Blogs from Kochi, Kochi, Japan, Asia

2023_Blog 17_Japan April 6 Port of Call: Kochi, Japan – Weather: Showers - 63°F/17°C – Wind 6.9 mph. Great! rain again – seems to be the theme the last few days. Japan is currently sitting under several conflicting low-pressure systems. Today we set off to Kochi Castle one of only 12 original castles remaining in Japan. If the structures were not destroyed in the many civil wars they accidentally burned or were destroyed in natural disasters only to be demolished by the Government. During the Westernization of Japan, the Government of the time thought that they should cut their ties with their historical past. Usual thinking all round! Like most castles the central tower was set high on a hill requiring guests to climb countless steps just to reach it. The Castle Tower itself is an ... read more

Day 6 Hiwasa to Muroto 79km and a few steep climbs. At the dinner last night we had a talk by Kenichi on the Buddhist Kaiku who started the Shikoku Pilgrimage and at the end I was presented with a white Pilgrim smock with ’Thank you Kaiku’ written on the back, in Japanese). What a nice gesture, and I am instructed to wear this all day on my bike. The rain had continued to lash down all night, beating against our widow overlookingi the ocean, which had a gap where it fitted the frame badly and continued to rattle forever. To make matters worse we had the fire alarm go off at quarter to one in the morning. We put on our Yukatas and went into the corridor only for it to stop, so off we ... read more

I'd almost forgotten what live music was like - I can't even remember the last gig I went to! I can only think of Download Festival 2007(!), which is just WAY too long for any decent human being to go without live music.... So one of my students came up to me after a class and gave me a piece of A5 paper folded up into a little square (more like an oblong) and told me to go. All I could see was a load of kanji and some numbers, which meant sweet FA to me at the time. I gave her a wtf kinda look and she opened it up for me and lo and behold - there was Mongol800 staring back at me!!! She remembered that I'd said that I liked them in my ... read more

its 12 days and 234km since my last blog. sounds like a long way but in fact i continued to battle with my feet and was thus slower than i hoped. but the good news is that my blisters and i have finally come to an understanding; i smother them with antiseptic several times a day and they only give me bother after six or seven hours on the road. you find me in kochi. im having a day off to appreciate its original castle, kochi jo, and to stock up on plasters and other goodies like sellotape to mend my collapsing map book, and a vest and shorts for these long coastal stretches. not being a henro for the day is quite refreshing. i think its the first time ive actually stopped, reflected and felt ... read more