My legs and feet felt good today. I climbed a small mountain and arrived pretty early at my destination.

A sort of “inner rage” took over since I left the minshuku, in the morning, and pushed me further and further throughout the day.

I believe it was generated by a combination of causes, but it was mainly a desire for “revenge” over my unprecedented laziness and defeatist attitude over the last days.

Was it a wake up call? Maybe. We’ll see on the long run. Meanwhile, over half of this pilgrimage is completed, which is kind of a relief.

Yesterday the lady owner at the minshuku must have liked me a lot. As always, one of the first question was about my country of origin.

“Italia-jin desu…”

“Ah! Italia? Uuuh… Playboy!”

And then she started laughing and asking a ton of other questions whose only answer on my side was wakarimasen (I don’t understand). It was interesting to notice how she still had her priorities straight, given her seniority.

This playboy thing became the running joke for the whole evening and of course also during breakfast.

It didn’t particularly annoy me, as I’m getting used to being the center of attention wherever I go, but sometimes I still wish they would just leave me alone.

Tomorrow I will walk only in the morning and have a short stage to reach Uwajima. Apparently there is a well maintained castle downtown, and I would really love to visit it without worrying about the time I will spend there.

Hopefully this short stage won’t put out the “killer instinct” I enjoyed today on the road. While I didn’t particularly enjoy his company (though at least it provided some), I will still need it until the end of this o-henro.

Thanks again for keeping up with the articles day after day. Don’t forget to check my Patreon page if you wish to contribute. I still have no rewards to send out, and that’s kind of sad, isn’t it?

Anyways, enjoy the Halloween parties for me. Cheers!