I hope this guide will assist anyone looking for an incredible place to run. And with new and expanded vegan options now available—and coffee!—there’s more to refuel with afterwards than ever before.

Let me know if and when you’re in Shanghai and we can set up a personalized Disney running experience for you…

Enjoy the Magic!

~Kyle (Vegan Marathoner)

WHERE TO RUN—5 Course Options to Present to You

1. Outer Loop: 10.2 k for one loop. Canal the whole way, just follow the black asphalt pathway with rainbow colored dots. 4 bridge underpasses for some ups & downs.

   Disney Magic—top of the route has view of the castle in distance, along with glimpses of Adventure Isle, Tomorrowland & Toy Story Land.

Getting there: [see map below] Exit Disney Resort Station (Shanghai Metro subway line 11) at Exit 4 and walk down short tree-lined road to Qimiao Road. Take this straight ahead until you find the canal. It’s about a 15-minute walk. There’s a place here to stash things. Bathroom is off to left about 200 meters up pathway, next to the gym.

NOTE: In front of the gym is a vending machine which sells this unbelievably good cold matcha green tea.

2. Wishing Star Park: approx. 2.3 k for one end-to-end jaunt (can’t remember the exact distance offhand). Gorgeous park alongside the lake between Disneyland hotels and park entrance. Some great boardwalk running and ups & downs over several foot bridges.

   Disney Magic—views of the castle are much closer; Disney Town is just across the lake over the picturesque long orange bridge; you can practically hear the music at the park entrance gate.

*NOTE: Wishing Star always closes early, usually at 18:00.

Getting there: Easy! Preferred route is to leave Disney Resort subway station and walk towards Disney Town, just past Disneyland entrance gate. Just past the giant Donald Duck on the lake (you cannot miss it), look for the long orange bridge crossing the lake. Walk over this bridge and then stash your stuff where you see fit (or use lockers in subway station, as available).

Bonus for this preferred route—bathrooms and filtered water fountains are found at left almost immediately after crossing into the park from the orange bridge.

3. Crossover: approx. 15k one-way. Option to tie in Outer Loop with Wishing Star Park. Get the best of both worlds! Another option to the transition back to Outer Loop to keep it going, for as far as you’d like to go.

   Disney Magic—You see the castle from further away, then later you get closer. Plus, you get to run directly past the Disneyland entrance gate, hearing the Disney music playing and passing by Mickey’s Steamboat Willie 1928 fountain. If you want to grab a quick coffee, Disney Town is right there.

   A group of us ran this Crossover last November. Here we are with Steamboat Willie—

   

   Getting there: When leaving Disney Resort Station, walk away from Disney Town and Disneyland entrance. After a short walk there will be an entrance to Wishing Star, with Disney Cast Members welcoming you in.

   Note—This Wishing Star entrance is at the opposite side from the other option mentioned above, with orange bridge. This is the other endpoint of the park.

Map of Crossover:

4. Wishing Star-Inner Loop Combo: approx. 5-6 k per loop (don’t know offhand). Start in Wishing Star Park, jump out onto nice brick sidewalk near end of the park by Disney Town, and follow the turns of an inner loop. Very few people on foot and I don’t think you even cross any roads. Eventually, you’ll end up back at Disney Town entrance/exit.

   Disney Magic—Enjoy the views of the lake, castle in distance and see Disney Town up close. The largest shop in the resort is right there at the edge of Disney Town—World of Disney.

5. Outer Loop-Cross Country & Country Roads: as far as you wanna’ go…maybe on into forever? The least utilized pathways around. Only partially explored.

   Cross-country trail options. Secluded country road options. Very quiet and desolate in many spots. NOTE: Bring your own fluids out this way.

   Disney Magic—Inspired the collection of Disney adventure short stories I’ve begun writing (which subscribers will have the benefit of reading!)

   Getting there: From the main Outer Loop asphalt pathway, cross over canal at the big road bridge—I think this is called Disney Blvd.— over highway at top left corner of the Outer Loop. See map below.

Outer Loop is at right. Cross over that big bridge and off into your own adventure.

WHERE TO EAT IN SHANGHAI DISNEYLAND AFTER YOUR AMAZING RUN

Suddenly, there are expanded vegan options in the park! I have only tried one new item thus far. However, I’ll share this as well as another fav with you and let you in on a couple of other new items I’ve found out about.

You may also want to skim through the restaurant menus in the Shanghai Disneyland app. Use the filter option and look for “vegetarian.” Vegetarian in Disney Parks typically means plant-based, which in turn typically means vegan. But double-check as needed.

It’s also fun to wander into various restaurants while enjoying your time in Disneyland and find new vegan items. Please let me know what you find and how you like it!

