The final day

Yesterday was the conclusion (or rather, the culmination!) of the "Gambaro JAPAN!" - Walk for Japan.

The final day was much like the previous 30 days of walking: I met, talked to, walked with, connected, and shared stories and concern about Japan with countless people along the way. There were, as always, a few special encounters as well!!
Every person I have met along the way in this event has been a memorable encounter for me! Truly the power of our event's message ("Gambaro Japan!") rests in your hands. Vancouverites, people visiting Vancouver, even a group of Girl Guides!

"Gambaro-!"

My first special encounter: YOSHIMI!  My wife (my support crew) joined me on my final day of walking. Then part way through my good friend who now lives here in Vancouver, Andy, joined us!!  

Andy and his family were my first glimpse of Japanese culture before I even knew anything about Japan. In fact, it was Andy who many years ago brought back a souvenir bandanna for me from Japan. That was the hachimaki (bandanna) that I wore for the first half of this event!

Not only was it great to walk with him, it was great to see both him and Jaime again!

Later in the day as I made my way around Stanley Park, I met a friendly Japanese couple. It turned out they were on the final day of their visit to Canada. As it was the final day of my event, we all seemed to agree that this was if a lovely chance encounter. They expressed their appreciation for what I was doing, but I was deeply moved when in the midst of our friendly exchange in Japanese the man extended his hand to shake mine and said, in English, "Thank you very much!".  They agreed to tell those they know back in Japan upon their return home about this event, so as to help deliver the message from Canada: "Gambaro Japan!"

The goal for the day, and concluding point of the event, was the Olympic Cauldron.  The sense of elation in having completed the journey by foot from Edmonton to Vancouver was an immensely positive feeling.

We were soon joined, as promised, for an interview with Mr. Sasagawa representing the Vancouver Shimpo (a Japanese Newspaper in Vancouver).  Sitting down to share our story with him was an honour in light of hearing his own story as a Japanese Canadian.  Mr. Sasagawa is a survivor of tremendous hardship.  He watched his town burn around him in the great Kobe earthquake in 1995. At that time, he was deeply impressed by the fundraising activities and the support rallying around this disaster.  For this reason, he wanted to interview us to express his personal gratitude for our efforts as well as support our event through a write-up in the newspaper.

Meeting him was an honour.  It brought a very true and honest sense of completion to the final leg of the journey.

I feel that our objective of channeling supportive thoughts to those struggling to recover in Japan has been a huge success. 

As we mentioned in a previous entry, although the event itself has now concluded, considering the nature of our cause I am sure you will agree that our cause (support for disaster recovery in Japan) will remain important for some time to come.

We would like to sincerely thank each and every person who helped and supported us in this effort: friends, family and kind strangers we met along the way.  Without your help this event would not have been as effective as it was.  You have helped deliver the message of "Gambaro!".

ARIGATOU GOZAIMASHITA!!!  

ありがとうございました！！

Today is the final day!

Today, Tuesday July 26th, is the final day of the Gambaro Japan! -Walk for
Japan.
Along with my wife  Yoshimi and other friends, we will walk from east of
Jericho Beach Park- following the route indicated on the map below-
finishing at the Olympic Cauldron in the late afternoon.
Yesterday walking in the Steveston area was a delight! I was ablest to stop
and talk with many Vancouverites out enjoying the parks and trails.  Thank
you all for taking the time to stop and ask questions as well as share your
stories about Japan. As the walk has drawn closer to Vancouver so to has
Canada's ties to Japan and the strong presence of Japanese-Canadian
communities increased.
Naturally, this brings with it an increase in the level of "connectedness",
awareness and understanding about the disaster relief.  This has resulted in
some wonderful fundraising and charity events which have been held in the
Vancouver, Victoria and surrounding areas - great examples of Canadians
making a difference!  This is exactly why I can think of no better place
than here in Vancouver to finish my walk.
The way I see it, rather than a conclusion, today's final leg of the walk is
a culmination of the event as a whole.  Through all of the people we've met
with over the entire course if this 38 day event - people from the
communities we visited, others who were also visiting those places from all
over Canada as well as all over the world - we hope to send a loud message
that will reverberate in perpetuity in the hearts and minds of those in
Japan affected by the disaster, "Gambaro!"

