Big City

August 1, 1983, Monday

Started at 8:30am today on a partly cloudy day. It was a bit warmer than yesterday. I had a hilly 62km of road to cover with many tunnels along the way. I counted at least 8 tunnels including one which was about 1.6km long. It was pitch black in some of these tunnels because of the exhaust from cars.

I had lunch at Yoichi city and took a short nap on the beach (for about an hour). I felt really refreshed after that nap. When I arrived in Otaru city, I was surprised at the large size of the city. I arrived at around 4:00pm and walked around the shopping area to check it out. This may sound strange, but I felt so much like a person from the sticks. As I saw in the stores the kind of normal clothing that people wear every day, I had a strong urge to stop wearing running clothes. I just wanted to wear some regular clothing of a civilized person and just blend in with the crowd.

Eventually, I called Mr. Shimizu of the Otaru Running Club to say hello and let him know I was here, then I checked into a hotel. I was left alone tonight in order to get a good rest. I believe Mr. Kayano contacted the folks here to let them know of my preference to rest up for the final days of the run.

It is already the month of August. June 11, the first day of this run, seems so far away. So much has happened since then, and I know that anything can happen in the next few days.