LIVING IN THE HILLS OF NOBEOKA

I woke up and ate a complimentary breakfast at Joyfull Restaurant located on the first floor of the hotel. It wasn't too bad...eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, salad, and drink of your choice. Most "Denny's" type restaurants in Japan are self-serve drink bars. I headed back into town to look for a surf shop because the area is known for surfing. I found one shop but all they sold were typical American brand surf stuff that I didn't care for. As is often the case, Japanese seem to want only American branded stuff when it comes to certain things. Disappointed, I left and headed up the coast towards Nobeoka.

I stopped at a Takoyaki stand along the highway and ate there. The lady had been running the joint for 30 years...she said she is quitting soon because traffic has slowed. It was good takoyaki...she gave me a free ice cream cone even though it was cold. There wasn't really much going on around the area. As I headed into Nobeoka it started to get cold. All along the way there were counters on the sidewalks getting in my way. They seemed to be counting cars or something. I would find out later that they opened a new expressway along Miyazaki area so they must've been surveying traffic flow.

I planned to stay with Takeru, a couch surfer host who lives in the mountains north of Nobeoka. The road I was taking started to head towards the expressway. I had to get off the highway when it suddenly became a toll road...I found a side street connection up a gnarly hill that put me back on the correct highway. I called Takeru and we met up near his house.

Takeru is an amazing person. He has traveled all over the world by bicycle and by car. He is a man on a mission. He found a piece of homestead property out here, leveled the forest, and built his own house out of round tree pole frames and wooden pallets he received in exchange for eggs he gets from his chickens. Water is sourced from the river and electricity via solar panels. He practices natural economics, where he barters eggs for vegetables from the farmers. This homestead lifestyle isn't for everyone, but you must respect his resourcefulness. Humans used to live this way long before modernization led us to where we are today.

Takeru is currently starting a revolution to change the way the country is run. He spent many years out of the country and has vast experience and knowledge from his travels. He sees Japan as not being a true democracy...where complacency has kept the country from progressing. He points out the fact that the Japanese Supreme Court is one of the most conservative courts in the world, the below excerpt taken from Wikipedia:

"The Supreme Court of Japan has been described as the most conservative constitutional court in the world, and for good reason ...Since its creation in 1947 [the court] has struck down only eight statutes on constitutional grounds. By way of comparison, Germany’s constitutional court, which was established several years later, has struck down over 600 laws. The majority of the Japanese Supreme Court’s rulings of unconstitutionality have, moreover, been less than momentous ...The high point of ...judicial review in Japan is probably a 1976 decision rejecting a legislative apportionment scheme ...yet the Court refrained in that case from ordering any remedy."

We talked for a long time about Japan and traveling...I was very inspired by his story and his present mission to change Japan for the better. Part of me wants to be like him and just go out there and see what the world is all about. One thing he said that stuck with me was, "if you don't know what's out there, then you won't know what you want to do with yourself." I spent the night for the first time in Japan here with my sleeping bag, under the living shelter area this great man created with his own will.