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Walking 60 km in less than 20 hours to take a photo

My bus arrived in Fukuoka exactly at lunchtime. I repacked my bags, ate a bit, and started to walk.

My plan was to walk all the way to the Sakurai shrine which is located 31 km outside of Fukuoka city at the seaside in the water with two big rocks behind it called couple rock with my backpack, tent and all the things needed weighed about 15kg. I planned to arrive slightly before sunset.

It was a bright, sunny, and really hot day. Halfway there I decided to stop for five minutes to take a short break before the next half.

But

As soon as I sat down an old man stepped into the break on his bike and jumped off and started to talk to me.

Fun fact. He doesn’t speak English. He’s from China but moved to Japan a long time ago. We were speaking over two hours through google translator. In the end, he invited me for an iced coffee the next day whenever I’ll be back at the same spot.

So I started to walk once again. I was two hours late and obviously missed the sunset. To top it all I forgot to check the elevation and google led me up and down on the mountains without street lights. What a beginner mistake… I arrived at about 10 pm at the Sakurai shrine. I ate my dinner and tried to take some night shots but it was impossible to get a good result because all of the out-of-service cruise ships due to coronavirus were lined up close to the sure and lit up during the night… It was a complete sh*tshow.

I made my tent at a close-by spot on the beach and tried to sleep. It was already close to 1 am. My alarm was at 4 am for the sunrise at 4:30.

I didn’t sleep much, to be honest, but at least in the morning, I’ve got a few good shots from the shrine and the rocks behind.

I packed everything in my bag and started my way back but on a different road this time. With less elevation. Once I arrived we met at the same spot as the day before and walked to his house. I took a fast shower and we enjoyed the iced coffee while we were talking.

I learned that sadly he is living alone and he really likes to talk to foreigners too. He is really kind! Make sure that if you see him, give a big hug to this great man!

After one or maybe two hours again we said goodbye to each other and I continued my way back to Fukuoka. It was late afternoon once I got back to the city. The result was 7 blisters on my feet and 2 more discovered later that day. I ate local ramen which was good but not my favorite.

After finishing my bowl I was looking for a park to try to sleep in my tent before I move on to Nagasaki the next morning.

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