Day 76-78: Tomoyoshi to Ebihara

Day 76: Tomiyoshi to Yokkaichi

Hours walked: 8:00-4:00

Distance walked: 26 km 

Cumulative: 1,665 km

Our day got off to a slow start: first a long commute with some issues involving strollers and escalators, then we immediately stopped off at a Starbucks for crosswords and breakfast.

We had a more rural walk today - we finally escaped Nagoya! A dozen turtles splashed off a log. We crossed two very long bridges, about a kilometre each, spanning marshy floodplains. Tova and Zadie played an endless game where they scored points for seeing trains, dogs, planes, etc. 

Midway through the day we approached Yokkaichi, coming across a giant workshop filled with thousands and thousands of car engines. It shimmered silver and smelled like oil. Tova found a parrot and got a candy from its bowl. A shrine appeared, with beautiful monolith stones towering above us. 15 men smoked silently outside a restaurant, their eyes following us as we walked by. 

The later part of the day was a bit tougher. Lunch was had on the concrete outside a Lawson, with Tamar nursing Levi uncomfortably on the ground. 

It got really hot and sunny, so we got frozen drinks which cheered us up. We finished reading Kiki’s Delivery Service aloud, and talked about how kids in Japan are expected to become independent much earlier.

In the evening, Levi put undies on her head again and stomped around happily. The girls got free bananas from a beaming shopkeeper because they’re cute hikers. Tamar and Jakob both bought veggies for dinner by accident, so we had a mega stir fry. 

How great that the old, gnarled trees get shrines to their spirits

A beautiful temple path 

Tokaido architecture 

We saw a couple of Tokaido hikers!

Day 77: Yokkaichi to Kameyama

Hours walked: 9:00-4:30

Distance walked: 27 km 

Cumulative: 1,692 km

Our commute back to Yokkaichi was a long schlep, searching for elevators and navigating choked train stations with all our gear. 

After an early lunch, a small miracle: Levi sat in her stroller and read Mr Brown Can Moo all by herself, then peacefully fell asleep! What happened to our high-maintenance baby? Meanwhile, Jakob read all of Bunnicula to Tova and Zadie in a single stretch as we walked through Idagawa. 

It rained for most of the day - but most of us just got wet rather than put our raincoats on, since it was a light, steady rain in fairly warm weather. Tova, who will never be described as chubby by anyone, was the only one to put her sweater on. 

We stayed at a nice Route Inn tonight, since there were no campsites nearby. Dinner was cobbled together from the convenience store. We hit up the onsen and turned in early, grateful not to be camping in the rain pelting down outside. 

It hurts to wake her in the morning 

This was a nice forest path 

Sophia was happy to wear yukata again 

Day 78: Kameyama to Ebihara Camp

Hours walked: 7:30-4:00

Distance walked: 28 km 

Cumulative: 1,720 km

Breakfast was amazing - we missed you, Route Inn! Jakob ate an embarrassing amount of rice with mackerel, egg, edamame, broccoli, miso, potato and seaweed. 

We walked through Seki, one of the cutest post towns yet. Ancient wooden houses that look creaky and dark lined the quiet street, along with temples peeking out behind long lanes of torii, tall storehouses for festival floats, and immaculately trimmed gardens in front of every house. The average garden along the Tokaido would win prizes in any other country. 

Aurora chugged steadily up the hills to Suzuka Pass, a long steady uphill that took most of the morning. Tamar and the other girls braved a trail for a couple of kilometers, encountering 27 crabs and one angry wasp. 

The rain set in around midday, and stubbornly refused to leave. Luckily, it wasn’t too heavy and Levi napped under her rain cover. We detoured a couple of km towards a campsite - though we rarely welcome extra distance, this detour took us through beautiful hills planted with tea, studded with giant old-style mansions that looked like daimyos lived in them. It was perfectly still, with no cars or people. 

We were all sodden by the time we reached our campsite, and set up our tents during a gap in the rain. The owners graciously offered us a chile from their garden, warned us about the snakes, wild boars and falling trees, and asked about our walk. We had udon with tofu, broccoli, ginger and one incandescent chile, then scurried into our tents through pouring rain and holed up for the night by 6 pm. 

That hiker look

Our wet, windy campsite 

Oh yeah, here are all the car engines!