Walking routes for the final 2 days!

On Monday, July 25th "Gambaro JAPAN!" - Walk for Japan arrives in Vancouver!!

The map below shows the planned route for the final two days of the event.  We will divide the remaining distance between the two final days.  This means that instead of the regular daily distance of approximately 40km, the distance of the route planned for Monday is about 28km in the Richmond area (the lower route shown on the map below), and the final leg of the event will cover a distance of 23km in downtown Vancouver (the upper route on the map).
**Please note that our final destination will now officially be the Olympic Flame Cauldron**


より大きな地図で Walk for Japan Final Route in Vancouver を表示

This is the general plan...and in keeping with the "walk and talk" approach of this event it will be difficult to make an e.t.a. at any point along the route, including the completion on Tuesday.  However, the aim is to complete the walk in the late afternoon to early evening.

On Saturday and Sunday our physical location and mileage segment will match-up as Steve walks segments along the Lougheed Hwy and then in the Aldergrove area.

It's going to be great to be in Vancouver! We look forward to sharing our message on the final days of the walk, while keeping in mind all those who we have connected with along the way!
Gamboro-!

Canadian Connections to Japan - so few degrees of separation

Part of the concept of this event is to share my experience in Japan with fellow Canadians, in hope of bringing further insight, understanding and a deepened perspective to both the culture and country of Japan.  Every day as I walk I enjoy meeting countless people, connecting with them and sharing a story or two about Japan.  Although I have brought with me a formal presentation, I have enjoyed sharing what is in effect parts of that presentation with the people I meet along the way.  

My formal presentation is a PowerPoint presentation that aims to both engage and entertain any sized audience for about an hour.  Understandably this has been difficult to organize from on the road, and is a challenge to make arrangements on such short notice, especially during the summer months when many community groups are tough to get a hold of.  In this final week of the event as our schedule focuses-in closer and closer to Vancouver, should there be any community groups interested in learning more: all we need is an interested audience.  Any interested groups, please contact us using the contact details above!

It has been and continues to be a pleasure to connect with people I cross paths with while I am out walking.  They are always very special exchanges, as I am certain that I would never have met them had I had not been out walking on that path at that time.  In other cases, I only exchange a brief greeting to passer-by's and we both carry on our way.  It is only natural that not everyone I meet has the time or interest to stop, chat and find out more.  I am always hopeful that I may reach those people as well as a much wider audience through the newspapers, t.v. news or even this website!

It has also been a pleasure to learn about the Japanese-Canadian communities as well as cities with strong sister city connections in many of the towns along the way!  I would encourage anyone who wants to learn more about Japan to seek out these community groups in their own region to find out more!  As a Canadian who originally listed Japan at the bottom of a long list of "countries I'd like to visit", and who at first reluctantly went to Japan for "just a year" on what can best be described as a naive young man's blind adventure - then ended up enjoying 8 absolutely fantastic years of my life there, you can take my word for it!

It's been really wonderful to discover along the way that it seems that almost everyone we talk to has some kind of connection to Japan!  For example, we stopped off at a fruit stand along hiway 97 passing through Summerland.  We learned from the owner that her family's farm had been originally purchased from a Japanese-Canadian family!  In fact, the little white house that we could see across the parking lot is still the home of that family's only daughter, who is now in her late 90s!  What's more, the street nearby was named after that family: Kida!  And that was just what we found out while enjoying some fresh B.C. cherries and an ice cream at road-side fruit stand!

A big part of the message of the "Gambaro Japan!" - Walk for Japan is to send a message of understanding, compassion, even admiration along with our donations and disaster relief efforts. What the people in Japan need most is to hear from the world an echo of their resiliency and their bravery in the face of adversity, our sympathy for their hardship as well as our admiration for how they are dealing with it…and to make sure they know that despite our cultural differences, in spite of their solitude as an island nation, we are interconnected with them as they are with us! 

