Still in Tokyo

A few days relaxing and sightseeing was all we'd planned on, since we didn't want to out-stay our welcome.

We extended our stay by a day since we needed to get our boots repaired - mine was split at the toes, Hozumi's zip needed replacing.

We then extended it another day when we arrived back from central Tokyo too tired to make the planned 4am departure.

After a full day lounging around and sleeping, we were loading up our bikes when we realised Hozumi's wouldn't start...

Sendai to Tokyo

Ito-san's family. An amazing experience! The old couple are in their eighties, overwhelmingly hospitable, and liable to talk the ears off anyone who'll listen for as long as they're present.

We'd barely got past introductions before we'd heard about their research on and conservation activities regarding fireflies.

Hokkaido to Okinawa, the Tohoku leg.

No pictures yet, most internet cafes don't like foreign memory cards with all their mystery data, so I'll make do with as many links as I can.

We boarded the ferry in Hakodate on 8/6 and arrived in Oma shortly after. The winding coastal road, much improved since my last visit, took us past Hotokegaura, pictured right. We arrived at the campsite pretty late, and the campsite manager was overjoyed that I'd kept my promise, made over a year ago, to return with my girlfriend on our trip round Japan. Lovely bloke.

The blog lurches back to life

I abandoned the blog and switched over to Facebook entirely about 2 years ago without writing a farewell post because they are dull as dishwater and as much fun for the reader to swallow. Recently a few kind people expressed an interest in reading about our planned trip from the North of Japan to the South, and reminded me that this blog existed. Re-reading it I realised that it is actually an excellent record of what I experienced, who I was and what I thought at the time of writing. Even if no-one else reads it, it holds a lot of value for me and that value will only increase with time. Looking back at Facebook all I have is a barrage of disparate info from hundreds of people. Facebook can still be useful, but it's no replacement for a blog.

So I dodged the farewell post, but ended up writing this one. Nevermind eh? The next few will be more interesting.