**NOTE: Make sure to use your snack and/or meal coupons if you have them (some are included with certain tickets and annual passes or perhaps other special offers). You may save about 20%.

Fantasyland:

Tangled Tree Tavern—step inside the Tangled story and sit out at patio right, if open. This side is larger and quieter, especially in less conventional meal hours. The fried vegetarian bean curd with garlic soy sauce & rice is really good. You also get to choose a drink to go with it. It’s also maybe pan-fried but there’s no deep frying and you get some veggies.

NOTE: Connection with the new Fantasy Springs in Tokyo DisneySea! Visit their Snuggly Duckling—a larger version of Shanghai’s Tangled Tree with deeper theming—including a huge fireplace—and vegan burgers!

Pinocchio Village Kitchen—new bamboo side dish. There also may be a new minced vegan “meat” dish with mushrooms. Let me know what you find out…

But if nothing else, go to see the Pinocchio murals! This Pinocchio restaurant is also larger than Magic Kingdom’s, in Florida.

Mickey Avenue:

Mickey & Pals Market Cafe—incredible theming in this series of themed seating areas. This is where one finds the wonderful homage to Lady & the Tramp, including full-scale Tony’s facade, alleyway behind Tony’s (inside) and if you’re lucky, grab a chair next to Lady & the Tramp!

Brand new option here: braised tofu rice bowl with veggies and mushrooms (not too many of the latter). Somewhat spicy. Very nice overall. Add on a pineapple coffee for only 20rmb (about $3).

Treasure Cove:

Barbossa’s Bounty—brand new smoked bbq corn strips. Haven’t verified yet if vegan so make sure there’s no butter or cheese added. But in China, that would be pretty unusual. Just ask a Cast Member nearby and they can look it up for you. I’ll also find out for sure soon enough!

Snacks:

Popcorn! At the very least, I am fairly certain the corn-flavored & caramel popcorns are vegan. A couple of years back, a Cast Member did get out the dietary book and looked up the caramel for me. Unlike in USA, the caramel of China is often vegan.

Zootopia “pawsicle” popsicle paw print should be vegan. Double-check with Cast Member if you’d like to verify.

During Christmastime two years ago there were remarkably good hot candied almonds available in park. Specifically, on Mickey Avenue at the Chip n’ Dale snack stand. But I didn’t see them there last year. I was saddened. Hope they’ll make a comeback.

Coffee??

YES! Until recently, I always wished there was coffee in park, like in Tokyo Disneyland—where virtually any restaurant has a coffee option. In Shanghai, it seemed only Disney Town had it, in numerous locations.

But just last week, I found COFFEE everywhere around Shanghai Disneyland…

INSIDE the park!

And they’ve upped the ante. You can even get iced coffee or latte options (not sure yet if there’s an oat milk option for this).

Disney Town:

At least a couple of places have fruit shaved ice/slushies, including at Hey Tea. (mango!)

There’s a Thai restaurant that once veganized a dish for me.

I don’t really know the food options around these parts and a bunch of new places have opened in the past year. However, there’s coffee and tea all around.

Please let me know what veganized options you may discover.

WHAT SHOULD I DO AFTER EATING A GOOD MEAL?

Vegan Marathoner’s Less Conventional Top 5 Things to Do in Disneyland—-

TRON, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Rex’s Racer, Zootopia’s Hot Pursuit, Soarin’…

They’re all the rage, every day.

Here are 5 other places to go/things to do which may not be as heralded as the above attractions:

~Treasure Cove land walk through—-including the only-in-Shanghai Pirates Battle for the Sunken Treasure boat ride (unlike any other in the world), but also make sure to take in the pirate village, explore the seemingly full-scale pirate ship, another relaxing water play area nearby with squirt guns, and an unparalleled pirate theater show (incredible special effects). Also, eat at Barbossa’s Bounty and if you’re lucky, get a table directly next to the pirate boats sailing past.

This is the largest, most immersive pirate land Disney’s created anywhere in the world.

~Challenge Trails (in Adventure Isle)—you gotta’ try it to believe it. This would never fly in the U.S. Too may pesky insurance and safety regulations. Cast Members will harness you in and you’ll choose your own adventure path along guide cables. The more challenging ones will take you behind a huge waterfall and around the narrow rim of a crevasse drop-off. At some points, for folks like me, you’ll need to keep your wits about you as large spaces of air separate one rickety wooden step from another rickety wooden step. It’s the only way to get back down.

I seldom go up there but it’s perhaps the closest Disney’s ever come to mimicking some adventure camp out in the mountains of the American West.

