Up and at em, I say.
 Day 9 and I have nursed up my feet, my knee swelling is down, and everything is dry.
30Km today and I am going to give it a royal try. As I walked out of town and started looking for my first route marker, I was enjoying the sun at last, even though it was about 7am and the humidity was in the 90s.

I headed for Kongochoji Temple  

which was 3.6 Km from where I was, and at the same time, was looking out for a shop that sold food.When i reached Temple Kongochoji, I got my Pass book signed with the temples stamps and sanskrit prayer, thank goodness I had not lost that too.

I have not said much about the temples, as they are all very much the same. Certainly not ornate and decorated  with gold leaf like the temples of Burma, India or Thailand, but they have their own charisma. Apart from some being one top of mountains with great views, they were not impressive. Maybe i missed the point of being at the temples, and i know each one has a story of its own, but for me, the magic has always been the space between the destinations, the walk itself.

gifts to the god at the temple gate

on my way to Temple 27, i started to limp so i knew I wasnt in great shape, then when I arrived at the town where this temple was ,I had to ask for the location as my guide book was goneas you know. It had been left behind at a rest stop, or fallen out of my pocket, either way I was in deep doo doo without it.
This was the real wake up for me. The man i asked directions from said I had "9 more kilometers along this road", that  couldnt be as I know my pace is 5 km an hour with my pack on, i had walked for 6 hours which makes 30km, but now I am being told I have 9 km to go. This is when i realized my pace was slowing, and the pain worsening. My nutrition was way down and I was not enjoying this hike.

typical of the coastal walk

I knew there was going to be a fair share of asphalt on this hike, but studying the map now, and comparing what I had already accomplished, I realized that I was close to the 200 mile mark, and had about 500 miles to go, of which about 90 percent would be asphalt.
 This is a great country, and Im sure this walk would mean more to someone who was a pure Buddhist , or someone seeking wisdom through ascetic training, but as a pure hike, this sucks. For a Thru Hiker, this is absolutely the wrong choice, but thats my opinion., and its based on my experience alone.


At the temple gate, I decided to take a bus to the next town, I just couldnt walk any further. I climbed off the bus and walked to temple 28. I said a prayer, and just sat for awhile. It was late and there was no one else around. I was carrying a Citrene stone for someone special, and she had asked I leave it somewhere on my journey that I though would be the right place for it, and that it would have

meaning. I took out the stone and left it with the monks, then as the sun went down, i slowly walked to find a room.
We all come to do these walks and adventures for the fun, the challenge, and in the hopes of gaining some wisdom along the way. I am not sure if i learned anything, but Im sure i did, I certainly didnt enjoy it, but maybe that in itself gave me some wisdom that i had yet to learn or recognize.
One thing I had realized, I came to Japan, but I was not seeing, or experiencing Japan, and that was a shame.
I found a room and took a sorry look at myself in the mirror, In all honesty, I looked like a body that was starving
I know the exact weight of my bag, so I used it to judge the accuracy of a bathroom scale, then i weighed myself. I have lost 12 lbs in 9 days walking.
When a body short of nutrition goes looking for fuel, it doesnt look in the fat, thats where we store out oxidants and poisons, it goes to the muscles and eats them up first, so no wonder i looked so gaunt. Its also why i had no energy, and my injuries were not healing.
I felt like I was in a bit of a personal crisis, I wanted to go on, but I felt my health was at stake.
I didnt want to fail, but really, to fail is really in not trying this in the first place..  I went to bed not feeling good about this walk, and knew that tomorrow i had to make a decision, but could I be bigger than my ego?, and make the right decision for me.
A famous baseball player known for his quotes, Yogi Berra, once said "when you get to a fork in the road, take it". I guess I have to make a decision.
Its ridiculous to think that to continue would be good for me, Im starving, Im hurting, Im not having fun, Im lonely, as I have not spoken to or seen anyone other than the  Japanese in awhile, and I know the permanent damage long hikes on asphalt can do to ones knees. I really would like to be able to do more hikes and adventures in the future, so am I setting myself up to hurt myself to the point i have replaced knees and hips like so many of my friends. Uhhg ,I am really struggling internally tonight.
Turning left or right in my racing career, was never a choice, you just went where the track took you, you picked your brake point, found the apex and carried you speed, turning left or right tomorrow is going to be  a choice, left was temple #29, and right was to the airport.
If I went on, I could make it, even though at this stage I was walking with both boots unlaced due to the pressure and wear on my feet, but I kept thinking about something Sadhguru said. Sadhguru is one of the top 50 most influential people in India, and consults to the United Nations. I once heard him say " When a human finally realizes that he is mortal, then a reasonable human would also realize that he has no time to waste on petty arguments, people who dont add to your life, or for doing things one does not enjoy", today I refer to that as "heartbeats",,, how many do I have left.
Maybe i did learn on this journey.
My ego is somewhat bruise but Ill get over that, and Ill move on to do other adventures with the same limbs I started this one with, but tonight Ill sleep