On my todays walk I climbed up to Yurin Park which is situated on a small hill in Shimoda. The park is characterized by many cherry tries and one can imagine that at cherry blossom time it will be very beautiful here and an attraction for the local people. But currently there are no good reasons to walk up. So spiders have lot of time to build huge webs. Every two meters there was a big web which was impossible to bypass. In the center was sitting the spider observing what was ongoing. I had no other chance than walking through those webs, with the result that thick and very adhesive threads were sticking around my face, body and arms. It was disgusting. I am not afraid of spiders, but I know that many people suffer under arachnophobia. For those people the situation would have been unbearable.
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| Spiders all over the place |
I could not make a meaningful photo of the spider webs, but that is how the cherry tree park looked like.
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| Cherry tree park with many many spider nets |
Today there was no temple on my travel/walking route. I took the train from Kubokawa to Tosa Irino, walked down the Irino Pine Coast, and further down the coast with many sandy beaches until the Shimanto River and up the steam into Shimanto Town where I stay at the „New Royal Hotel“. The price for one night is the same as what I had to pay for yesterdays ryokan. The difference is that I got a dinner at the ryokan, but had no own bathroom and toilet there. Also a bed is better for my back than a futon mattress. However some ryokans are good spots for communicating with different people at a joint dinner. Business Hotels will always be anonymous.
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| New Royal Hotel in Shimanto Town |
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| A typical bathroom of a Japanese business hotel |
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| View from hotel room |
In the evening I am usually very tired from being on the road for 7-9 hours and the walking. I am thinking not a lot any longer and look forward to a bath/shower, to eat something, drink a draft beer and sleep early.
I had many impressions today, but I can not address them all in this post.
But perhaps still this one. It is no news, that the oceans are garbage pools and clean beaches are an illusion. Polluted beaches I had seen all over Asia already 15 years ago.
At one beach, surfers had cleaned it up (at least the big pieces, tiny particles will always remain).
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| Cleaned up surfer beach |
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Accumulated trash washed in by the sea
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| This beach is still polluted |
However a nice view in the afternoon sun on Shimanto River still made my day. It is said to be the most beautiful stream of Japan. I will see the river again tomorrow in the morning light.
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| Shimanto River |
Todays walking distance: 23 km (total: 404 km), altitude 200 m, weather: 24 degrees Celsius, a mix of sun and clouds.
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