~Enjoy the best castle view from one of the lesser sat upon benches near some small waterfalls and a meandering waterway in the midst of boulders. At front of castle, in Gardens of the Imagination land, head right and look for a ramp and stairs going up to boulders. A number of benches are there and it’s a fantastic place to watch the sunset. For some reason, there are typically very few people in this nice, shaded spot.

~Meander through the many shops and restaurants all around, looking up, down, all around. I challenge you to discover the Hidden Mickeys—both traditional (mouse ears) and historical, in the form of names/dates/etc. Every store, every restaurant has its own theming and it’s wonderfully fun to immerse yourself within so many worlds.

One place to begin: The Lady & the Tramp homage mentioned earlier, within Mickey & Pals Market Cafe. Another inside there adjacent to Lady & the Tramp—Saludos Amigos and Tres Caballeros cartoons playing within their own South American-themed shipping dock.

~Pixar’s Adventurous Journey—when lines are long everywhere, there’s never one here. It’s mainly a photo-op walk-through and one of the flicks highlighted I don’t even know; however, walking into the UP house makes it all worthwhile. It’s basically an attraction in its own right.

NOTE: Closes daily at 18:00.

Finally, here’s a lil’ video showing the Outer Loop course with Wishing Star Park included (the Crossover course).

Enjoy your time at Shanghai Disneyland.

~Vegan Marathoner (Kyle)

Yet, I run onward—-0k mark-1k-2k-3k markers (note: one “k” is one kilometer; 0.6 of a mile distance).

Not a single other person on this entire loop. A wide canal is at my left the whole route, guiding me toward several boardwalks, little marshlands below. How nice for all the little creatures there to be able to live here at Disney Resort.

Frog conversations are picking up as darkness comes earlier than expected.

Was that thunder in the distance? Should I be concerned?

Wind pushes against me as I forge through several large pools of water submerging the middle of the pathway. A bit disoriented going in this direction and not able to make my usual underpass bridge crossings due to the barricades and flash flood risk, I think that somehow Wishing Star Park’s entrance will be popping up on my right. Anytime now…anytime… but it never comes.

Of course it never does, as it requires a diversion back toward the Resort Station. I know this but the wind is messing with my mind. As a better than consolation prize, though, I hit the longest stretch of asphalt at the top of the loop and see the waterfall in Adventure Isle… and then the castle.

It always comes into view in good time, as this stretch of pathway can feel endless before the next turn. Just when one’s power may be ebbing, look beyond the expansive parking lot at right and enjoy the sight of the largest of all Disney castles worldwide, rising higher than anything else in the distance.

I’m not in the park but it’s nearly just as good. I’m seeing a view most folks will never come to see.

My glasses are like swimming goggles now, covered with pouring rain.*

I’m getting lashed by high winds and my mind is muddled by anxieties. But, a small orange bridge on the other side of the roiling canal directs my attention to a grove of trees swaying over the longest of the boardwalks as a still-open Disneyland beckons.

I see cars driving out of the vast parking lot. On the periphery of a magical world, I run on alone, no other soul in sight.

Today’s no day for speed and I’ve got too much guo ba overloaded in my system, but seeing the castle, then the edge of TRON at left, with a bit of Toy Story Land between, this is the sprinkle of pixie dust reminding me that one loop is not enough.

I do need more fluids and I chuck off my headphones into my bag stashed strategically, but then I carry on.

Suntory’s cold lemon drink boosts me. It’s not as cold as I’d expected it to be, but I’m already wanting another. I don’t want to get too comfortable yet. There’s still a good bit of distance to cover.

Eventually, I find a narrow pathway alongside a bridge. I’ve never seen it before. This shall henceforth be called the Secret Garden Trail, hidden as it is by overhanging shrubs, vegetation practically covering the entrance. It’s difficult to know it is even a pathway. Then, there I am, making passage from one side of the bridge to the other and down a charming little railway which deposits me back onto the black asphalt.

Darkness falls and the wind subsides on the opposite side of the resort loop. I’ve passed two people in total, both poncho-clad and speeding along on scooters. As I prolong my time out in the elements, they seem to yearn for an escape. Disorientingly, I think I can cut a tangent via the center of the resort and run a sidewalk to the finish back where I began.

It is not to be.

Disneyland signs have given way to Shanghai Village, a part of the resort I’ve never heard of. Crossing this way, some large tree limbs have fallen around me and I no longer recognize anything, really. However, it does not take too much running to get back to the Resort Station, only about a 1/2 mile down the road. Of course, I’ve forgotten to restart my watch during a final alternate bridge crossing and missed recording a kilometer or so.

Thankfully, I’ve already hit 20.2k, making the entire run about 21k—a half-marathon distance.

