This week saw us visit Japan’s iconic Himeji Castle, a reminder of its complex history of feudal lords and samurai, and Hiroshima, the site of the first atomic bomb ever unleashed on a civilian population. Two fascinating places as part of our journey through Japan.

👟 Weekly Summary

Monday - Day 58 - Kobe to Himeji (57.45 km)

We were up early after a rather disrupted night of sleep in our hotel. The bed was a rather small double bed, with one side against the wall, it was definitely not quite the right size for two of us when I’ve got a dodgy hip.

Still, we were ready to leave by just after 8, and set off slowly towards the Tetsujin 28 Statue, Kobe. The statue is 18 metres high, but it looks much larger when you're up close.

From there, we carried on along main roads all day. We had moments in a park and along the sea, but we never really left an urban environment all day. The traffic lights made the day slower; my hip made it slower still. There was a point mid-morning, about 20 kilometres in, where I was really struggling, but my hip seemed to unlock itself a little through the afternoon. I'm sure I'll pay for it tomorrow morning, though.

We were heading towards Himeji, and I had hoped we might glimpse the castle before we arrived, but with tall buildings around, we didn't manage to see even a glimpse until the last 500 m of our day. Somehow, even with the grumpy hip, we managed to arrive at our hotel just after 5. A job well done today. Tomorrow we'll rest and see Himeji Castle.

Tuesday - Day 59 - Himeji (Rest Day)

We got up to see Himeji Castle, which was already quite busy as soon as it opened at 9. It's such a fantastic castle. I last visited it a decade ago, and it had recently been renovated, so it was sparkly fresh at that time. 10 years on, and there were already repairs going on to some of the outer buildings. Last time I was here, there were plenty of volunteers giving tour guides, but we weren't so lucky today.

It was cold and windy as we made our way through the keep and then the castle grounds. The brochure said the route would take about 1.5 hours to complete, but we spent three hours wandering around admiring the castle and its grounds.

After that, we went to a bakery that also served burgers. It's another of those places I went a decade ago and still remember. The burgers were decent, but the baked goods were the highlight. We've had so many convenience store bakery items, which are decent enough, but nowhere near as nice as something freshly baked.

Our final stop for the afternoon was to visit Koko-en garden. It's a wonderful Japanese garden located right next to Himeji Castle. I remembered it as being a peaceful little garden to relax after the crowds of Himeji castle, but now it was filled with tour groups being herded in after seeing the castle. Looking back at photos from a decade ago, it seems I had the place to myself, and that was part of the attraction to the garden.

Wednesday - Day 60 - Himeji to Bizen (66.35 km)

We said goodbye to Himeji Castle around 8.30 on a brisk morning. Actually, it was a bloody cold morning, and it was promising to be a cold day and eventually a cold night. The morning soon warmed up as the sun broke through the clouds (although the cold would return by evening).

We made it out into small villages and the countryside for the first time in what feels like two weeks. It wasn't quite the mountains of before, but small hills covered in autumn colours were a relief from the hectic city traffic of the past week.

As we headed out of a village, and while we were taking photos, a Japanese runner appeared and waved and smiled as he passed. He looked like he was going a long way, so I took up chase and slotted in about 10 metres behind him. For the next half hour or so, I followed along, watching his feet and letting him drag me along. He was faster than I was, and that helped me keep a better pace than I would have alone. I knew I'd be tired later, but it was good to make up some time and hopefully get to camp earlier. And even if we weren't really running together, it was good to run with another runner.

We had a choice between a fast, straight road with tunnels or adding a little distance and meandering through a small town. We took the latter option and were rewarded by a quiet Buddhist temple wrapped in autumn leaves. Yellow leaves had been raked into a few areas to clear most of the paths, and so everything looked tidy, but it was beautiful seeing the temple and statues against the backdrop of yellow leaves.

We carried on into the late afternoon, feeling the temperature start to drop as we moved towards the setting sun. We stopped six kilometres before the end for our convenience store dinner at dusk.

It felt hard heading out of the convenience store into the cold and dark, but once we warmed up and were heading up the hill, everything felt good again. We saw the small town lit up beneath us, and it felt a little bit special to be seeing these little aspects of Japan that most people never see.

We made it to a nice campsite by 7pm and settled in for a cold night.

Thursday - Day 61 - Bizen to Kurashiki (52.61 km)

After a cold night, we had breakfast and broke camp before 8. We headed down the valley into farmlands and villages, and while it was cold, it was a beautiful morning.

