Running in Toi

In a few days I will be climbing Fujisan. Well... hopefully. The weather forecast has been predicting thunderstorms. Oooh! But I just checked the weather now. Now it just shows only a 20% chance of "trace amounts" of rain. So it looks like it might be OK now! I hope it stays that way!

Anyways... I figured I should do some exercising so that I'm not totally out of shape when I climb Mt. Fuji. So I've been running in the evenings. I run from my apartment to the Traveler's Cape which is about 1.5 miles away. Sometimes I go even a little further. So I usually run nonstop for about 2 miles and then alternate between walking and running for the rest of the way home. I know it's not really that far, but I've never been able to run so much in my life. It used to be hard for me to run a mile nonstop, now I can run 2 or even a little more. I think it's the pretty views that motivate me to keep running further.

Now that the Fujisan climb is just a few nights away I've decided just to walk to save some energy. So tonight I took a walk to the Traveler's Cape and took my camera with me. Here are some pictures along the route that I run!

Here's the start of my run.

These greenhouses have flowers in them. I guess they must grow them for florists or something because when they start to bloom they cut them all and put them in trucks and haul them away. There are a lot of beer cans on stakes in there too. I guess to scare animals away. Probably birds... I don't see any other animals here.

There's an old collapsed barn and some rice.

Then I cross the yellow pedestrian bridge.


Here's the view from the yellow bridge.

Then I'm along the main road.


What's up with that tree?

There's the bus stop I usually use.

There are a lot of places without railing and you could easily fall into the creek.

There are a lot of gardens in Toi. Houses don't have much yard space, but when they do have room, it is usually filled with a garden. This area doesn't belong to the surrounding houses (well that's what I'm guessing because when people work in these gardens they usually have their car or bike parked along the street). I think they are lots that people can rent or something.

I like this house for some reason. I think it's the arches and the windows that stick out. It's not a typical Japanese house.

I skipped quite a bit here because the sun was setting and I wanted to make it to the Traveler's Cape before dark.

Here is a side street that I pass by.


I love Japanese mail boxes.

This is actually down a side street and not exactly where I run, but I can kind of see it from the main street.

There is a Mexican restaurant in Toi. Random, isn't it? I want to go sometime but you have to make reservations.

I think I found it! If you have read my past posts, I wrote one about trying to find the entrance to this trail (in Odoi which is near the traveler's cape) but I never found it and some senile old lady was convinced I was lost (you can read about it here). There is an entrance to the trail from Toi as well and I think I know where it is now. Yay!

I love Japanese vending machines. I can get pineapple juice! I also love them because I have never had one give me the wrong drink or not take my money or not give me change.

I use vending machines waaaaaay more in Japan than I did in the US. I do a lot more walking in Japan (well except for walking to class in college) and there are vending almost everywhere I go. It's hot outside and even if I take a drink with me, it's usually gone before I reach my destination and I get thirsty again.

I don't really know, but maybe those big nets on the ground are fishing nets... I don't know...

Then the road begins to just follow the coast. The sidewalk is really nice!


There are many onsen (click "onsen" to find out what they are) and hotels in Toi. A lot of the guests at the hotels walk around outside in the hotel yukatas.


I can't figure out how that guy got down there. People here fish in some crazy places!

Yay! Finally at the Traveler's Cape! This view is looking back towards Toi.

Here is the statue at the Traveler's Cape.

When I got back home I ate some tacos. I bought the tortillas at the import store at the mall, but all the rest of the stuff came from Aoki, the local grocery. It's lettuce, avacado (I tried to make it into guacamole but I didn't have anything to mash it), tomato, salsa, and cheese. They're yummy! :)

The soda bottle is actually filled with water in this picture, but I bought the soda at the 100 yen store yesterday. It's melon cream soda... mmmm! :)