Half way I decide to listen to music. My phone seems to know my mood exactly and each song sounds good as I start heading downhill. I feel great. The perfect mix of modern entertainment with the most natural of settings. I bring my musical notes into the forests as I go up and down.
Somewhere in the middle of nowhere I see a dog tied up alone. This is one thing that bothers me about Japan. Animals are often treated poorly here. This little guy was tied to a chord guarding nothing. He got really excited when he saw me, but I had no food to give him. Eventually some kid came and took him, so I didn't feel too bad about leaving him. Although, it would have been cool to finish my adventure with a dog companion!
An Old Old Friend
I am meeting a friend of mine today. At this point, I really have to admit to having a friend in every corner of Japan. He lives in the middle of the mountains here in a town called Gokase. As I climb a hill I see him on his bike. It's Jeremy! One of the two Americans who cycled all of Japan in only two weeks! We met in the mountains after Sapporo, Hokkaido, almost 3 months ago, on DAY 6!
Jeremy and I laugh at the fact that we are actually seeing each other again. He listens to my stories and laughs when I tell him the amount of hardship that came my way. After riding for an hour, we finally reach his town.
Local Festival
We are supposed to head out to eat and go over to the next town to see a local dance. Instead we find ourselves still in Gokase at a local festival. Adventure always does this to you. There is amateur sumo wrestling, food, dancing and....more food. We are invited by what I think was the monk of the the nearby temple to sit down. Jeremy doesn't like Japanese food, so he goes and runs some errands.
I find myself sitting alone with a room full of locals. I stick out terribly like a sore thumb. At first, the atmosphere is a bit awkward....it always is. But I have been in this situation before. Here come the friends.....I think to myself. Then, as the show starts, the shochū comes out. This powerful drink always leads to wild nights. I can never have a day off.....but I guess it's good. I mumble an "oh boy, here we go" as I tip my glass made pf bamboo.
The show consists of some of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Masks, tribal dances, and more. The theme is the seasons, harvest, hunting, love, making sakē, and many others. It is like seeing Japan at its purest and truest form. It is also like seeing man-kind at its beginnings, connected to nature, still not master of it, still prey to most of its powers. Archaicly beautiful. Best show I have seen in my life. Better than any hollywood movie. This one's got real meaning....and as the shochū hits, the show makes more and more sense as the night progresses. I am at this point surrounded by a bunch of locals who keep trying to talk to me and pour me drinks from a large bamboo bottle. I am loving it.
The actors even throw candy into the crowd at some point, give out sacred props from the show and even bite the audience with a large dragon's head. It is all for good luck, and I seemed to get the most of it. By the end of the show, everyone is drunk, and I need Jeremy to carry half of the good luck charms I got. Where will I put this stuff when I ride....is beyond me. Jeremy and I head home and crash in his hilltop apartment. Four days to Sata. Four days left of adventure..... Nite!
61km
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