A quick newsletter this week, from the comfort of a Zen monk’s home. We’ve had a busy few days, but we’re slowly getting on top of most things, and tomorrow is a rest day.

👟 Weekly Summary

Monday - Sendai to Shiroishi (49.89 km)

We left our hotel at 10.00, and then somehow managed to whittle away a whole hour over a convenience store breakfast. The first part of the journey was a little tedious, going through the city and its outskirts. It was mid-afternoon by the time we got to the countryside and more enjoyable places to run.

Joy was a little cold this evening, it was the first time she'd needed her puffy jacket while cycling, so we've definitely passed the end of summer. We didn’t make it to camp until after dark, but while I'd like to get to camp earlier sometimes, I really enjoyed the late afternoon and early evening running to the park today.

Tuesday - Shiroishi to Fukushima (36.88 km)

We started the day along some small, single-lane, country roads that wound up and down through the hills. I really enjoyed the change of scenery and pace from the last few days, and it was one of the best sections we've had in a while now.

Eventually, we ended up on a main road, following route number 4 most of the way to our hotel. It was easy enough, and there was a pavement to follow, so the miles ticked by easily in the good weather. A little sun, a little breeze, a little cloud cover, staying under twenty degrees, perfect conditions for running, really.

We made it to our hotel by mid-afternoon, which gave us time to go out for some food, which was delivered to our table by a robot, which was fun. Only 36 km done today, but that was enough.

Wednesday - Fukushima to Koriyama (58.05 km)

We headed out of town and almost immediately uphill, and we would spend most of the day going up. I quite enjoyed climbing up and away from the city, and the Brompton is easy to push. 100 metres ascent over three kilometres done, and soon enough, we found ourselves back to more gentle up and downs.

Today was the first cold day, single-digit cold, and Joy felt it in particular on the bike. I was warm when running, and only felt it when starting out after any kind of break.

The day passed by gently, and we had a lovely moment just after sunset. We'd climbed another little hill, and we could see the post-sunset glow against the mountains behind us. We stopped and soaked in the view and that feeling before heading down into town and the dark.

Thursday - Koriyama to Shirakawa (49.01 km)

We set off late after breakfast and headed straight for the Eiji Tsuburaya Museum, where we got to learn about the maker of Godzilla and Ultraman. The museum itself was small, and we got to explore most of it within half an hour. Out on the street, there was a kilometre of Ultraman statues on display. We took photos of each of these before heading back off onto the run.

It was a bright, sunny day, and we even enjoyed our first detour. We'd been making our way down a road only to find it blocked off. Thanks to some small backroads and a bit of luck, we only had a short hop over a hill added to our journey. We also had a wonderful view across the fields and the late afternoon sun to make up for the detour. So I think we definitely won that one. We've now completed Tohoku; time for Kanto next.

Friday - Shirakawa to Nakagawa (41.92 km)

We first woke up at around 5.30 am, as the bed moved beneath us, only to realise that the room was moving and that there was actually a little earthquake. It didn't last long, and I was tired, so I just went straight back to sleep.

Our morning run actually started around 10.30, through quiet country roads, first through a small forest, then through rice fields. There was hardly a car to be heard, and this was perhaps our favourite section of Honshu, or at least for this week. We gently made our way around, enjoying the morning and the sights, coming across a large reservoir and small villages along the way.

We stopped for lunch at a 7-Eleven, halfway through the day. The next couple of hours ticked by, this time along a slightly bigger road. The sun started to settle behind some clouds. What had been a hot run in the morning was suddenly much cooler, which helped me keep the pace up and allowed us to reach camp shortly after 5.30.

Saturday - Nakagawa to Niihari (60.64 km)

Neither of us was in a rush to get started this morning, but we were still packed before eight. Joy had learnt an important camping lesson, as she had accidentally left her shoe half-out of the tent door, meaning she started out the day with a wet shoe.

The rain never got too bad, and at some points the rain paused and the clouds lightened slightly, but overall it was one of those days. Dreary isn't the right word, because we were still able to enjoy the countryside as we moved through it, and I still enjoyed being out on the run, but if I were in the UK, sitting at a desk working, it would definitely have felt like a dreary autumn day. One of those days when someone would comment that it was getting dark early.

We finally arrived at the campsite at 6.30pm, and during another break in the weather, allowing us to put the tent up in the dry. We then had time for food and a shower before the heavens opened and we headed to sleep to the sound of raindrops on the roof of the tent.

Sunday - Niihari to Tsukuba - 33.17 km

Today we had a horrible start. We set off grumpy and in the rain. We took a small detour to the nearest convenience store. I was struggling to find anything I fancied eating, so I opted for more liquid calories. That was a bit of a mistake, as I found myself throwing up a little bit only a few kilometres later.

I felt awful for most of the day. Joy had said the day before that I needed a rest day. I felt I was fine, but it was clear today she was right. I started off just slow, then I was sick, then just slow again, before finally limiting my pace due to intermittent knee pain.

After our second convenience store detour of the day, I managed to pick the pace up a little. And running felt a bit smoother. We were meant to make it to our place to stay by 2pm, and the motivation to make it there on time helped push me forward a little.

We couldn't actually have timed it better if we tried. We arrived bang on 2pm to meet our host for the next couple of days. We've been welcomed into Jundo and his family's home, and managed to get a hot bath, a tour of a map museum, and a spot of Zazen before dinner. After dinner, we headed out with Mina, Jundo's wife, to try Aikido for the first time, which was great fun.

☀️ Photo from the Road

📺 In Case You Missed It…

We’ve started properly catching up with our reels/shorts on Instagram and YouTube. You can watch all the ones we’ve published on this playlist.

🚀 Next Up

A rest day tomorrow, although our host has plenty lined up for us to do, before we head into Tokyo for some bike parts. After that, well, we need to plan where we are heading over the next couple of weeks.

🏁 Finish Line

That’s all for now.

Thank you for reading and for all your support.

Take it easy,

Phill