Running Japan

One of the things I have loved most about being here in Japan is the opportunity for running. Most cities we have visited have a river flowing through them, and most of these have a path on at least one side for people on foot and on bicycle. While running on city roads here you have to constantly stop at intersections – and unlike in the United States, here you actually obey the walk signs – while on the path you pass through intersections on underpasses. It’s a nice way to go. 

It seems like the Japanese are experts in funneling water away from where they don’t want it into places where they do. Drain grates are all over the streets. You know that at home, if you are walking along a busy lane during the rain, cars will fly across puddles, causing water to spray all over your dry ol’ self? In Japan, the water drains efficiently so that does not happen. Also, there are walls built up along rivers to keep them within their bounds. There is a lot of H2O in Japan, and a lot of thought and engineering goes into keeping it contained.

While you are running you get to see the flow of the river and the many gradations of elevation, creating small waterfalls. But the agua is only part of it. There are bird critters all over the place, looking for breakfast. Some of the trails have signs warning of bears, and some runners wear bells, I assume to keep Yogi away. (When we were in Alaska we learned that the residents laughed at this, also at bear spray repellent. They referred to the latter as “seasoning,” as in added flavor for the two-legged critter about to be eaten by the four-legged one.) 

Besides runners there are dog walkers and lots of folks biking to work. In Japan nobody gives an audible warning, so you can be jogging along lost in thought and suddenly a two wheeler will come flying by, causing you to jump a few feet.

When running in Japan I have tried not to be too adventurous in my explorations. Typically when I run in a new place I wonder “What’s down that road?” or “Let me see what’s around that corner.” This often has led to me getting lost and depending my keen sense of direction to get back to the start. This did not work well for me in Sofia, Bulgaria a few years ago, when I could not read the Cyrillic street signs, did not have a map on my phone, and lost my orientation. Nonetheless, I found my way back. Here in Japan I just run out along the river and back, no way to get lost, and I just revel in the beauty of the environs.

I am profoundly grateful to be able to exercise in this beautiful place. For a while I was incapable of running at all. (More about that in upcoming posts!) Being out there with the sun on my face, the sound of the moving water, the footsteps of the other (mostly passing) runners, the feeling of my heart beating, and the rhythmic intake of my breath gives me a precious sense of alertness and aliveness and a confirmation of how fortunate I truly am. 

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