Adjusting to Pacific time from Japan
Since we are wrapping up our journey, we are trying to get back to Pacific Time so we experience less jet lag once we return home. So the plan is to sleep at 4 PM and wake up around midnight. We work from midnight until 6 AM, then go back to sleep until about 10 AM.
This morning, after waking up, we went out for coffee. Japan is not really known for its coffee culture, so finding a nice coffee shop can be surprisingly expensive. We learned this the hard way, hehe.
Japanese Garden
After coffee, we headed to a Japanese garden about a 20-minute walk from our hotel. It was a truly calm and peaceful place!
Other than us, there was only one other non-Japanese couple visiting the garden. Everyone else seemed to be local. Some were walking through the garden with friends, chatting quietly as they went. Others, mostly older people, were sitting on benches, resting and enjoying the scenery.
It felt like the kind of place where nobody was in a hurry.
Below are some photos from the garden:
Getting ready to hike up the mountain in Big White
After two months and a few days away from home, I have to admit that I am really missing Big White. I am looking forward to hiking up that beautiful mountain once the hiking and biking season starts in early July.
To do that, I need to get my legs up and running again. I can walk for longer periods now, and my legs are cooperating. By the end of the day, they still get quite swollen, but that is normal at this stage of recovery.
I keep walking anyway, and I am trying to increase my pace little by little. Hiking, however, is another story. I will need to build up to that gradually.
I miss hiking. I look forward to getting stronger and feeling more at home in my body again. Hopefully, a stronger body will lead to a healthier mind, and together they will bring a better quality of life.
Here's to better health :)
June 17th, 2026
Shizuoka, Japan
