Thanks to how the Gregorian calendar works, I was having fewer days off this month than everyone else at work, so I was given a 3rd day off this week.
I am getting ready for my Tokyo – Atami walk, and I know I need more practice walking long distances at night while sober. So I decided on the Tsukuba Express line for my next adventure.
Suddenly… I was awake. I took the train to the local workman store because I didn't feel like walking 20 mins. I got myself a neon jacket, as getting hit by a car hurts.
I started my walk from Akiba at about 16:00 and went on my merry way. The first stop was for eating soba in Kita Senju. I love how that word sounds. Kita Senju🎶. Anyway, usually I avoid stopping during my walks but I made a point of stopping to rest every hour and a half or so.
Fast forward a few hours and I am freezing in the middle of nowhere, just past Kashiwatanaka Station. While the train has a dedicated bridge I had to cross some fields in the dark to get to Shin'otone Bridge. And when I got there, I am greeted by a gate and a 立入禁止 sign. I felt like the dark riders in the fellowship of the ring when the hobbits escape on a ferry. I asked google maps "how far to the nearest crossing?" "Brandywine bridge, 20 miles".
Actually, I just had to go under the bridge and there was a pedestrian passage on that side. On the other end of the bridge there was a family mart with everything I wanted. Food, hot coffee, a toilet and air conditioner. All in all the journey from Kashiwatanaka to Moriya station took me 3 very unpleasant hours.
Speaking of unpleasant, a bit later I went through the humiliating prospect of looking for a place by the road to pee while wearing a Chekhov's gun.
When I got to Miraidaira I sat down for a bit and some salary man on his way to the morning train did a TRIPLE take and handwave at me. Ill take that as a compliment? Sitting there I saw my goal in the distance for the first time. Mt. Tsukuba seemed unreachable, but I had every intention of walking all the way up there.
With the sun rising and the temperature remaining the same, I realized it wasn't meant to be. I continued my walk, stopping at every station for a bit, and arrived at Tsukuba station at 11 in the morning. I felt like I was taking a rest from all my rest by not even attempting to go to Mt Tsukuba, but I think if I had tried it, I would have made the local news.
This was my longest walk ever, at about 80kms, and I did it faster than when I did the Keihin-Tōhoku Line.
Resting a lot was the right move.
As always, thank you so much for the kind comments and DMs. I'm always glad to hear from someone who decided to go on a big walk because of reading these posts.
For those who read all of this, here is your reward.
The secret knowledge: Goodyear SN204454
by pikachuisyourfriend
30 comments
https://i.redd.it/l3cxvb0zhk2g1.gif
Calves reveal when?
Wow, superb!!!
That is impressive! I do plan a long walk (not as long distance as yours tho, I will start smaller) like this from my place to Yokohama once I got a better shoes xD
Definitely will use your post as reference and motivation lol
You should post this on r/walking lol. Good stuff!
You’re an absolute legend in this sub already and seem to keep on raising the bar.
Congrats! Eagerly waiting for the next episode.
As someone who commutes into tsukuba for uni, I’ve always wondered what the walk from past Kashiwanoha Campus to Moriya was like… sorry to hear it was as hellish as it looked like from the train
Seeing these posts has me considering trying railway walks along the Joso Line between Toride and Shimodate or the former Tsukuba line between Iwase and Tsuchiura someday
>I asked google maps “how far to the nearest crossing?” “Brandywine bridge, 20 miles”.
Epic journey there and back again.
>Thanks to how the Gregorian calendar works, I was having fewer days off this month than everyone else at work, so I was given a 3rd day off this week.
Perhaps I’m not yet fully proficient in English, but what does this sentence mean? What does how the Gregorian calendar works got to do with you having fewer days off this month than everyone else? Not having a go at you, just genuinely asking.
Great achievement OP, Kudos to you! Have you seen any animals? How was the sunrise? Just curious
So you planed to walk all the way from Akihabara to Tsukuba-san? That has to be somewhere around 80km. But Kudos for that walk from Kashiwatanaka to Miraidaira. That alone had to be one of the more boring walks to imagine. Long distances with nothing in between. If you do like long walks, I would recommend the Rin-rin road from Tsuchiura to Tsukuba-san. It’s an old train line converted to a bicycle path with some of the old stations still mostly intact.
Respected.
You mad bro?
What does last thing mean? Something like promo code?
We’ve walked Yamanote line at night. That’s around 45 km. Nice to see Tokyo go to sleep and wake up, from sunset to sunrise.
Crossing the river tone on foot… that’s a respectable journey.
FYI, if you want to chill along the way, I think there’s an anytime fitness at nearly every stop between rokucho and Moriya.
This is so cool!
How do you train for these distances? I’m dead after 15km.
Where exactly was the Seikimatsu poster?
Congrats! If I ever get the chance to go to Tokyo we’re so meeting up and doing this, mate! With all those LoTR references and stupidly long walks at night, we’ll be two peas in a pod LOL! It was very weird reading what could have easily been me writing this post!
I done a similar long walk a few years ago when I walked from Brecon to Cardiff in Wales and just did a long walking event in July in the Netherlands. 200km over 4 days. Will be attempting 100km in 24 hours in Belgium next August. If you’re looking to do a long walking event, I would highly suggest doing the Nijmegen 4 Days March in the Netherlands. It’s an even bigger event than any marathon in any country. It felt like they shut down the whole city for the walk.
Great achievement! I miss these flat plain scenery. I used to go to a grad school near Kashiwanoha campus station. I wonder how much patience would be needed to go walking along the line alone in midnight around Tone River area where nothing interesting could be found but just a field, factories, and logistics warehouses. 😅
“Suddenly… I was awake.” Sick Office reference.
You walked past my house and you didn’t even say Hi.
Foreigners are always so rude.
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that’s a really far walk. hope your feet don’t hurt too much
I’m jealous lol. I did the Yamanote line and Yokohama -> Enoshima way back in the day. About half your distance here I think.
Nice! Different region, but when I visit my girlfriend next year I plan on walking the JR WEST route, after I walked the JR Kobe line this year!
I hope to get to your level soon. Whenever my job finishes the rest of thr paperwork and flies me back. I’ll be in Kanagawa doing my walks. Need to do the Keikgu main line, haha!
This is amazing, well done!
This reminds me of the “midnight walk” I did twice (many many years ago now), going from Maihama to ICU in Mitaka. Took us about 13 hours from memory.
Well, if you are a person wanting to get your steps in or have major fitness goals, all power to you and you’ll have legs of steel!
Always wondered what it would be like to walk around tokyo in a neon shirt.
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