Wednesday, March 21, 2012

What Happened with Big Walk 2011

The deepest Japanese apology I know is moushiwake arimasen, which literally means "I have no excuse." Not only is it a particularly apologetic apology, it's really convenient, as the claim that one has no excuse effectively negates the need to make up an excuse, which is usually a hassle. When it comes to my failure to report on Big Walk 2011 for nearly a year, I have no excuse.

The Seventh Annual Big Walk took place on May 5, 2011. And it was actually the biggest walk of them all to date, totaling a mighty 25.4 kilometers. One-time co-worker (and long-time co-walker) Craig and I took the "scenic" route south from Higashi Urawa Station through Warabi and Toda, across the Arakawa River. Then we followed the river east all the way to where it passes north of Senju, then cut north to Umejima for celebratory Mexican alimentos at El Sol.

[click to see a map of the route]

Why didn't I write about this monumental journey earlier? Because other than the record-breaking distance, there wasn't much to blog about. Neither Craig nor I took any interesting photos along the way. Well, unless you count this one, taken near Warabi Station:

Fascinating.

Anyway, with Big Walk 2012 only a couple of weeks away, I thought it might be interesting to make one map showing the routes of all seven previous Big Walks. Here's what that looks like (click image to enlarge):

Big Walk 2012 is scheduled for April 8, weather permitting.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Bring On the Spring

Ah, spring. That lovely time of year when a young man's fancy turns to thoughts of drinking outdoors from lunchtime onward. In anticipation of the flowery celebration that is spring in Japan, I'm posting a few of the photos I took at Inumakata Park last April. The park, located just a few minutes' walk from our house in Saitama City, has a good amount of open space, a pond inhabited by a variety of animals, of course, flowering trees. Here's a taste of what's to come in just a few weeks.

(Click images to enlarge.)





Lest we forget, there's one more reason to get excited for spring: Big Walk 2012. In the meantime, watch this space in the coming weeks for some long-overdue information about what happened with Big Walk 2011.