March 3
Last night it was great to sleep in our tent snuggled in our sleeping bags. The morning was frosty so we had to smile when we headed to the bathroom and sat on heated toilet seats. We walked up to a view point behind the tent and watched the sun rise. A great way to start the morning. Today’s walk is straight forward. We will be walking on highway 55 till we reach our destination for the night. On the way we stop at a 7/11 for breakfast. One can buy a cup of frozen fruit and make a smoothie in a machine. It is a great find. The food selection is great and after resupplying for the day we are back on the highway again.
We are walking thru towns that are adjacent to the ocean. We notice that there are quite a few of these signs.
We also notice these structures that are close to the water.
Japan is known for being in the pathways of tsunamis so they have put a lot of money towards infrastructure to save people’s lives. Along the sidewalk are also signs telling us how many meters one is about the water line. Another thing we have observed is that three times a day there is an announcement over a loud speaker. Sometimes there is singing and other times there is an announcement. We wonder if it is to be sure everything is in working condition if there is a dangerous situation. We make note of the various evacuation paths and structures.
When we walk thru a small town, we notice a store that looks like it might have oranges for sale. It is the season and the ones we have had are delicious. The door is open so we walk in. No one is in the front so we say konichiwa and an older women comes to the front. She seems surprised to see us but after communicating we would like to buy some oranges she writes down a price and we pay for a bag. She then hands us three oranges for osettai. We eat them in the store. They were so good. We continue our walk stopping at a rest area and sharing some oranges with another Henro.
The walk continues until we see a man who looks familiar coming towards us. It is Takumi, the Japanese man that we met yesterday. He is carrying a shopping bag and motions for us to turn around and go a short distance back to a rest area in the shade. He asks,”Do you like surprises?” Of course “we say” and he proceeds to take out a package wrapped in brown paper. While we are eating our surprise , he hands us a paper that he wrote on. It said that yesterday he was sorry that he had taken up so much of our time. We assured him that he hadn’t and that we enjoyed our encounter yesterday.
After we have eaten it and confirmed that it was tasty. He tells us that it was Takoyaki. (Octopus in a batter) Then he pulls another item out of his shopping bag wrapped in newspaper.
This one we know. It is an ice cream bar covered with a cone material. This was also much appreciated.
He walks with us for awhile, pointing out plants and wanting us to taste them.
We said good-by again to Takumi wondering if he will show up again. We notice that there is a temple marked on our map that is not associated with the 88 temples, so we decide to check it out. We didn’t have any success, but did see a small shrine up on a hillside in a cave. Later we learned that this area was a place for meditation.
The next stop for the day would hopefully be our camping location. We head heard that Riders Paradise would allow one to camp there. We saw the brightly colored building and turned in.
A group of motorcyclists were sitting in a circle having a drink. The sign made sense to us. The owner saw us and came over to talk. He spoke English which for us is always appreciated. He showed us where to camp which had a view of the ocean. We responded “Perfect” He also asked if we would like dinner and our response was “yes” Dinner was served at 6. We soon discoverd that our host was a surfer, a motorcyclist. and a lover of vintage vehicles. He had spent time surfing in the states where he learned his English. He talked to us while we ate. He was joined with some of the 10 cats that live here. All of the cats come when called by their names. It was impressive.
His wife cooked the meal which was delicious. Plus the wood stove made it cozy.
While we were eating, we asked him to make a couple of calls to some lodging possibilities for tomorrow night. The first one he called he said no thank you. He explained that they wanted way to much money. That sure was nice of him..The second one sounded good and we have a home for tomorrow. After eating he asked if we would like to check out the three story build that was opposite of the office. Of course we said yes. It was way more than what we expected. It was three floors of cars and motorcycles that were in various stages of repair or completely restored.
The first floor
The next floor.
The last floor seemed to have the motorcycles that were almost finished. One day he hopes to have a restaurant on this floor. Scattered thru out the floors were other items of a vintage era.
We had a feeling that these items might belong to him.
He told us that he was going to keep the wood stove going till 8 and we were welcome to sit by the fire. That sounded great so more good conversation and being warm before heading off to our tent.
We fell asleep recalling all of the amazing things that happened to us today.
Accommodation : Camping at Riders Paradise
Miles hiked 18