Japan: Not just robots and pocky

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Originally uploaded by OmegaBlake.

This photo was taken at a small farm in Magome juku, a postal town in the Kiso river valley

Going to Edo

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Originally uploaded by OmegaBlake.

I had to pay my respects to the Shogun sooner or later :-)

Magome juku

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Originally uploaded by OmegaBlake.

Magome was a small rest stop on the Nakasendo, the trail through the mountains from Kyoto to Edo (now Tokyo). With the completion of the Chuo Highway and train line during the early 20th century, the town fell into obscurity.

In recent years it has become popular with tourists who want to hike the old cobble-stoned road through the mountains to Tsumago juku, a similarly preserved postal town. Both towns seem to be stuck in time, a mix of modern amenities in wooden buildings that wouldn't look out of place in the 1700s

A waterfall on the Nakasendo trail

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Originally uploaded by OmegaBlake.

Just a few centimetres out of frame on the left is a vending machine. The local Lawsons is a few centimetres out of frame on the right.

Taisho Pond

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Originally uploaded by OmegaBlake.

Shortly after this photo, we were swarmed by ducks who wanted to beat us up and take our lunch. Unfortunately, there was no teacher or adult in sight :-(

Kappa Bridge at Kamikochi

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Originally uploaded by OmegaBlake.

To take this photo, I had to scramble over some moss-covered rocks and try not to fall face first into the river, which was as beautiful as it was freezing

These boots were made for something...

“What have you been doing since you last posted?” I imagine you ask.

My answer: “Walking”

A week and a half ago, my bike tire decided to take early retirement and deflated on the way home from work. For someone who needs a bike for everything, my commuting time to anywhere else tripled. I had to start waking up early half an hour earlier just to get to work, which is bad for someone who wakes up half an hour late every other day. Also, it's still humid over here, so I was showing up to work every day dehydrated and plastered in sweat.

So, what should one do when they're walking everywhere? Go hiking in your spare time.

Last Monday, Tsuna and I went to Nagano Prefecture to hang out in Kamikochi up in the Northern Japanese Alps. The first thing I thought when getting out of the bus was “Wow, it's cold,” followed by “Hey, I remember what 'cold' feels like!” Kamikochi is situated in a small valley with a lake fed by a mountain stream. It is famous for the Kappa Bridge, its picturesque and decidedly Swiss scenery as well as the freshness of its food. I didn't try much of the aforementioned food as I was too busy devouring a bag of Smith's Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips that was given to us by a friend who recently visited Australia. The problem is that when you've had one chip after a potato-chip fast of two years, you can't stop until after you've had one thousand.

One week later and I was walking from Magome, a small town in Gifu to Tsumago, a slightly less smaller town in Nagano. The trail was part of the Nakasendo, the old mountain trail from Kyoto to Edo (now Tokyo). Although for some parts of the route we had to walk along a highway, for the most part the trail consisted of a cobblestoned path through the woods. Along the way we saw waterfalls, trees that had been clawed either by a bear or Wolverine from the X-Men, enough small dogs to start a handbag pet store and an old man who was giving away free tomatoes (which in my opinion is a fair price).

All in all, on-top of my regular "Going to the store to get sushi" strolls, I walked an additional 20 kms this week. That's not bad for someone who likes to sit down at a computer for 8 hours to play Warcraft. Anywho, I finally had the time to get my bike repaired today, so my “walking like a filthy pleb” days are over. But it was interesting to walk a few miles in another man's shoes, although the other man happened to also be me

-Blake

Question of the Month

Person who will remain nameless: I have a question Blake-sensei. Where is South Africa?

Blake-sensei: (*Blinks*)