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Lifting spirits

The other day the Japanese women's soccer team won the women's world cup!
先日、なでしこJAPANがサッカーワールドカップ女子の部で優勝しました！
We were both busy walking and talking with all of the great folks we met on the KVR trails up in Myra Canyon, Kelowna - so we couldn't watch the game live.  ( But we heard about the exciting game and the even more spectacular finish from our source for sports, thanks Karina!).
私たちは2人ともKelowna（コロナ）のMyra Canyon（マイラ渓谷）にあるKVRトレールをたくさんの人と話しながら歩いていたので、試合はライブで見ることができませんでした。（が、カリナが試合と勝利の様子を電話で教えてくれたので、白熱した試合の様子がいっそうすばらしく感じられました！）
It was exciting news, and quickly lifted our spirits as we approach to the end of a very long trek!
そのすばらしい勝利の知らせは、とても長いウォーキングコースの最後にさしかかっていた私たちの気持ちを一瞬にして持ち上げてくれました。
This is the first time for Japan, in fact the first time any Asian country has won the championship! It was a great victory and timely as well as any event that can lift the spirits of the people of Japan.
これは日本にとって、実はアジアの国にとっても初の決勝戦での勝利！！　この勝利は、日本の元気ムードを盛り上げるイベントとして素晴らしく、そして、ぴったりのタイミングでした！
So too, in its own way, is the ultimate objective of our event.  We hope that all the people we connect with  along the way - those whom we meet out on the trail and those who read about us in the newspapers or hear about our event on the evening news - to feel inspired to act.  Through the links  to charitable organizations and disaster relief activities on this website,  we hope to send a resouding message of continued support and understanding to Japan,  Gambaro!
それに関連して・・・と言うのも、日本を盛り上げたいというのが私たたちのこのイベントの最終的なゴールです。ウォーキング・トレールで一緒に話しをした人、新聞でこのイベントの記事を読んだ人、テレビのニュースでこのイベントのことを知った人など全ての人がこのイベントをきっかけに「何かしたい！」と思ってほしいと願っています。このブログには義援金送付先やその他の活動のリンクを付けていますが、それと同時に今後も日本への継続的なサポートと理解をお願いする私たちのメッセージが広く反響していったらいいなと思っています。

Now we are in Penticton and going to go to Princeton on July 20th!
今私たちはPenticton（ペンティクトン）という街にいて、7月20日にPrinceton（プリンストン）に移動する予定です！

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Sent from my Motorola ATRIX™

Day 26

We were in Vernon last Thursday.
Although Vernon is south of our "general event route", when Tom Ouchi, who is a member of the Vernon Japanese Cultural Society and a member of the City of Vernon Sister City Committee, contacted us we were compelled to head south! It was very nice to visit Vernon, share our message with the people and local media there, and to hear from Tom about some of the great disaster relief efforts they have done.  We were also fortunate to meet some relatives who live in the area!  Thank you Kathie for your kind hospitality!!

Vernon has a sister city in Japan: Tome City.  Kathie showed us the sign post in front of Vernon's City Hall which shows the distance and direction to all of Vernon's sister cities. As we learned, the sign arm which points towards "Tome, Japan" is a good reminder for the people in Vernon to keep the people of their sister city in their thoughts, especially since the disaster on March 11th.  


Tome (登米）is located in Miyagi prefecture, which is in the Tohoku area and one of the regions most affected area by the earthquake and tsunami. Tom told us that Vernon held a huge fundraiser and donated all of the proceeds to Tome city.


