Day 6: Raccoons, Shared Bathwater, and Sumo Wrestling at Dinner
đ„ A Light Breakfast and a Late Checkout (Oops)
Breakfast was a little on the minimalist side by my standards, but still tasty. I lingered at the hostel on the phoneâchatting, sipping tea, minding my businessâuntil I remembered that checkout was probably at 9am. I slid out around 8:30 and was the last one to leave and felt like I overstayed.
đČ The Road Less Sweaty
Todayâs trail started with a brief uphill that gave me flashbacks of yesterdayâs mountain, but then... it smoothed out. Thank the forest gods. These quiet back roads through the trees are my happy place. No rocks to trip over, no roots attacking my ankles. Just smooth road, birdsong, and the occasional opening into a breathtaking valley view.
Give me a gentle slope and the illusion of progress, and I will walk to the ends of the earth.
đŠ I Tried to Feed a Raccoon a Dinner Roll
About halfway through the day, I saw another Japanese raccoon hanging out by the side of the road. He was very round and very suspicious. I tossed him a dinner roll like I was Snow White, but he got scared and ran off.
Still, I like to think he came back for it later.
đ Map Said âHard,â My Feet Said âActually Not Badâ
Based on the elevation map, I was fully expecting to be destroyed by todayâs walk. But besides that early climb, it was surprisingly easyâjust looooong. Mentally long. My first struggle being board on the trail.
But the terrain? Chefâs kiss. So maybe Iâm getting stronger or maybe today was just a benevolent blip in the Henro matrix. Either way, Iâll take it.
đ° Panic Over a Bag (Again)
When I arrived, I had a full-on meltdown about the status/location/safety of my bag. Every pilgrim knows: your bag is basically your external soul now. Weâre not messing around. I had shipped my bag ahead two days ago and my new host said it was nowhere to be found.
Spoiler: the bag was fine, she always expects bags the day before, so mine was just in another room for safe keeping. I was just having a classic over-tired, under-snacked crisis. Normal.
đ So⊠Weâre All Sharing the Same Bath Water?
I went to take a bath, and thatâs when I saw an older bald man casually emerge from the same tub I was about to enter. Oh. Ohhh.
Weâre sharing bathwater? I had taken several baths on the walk so far and it didnât really dawn on me until now that the water isnât changed out.
Either way, itâs just assumed youâre going to bathe. As soon as I opened my mouth to ask a question, the innkeeper waved me down the hallway like, âI know what youâre here for. The bath awaits.â
I washed my hair at the side area, but still not sure if thatâs the norm or a social crime. Either way, I cleaned the tub of all the hair evidence because I am a considerate guest⊠and slightly paranoid.
đ± Dinner, Sumo Wrestling, and Bitter Baby Cucumbers
Dinner was delicious. The fish was perfectly cooked and they served these teeny-tiny, salty cucumbers. I told the host I liked them, and she smiled. Like little briny punches to the face.
The dining room had sumo wrestling on the TV, and I strategically sat where I could watch. I was weirdly into it. Thereâs something very comforting about sumoâno language needed. Just big energy and strong men in fancy belts.
I asked if thereâs ever been a female sumo wrestler. She laughed and said no. Fair. But give it time.
đ Booking Chaos & Plan B Fails
After dinner, the owner kindly offered to help me book my next few nights. Attempt #1: fully booked. Holiday.
Attempt #2: also booked. Yikes. Things are really booking up and I feel bad asking my hosts to call ahead to so many different places for me.
I went back to my room and spent a while entering planning mode. Nothing humbles you faster than an optimistic itinerary and a âsorry, no availabilityâ message. But honestly, I kind of love the puzzle of it.
đ The Dryer Dilemma
Laundry update: I accidentally fed 100 yen into the dryer before realizing that the washer is free. Oops. Wasnât planning on drying my clothes⊠but now the universe has spoken. I guess Iâm drying them after all. We will see if I am supposed to dry wool or not.
Risking a heat-damage disaster, but also? Might be the best decision I didnât mean to make today.
đȘ Feeling Capable, Clean & Kind of Glowing
Despite the bag panic and shared bathwater anxiety, I feel good. Really good. Today was a long walk, but afterward I didnât immediately collapse like a haunted doll. Instead, I did laundry, made future plans, and actually felt energized enough to write this.
That little shiftâhaving energy after the walkâis huge. I can feel my endurance growing. And Iâm extra excited because Iâve got a rest day coming soon where I skip ahead a bit. Consider it my pilgrim sabbatical.
