Tokyo · the Michinoku Coastal Trail · the Izu Peninsula · October 2026

The Journal Index

Eighteen days in four parts — the city, the coast, the peninsula, and the last night.

Tokyo

Three days in the city before the walk. All six.

Day One · Saturday 3 OctoberSydney to Tokyo · HanedaThe 11.45 out of Sydney, nine hours of it, and the first night beside the runway at Haneda.Day Two · Sunday 4 OctoberTokyo · KyobashiSix in Tokyo. The first full day of it, and whatever the city did to everyone.Day Three · Monday 5 OctoberTokyo · KyobashiThe second Tokyo day — the last one before the packs go on.

The Michinoku Coastal Trail

Seven days on the Sanriku Coast, Hachinohe to Morioka — Oku Japan, self-guided. All six.

Day Four · Tuesday 6 OctoberTokyo to Hachinohe · the Coastal Trail, day oneNorth by shinkansen to the top of the trail. Hachinohe, and the first fish market.Day Five · Wednesday 7 OctoberKabushima Shrine to the Tanesashi Coast · trail day twoThe northern trailhead, the black-tailed gulls, and the first night in a minshuku.Day Six · Thursday 8 OctoberNakano to Mugyō, Kuji · trail day threeForest paths and paved coast road to Kuji — the ama divers' town.Day Seven · Friday 9 OctoberFudai to Kurosaki · trail day fourFudai, the village the seawall saved, and the walk out to Kurosaki.Day Eight · Saturday 10 OctoberFudai to the Kitayamazaki Observatory · trail day fiveThe big day: the cliffs of Kitayamazaki, two hundred metres straight up out of the Pacific.Day Nine · Sunday 11 OctoberSakiyama to Jōdogahama · trail day sixThe last walking day, ending on the white stones of Jōdogahama — the beach called paradise.Day Ten · Monday 12 OctoberMiyako to Morioka · trail day sevenInland to Morioka, an onsen at Tsunagi, and the six together for the last time until Tokyo.

The Izu Peninsula

Atami, then Shimoda. John and Sally.

Day Eleven · Tuesday 13 OctoberMorioka to Atami · the Izu PeninsulaTwo, not six. South the length of Honshu to Atami, where the peninsula begins.Day Twelve · Wednesday 14 OctoberAtamiA day in Atami — the hot springs, the bay, and the pace after the trail.Day Thirteen · Thursday 15 OctoberAtami to ShimodaDown the coast to Shimoda, where the Black Ships came in, and four nights above the sea.Day Fourteen · Friday 16 OctoberShimodaShimoda and the peninsula. Whatever the two of them found.Day Fifteen · Saturday 17 OctoberShimodaThe middle of the Izu days.Day Sixteen · Sunday 18 OctoberShimodaThe last full day on the peninsula.Day Seventeen · Monday 19 OctoberShimoda to Tokyo · HanedaBack to Tokyo, and the six together again for the last night.

Tokyo, the last night

Everyone back at Haneda, and the morning flight home.

Day Eighteen · Tuesday 20 OctoberTokyo to SydneyThe 8.30 out of Haneda, and home by evening. What everyone said about it on the plane.

The Walk

The Michinoku Coastal Trail
Japan's newest long trail — a thousand kilometres of the Sanriku Coast, "the Alps of the Sea". Seven days of the best of it, self-guided with Oku Japan.
TrailheadKabushima Shrine, Hachinohe — the black-tailed gulls
High pointCape Kitayamazaki — cliffs to two hundred metres, three lookouts, and the way down
Last stepsJōdogahama — white stones, blue water, green pines
NightsHachinohe · Tanesashi (minshuku) · Kuji · Fudai (minshuku) · Kitayamazaki · Jōdogahama · Morioka (onsen)
The tableSeafood, all week — the uni especially
BagsCarried ahead each day, Hachinohe to Miyako

The trail runs through towns rebuilt since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami; walking it is part of how they come back. The pages will say so where the days do.

The Group

Names as they should appear — confirmed in John's voice brief.
The sixJohn & Sally Platt · Virginia Crofts · Paul Hartmann · Graham & Kim Campbell
TogetherTokyo and the trail, 3–12 October · Tokyo again, 19 October
IzuJohn and Sally, 13–18 October

Portraits and one-liners to come.

More

PhotographsThe GalleryEvery frame lands here, straight from the group's phones. Each eveningTonight's ReelThe day's photographs, playing at the minshuku before dinner. Worth keepingThe Little Black BookTables · Stays · People In printThe BookThe printed edition, built after the trip and proofed by Sally. ContributeShare your photosStraight from the camera roll — no app, no account.