Tom took us to a very, very "oishii" (delicious) Japanese Restaurant on Main Street: "J-don".  While meeting with Tom over lunch, we had a great chance encounter there! The J-don owner's son's family lives in Yamagata, Japan, and the son's wife and their baby just happened to be in Vernon visiting for 2 weeks!  We were very fortunate to meet them at the restaurant by chance!
Yamagata is located just beside Miyagi. Please have a look at the Japanese map below. Miyagi and Yamagata are both in the Tohoku area (area shown in pink). Japan is made up of 47 prefectures and 10 big regions. The huge earthquake's epicenter was offshore of the East coast of Tohoku. 
  
The couple we met in Vernon are active in a charity called the Otagaisama Project . It is a volunteer project supported mainly by individual people and companies in Yamagata and aims to help people in the affected area: Tohoku. Most of their efforts focus on providing warm food to the people there. 
The name of the project "Otagaimasa" means "each other" or "one another". There is a saying in Japanese, "Komattatoki wa otagaisama", which means "When we are in trouble, let's help each other." This saying is such a common concept or word for Japanese people that the word "Otagaisama" itself implies "help each other and one another". 


The son volunteers in affected areas in his free time and when he has time away from work.  So even now, he stayed in Japan to volunteer rather than join his wife and child on their visit to Canada.
His wife also goes to the affected areas to serve food.  It was moving to hear her stories.  She told us how people there are very grateful to receive food each and every time. They always thank the volunteers from the bottom of their heart. 
When she joined this project for the first time, she was worried about how people who had lost their homes in the disaster would react...  What would she say if someone who had lost their home said to her: "You guys are lucky to have a house to go home to!...We lost everything!...". But in fact, she never encountered anything even close to such a sentiment.  In listening to her story, again the stoic nature of the Japanese people seemed to be shining through!  Surprisingly, she explained, rather than pitying themselves for their loss, the people there were struggling with the the issue of not knowing to whom they could express their gratitude. She was continually asked: "Who can we thank for this food? Who is providing this for us?  We always receive food for free. Surely we don't deserve this. Please tell us who is helping us.  Once we are able to resume our  normal life, we want to thank them!  At the very least, I would like to write a letter to express my gratitude...we are so very thankful!". 


She said, "It's very important for some people to know who is providing food and supplies, just receiving such kindness anonymously can be stressful for them. So we are trying to tell those people about the source of the support goods as much as we can." I think that's why "otagaisama"is very important for Japanese people. Those who are in a difficult situation need to feel that it's ok to accept this aid and to be helped, because this is the essence of  "otagaisama". 


Finally, she told us: "People in the affected area are getting into the next stage.  These days, they have overcome the emergent condition. Now, temporary houses provided by the government and volunteer groups are ready to accept most of the people who lost their homes.  However, this is not a complete solution.  Although they can move into the temporarily constructed houses, the people have to find a job to support themselves and that is not easily done. That's why there are still a lot of people living in shelters, such as the ones in school gyms. 
"They are facing the next stage which is how to get back to their normal life again.", she explained.


Through the conversation with with her, we re-recognized people there are still suffering from the hardship and we are further encouraged to do this charity walk!!

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Day 24

Today we had bad weather after a long spell of fine days.

Steve walked the 20th segment today, July 12th, between Revelstoke and Sicamous on trails in both areas, completing about 805km so far.

At this point, he has finished almost 2/3 of the general route - his legs are starting to get sore but spirits remain high!  Tomorrow is a scheduled rest day, so he plans on taking a good rest, save energy, talk with some local media, and then he will be back at it tomorrow! 

**(special note: it was a great day to take a rest, as it gave us the chance to cheer-on the Japanese Women's soccer team as they defeated Sweden 3 -1!!!  They will now go on to face the U.S.A. in the World Cup Finals on Sunday!  "Gambatte Nippon!" (Go Japan Go!)

Steve often says, "Walking doesn't look tough, but walking every day for 7 hours is really tough! It's actually very similar to the situation in Japan in that although recently we don't hear or see much news about those affected by the disaster in Japan, what we do (or did) see in the headlines and images on t.v. didn't tell us the whole story.  The Japanese have a very stoic nature that is an integral part of their culture.  To "Gaman suru" means to endure hardship with a graceful appearance, so we must keep this in mind when we hear or see news from Japan, and adjust our perspective appropriately.  Looks can be deceiving, and I think that the way in which the average Japanese person has dealt with (and continue to deal with) the affects of this disaster are nothing short of admirable and extraordinary."