At times, we were on busy roads with no pavement, which led to me shouting at Joy to be careful at one point, as lorries tried to make their way past her while she stopped to take photos. That's the most stressful the day got. My hip was hurting, but these days, there's always something hurting.

We meandered along, chatting, enjoying the good weather and having a good time. This was the sort of uneventful, pleasant day we needed. One of the highlights was seeing three turtles in the stream alongside the road as we passed the final town towards our accommodation. We saw a few more, and so spent much of the last few kilometres keeping an eye out for fish and turtles.

We made it to our apartment for the night in daylight, which hasn't happened terribly often on this trip. For the first time in ages, it felt like we finally had the opportunity on a big running day to get enough rest and work done.

Friday - Day 62 - Kurashiki to Mihara (69.77 km)

We set off from our rather lovely apartment and headed out into the cold. Our day took us through small towns for the most part. It was filled with quiet streets lined with old buildings, bridges crossing rivers leading to the sea just beyond. But we also had plenty of time along Route 2, so wide pavements, but kept company by the constant sounds of cars and lorries.

It felt like a slow day, I was sure of it. It seemed like our destination was so far away, and attempting a day over 65 km, it was a long way away, but it didn't seem like I was making good progress. It wasn't really until I hit the 50 km mark and realised that we had covered nearly as far as the previous day in an hour less, that it felt like we were doing okay.

We weren't going to make it to camp in the light, but for a while it looked like we'd make it between 6 and 6.30. That plan went out the window at our final convenience store of the evening. We bumped into two Italian guys who were cycling the length of Japan. They'd started around the same time as us, so were also taking it fairly leisurely, and seemed to be very much enjoying the journey.

We must have spent an hour chatting to them, which meant by the time we got to our last large hill of the day, it was very dark and beginning to cool down. Pushing the bike up a steep hill warmed us up, though, and we camped out in a small park underneath a clear, starry sky, and overlooking the lights of a small seaside town.

Saturday - Day 63 - Mihara to Senogawa (57.45 km)

Getting up to pee just before dawn was a stroke of luck. The views were beautiful, and in a few moments, the sun would be up. I called Joy out of the tent to come watch (the sunrise, not the peeing). It was the first sunrise we've properly seen on this journey, and to watch it with a backdrop of the sea and the islands of Setonaikai National Park was particularly special.

The morning continued to be beautiful. We didn't know what to expect from this region, but as we made our way around the small hills of Chūgoku, we found ourselves pleasantly surprised. The only problem throughout the morning was the amount of pain my knee and my shoulder were in. I think pushing the bike up steep hills aggravates any issues I have, and today was particularly sore.

The physical pain was replaced by emotional turmoil for the afternoon. Joy and I had an argument about nothing in particular, almost certainly compounded by both of us being tired and sore. Usually, we've had disagreements and patched things up quickly, but today was horrible. We ignored each other up a long hill, and through some beautiful countryside and right into the cold dark evening. It wasn't until we'd made our way past busy roads and out into the wilds that we began the process of getting back to normal.

We were all patched up by the time we went to sleep, but it was perhaps our worst experience of the journey so far.

Sunday - Day 64 - Senogawa to Hiroshima (23.32 km)

We left our camp early, and while it didn't feel too cold while we packed up, it felt bloody freezing as we headed downhill. Both Joy and I had cold hands, although Joy had the benefit of using my gloves (she had lost one of hers).

My hip was exceptionally sore for the first few kilometres, and we stopped overly long for breakfast in Lawson, meaning we barely completed 4 kilometres in the first 75 minutes. I did, however, manage to speed up after that, and we just kept ticking by completing our half-marathon into town by 11.30.

We stopped for udon for lunch, before heading to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and Atomic Bomb Dome. I've been there before, but I find it such an emotional place, I don't understand how there isn't more tears as people explore the museum.

Today was a Japanese national holiday, so the museum was packed, which distracted a little from the experience. At times, it was hard to really appreciate the place with all the crowds. But even with all that, I'm glad we stepped away from the run for a moment to reflect on what happened here, and what really matters in life.

☀️ Photo from the Road

🚀 Next Up

This week we should finish Honshu, the main island of Japan, and will be making our way south through Kyushu and the final leg of our journey.

🏁 Finish Line

As always, here are the donation links for the charities we’re supporting - Animal Refuge Kansai and Mirai No Mori - and thank you for reading and for all your support.

Take it easy,

Phill