「一日目」Day 1
Because it got really late with some fun and work last night, we started a little later this morning. First by train to Nihonbashi in Tokyo – took a few pictures, stretched and started off.
Here is the diary of Nakasendo Day 1
Start: 11:55 am
Weather: Sunny with 26 ℃ high
昨日は遅くなりましたので、スタートはお昼になっちゃいました。
そして日本橋で11時55分に出発！天気は晴れ、26℃の最高気温。
We walked our first 7 km up to Sugamo and settled for Vietnamese lunch and our first rest at 13:25.
After taping my first rubbing point to prevent blisters, we got back on the road about an hour later.
7kmを歩いてから巣鴨にベトナムランチを！1時間後はまた中山道を続いて歩きました。
しばらく経ってから一番目の板橋宿についた！
「中山道六十九次（なかせんどう-ろくじゅうきゅうつぎ）は、日本の近世にあたる江戸時代に栄えた五街道の一つ中山道に設けられた、69を数える宿場の総称。」
Itabashi-shuku 板橋宿
The first of the 69 stations of the Nakasendo – a place where travellers in Edo time would rest or even stay overnight.
Further 9 km? North we left Tokyo behind us and crossed a big bridge towards Saitama prefecture.
In Edo time, people had to cross here via small boats on their journey.
また9kmくらい歩いてから戸田橋に超えて、東京をバイバイ、埼玉県に入りました。
江戸時代に橋はなかったため、船で渡るしかなかったです。
On the other side we stopped for another rest time about 16:45? and had some ice cream and soft drinks.
The expensive blister plaster don’t even stick at all.. Even after cleaning and heating up the area as instructed. That’s frustrating.
少し疲れてきたので、ロイヤルホストでアイスクリームとドリンクバーを頼んで、豆になりそうなところにバンドエイド。全然付かない、高かったのに。
そして足に問題が始まりそうでタイツから弛めのジャージに着替えてみた。
Changed my jogging tights to Adidas sport jerseys because I see first signs of exercise-induced vasculitis – some kind of rash I sometimes get above the sock line.
18:25 we continue. Wait!! Did we waste so much time? It felt like 30 minutes 🙁
We hit station 2: Warabi-shuku 蕨宿
So much beautiful old houses in this hidden street. It’s a shame the sun was going down already.
蕨宿に到着。まあ、綺麗なところで感動した。もう暗くなってきたので残念ですけどね。
Afterwards we just walked. Fast. Without stopping, through the darkness. We want to get further and pass through Urawa-shuku 浦和宿, station 3 and decided that we try to get to Omiya, the 4th station.
One kilometre past Urawa, I started feeling more and more tired, my feets sole starts to hurt, the backpack feels heavier and I’m worried about my knees.. But we kept going because these areas have no hotels anyway and we want to make our goal after all.
And we did it!! Omiya!!! At 9pm!
その後は暗い中にササッと歩いて、早く大宮につくように頑張りました。浦和宿はモダンな感じでホテルもあるけど、大宮までは6kmしかないので、それくらい頑張れるかなーと。
どんどん足が重くなってきて、痛くなってきて。リュックも膝も〜〜うう〜 でも何もないところだし、大宮は近いから歩くしかないw
そしてヘトヘトに大宮に到着！！夜の9時。
ホテルに一部屋だけ空いてて良かった。でも足はもう死んでたww 体はガチガチ。
お風呂入ってから少し良くなったと思うけど、やはり動けない。そして足にヒドイ発疹がとても心配。暖かいうちに激しい運動するとよくあるみたい。明日は痛くないならいいけど、普段は三日間運動しないで行けばそのまま治る。でも毎日歩かなきゃからねー
My legs are dead. The muscles are almost exploading. Every step hurts haha.
I made it to the big hotel bath though and soaked in the hot tub – the rashes burned like fire but after the dip I don’t feel as tense anymore. (When I lay on the bed, that is…)
The rashes look terrifying so I’m worried about tomorrow. Might stop at a pharmacy.
歩いた距離: 27キロくらい
日本橋から大宮まで
Walked distance: approx. 27 km
Nihonbashi to Omiya
Money spent:
Lunch: 1950¥
Break: 1471¥
Dinner (takeaway): 2000¥
Hotel: 7100¥
= 12521¥ (for two)
Thoughts about today:
– Good: I was surprised I could walk that far and that I almost didn’t feel the 5.5kg backpack
– Bad: Started too late, worried about how much my body hurts and the rashes.
See you tomorrow 🙂
Anji