When Steve shares this idea with the people he meets, everyone seems to agree.  People in Canada and around the world can easily share their sentiments of support and encouragement with the people affected by the disaster by checking out some of the charitable activities and Japan relief projects listed on the right hand side of this website.  For example, by clicking on the link to "Hope Letters", you will find how anyone can write a letter, send it to Hope Letters and they will translate it to Japanese and get it to the people in the disaster zone.  Why not have a quick look and see what you can do?!

  

In our effort to counter the tendency of "out of sight, out of mind", here is an article about the recent situation in Fukushima, which I found in the Japanese online news written in English.

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201107110128.html

It can be a struggle to fully understand a story that is happening thousands of miles away from our daily lives.  And what we can see is not always the full picture of just how grave the situation is -  especially when looks can be deceiving. But I think we all naturally sense the difficulty of the situation and thirst for a better understanding.  That's why Steve decided to refocus attention and raise awareness again about the situation in Japan thorough sharing experience and by walking!!

Gambaro-! (Let's stay strong!) Japan!!

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Day 22

Our route is only a "general route" so as to have flexibility to meet with any community groups who have an interest in hearing more about this event.  Although Invermere was not on our general route, it looked like there might be a possibility to give a presentation to a community group there.  In the end, the opportunity did not materialize, but opportunities to meet media were available, so Steve decided to walk in Invermere area for the afternoon.
This slight change in schedule turned out to be very eventful! We were later able to connect with Mrs. Chizuko Purschwitz: a local woman who has successfully organized some very significant disaster relief fundraisers including a charity concert. It was our extreme pleasure to meet with her and share our stories.
Thank you again, Chizuko san! Gambaro-!

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Our days in Revelstoke have been special for us because... Steve's mother and sister came here to visit us and Revelstoke is the place where Steve's grandmother was born!!

The first day in Revelstoke was a scheduled rest day, so we walked (but not too much! ha ha!) around town and saw some of the sights.

This is the main street in Revelstoke. Very pretty!

Beautiful scenery!

The Railway Museum

"Timber Days" Lumberjack Challenge!

At the Lumberjack Challenge we met a lady named Josie who was selling ice cream from the Revelstoke United Church booth.  She invited us to the service on Sunday to speak. Two weeks in a row!  What luck!!

Revelstoke United Church

Revelstoke has been very active in many Japan disaster relief efforts.  Still, the members of the minister and the congregation were very supportive of Steve's message.  As we did in Canmore, we enjoyed talking everyone after the service.     

Before and after the church service, Steve walked today's leg: the 18th segment! He has covered about 684km as of July 8th. After Revelstoke, we are going to go to Sicamous on Tuesday, July 12th.

B.C. is very new to us and we don't know many people, so if anybody knows someone along the route, please contact us or pass our contact information to the person you know!! 

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Day 19

Today's update!

Steve has walked about 644km as of July 7th.
We are going to Revelstoke this evening and will stay there for a few days this weekend.

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Anyone interested in having Steve's presentation or anyone who knows lacal media there, please contact us!!
We are trying to deliver our message as much as we can!

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Steve walked the Lake Louise and Moraine Lake area on July 6th and Johnston Canyon area on July 7th.

Such beautiful places, they are very popular tourist destinations!  So, as he walked and hiked he met people from not only all over Canada but from all over the world!!
Just to name a few, he met people from Switzerland, Spain, France, Taiwan, China, the United.States and even Japan!!!  We hope the people we encountered will enjoy checking this blog, possibly connect with the charitable organizations linked-in here on the right hand side of the screen.  Steve was glad to meet and talk with each and every one of you - as you help us spread our message to the world!  We hope they will take our message home with them and share it with friends and family in their home countries!
And also he heard various stories about disaster relief fundraising that their country or region did for Japan. It was great to hear that a lot of people think about this cause and have done something to help in their own way.  Thank you for your support!  Gambaro JAPAN!!

