As of today, I’m still going. As you may expect, I’ve been following the coronavirus situation in Japan and its development in the United States pretty closely and I’m to the point where I don’t think I’ll be much safer staying the U.S. than walking in rural Japan for the next two months. I don’t believe I mentioned it before, but I live in Chicago and work downtown, which mean I ride the elevated train at least twice a day on weekdays and, as you expect, those trains can get crowded during rush hour. Since O’Hare Airport is a major transportation hub (heck, United Airlines’ headquarters is in the same building as my workplace), coronavirus is definitely coming to Chicago and more than one person is going to get infected with the coronavirus while riding the train to work. There are already several cases in the suburbs. Am I any safer staying in Chicago and going to work everyday than going to rural Japan, walking by myself, sleeping out in a tent and limiting my personal contact to temple priests and staff, restaurant staff and convenience/grocery store clerks, and the occasional well-wisher I meet upon the path?
Therefore, the trip is currently still a go.
On other happier news, my dividends from REI came in this weeks. $125.67! (Perhaps because I bought nearly $2,000 worth of gear/clothing this past year …) Anyway, I, of course, rushed out this weekend to spend it. I had decided to get a pair of hiking/sun gloves as I will be spending numerous hours hiking outdoors in the near future and, after my hiking trip to Mt. Hood in Oregon last year, I saw how chafed and sunburnt my hands got using hiking poles. Sun gloves – $25. Next, I decided that, due to the coronavirus situation, I would carry a bar of soap and small hand towel (already owned) with me to have on hand at all times along with the small bottles of hand sanitizer I had purchased earlier. They had the standard plastic box for carrying soap which ran about $1.75, but next to it was a waterproof, tear-resistant baggy weighing almost nothing and specifically made for carrying soap – $12. Hey, dividends are practically free money! (Practically …) You may say “if you’re getting a waterproof bag that weights practically, why not just use a Ziplock sandwich bag?” To that I say … shut up, they’re MYYYY dividends. Finally, I splurged on a new, 3 ounce headlamp from Petzl to replace the 7 ounce headlamp I currently have. It’s rechargeable, so I won’t have to carry any extra batteries. I had another 3 ounces headlamp, but, for the life of me, I cannot find it anywhere. Rechargeable headlamp – $65.
Total – $118.69.
That’s the update for now. I’m getting better at using this portable, collapsible, wireless keyboard with my iPhone, so I should be updating fairly regularly on the henro path. Peace.
2023 Shikoku Henro 