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Journey to Utoro
Date: 99.09.15/ Temperature: 17C/ Weather: Clear, partly cloudy
Start: Tokyo Destination: Utoro, Hokkaido
Distance Traveled: 1700km by plane
Today I traveled close to 1700km. I sped through Tokyo by train on my way to the airport. Looking out the window of the train, residential houses were phased out by the glass and concrete of the business district, and the business district gives way to the industrial center closer to the bay area, where the airport is located. When I switched from train to airplane, I realized how much less there is to observe. In under 2 hours, I traveled the distance of the entire "Exploration for Wisdom" journey and ended up seeing little more than the clouds covering Japan. I thought to myself "the slower you go, the more you see".
Off the plane and safely on land, the day's pace slowed again. Just in the few hours that I have spent here in Hokkaido I have seen and heard far more than I did on the long trip here. I have seen many crops, oddly shaped metal wind barriers along the roadside, trout making their way upstream and tourists feeding the deer of Shiretoko all for the first time! The variety of things to observe is overwhelming, exciting and all new.
Utoro is a town on the edge of Shiretoko or "the Land's End", one of the most pristine National Parks in Japan. Looking out over Kunashiri Island (possession of which is under dispute between Japan and Russia), I realized that my dream to walk across Japan is about to begin.
Tomorrow is the pre-project press conference and I am beginning to get nervous one about my endurance and two about how well I'll be able to share all of the excitement I am feeling. With all of us working together I'm sure we can get this project off the ground.
Starting on Friday I begin today's journey in reverse, on foot, and over four months not two hours.
From Utoro,
Gregto Top News Page of Wisdom
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