Walking Goto Islands: Day 2

Travel diaries: March 3rd - unexpectedly good weather and walking to Dozaki Church.

After a good night's sleep, thanks to the absence of choppy ocean waters, my second day on the islands started with a pleasant surprise. Despite the weather forecast showing a full day of gray clouds, there were blue skies, and the temperature was also 10 degrees higher than the previous day. I trust the Japan Meteorological Agency (usually correct with their weather predictions) so blindly that I was fully prepared for a bad weather day. Oh well, no complaints.

Spring is already here in Goto.

My plan for the day was to take the 10 a.m. bus to the Fukue Port and then walk the 10 kilometers to Dozaki Church. The estimated walk time was 2 hours, and I knew there would be many photo stops.

Thanks to the owners of Te To Ba, who open the cafe as early as 8.30 a.m., I could start my morning at the cafe, having a Japanese breakfast set (rice, raw egg, miso soup), catching up with the owners and hearing the good news that their business was recovering after the devastating impact of the pandemic.

The night before I could finish the very non-Goto related book that I was reading (something about the Twitter ownership saga) and could start the Silence by Shusaku Endo that I saved to read on this trip.¹

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Soon, I was on my way to Dozaki Church. While there is no separate walking path other than the occasional sidewalks between Fukue and Dozaki, I highly recommend that you walk part of the route to Dozaki and not drive/ride the bus all the way. You will pass by beautiful green fields carpeted with yellow daffodils (it could also be another flower, do not trust me), and traditional Japanese houses with well-manicured but admirably natural-looking tiny gardens. The second half of the road follows the ocean, where the small fishing boats keep you company until you reach Dozaki.