Walk, Run, Bike, Limp

It was around 00:30, the end of a brief night of drinking. I was standing on that last train from Shibuya, looking up gravely at the sign that is telling me that I will be finding my own way home from Saginuma. I have said before so many times that I welcome the challenge, so it is only poetic that it shall happen unexpectedly.

I get off the train and head outside with the others, most of whom I doubt are as far from home as I am. Most of the people head over to one of two bus stops and a taxi stand. I look at the two bus stops and decipher that both are going the better part of my journey. So I stand in the line of the bus which is going a couple of towns closer, to Aobadai. I watch as the bus fills, and still a full busload of people ahead of me, my hopes diminish quickly as the bus pulls away. Most of the people head over to the taxi stand at this point. I refuse to, having once paid nearly 10,000 yen for a taxi. That's a hundred dollars I could use elsewhere.

So I do what any guy in a drunken stupor would do. I checked my bearings, and started walking for home. I had no idea what distance it was, but I was sure it was going to be a get-there-in-the-morning type of walk. Only 30 minutes or so has past since my landing in Saginuma, and I've already made measureable progress, between speedwalking and half-jogging. I am walking up and down the hills in Tama-Plaza when a young guy jogs past me. I'm still feeling a little tipsy and gregarious, so I decide after a short deliberation to break into a jog after him. I soon catch up to him, listening to his ipod, and politely say hello and request his company until our jogging paths diverge. He obliges, and saves me much trouble by speaking in my native tongue. His english is pretty good and in the conversation I glean that he learned it travelling through southeast Asia, having never visited an "english as a first language" country. At the end of our journey together, I ask him if he enjoys the occasional drink (as he has already asked me if I had been drinking). I take down his number into my phone, and after asking him for directions to the next town over, I head in that direction.

I didn't get far before my stores of energy exploded into a jog. Having worked that day, I still had my clothes in my backpack, so I stopped after breaking into a sweat. Seeing nowhere else to change, I stood on the sidewalk and waited for the only person in sight to walk by. Much to the enjoyment of the people passing by on the busy highway in the comfort of their automobiles, I then proceeded to strip down to my boxers and socks, and change out of my jeans and polo into my trusty tee and athletic pants. Off I went, and went and went. I must have ran a couple of kilometers before stopping for a break, then going right back into a jog and a run again. Arriving in the next town, I am feeling confident. I know the largest portion of the journey still remains as I am now only in Azamino, several train stops away. I walk up to a couple of high-school-ish looking kids hanging out in the street, a guy and girl. In all reality they are probably out of high school, but we all know how young Japanese people look. I ask for directions towards home, and the guy looks as if I just asked him to solve a calculus problem. He either doesn't know what town I am referring to, which is unlikely, or he is genuinely shocked that I am asking him for directions to somewhere that he would never voluntarily walk to. His directions prove to be unhelpful, and I try to ask a man who has just finished a conversation with a coworker after their shift. He ignores me despite several attempts to get his attention. Okay jerk, thanks for nothing. I walk into the convenience store and the owner is perplexed, sending me across the street to the other convenience store (yeah they are really convenient here in Japan). The guys there have a good laugh and tell me that there are taxis nearby. This is proving to be harder than I thought.

I finally come across some construction workers who point me to their elder, a 70 something man who tells me that the town I am looking for is a stop on this train line. Little good that does me at 3 am. Not wanting to wait 2 and a half hours for the train to come, I just keep walking. At this point my confidence is becoming exhausted, despite my physical energy. The hills look endless and I am wondering why I never noticed them on the train every day. As soon as I reach the top, there are only several more hills to follow. Just as I am thinking about how many hours this could take, something happens which lifts my spirits.

I look to my left and there it is. A poor lonely pre-teen boy's bike, beaten and neglected and left like yesterday's newspaper on the side of the road. It is bent, rusted, and pathetic looking, but it has no lock, and I am only borrowing it! Sorry kid. I pump those little pedals like no other, and conquer the hills with gusto. At the top of every hill, each of which is harder than the last to climb, I rejoice at the coasting I get to do until I reach the next incline. I stop at a convenience store near the top of a hill, and the guy inside does me little good. I pedal on and find yet another convenience store (honestly what would I do without these things?). I walk inside and ask for directions and the guy does something amazing. He pulls out a MAP. I gesture to myself, as if I just hit a 3 pointer. He shows me the map, and of course my joy is defused when I see that my bedroom is still not even close to being on his map, which gets me only just past Tana. So off I go, thanking the guy for actually showing me the kindness and consideration to actually pull out his map (I am sure all of these other convenience store guys had maps too, but never bothered caring enough to pull it out).

After pedaling my way in the direction of home for some time, I finally converge on a familiar spot. I recognize where I am! The rice paddies, the two rivers meeting, I am just past Nagatsuda!! I pedal a short distance down the river (having walked out this far from home before). After confirming that I am indeed where I think I am, I set the bike aside. I hope that someone else makes the same use of it as I did, although it really is falling apart. As I get off of the two wheeler, I feel the abuse that I have inflicted upon myself. My left hamstring and my right achilles are completely sore, and the several kilometer walk back home turned into more of a hobble, but I am happy despite the distance. I got in at 4:18 am, well before the time that one of my unhelpful citizens told me "Naruse, Machida? HA-HA-HA, GOOD MORNING! HA-HA-HA." Eat it buddy, the sun didn't come up for at least an hour!