04/03/2026 JPBT Day 12 : The physics of privacy

“Hola! Eres de Mexico?”

“Si!”

We found some bike tourists from Mexico, identified by the bandera flapping out of the pannier. They had just finished “high school” and were taking a “gap year”. Already, Pedro had studied abroad in China, backpacked South East Asia, and now he and his buddy Andre are early-on in their ride across the entire length of Japan - just like us, except they took a train to the VERY bottom so they could say they did the whole thing with courtroom precision. Janet and I, in our old age, don’t bother with those little details anymore, 99% is good enough for these bones! These guys were fast - we had to pedal hard to catch them.

I like meeting enthusiastic touring cyclists, but am especially happy when we meet travelers so young. The world is especially magical at that age.

We zipped along and visited 3 sites I had planned - à busy day! We saw Nabegataki falls (which you can walk behind as they are overhung), then on to Aso-Kuju national park… and inadvertently, we also came across some public outdoor “steam cookers,” which would make for a cool “block party”. These were thermal vents that had been converted to cookers for food. Im glad I pulled out my phone to translate because a small sign said these were for the residents only - not for tourists. I had been trying to decide if I should plop the mackerel , chicken gizzards, or lotus root we were carrying into the wire mesh basket.

We decided to sleep indoors tonight. It’s not because we want to be cooped up , but heavy rain is coming in a couple hours. We resisted the urge to seek a second “Western style” accommodation, and cycled into the countryside to a small inn hosted by a friendly woman. To say the walls are thin would be an understatement. À lithe wooden skeleton supports origami paper, and that is the barrier between you and your neighbor.

Checking into rooms like this is a part of the experience. Im sure it would be even richer without the phone as a go-between… but the hosts seem universally proud of their rooms which consist of just a floor with a mat…and maybe a pile of blankets pretending to be a table.. They shuffle you aroujd the premises. You’re constantly swapping your shoes for outdoor slippers (something in the Crocks family tree) and then comfy indoor slippers next. They show you the shared bathroom and then take you outside to the ramshackle hut - where I have to carefully crouch, but our host has to use a step ladder. Here is where there is a hot water sprayer. You’re provided with a robe so you don’t have to walk around naked on your way to the hut. With all the outfit changes, these places feel less like inns and more like a backstage pass to catwalk couture.

Once you’re settled in, green tea arrives, loose leaf, with a thermos of hot water. Even though it is night time, I brew cup after cup with alacrity.

And then they leave you to your own devices. It’s nice to have the peace, and surprising the amount of privacy tissue paper can provide.