So one day I went for a walk...

Today was unusual in many ways.  Not bad mind you, just unusual. Last night the rain started at one in the morning and continued without break until noon, having two important effects; The rain itself leeched out a great deal of stored heat energy from the city.  This city has been so hot the last few weeks that leaning on the outer walls of buildings, even late into the night, filled you with the heat of the day all over again.  The city has been bathed in heat, and a nights rain drew so much of that out and let it rundown the drain. The cloud cover itself stopped the sun from penetrating down to the asphalt and starting the convection cycle over again, giving the city a chance to linger in this cool period. By noon the city was only 25 celcius and cloudy. Despite the rain spiking the humidity, the city felt a relaxed shady cool for the entire day.  With this I set off down the road from my HQ in the south of Osaka to visit the natural history museum....

This morning I strode outside and immediately thought to myself "Oh! It's so cool out!". The morning air felt brisk and different than any of my previous days here.  The first hint of autumn is now in the air. With this morning surprise I quickly checked the weather report, it was 28 degrees Celsius.  This only a few degrees colder than the scorching days I've had even up until yesterday.  These these facts didn't line up in my 'built for winter' brain. Confused, I checked my other weather app only to confirm the report.  Had I become acclimated to heat?  Perhaps.  What far more certain was that the humidity had dropped dramatically overnight.  Where in all the previous days the heat was accompanied by 80-95% humidity, making a 34C day feel like a 42C day, today it was 45% humidity and the difference that made was undeniable. I came back from my morning stroll and was greeted by Takanori.  He too had noticed the change and commented on how...

Today was a quiet day spent in the common area of my guest house in Osaka, intentionally avoiding the weekend crowds in the city. I spent much of the day sitting at the table in the common area watching live sumo wrestling on TV and continuing to hash out my revised plan. That isn't to say I spent the entire day inside. I did pop out a few times, mainly to the 7-11 for a cold drink, or as evening closed in, an easy bowl of udon. It was just after 6pm when I tucked into my convenience store udon, which rivaled many restaurant bowls I have eaten in western countries.  I returned to my planning, then headed upstairs to relax in my bed. A few hours later, as I was laying in bed looking at maps and wondering if i had eaten too early and if I would be hungry before bedtime, Takanori came up the stairs to the third floor and called out for me.  I slipped out of my bunk to find my host holding a small dish of tuna sashimi for me. I was by all rights very surprised.  Not...

The heat persists, but I'm determined not it let it keep me on the sidelines. So this morning I set out to Nara park before the heat was in full force.  From my current home base at Banana Hammock in South Osaka I expected it to be complicated to reach Nara, which is about 45km away, but to my surprise it was a matter of catching a train into town, a quick transfer and I was on my way. As a side note, I have a much better success rate of navigating the Osaka railway system than I do walking through doorways. The top of my head had the lumps to prove that. But back to the point. Nara, which is known for its bowing deer was on my list to see while I'm still in Osaka, and it was a worthwhile way to spend an afternoon. At its height the temperature was 36C, and Nara was a scorcher.  Filled with tourists, the deer are definitely well fed. Once they have had their fill of crackers, much like weary tourists like myself, is was time to retreat to the shade. Between...

Aside from a brief trip out to the the supermarket today to inspect possible food options for the trail, I spent most of my day locked away in my room furiously researching what my new plans might look like. After a long day of Google searches, pdf reading, and mangled translations my brain was frazzled.  I put my phone on my pocket and decided to head out to find a snack. And as it turns out I did not have to go far at all. Leaving my room I headed downstairs to the common area to say hello to my host Takanori, as I had not seen him at all today.  As soon as I rounded the corner he greeted me warmly from the table where he was eating dinner. As I approached down the hallway I could see there was a woman sitting with him and they were eating a home cooked meal. I was invited to sit and eat with them, and I was shocked and thrilled at the generous offer. Before I knew it Takanori had jumped up and  retrieved chopsticks and a dish, which was promptly filled by Takanor...

After braving the trains from Kansai airport, it was a short walk to my hostel (wonderfully named the "Banana Hammock") for the first night. I arrived just after the sun had set, and was the last to check in for the night. I sat with the owner in the front room and we went through the check in process while we chatted.  He asked if I was only in Japan for one night, as I was checking out in the morning. I explained that I was here for 3 months, and that I was hiking to Tokyo. The look on his face morphed rapidly from confusion to disbelief to astonishment in rapid succession. "That will be 600km, and you are going to... walk??" "Well, actually my route is about 1000km, but what better way to see Japan, right?" I replied. His hand shot out and shook mine, a gesture I was not expecting in Japan. I am really begining to understand that what seems like an exciting (if not daunting) adventure to me borders on lunacy to most people I discuss it with....