Nakasendo Wayside

The last day on the Nakasendo had a distinct John Lennon theme. A muzak version of "Jealous Guy" was piped in above my breakfast. Later in Karuizawa, I ate bread at the French Bakery, under the watchful eyes of a Lennon poster, the Liverpool Legend pushing a bike, with a couple of baquettes in the basket, ready to deliver his bread to Yoko on 1978 visit. The final part of the morning was spent "Walking on Thin Ice," so much ice and snow that they kept us from dropping down the pass and enjoying closer views of some beautifully jagged peaks. And the journey home. I had walked the Nakasendo from Kyo to Edo, and now traced the Tokaido back. After many days spent at the speed of foot, the Shinkansen moves obscenely fast. And one last poem:

Goddess Fuji
Allows me a lingering glance
At her snowy locks.

On the turntable: Karsh kale, "Realize" On the nighttable: David Mitchell, "The Thousand Autumns of Jan de Zoet"