Craig McLachlan [McLachlan - Four Pairs of Boots: A 3,200 Kilometre Hike the Length of Japan

CRAIG McLACHLAN

FOUR PAIRS OF BOOTS

Copyright 2013 by Craig McLachlan

Published by

Paradise Promotions Ltd

PO Box 574

Queenstown

New Zealand

All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 1-4922-0785-3

ISBN-13: 9781492207856

Photographs by Craig McLachlan

craigmclachlan.com

For my lovely wife, Yuriko,
and our boys, Riki and Ben.

This book is about my search for the Real Japan, wherever that may be.

I was inspired by the feats and writings of an Englishman, Alan Booth, who walked the length of Japan in 1977. I treated Mr Booths book, The Roads to Sata like a bible in preparing for my trek. I am only sorry that I did not have the opportunity to meet him before his death.

In 1977, when Alan Booth walked the length of Japan from north to south, I was starting High School and my first Japanese language classes. One American dollar was worth 270 yen.

During my walk in 1993, from south to north, I turned 31, and the American dollar hit an all-time low of 101 yen. Without doubt, Japan is a country that has undergone tremendous economic change. But what of the people?

This book contains experiences I had in 99 days of walking the 3,200 kilometres from Cape Sata at the southern tip of Kyushu, to Cape Soya at the northern tip of Hokkaido. This is what happened to me. As much as possible, I have tried to stick to my experiences, and not generalize about the Japanese.

Television, I feel, tends to give us a biased picture of Japan. We see crowded trains, cramped housing, and industrial smog. 43% of Japans 125 million people live in the three main urban areas of Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, it is true. But it should also be noted that 70% of Japans land area is covered with forests and fields. I am often surprised by comments from Japanese who I am showing around New Zealands South Island, surely one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Its almost as beautiful as Japan! I am told.

All conversations in this book took place in Japanese, unless otherwise noted. There is a glossary of Japanese words used after the final chapter.

I would like to re-emphasize that these were my experiences. I encourage anyone interested to go out and have their own. Japan is a fascinating country!

The beer was cool and refreshing. While chewing on a grilled squid, I contemplated what lay ahead.

Being an ideas man, I often come up with somewhat crazy schemes that tend to get filed away into the do later part of my brain. For some reason I couldnt quite pinpoint, the idea of walking the length of Japan kept popping out of that file. I had discussed it so many times with friends that it was now a case of having to do it just to prove my credibility as a doer and not just a talker. If the truth be told, I would have been happy to finish my beer, wander out, and hop on a flight back to Osaka, back to the security and warmth of my waiting family.

Ready to go from Cape Sata

But there I was at Cape Sata, not quite the end of the world, but definitely the southernmost end of mainland Japan, contemplating the idea of 100 days of sore feet, blisters, and the unknown.

I was staring at the lighthouse on the small island off the end of the Cape, feeling a little lonely and insignificant, overawed by the magnitude of my plans.

That foreigner is going to walk to Hokkaido! I turned and saw the gold-toothed woman who had sold me the beer talking with a middle-aged couple. It was a Thursday afternoon in late May, and there were few tourists about.

Youre kidding! Walk! Ill bet hes going to hitch-hike!

Im going to walk, I said. Its 3,200 kilometres to Cape Soya, and Im going to walk every kilometre!

This stunned him. He speaks Japanese! he informed his wife, who had been listening, and who seemed to have figured this out for herself.

Where does he come from? the man asked the beer vendor, who I had had quite a chat with, and looked ready to spill the beans.

Im from New Zealand, I replied. The beer vendor looked upset. I had stolen her thunder. We continued a stilted conversation in this vein a kind of four-way conversation about me. The husband would ask the woman a question about me, which I would answer directly to him, and he would comment on, back to his wife. We finished up with a photo session, in which the vendor took photos of me with the couple, who came from Nagoya, in case he becomes famous! I couldnt wait to get out the door.

As I was leaving, he said it was marvellous I was going to walk the length of Japan, and would I like a ride to Kagoshima?

So at 2:30 pm, May 20th, 1993, I was jolted into action, with five hours of sunlight left, and hit the road. I strode aimfully up the path, through the lush tropical undergrowth, away from Cape Sata, latitude 31 degrees North, and headed for Hokkaido.

The first seven kilometres was on a toll road that I had specifically been told I was not allowed to walk. On my way to the Cape, I had had quite a battle convincing the bus driver that I only needed a one-way ticket, and I intended to walk back! He took a lot of convincing, but when I finally had him on my side, he helped me semi-convince the official at the Cape. Rules are not made to be broken in Japan, but I took it as an OK when he only glanced up from his comic as I walked by and out onto the sealed road.

The question of can I walk for 100 days? was still bothering me, when I discovered that I had already broken my sunglasses! A few expletives made me feel better, and then I was into it.

In a few kilometres I found a shortcut that took me off the toll road, and then, around a corner, the tiny fishing village of Odamari came into view. Nestled in a cove below green rugged mountains, its harbour was protected by a huge concrete breakwater, the sea sparkling in the bright sunshine. It didnt take me long to get there, and into the local shop for a drink.

I knew what was coming when I realised I had been spotted by a group of schoolchildren on their way home. Sure enough I was followed into the cool air-conditioned shop.

I could hear the whispers.

Do you think he can speak Japanese?

Look at his long legs!

Hes so tall!

What is your name? I asked one little girl who reacted with an excited squeal.

He can! He can! This signalled an onslaught, and I spent the next fifteen minutes explaining that no, I was not an American, measuring childrens height against my 188 cm body (I am considered a giant in Japan), and hoisting my 20 kilogram pack on and off tiny backs that sagged with the weight. Few foreigners visit such remote parts of Japan as this, but while the children gleefully showed their interest, the woman owner showed commendable restraint in treating me as a normal customer. Since I had no idea how far I would get on that first afternoon I thought it prudent to buy supplies.

The childrens interest perked me up considerably, and on leaving, I felt confident in what I was trying to achieve. Their encouraging banter made me feel that my personal search for the real Japan would be successful.