This walk, the "Gambaro Japan" - Walk for Japan, is Steve's way. It is a "Walk and Talk", which aims at reminding  people that the Japan relief effort is far from over, and in continual need of our thoughts, goodwill, understanding as well as donations.
I ( Steve's wife ) usually drive the support vehicle, but for these two days I walked with him on a few legs.  It was interesting to notice that by simply walking with his gear on ("Walk for Japan" across his chest, Canadian and Japanese flags on his backpack) people who merely see him in passing seem to take pause and have a chance to think about Japan.  Even though Steve is always looking for the opportunity to explain what he is doing and share his message with the people he meets, it seems even his presence is an effective step towards the objective of this walk. As I tried to keep up to him on the hikes (he tries to maintain a brisk pace!) I could hear people talking about his event or Japan after they passed by him.
It is a great feeling that as I support his walk, I feel I am supporting Japan!!

Vermillion Crossing!!  Thank you Alberta!  Here we come B.C.!!!

Day 17

On Sunday, the warm welcome in Canmore continued with an invitation to speak at the United Church.  

Steve then walked along the beautiful trail that runs beside the highway the full distance from Canmore to Banff, and then around the Banff area.

After a busy string of days it was time for a scheduled rest day today (Monday).  After several days of intense focus on the walk, sometimes it is difficult to wind down for some rest.  Luckily, we could not be in better hands. The other day, some friends from Edmonton had stopped-off on the side of the road to say hi and show their support.  John, Kazuko, little Kensho and cute little Hana were on a family holiday in Banff.  

Later in the day when we arrived in Banff looking for a place to stay, we received a warm invitation to come stay in some lovely cabins located in the Banff townsite just off main street.  The warmth, hospitality (and homemade Granola and even freshly baked buns set out in the morning!!!) at Banff Beaver Cabins was overwhelmingly delightful (and delicious!!)!

We would like to extend a huge thank you to owner and manager Laura for her kindness and generous support.  For those looking for the perfect place to stay when in Banff: Banff Beaver Cabins, 403-762-5077(www.banffbandbcabins.com)

One of the natural consequences of this event is that Steve can get very hungry.  (Well, I suppose it is necessary to fuel the furnace!)  As we are funding this event out of our own pocket we greatly appreciate whenever people help to reduce our expenses.  We cannot adequately express our gratitude to all those individuals who have shown us such generous support. It is truly as Canadian as...well, this event is itself!  

Tonight we found ourselves indebted to the kind generosity of Mike Mallon, who manages The Keg in downtown Banff.  Thanks again Mike, for fueling Steve's walk tomorrow! As great as it is to have our expenses reduced, what's even better is to hear from people their personal feelings regarding the disaster in Japan as well as their stories of local fundraising efforts.

Steve finished the 13th segment on Sunday, which means he has walked 523.25km so far. And he is walking the 14th segment right now on the trails in Banff! Soon, he will be crossing over into B.C.!! 

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Canada Day!

On Canada Day we joined-in the celebrations in both Canmore and Banff. 
In the morning at the Rotary club pancake breakfast and again in the afternoon at the canada day celebrations in Canmore's Centennial park we set up a little display.


 
We also joined both the parade in Canmore as well as the Canada Day parade in Banff! 
The crowd was very supportive and cheered us on. 
Having a feeling of connectedness to and concern for global issues seems to be so inherently  canadian! With this in mind, Canada Day itself struck a deep chord and really resonated with our event. 

In joining the parades and Canada Day celebrations we hope that, in keeping with the objectives of the" Gambaro JAPAN!" - Walk for Japan, we can refocus attention back onto disaster relief efforts in Japan and send a loud, supportive message from Canada: Gambaro!!