Deciding to walk the Nakasendo, despite the time of the year

I always wanted to visit Japan, but although I live quite close, it didn't seem like it would work. Japan just is much too expensive for a poor student like me, or so I thought.

Then I learned about "nojuku", the feasibility of "urban camping" in Japan, and found this blog documenting the preparation and walk from Tokyo to Kyoto via the Nakasendo. It didn't take long and my best friend was as excited and convinced as me, that this was the perfect plan for our winter holiday.

In the following days we got more and more worried we might run into trouble along the way due to the road, especially the mountain passes we would have to cross, possibly being covered in snow. We are by no means experienced hikers, even less so in snow and ice. But our mind was made up.

The mentioned blog as well as other websites provide excellent resources and experiences about walking the Nakasendo, but there is barely any information about road conditions, weather along the way, feasibility of the walk etc. during Winter.

Another serious challenge will be to find vegan food along the way, in a country where pretty much everything is 'contaminated' with fish products. Convenience stores like 7-11 and Family Mart are pretty much everywhere, but I don't suppose the variety of vegan meals available there or at restaurants will be staggering. We will bring a camping gas stove along to be able to cook some noodles when necessary--see our equipment list.

None of us really speaks any decent Japanese. I recently started learning some, but it'd be wishful thinking to believe I can follow a dialogue with a native. I can however speak--and also read some--Chinese, which will certainly prove useful when trying to read road signs or menus.

That's why I decided to set up this blog, documenting our rather short month of preparation, as well as our attempt to walk from Tokyo to Kyoto along the Nakasendo within a maximum of 19 days, starting January 18th 2014.

May it be of use for someone out there, having similarly crazy ideas.

Be sure to check out "Walking the Nakasendo", a terrific diary of preparation for the Nakasendo and the walk itself during April.