to be over 600m high because there are so many tall buildings in Tokyo. But it was also designed as a major tourist attraction and as a “catalyst for revitalization of the city”. What an accomplishment!

We spent 90 minutes then took the subway back to Harajuku. We tried out the Baird Brewing brewpub for first dinner and it was great. I sampled a Pale Ale, a yuzu ale and a chocolate mint porter. And some tasty food. Then we went back to Meguro and bought second dinner of sushi and bento to have at home. Jonathan had left us a Left Hand Brewing nitro stout from Colorado and boy was that tasty.

I woke up on April 15 a little early, my last partial day in Tokyo. We had another great breakfast and while Beau worked I took off on the train for Takao-san-guchi. Katie, Beau and I had climbed Takao-san last fall but this time Beau supplied me with a more interesting route. I started hiking up a deserted side-trail from the town at 9:30. It was steep up but nice in the woods. It was cloudy and cool, perfect for a workout. I followed the route, through some unmarked turns, onto a more main-looking trail. Over the next 10 km I saw lots of people out enjoying a midweek hike. The route follows a ridge, with lots of up and down. Finally I crossed a road via a bridge and stopped at a sign just after. I heard a rustle and looked, and there about 3m away was a friendly little tanuki. At least that’s what I thought it was. That translates to Japanese Raccoon Dog but it’s possible he was an actual Japanese Badger. Regardless, we had a nice moment and he is now a YouTube star.

After this encounter I headed up the backside of Mt Takao, many many stairs, and finally came out on top. I couldn’t believe the crowds! I thought Japanese people are famous for working hard – they were out playing like me in force this Wednesday. I had ice cream and onigiri then walked down a different path from the one we took last year. At the bottom I was in luck: the Special Express train was leaving in just a few minutes. It took me back to Shinjuku in only 52 minutes and soon I was back at Beau’s apartment.

After a shower I packed up and then we headed to the station. I bought a few youkan to take back to use to power me on bike rides, then we had to say good bye at the station. I couldn’t put into words how much this trip meant to me, and the fact that the two of us won’t see each other for 6 months is sad, but we shared so much this time it was wonderful. I regret not taking one last photo just for fun, but I guess this post proves that we got quite a few during the last two weeks!

I had an easy trip to Narita on the Skyliner, onigiri and kakinotane for dinner while waiting, then an easy Zip Air flight back to SFO. After some time chatting with my friend Gary who was amazingly on the same flight, I took Bart, Caltrain then Uber to get home to Santa Cruz.