Postcards from Japan, Part 1

Snacks, tatami mats, and onsen, six thousand miles from home

Jun 13, 2025

Hello from Japan! I am writing to you from a Japanese-style hotel on the coast of the Iwate prefecture. Our room is on the eighth floor and has a view of the sea. I’m sitting on the tatami mat with the window open and a slight breeze coming in. I can hear gulls. Today we walked nearly five miles and lots of elevation gain from Tanohata to Jodogahama Beach along the Michinoku Coastal Trail. This day marks the halfway point on our trip. Five days in and five more days to go.

I’m feeling more myself this evening after time at the onsen, a nap on my futon, and an appropriately portioned dinner of veggies and seafood. But I’ve been homesick the last few days, missing Steve and Kona and my own bed and my autonomy. Ten days is a long time to be around strangers and in a different country and on a schedule that’s not really your own.

Even so, I feel extremely lucky to be here on this side of the Pacific Ocean with one of my good friends. It’s really easy traveling with

Kassondra Cloos

(hi, I can see you laying on the floor.) We’ve made ourselves a lovely routine once we get off the trail: onsen, nap, dinner, letter writing, sleep. Soon, I will return to the US and Kassie to London, and we will be wishing we were back walking slowly through the cedar and hinoki forests, smelling the salt of the sea, and munching on mochi and onigiri. Here are some sounds and sights from the first half of the trip:

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