「二日目」Day 2

Oh hello! We already finished Day 2 of our Nakasendo journey.

Yesterday got real late as well so we didn’t start too early either.
Here is my experience of Day 2!
Start: 10:10 am
Weather: 26℃ and sunny, later cloudy

ハロー！二日目も終わりました。中仙道の今日の経験をシェアさせてね。
スタート10時、昼間は２６℃で暑かった。

After eating the Chinese leftovers for breakfast we started at Omiya, Saitama. I was not feeling too bad. My muscles basically weren’t much sore, just the rash like injury worried me.
After just a few steps I bumped into a fellow kimono friend. What a crazy coincidence. The next stop was a pharmacy to get myself something for my legs – after I nursed my legs and feet with a cream and a lot of plasters we went on.

Around 12:35 we had our first break after 6.5km with a quick drink and me putting my feet up to prevent worsening/swelling. Also the pharmacist recommended me to wear long socks to prevent sunburn from the cream, so I went with it.

朝ごはんは残りの中華料理で、大宮からスタート。朝起きたら以外と元気で筋肉痛などなくてびっくり。出発してからすぐ、とても偶然に友達会えたｗ　「えっ？アンジー？？」ってｗ

足は心配で次の薬局でクリームを買って、塗って本気で出発。
６．５ｋｍ後に最初の休憩。

Back on our journey from 13:05 we continued further on and on in the heat. Basically we followed the same street all day long, it was rather boring with just local houses and a few shops. And it was quite hot.. Sunscreen on arms and legs was a must, but to prevent a heat stroke I went with my vintage MTV cap (Hello Rike!) – my friend gave it to me haha.

Our late lunch break started 14:35 with some udon noodles. My feet were killing me already at that point. 15:15 pm we went back on the road.

一日中はずっと同じ通り歩いてて、ずっとまっすぐで何もないところでつまらなかったｗ
そして厚くて・・日焼け止めとキャップで助かりました。

遅めランチはうどん。この辺りの名物かな？

We passed a few more of those stations but I’m not motivated to look them up now as there were only 3 to 4 houses nicely preserved..

Me feet were just hurting so much below the sole and were so sweaty that we stopped for another quick break with watermelon at a Supermarket.
From there it went really downhill with my upper thigh muscles hurting so much.
Also after each break the body is so stiff and painful you can barely walk!! Even a traffic light is big trouble! Once you walk a few hundred meters the pain and stiffness basically fades and you can walk smoothly without hassle. (Apart from the two blisters I got on my first day and another one right under my sole, which hurts so much its not even real haha)

今日は足も筋肉も午後から結構痛くなってきて、ゆっくり歩いてたけど。やはり無理。
豆もすごく増えてきて、先は少し怖いｗ

Today we kept it quite slow with also more breaks and taking off shoes multiple times to dry sweaty feet, but my blister and thighs reached a point with had me hobbling and the next town wouldn’t have a Hotel, so we called it a day and checked in nearby.
Today we stay at a Love Hotel because its much cheaper and OMG this is the most fun thing. Jacuzzi bath with LED lights, free drinks, bed sheets in zebra optic and glittery tiles.

We only made 21 km walk which is terribble, tomorrow we need to really get better, but the blisters are increasing with every day. I am worried about tomorrow. Blister count is up to 5 now while one is in the worst location. I wonder if Vaseline really helps like the internet says.. Tomorrow I have to bandage my foot even more 🙁

Walked distance: 21 km
Omiya to beyond Konosu (Saitama Prefecture)

もうまた遅くなっちゃうから日本語を短めですみませんね。
２１キロだけ歩ききった。
大宮から鴻巣をすぎたところまで。ひー

Money spent:
Cream and bandage: 810
Drinks & Watermelon: 568
Lunch: 1110
Dinner & snack: 2100
Hotel: 6300

Thoughts about today:
-Good: Surprised how good I felt in the morning, great weather
-Bad: SO MUCH PAIN. My feet and muscles. And too less progress.

Lets hope for more success tomorrow!
明日頑張らなきゃ、豆はでもでかいから心配。

Anji