walkabout-japan

Day 39
Two worlds: a long one and a wide one
GPS: N 34 °, 12.904 ' E 135 °, 34.341 '
Altitude: 885 m
Place: Koya under the Daimon Temple
Etmal: 31 km
Total: 867 km
On my way across Japan, nowhere else than on the mountain Koya I have so much realized that there are two worlds in Japan. At night your can hear the gongs of the temples, the rhythmical rattling of the song wood and the chanted litanies
as well as the belling of the souped-up car engines and
drilled bike exhausts having endless races on the mountain roads. The fine smell of joss sticks is mixed up with the
stench of the diesel offgas of countless buses transporting pilgrims to check off their program in three minutes (as if you could really bluff HIM!?). The way dowhill in another world
leads through a wonderful, lonesome valley - and is very long. I've nothing to drink and nothing to eat. After 6 km there's a sign: 19 km to Hashimoto (the other world). After 19 km in
the middle of the forest one more sign: 6 km to Hashimoto.
I'm not really ready for little mathematical plays with a
growling stomach and my tongue hanging out, let's go on. However, as already mentioned, two worlds and normally,
as everybody knows, every day has 24 hours, but sometimes the world is wider…As I haven't had any more frost on nearly 1,000 m height, I give away 7 kg of winter equipment and
send it back into the dreamland of most people.
If they knew...!


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