24-Sept
So we finally headed off on the trail. We caught the local train to Same station, then walked the km or so to the start at the temple on Kabushima Island.
The trail headed along the coast mostly around the face of the rocky cliffs. The locals, all older women, were collecting kelp from the rocks and laying it out to dry in the car park.
It wound its way through lots of old fishing huts and boats. Every inlet has been fortified with breakwaters and tetrapods. Up close they look like something out of a sci-fi movie.
So day one we managed to only make 2.9 km before we found a fantastic ice cream shop at the Ashigezaki Observatory.
The trail drops down off the cliffs from here for a couple of km along a beautiful beach that ends in another fishing village.
There are occasional gates across the trail. These are really well marked to allow hikers to pass through.
Again we were winding through more fishing villages and boats. And more fortifications.
The trail then heads up into the Yodo Pine Grove. This is a really picturesque trail through thousands of pines along the cliff tops. With the rocky coast below it really is very scenic.
Mid afternoon we arrived at Tanesashi Campground. Lots of lawn to camp on. Not very flat and really windy! It has toilets, some seats and a large cooking area. All up 8.3km for the day.
25-Sept
Got a good night’s sleep after we moved camp to a more sheltered spot.
We will have to adjust to the daylight. It’s bright and sunny by 6am. Noodles and miso for breakfast. Then off hiking by 7am. The wind has dropped off a lot overnight so more pleasant walking.
Today was a lot of road walking between fishing villages. The bays are all fortified with concrete breakwaters and tetrapods. The entrances look quite dangerous to us. But I guess we aren’t fishermen.
We also saw a lot more gardens today. Mostly vegetables and some beautiful Topary.
Any don’t forget the band
Or to clean up around your solar panels
All up we did about 16k today. Mostly on bitumen. Both of us have tired feet. Tonight we are staying in a pension/backpackers.
26-Sept
Lots of rain overnight. It wasn’t forecast, so happy to be in a house for the night. It hadn’t all cleared by morning, still drizzling. We had planned to climb Mt Hashikami this morning. Not much point as it is shrouded in heavy mist.
We opted instead to visit a huge local Ginko tree. It is reported to be about 1000 years old.
Lots more gardens with Topary.
The drizzle kept up even after we got back to the coast. Up with the umbrella and on with the jacket and kilt. The Trail followed the coast past hundreds of solar panels till we arrived at the biggest sea wall and tsunami barrier I have ever seen. It was about 10m high and at least 4km long.
And because we have a Ferguson along we had to go to the cemetery.
We finally arrived at the town of Taneichi in the early afternoon. The rain and mist had cleared, we even got a little sunshine. This town also has our favourite supermarket – Universe. So we pigged out on Katsudon and ommlet followed by ice creams. It was also the last place to pick up supplies for the next section.
It was an easy stroll down to the seaside camp near the huge tsunami barrier. Really nice grass campsite amongst the pines with under cover cooking area, seats and toilets.
All up for the day we did 17.6km.
Tsunamis
There are tsunami barriers and warning systems all along the coast. Most poles have a sign telling you the height above sea level and which way to go to get to higher ground. They are really serious about it.
Along the way we passed a memorial to the 1933 tsunami victims. The coast was hit with an unbelievable 24m high wave.
We also passed a sign on the steps descending into Kuji for the 2019 tsunami. It was at the high point the wave got to. A long way up from the road, factories and houses below.
We have the Japan Safety Tips app installed on my phone. It gives you early warnings for tsunamis and typhoons. There was a tsunami warning last week for Tokyo and islands to the south. A long way south of us and forecast for only a meter.
27-Sept
Very peaceful night after an hour or so of rain. Woke up to blue skies and sunshine. Noodles and miso for breakfast. We took our time packing up as it’s such a nice camp. Not sure I like the 6am school bell, or the 7am announcement. It was in Japanese so I can’t tell what it was about.
Lots of road walking today. In and out of fishing ports. There is a lot more agriculture as we go south. The houses are bigger and everyone has a garden with veggies and flowers.
We met our second MCT walker today at an ice cream shop. They sold other stuff but no interest to us🙄. He was going South as well. His pack was a lot smaller than ours. I don’t think he was camping. Being able to speak the language makes it much easier to arrange accommodation.
Got a few photos for Barnaby (Oz politician) of how to have solar panels and grow crops. Mount them up high and grow veggies under them (lots of pumpkins in this case)
We have now realised that every fishing village has a fortified harbour. Huge amounts of concrete have gone into building these.
We were headed to a big campsite on the coast. Before we got there we had to wade a river. It was flowing too high for Pauline to cross so we had to backtrack around it. An old (anyone older than me) Japanese guy in a ute spent a lot of time telling us it was too deep in Japanese. Then he very kindly gave us a lift back up to the nearest train station. It was getting late by this time time so we camped just up from the station next to a disused warehouse.
All up for the day 19.5km
28-Sept
This morning was a long walk around the head of the river. Mainly on bitumen roads so hard on the feet.
Once we got back to the coast the views improved as well as the track.
The next town is Kuji. I couldn’t find any accommodation on line which was a suprise as it’s a large town. To work around this we planned to catch the train back to Hachinoe and stay at the same hotel before we started. The old bodies are telling us we need a rest. I think it’s a combination of the humidity and all the road walking.
We were pretty tired by the time we descended into Kuji near the aquarium. We had done about 21km for the day so an ice cream at the shop next to the aquarium was a good break.
We wandered off to finish the last 3km toward the train station. A guy on a bike road past and asked where we were going. He was very impressed and chatted for a few minutes. He then rode off. A km or so later he reappeared in a car and offered to drive us to the station. So we piled in. At the station he checked the timetable. We already knew it was a three hour wait for the next train but didn’t care as we didn’t have to walk. He then very kindly offered to drive us to Hachinohe. This is about 60km away. So a 120km round trip for him. And our first ride in one of the small cube cars that are so popular in Japan.
We were very happy for the lift😄😁
Taking tomorrow off to give the body a rest and do some washing and eating a lot.
29-Sept
Lots of activity in the main street of Hachinohe today. Not sure if it’s a regular Sunday thing or not. Street kareoke, food stalls and lots of activities for kids. It’s a real family atmosphere. At the end of the main drag was a choir doing some amazing singing in English and Japanese.
30-Sept
We decided to add another day off to give the old bodies a rest. I also had some work to catch up on. Might go and haunt the supermarket again later.
To fill in the day we went for a wander to a local temple.
On the way back we discovered the Hachinohe Portal Museum. Inside was the most unusual clock I have ever seen. All of the marrionettes are animated. On the hour they snap their jaws really loudly. I presume the rhythm of the snapping is the hour in Japanese.
While we were watching this a volunteer guide offered to take us up to a demonstration of local artists doing weaving.
They managed to convince Pauline to have go at it.
Translated – Sakiori Nanbu Sakiori is a type of weaving that was created as a technique for recycling old kimonos and cloth during the Edo period (1683 to 1868) when clothing was precious. It is the product of the wisdom of women in rural areas who were forced to live a difficult life. In the Hachinohe region, it seems to have been actively woven in Korekawa, Shimamori, and Hashikami. Sakiori, which is woven on a loom using thin torn old cloth as the weft and cotton thread as the warp, is durable and warm, and is characterized by its colorful colors and complex weaving. Hachinohe Nanbu Sakiori Workshop “Chou” 4F, Hatchi Portal Museum “Hacchi”, 11-1 Mikkamachi, Hachinohe, Aomori 031-0032