WHO WILL I BE TOMORROW

"Ohayou gozaimasu! (Good morning!)", I heard in my sleep. "Ohayou gozaimasu!"
I looked through the tent window, still wet from rain.
Two pairs of feet in blue uniform - the police.
"Ohayou gozaimasu!" I answered.
Got out, rubbed my eyes.
"We received a phone call that there is a tent in the parking area."
"I am sorry".
"No, we are sorry. Have a good day."
The police bowed me good-bye. They did not even bother to check my documents.

Boiled some water in the bathroom while my tent was drying in the sun. Made tea and soup. Had two fish sausages, some nuts and chocolates for breakfast. There were almost no cars on the highway. Japan has a population of 125 million. Where were they?
I had no idea about time. The sun was still cool and pretty low. Must have been quite early.

I had arrived to Hokkaido the day before (May 6). My last ride took me about 120 km from Muroran. A priest. He did not need to go anywhere that day.
"I too have been on the road" said the priest."Left home at the age of 12 with 100 Yen in my pocket. Walked from one temple to another until I was 25. The journey was my education." His father, also a priest, had done the same when he was nine.

"You are a zero person," said the priest, "that is why you can be filled."

I am a zero person, I thought. I am far away from anyone who even briefly knows me. Without a schedule and obligations, I can become anything I want, do whatever I desire, go whatever way I choose. I am free.





Print by
渓斎英泉 Keisai Eisen
1790 – 1848

"Yesterday", in another chapter of my journey, I walked the Salt Road. Walking 80 km from Oomachi to the Sea of Japan in Itoigawa took me 10 days. I walked slowly. I knew hunger, hardship, tiredness and cold. I knew worry when loosing my way on a snowy mountain top. I knew fear when I saw a bear. I also knew kindness and a feeling of gratitude. I knew a feeling of satisfaction when achieving a distant aim.

Today I became a farmer and helped the Ui family in Shintoku to plant potatoes. See also Ui family blog at http://pub.ne.jp/hiroooui/

"If the harvest is good we will get 6000 kg of potatoes in September," said Hiroshi Ui when we were having dinner.

I found the Ui family through WWOOF Japan inspired by these words:

It was about more than 20 years ago that Shigeko and I were on our way to travel all over Japan by bicycles and in Hokkaido the land fascinated us and we started to live here as farm trainees. We then began our organic farm with other friends and brought up our 3 children.

Hiroshi Ui