Thinking Allowed: Day 20-22: Tanesashi to Kuji

Day 20: Tanesashi to Taneichi

Hours walked: 7:00-1:30

Distance walked: 20 km

Cumulative: 443 km

“We can put miso on an Oreo with some daikon and sesame seeds on top!” - Tova, creatively coping with our food shortage

The joggers were there again at 6am! Those are some committed athletes.

Our morning started with a slight bump: Jakob, Sophia, Tova and Zadie opted for a gorgeous headland trail to begin the walk, but the heavy morning dew completely soaked their feet, and it was sodden squashing all morning. Then, when we all sat down near a vending machine for some cold drinks, some sort of piranha fleas or poison weed savaged Levana, Zadie, Tova and Tamar; they all got nasty pink blotches that itch like mad.

Otherwise; though, it was a smooth, pretty day. The weather was overcast and noticeably cooler; we made good progress and chatted about our hiking plans as we went. The landscape stayed pretty, with many large gardens and small farms among tiny settlements of houses.

Reaching Taneichi, we were all happy to see another cute, well-designed oceanside campground - we had a nice grassy plot one meter from the beach! Tova was crushed when the sour attendant, 80 years old and fast asleep when we arrived, confirmed the water was closed to swimmers; Jakob did his best to wangle but “it’s a little difficult…” - no go. So the girls had to mope in the little river, and play games in knee-deep water while massive waves thundered nearby. But it was a sloped beach so probably dangerous. Tova’s mood can be so glum when she gets disappointed; Zadie was more resilient and had fun running at the waterline.

We had a tasty miso tofu dinner, thanks to a full supermarket restock (even diapers!) We bought seven meals and have full, heavy packs again. Aurora has lost her excellent knife which is sad. We did laundry. The night was quite rough, with Zadie scratching and kicking in her sleep all night and noisy campers partying past 11. But the journey continues!

The deepest they were allowed to get

Baby bites are the saddest

Our sopping wet morning trail

We got an umbrella to protect Levi from her own refusal to wear a hat

Day 21: Taneichi to Kitasamuraihama

Hours walked: 7:15-1:30

Distance walked: 22 km

Cumulative: 465 km

“Our campsites get prettier and prettier!” - Tamar

So many sports drinks today! Our trail got much hillier; pushing the stroller has become a major full body workout.

We got to spend part of the day on a beautiful trail - it reminds us of Norway. Trails coated in needle beds near rocky shores, snaking through headlands that smell like cedar and pine … quite lovely!

When we reunited on a road, we talked about the tradeoffs of being on the Michinoku Trail. Doing the whole thing is 1000km, vs 650km on a more direct path, and we can’t bring stroller on any trails …. but it is so pretty, and the campsites have been fantastic. So far we are mixing it up, but mostly staying on roads.

Our campsite tonight is a real beaut: set up on a hill with platforms for tents, overlooking the sea for almost 180 degrees. It has an ocean-fed pool that is drained every night; the pool slopes from 3 to 6 ft, and is carved into the granite seaside rocks. We also climbed down from the lookout and explored the rocks, finding small crabs, a lighthouse, and massive waves crashing up onto the rocks nearby.

There were lots of mosquitoes at dinner, though a matron came by to give us a smoking brazier that keeps them away. We turned in feeling mellow and happy.

Sophia on the rocks

Tova in crab hunting posture

Aurora and Zadie relax in the sea pool

These landscapes!

Day 22: Kitasamuraihama to Kuji

Hours walked: 7:00-1:00

Distance walked: 18 km

Cumulative: 483 km

We split in two for most of the walk today; Tamar took most of the girls on a long, pretty (if buggy) coastal trail for the morning; while Sophia and I (Jakob) did some super hilly road walking. Sophia blazed up and down the steep slopes with the stroller, I got out of breath trying to keep up! At the end we cut out a half hour of road walking by wrestling the loaded stroller down an overgrown path and about 200 stairs.

We rehydrated at an aquarium (didn’t see the fish because it was expensive and kind of small), and got Hokkaido soft serve before knocking off the last few kilometers into town.

We reached Kuji at 12:30, but the hotel only opened at 4… loose ends! People were setting up for some sort of festival, which was exciting. We went to a park, got coffee (J) and groceries (T), jumped on a bouncy castle (S/T/Z), and Sophia got a haircut.

The haircut was quite an experience. It took two tries; first a tiny old lady sat us down, showed us synchronized swimming on TV, and eventually confessed that everyone who actually cut hair was out. We came back 15 mins later and her daughter or granddaughter took charge. She said “do you want a straight cut?” Jakob got major flashbacks of Larry the Barber who said exactly this to him on the American Discovery Trail. Sophia said yes, and soon her gorgeous golden hair was cut in a perfectly horizontal line across the bottom. But, 45 minutes later, it looked nice! Meanwhile, the old ladies plied Tova and Zadie with gifts: they got a delicate paper fan, a painted seashell, and candies all round.

We are staying in a ryokan (traditional guesthouse). Jakob spent much time on the phone trying to communicate with the landlady, who turned out to be extremely animated and lively. She made us feel very welcome. The mini onsen had a scorching bath, the futon beds were soft and perfect for Levi to practice walking on.

Our ramen restaurant dinner was a huge fail: the waitresses murmured incomprehensibly, diners snickered, and finally a guy came to be direct with us and say nothing was vegetarian. Bee fled to a supermarket and got a very nice meal of sushi, edamame, Inari, bread and cheese, yogurt, peaches, caramelized potato (imagine candy apple but it’s a chalky potato wedge). We sat and ate on the banks of Kuji river in the fading twilight, under a light drizzle.

Heading back in the dark we found the festival! Little kids were doing amazing hip hop, we all had ice cream, and Jakob risked eating 7 Takoyaki - they are so good but so queasy too…