Day 9: Ena to Hosokute

Day 9: Ena to Hosokute

QOTD:  How far did we walk? No need to round up!

Hiking Haiku

Granite blocks laid flush

Guide us to glorious views

A labor of love 

Weather: mid to high 60s, feels warmer as we get further into the walk

Pics:  Room at the Route Inn Hotel, on the Nakasendo (note headless Jizo in trailside shrine and your faithful correspondent and partner with packs on...the second couple walking away is the only pair of Japanese hikers seen in 7 days), murals in Hosokute, inn, our shoes for the entire hike, dinner

Dept of clarification: The wash yesterday cost $5, $3 for the washer an $2 for the dryer. The mattresses at the Route Inn were harder than sleeping on the floor (for those you on the India trip….remember the place we stayed at during the holiday? As hard as those beds).

Sports fans, this is the big one! THB and DB manage 14 miles today, an all time high, a new record, a first, and all in under 8 hours. Who knew?

Breakfast buffet where THB specializes in rolls, a sausage with scrambled eggs, and some yogurt topped with canned fruit (with those cherry red grapes). Send our bags ahead again and carry just our essentials for the next two days; THB has decided that since internet is not available tonight, the netbook is going to meet us in Kyoto.

Pick up lunch of sushi and rice balls, $10, and off we go around 8:45, an early start requested by THB.  And go…and go…and go. Among the sights and smells and sounds: a golf course, pig farm, chicken farm, and a race track. This is the only day on the trip we see more than two other hikers: one Japanese couple (see pic) and a group of 7 or 8 gringos going the other way. 

At the afternoon break, Fusao checks on our bag being sent from Park Hotel in Tokyo to the Hyatt Regency in Kyoto. The bag has not arrived, mostly because it got sent to the Hyatt Regency in Tokyo. The Park Hotel assures Fusao that the problem will be fixed. 

More walking, and then along a road through small towns, some more walking, and in another post town some youngsters with a pet praying mantis. More walking along the trail, then more walking along the road, and around 3:45 we arrive at our ryokan for the night, greeted with tea and cake. There are 4 Japanese guys rotating through the bath, and after they’re done DB and THB take turns. Ahhhhhhhhhh….

Dinner is excellent, the proprietress is known for her cooking. Grandma is known for how loud she plays the TV in the front room (the “walls” in the inns are made of paper).

What’s the difference between a ryokan and minshuku? Damned if THB knows, except they seem to have made up the room (moved the low table and laid out the futons). There’s only one bathroom (it’s downstairs, not that great for those that need to go in the middle of the night). The mysterious east?