Day 14 of the Journey

Friday, December 8
12 km (7.5 mi) walked, 171 km (106 mi) in total
143 km (89 mi) traveled, 801 km (498 mi) in total        

I woke up around 7am to be ready for breakfast (again, just miso soup and rice, but I accompanied it with the coffee and sweets I was gifted the night before). I also went to the bath again. I had pierced the blisters my pinkie toes had become, as well as a smaller one I had on the sole of my left foot. Still, the pain lingered. I had some gauze and bigger bandaids that I had bought in the pharmacy after visiting the clinic, and I used them to wrap it around my toes. I put them on my shoes and open the wooden door. A guest, still wearing their yukata pajamas, waved me goodbye as I exited the ryokan.?

Ten kilometers (6 mi) by a road and then the river bank separated me from the town of Naruko and the ancient Barrier of Shitomae, where Basho had tried to cross to get to the region of Dewa. After reaching the town center of Naruko, I went down a hill. The chimneys of some houses emitted white smoke, the same color of the snow covered mountains of the deep North. The air was fresh. I saw three small goats jumping around a shed. It was then that I realized I had stepped on their shit.?

A tiny wooden shed and a kuhi, or stone monument with a haiku, welcomed me to the Barrier that was no more. Basho had spent three nights sleeping in the filthy shed of the guard because bad weather did not allow the path to be crossed.

蚤虱 Nomi shirami?

馬の尿する Uma no shito suru

枕もと Makura moto

Smeared, fleas and lice,

By the side of my pillow

Urinates the horse

After cleaning my shoes against a tuft of grass, I slowly retraced my steps to Naruko station. My feet were very sore, and every step reminded me of my blisters. I had to take a train down south. I decided to skip one stage of the journey and saw Obanazawa in the distance, where Basho had visited a rich merchant friend of his. I went directly to the mountain temple of Risshakuji, in Yamadera town, where Basho had written the most beautiful haiku in his Narrow Road to the Interior.

But, before, I found some delicious soft serve.

One thousand and fifteen stone steps, or 700 meters (half a mile) of an upward trail separated me from the top of the mountain, covered in green and hazel. Very high trees drew lines in the sky. Sekichu, or stone pillars, made the atmosphere serene and imperturbable. It was the very definition of silence.

閑さや Shizukasa ya

岩にしみ入 Iwa ni shimi iru

蝉の声 Semi no koe

Oh, hear the silence

Penetrating in the stone

Voice of cicadas

Do you have any thoughts or questions about my trip, or are you thinking of coming to Japan? I'd love to hear about it!

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