Running to the Edge of the World

On my first morning in Japan, I took advantage of the jet lag and went out for an early run. I was in Tsudanama for one night, in the Chiba prefecture just outside of Tokyo.  This area is a combination of urban sprawl, suburban and rural cultures that you don't find in the US.

I headed out from the house in a residential area near the Kesei (Train) Station, and headed North. After taking a long pedestrian bridge over the JR tracks, I found myself on a paved path running through farm fields. The sun was just coming up, and roosters were crowing. 

After about a mile, I came out of the farm area, to a good sized road that had a nice looking bike path along it. There was a line of trees between the road and the path, and occasion park benches. I followed the bike path for a long time, and it changed in character as it passed through commercial, residential and more remote areas. I kept expecting the path to come to an end, but it just kept coming.

It was a Saturday morning, so most of the office workers were still in bed. For company, I had the elderly folks, out for their morning constitutionals. The older folks in Japan never cease to amaze me.  They seem to stay healthy and active to impossibly advanced ages. At times like this, when they own the street, the country takes on a wholesome feeling that

 contrasts strikingly with the cell phone hustle of the younger generations.

As the path stretched on, I started to imagine what its end would look like. At first, I pictured a nice park,

with a map of the path on a sign. Later, my imagination became more dramatic. Surely I would arrive at cliff overlooking the ocean. Japan, after all, is an island. How much longer could I run in a straight line? When I started to imagine I would find the edge of the world, a la "The God's Must Be Crazy", I thought I better turn around. 

Running back through the farm fields in full daylight, I had a spectacular view of Mt. Fuji. I had forgotten that on a clear day Fuji-san was visible from so far away. And this was shaping up to be a clear day if there ever was one.