Tomorrow sees the start of my first real hike around the country. Sad, I know, but in the two and bit years I’ve been here this will be the first time I’ve actually set out with backpack, Lonely Planet and train pass in hand. Sure, I’ve done Kansai to death; explored the back alleys of Kyoto, the slums of Osaka and the mountains around Nara multiple times. I’ve sat in onsens, explored remote temples, eaten crab in the rain, thrown myself off mountains and passed out on beaches. I deserve a passport stamp for Kansai. However, ouside of Kansai my Japanese travel has been limited at best. I haven’t even made it back to Tokyo since landing there in 2003. Slack, slack, slack.

That’s all going to change with the whirlwind tour of destruction™ (2005 edition) set to take off early tomorrow morning. We’re loading up backpacks and heading for Hiroshima. From there we’ll spend one day doing Miyajima and another chilling (and presumably being chilled at the a-bomb museum) before heading back towards home with a quick stop at Kurashiki on the way. Directly northwards to Kyoto. Weekend in the big K: temples, pubs, clubs and an off-chance of wild boar on a stick. Squeeze in a day trip to Nara along the way then the Shinkansen to Tokyo on Monday. Action packtioned.

As always, updates from the road pending.

Posted in Japan on Tuesday August 23, 2005.

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