Kakegawa, Storm of Lessons
You might be wondering about the title, but don’t worry—you’ll see. For starters, the night before my next walk, my host dad told me the weather wasn’t looking good. I thought, how bad could it be? He just laughed.
It turned out to be tropical-storm-level bad. My ego was a lot like everyone else’s when they see something cool online—“oh, I could do that.” But when I woke up and heard the wind and rain, I started to think a little differently.
My host dad made me a farewell breakfast, but it felt more like a last meal before I was about to be sacrificed to the storm.
Let me just say that within 10 minutes of being outside, the rain had already soaked through my snow pants, my thermal leggings, and straight to my underwear. I rushed into a convenience store, hoping to find pullover rain pants—but no luck. I settled for a small hand towel to wrap my wet phone and kept going.
I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced hard rain, but it felt like hail hitting the top of my head. Eventually, I made it to my path, which was supposed to wind through nature and be beautiful. Instead, there were orange cones blocking the entrance, and I remembered seeing online that mudslides were a high risk.
So I switched plans and started walking along the streets, taking the less scenic route. That’s when I stepped knee-deep into a puddle and realized most of the sidewalks were completely flooded. At that point, I was pretty defeated. I seriously considered just taking the train the rest of the way and skipping the walk altogether.
Instead, I went two train stops ahead to see if I could keep going. You’re welcome, Mom…I was safe and smart… this time.
Turns out the plan was perfect. Even though it was still raining there was definitely walkable areas. I eventually made it to Kikukawa.
I continued on to Kakegawa with music in one ear and the sound of rain in the other. By the way, I’m not sponsored by Apple, but my AirPod fell into water and onto the street multiple times and still worked—very surprising. This was my 1st time ever using Air Pods.
I didn’t arrive at my small business hotel until pretty late, around 9 or 10 p.m. I noticed there were a lot of bars in the area, so I saw a perfect opportunity to meet new people and bar-hop.
Here’s some quick context you’ll need: I don’t really get drunk the way most people do or at all. I don’t feel the usual signs, and I can keep drinking until my body gives out. That means I have to be very careful. For example, I can sit and drink back-to-back for hours in large amounts with no obvious issue, but internally my body might be struggling. This makes social situations tricky because people often drink to loosen up or have fun, but I don’t feel much change. Usually, I copy someone nearby as a pacing guide—if they get drunk, I slow down or stop.
Now you might be thinking: “But aren’t you traveling solo? How are you going to pace yourself?” Exactly.
At the first bar, I had one beer, a little Japanese conversation, and then left. The next one only had a salaryman, so once again, one beer and I moved on. I repeated this four or five more times before realizing I wasn’t really meeting anyone. By that point, I was already seven beers and two shochus in.
So I went back to the first bar to see if more people had shown up—and they had. I ended up drinking another three beers and four sours. Then I started playing cards with one of the bartenders. She was very attractive, so yeah… I did a few shots with her. I also did shots with other people in the bar. And so on.
At that point, I completely abandoned my pacing rule and wasn’t responsible. Not only did I rack up a bill of about $125 (which, honestly, would’ve been way worse in America), but I also messed my body up pretty badly.
The next morning, I experienced my first real hangover. The only other time I had drunk enough to hurt myself, I woke up in a hospital with IVs—so I had never actually felt this before. It was like an acidic volcano in my stomach, mixed with lightheadedness and a weak, drained feeling. I had no appetite, and even drinking water felt unpleasant.
I spent the entire day going back and forth between my bed and the tub filled with warm water in my hotel room. Toward the end of the day, I finally managed to walk to a convenience store and grab some electrolytes and an egg sandwich.
Now, the lessons. I need to pay attention to the weather. I need to better understand my route and the potential complications. I need to accept that my “waterproof” gear only goes so far—my bag cover helps, but my clothes definitely aren’t waterproof. I also need to remember that I’m not made of money; I can’t afford $100 mistakes when I’m planning to be here for a year or more with limited savings.
And most importantly, my health—I have a condition that affects how I register alcohol. Let’s call it “Viking syndrome.” In a country like Japan, where drinking culture is strong, I need to be a lot smarter about it.
Don’t worry though, I am fine now. On my way to the Shizuoka City Sakura Festival, which should be a nice four day break from walking.