Just for a quick overview of the previous two weeks, here’s how they look in quantitative form.
Biking
Miles cycled: 566
Crashes sustained: 3
Crashes as a result of cars: 0
Tunnels survived: 32+
Times I swore at Hermes: 20
Times I covered Hermes with compliments: 15 (I have some sweet talk to do)
Rainy days on the bike: 4
Flats: 0, so far
Audiobooks completed: 4
Songs made up out loud while biking: 2 hours total
Bowls of ramen since Sapporo: 1, maybe
New Japanese foods tried: lots, but discernably 5
Times “I never need to eat again” uttered: 8
Times I ate again within two hours: 5
Bouts of sickness: 1 (I blame squid that too late I discovered was 2 weeks past expiration)
Caloriemate energy bars: 8
Home-cooked meals: 17 (I’m again stunned by this generosity)
Cups of tea: Many
Times said, “Birthday ______!” as reason to eat: 5
Sleeping
Crazy, detailed dreams: 15+
Mattresses: 3
Tatami style floor mats: 4
Sleeping in public places: 2
Times photographed sleeping in public place: 1
Times woken up to be asked to sleep elsewhere: 1
Times directions ignored without further ado: 1
Nights of restless sleep: 3
Nights of blissful rest: 11
Miscellaneous:
Monkeys seen: 40 at a time
Museums/parks visited: 3
Onsen visited: 2
Travel buddies found: 1

Naoto, a travelling buddy discovered in Akita, and who was good company for a few days, sleeping under the stars, talking about human truths, and finding awesome common ground. See you in Nara!
Birthdays: 1
Birthday desserts: 3
Persimmons eaten: 6
Types of vegetables harvested: 3
Children adored: 4
Buckets of phytoplankton investigated: 1
Trains taken: 5 (4 of which to get to local sites, one to avoid a typhoon)
Typhoons: 3
Laundry loads: 3
Revelations and insights: Too many to count, or even keep track of
Times said, “Watashi wa baga gaijin des” (I am a stupid, silly foreigner): Dozens
Success rate of laughter at above statement: 95%
Ferries taken: 3
Time spent feeling unbelievably blessed and grateful: Hundreds of hours
New nicknames developed: 1
- My love for boats extends with every ride.
Hopefully this gives some summary of the last two weeks. I apologize for cramming it all in, but this is the sad reality of having such long absences from internet.
Until the next post,
Sparklepony