Tokyo Trails

By Charlene Roberts

“Ohaiyo gozaimasu (good morning)” takes on a whole new meaning when it is 4:30 am on a Tokyo summer morning and I’m in the middle of training to walk the Portland Marathon. This is my tenth summer in Tokyo at a Japanese summer day camp and my second year with Portland Fit and the heat and humidity are more than I can handle. Tokyo summers are notoriously brutal; making it really hard to walk the distances once the sun is blazing overhead. My solution: start before the sun comes up, even when that means 4:30 am Toyko time.

Getting up this early is actually quite easy when you factor in jet lag. With the 17-hour time difference between Portland and Tokyo I find I am awake early every morning anyway. I just keep setting the alarm each day to make sure I get up in plenty of time, even after I have jet lag under control.

Last year, I walked my first Portland Marathon and this year I am doing half-marathons. The July/August training schedule proves to be a real challenge when I am away from my walking pals and supported routes. I had to find a route where I could avoid the millions of people I meet every day on the trains, subways, buses, and sidewalks. In the middle of urban sprawl, I found the Nogawa River.

The Nogawa River flows through Tokyo’s western suburbs and empties into larger rivers crisscrossing the delta on which Tokyo is built. There are paved bike paths along both banks of the river, a large park with walking paths and exercise courses, restrooms, water fountains, and, most importantly, a 7-11 store with an open restroom at the 5-mile mark. At every bridge, there are rows of vending machines where I can buy my favorite sports drink, Pocari Sweat. The surface is easy to walk on and the cherry trees help shade both the outgoing and return routes. My Nike Tailwind, a pedometer on steroids, measures the distance and I use landmarks along the way to set my pace.

In the early morning hours, senior citizens take photos, sweep, rake, pick up trash, walk, ride bikes, walk the dog, carry the dog in a basket on the bike, and jog the paths along the river. The younger people seem to wait until after the sun is up to show their faces. Each person I meet greets me with “Ohaiyo gozaimasu (good morning)” and I am thoroughly impressed with the strength I hear in their voices and their fitness levels. These elders set a fast pace and it is not easy to keep up with them.

The river also supports a myriad of wildlife: cormorants, blue and white herons, white egrets, ducks, crows, koi, snakes, cats, horses (in stables), dogs, and gigantic bullfrogs. At times I imagine the sounds of the crows are mimicking the neigh of the horses, the meow of the cats, the laughter of children and the roar of the traffic.

My training is on schedule and I have been able to meet the benchmarks with some of my new friends. I look forward to going back again next summer and hearing my friends call out across the river, “Hisashiburi desu ne! (it’s been a long time)” and I will feel right at home again.