The Roads To Sata: A 2,000-Mile Walk through Japan

Alan booth is British, and prior to his walk (in 1977), he had spent 7 years living in Tokyo, with his Japanese wife. Having what appeared to be a very fluent use of Japanese, he decided to walk from the northern most point to the southern most point of Japan, to interact with the local people, and try to get a more thorough understanding of Japan.

For 128 days, over 3300 kilometres, the author walked (the backroads where possible) and interacted with the village people. He stayed mostly in ryokan - a Japanese inn, for locals more than tourists.

Booth has found a writing style which accounts for the constant repetition (eat breakfast - find coffee - walk - find lunch and beer - walk - find ryokan and beer - eat dinner and beer - sleep. Repeat 127 times) without punishing the reader. In hindsight, it is not clear how he managed this -because with descriptions of his daily surrounding, some light history, some relevant traditions and culture, some interactions with the people of his day, it should not be as good a read as this was!

Setting out from Cape Soya, heading south, this book was an often amusing read, Booths writing highlighting some of the more strange conversations with the people, and many of these emphasised how he really got into the rural backroads of Japan. Through poor weather, we share his fatigue, as soaking wet, he heads onwards from lunch for another 4 hour slog to the village he plans to stay. Through the foot-wary pain, the tedium of school children yelling “gaijin, gaijin, gaijin”, and people speaking about him, unaware he can understand them perfectly well. And yet, Booths appreciation and respect for the Japanese is obvious throughout, even at his lowest ebb.

Two things were impressive in this book - the authors self motivation and determination (how many lifts was he offered in the rain); and his prodigious consumption of beer.

4 stars for me. [Subsequently upgraded to 5 stars, as this book stays with me.]



A couple of the more amusing parts quoted below:

P102: Conversation in a bar (takes place in Japanese):
“Ah, so you have been hitch-hiking.”“No, I've been walking.”“Yes, yes, yes. And what a beautiful country Japan is to walk in. But have you found it easy to obtain rides?”“I haven't had any rides.”“Oh, come, come, come.”“I've walked.”“Yes, yes. But what about the longer distances?”“Perhaps you haven't understood me...““Yes, yes, yes. How marvellous to be British. I love the British.”...“But how far have you hitch-hiked?”

P108: Arriving at a ryokan (inn):
“Are there any rooms free?” I asked with an encouraging smile.“Well, yes there are, but we haven't got any beds. We sleep on mattresses on the floor.”“Yes, I know,” I said. “I have lived in Japan for seven years.”“And you won't be able to eat the food.”“Why, what's the matter with it?”“It's fish.”“But I like fish.”“But it's raw fish.”“Look, I have lived in Japan for seven years. My wife is Japanese. I like raw fish.”“But I don't think we've got any knives and forks.“Look...““And you can't use chopsticks.”“Of course I can. I've lived...““But it's a tatami-mat room, and we don't have any armchairs.”“Look...““And there's no shower in the bathroom. It's an o-furo.”“I use chopsticks at home. I sit on tatami. I eat raw fish. I use an o-furo. I have lived in Japan for seven years. That's nearly a quarter of my life. My wife...““yes,” moaned the woman, “but we can't speak English.”“I don't suppose that will bother us,” I sighed. “We have been speaking Japanese for the last five minutes”.