A wall of vending machines lies between the bus stops and subway entrance. I am delighted to down an ice cold jasmine tea. It’s a new summer favorite.

Still another 15 minute walk from here to the start. This I know well. I could run it, but——

Nope.

The magic’s there, I’m close enough to hear the tell-tale theme of Aladdin welcoming folks to the front gates. Mickey’s Steamboat Willie ‘28 fountain is just up ahead. I could grab a fruit slushie from Disney Town, visit the Hidden Mickeys along the way, but it’s time. Time to head back to The Cabin.

And with that little bit of pixie dust magic sprinkled, I find the garden lane back home clear of water.

In fact, Anfu Road is all clear!

Unfortunately, some business are flooded. As is a neighbor’s side room and another neighbor’s garage.

Thankfully, The Cabin is safe.

My passage has been completed.

*thanks to C for the simile

…I pop up from the kitchen chair, rushing to the front door. I hear rain falling! Fast and hard.

Just as quickly, I’m up the stairs, into my bathroom and changing into the running attire. There’s work to be done and today it need not be done in 90+ degrees with hard sun.

A Kentucky summer is full of hard sun—the kind that makes your neck feel on fire. These days, most folks it seems are saying it’s even hotter than usual. And believe me, it’s always felt hot here in summers.

That’s why I always have the mind to time my summer runs for that moment—that precise moment in time—when a rainfall comes.

Even after an epically long breakfast, with full stomach, I cannot delay.

Through a curtain of water, there is something.

I see something.

Coolness of rain water soothes.

As others flee the drops, trucks and cars drive past me with drivers most likely wondering what in Sam Hill I’m doin’ out here, shoes submerged at times in the downpour. Perhaps he just got caught out in it? Like the lady who offered me a ride several years back. Maybe the man-child needs help.

I push out into it. Deliberately.

Passage III— Disney Typhoon Run ‘26

Just take those steps. That’s half the battle, right? Getting out the door.

Today—not quite like every day. Hours spent checking, re-checking, evaluating, re-evaluating—then re-checking again..how high will the water keep rising?

Typhoon White Dolphin has come upon us. Shanghai’s Xuhui District is in the process of getting the most rainfall within such a short period of time in 153 years. Being a nearly pancake-flat city, we just cannot take that much.

Neighbor’s garden pathway—leading directly to our patio home entrance—submerged, including the first mill stone step.

Peering out the large windows from inside the sunroom/workshop, it seems the water is raging toward the glass. At least the patio planks have the cracks between them to drain the water. And at least we’re two steps up. But for how much longer will the water rise?

Walking out through the gray metal gate entrance and into the “garden lane” of our little neighborhood compound, I only become more nervous. The entire circular lane looks like the garden path.

Roiling water over my ankles. Twigs, leaves, cardboard boxes floating on by.

Out on the main thoroughfare of Anfu Road the police have blocked the road to cars. The adjacent Wukang Road is likewise blocked to cars. A blue-clad He Ma delivery driver motors on through water so deep his scooter’s tires cannot be seen.

Other less brazen souls scooter down the narrow sidewalk through several inches’ deep water—cigarette butts, parts of trees floating and assorted other crap floating past us. I de-bike after I nearly ride over a curb which can no longer be seen. There is a flooded barbershop with a group of folks engaging in the initial yet still premature clean-up.

But wait! Where I am going?

Oh, yeah.

I’ve already made the decision:

With garden water still several inches beneath the sunroom windows, over the first step in front of the 1920’s Old Shanghai home we share, it still is below three other small steps. So long as city workers can get a pump out here sometime by nighttime, it should be okay.

I have PTSD from our previous apartment getting flooded less than two years ago, but the cooling rain offers an invitation from an endless march of 90+ degree days. My mind was already made up hours before. The show would go on, most assuredly.

And this show would take place at Shanghai Disney Resort.

Why not—I mean of all days—why not this particular day for a training run around the Resort?

Besides the 78 degrees, there it was again. That compulsion impelling me to move through curtains of water as canal waters—seemingly escaped from the Raging Rapids in the park nearby—threaten to inundate the 10.2 kilometer loop’s asphalt pathway.

The four bridge underpass crossings have already been barricaded so I find my way around and across the bridges. With an excess of guo ba (rice millet crackers) snack in my digestive tract, I push into exponentially heavier gusts of wind.

At Disney Resort Station before the run, wind had not seemed like a factor. Now, as I begin the run in clockwise fashion—opposite my typical direction—tops of medium-height pine trees sway heavily, scented pine suffusing the air.

Rain falls from slow to medium to fast all at once, pelting me from all sides.

CRAP!

I’m still wearing my Shokz headphones.

In fewer than 10 minutes, my shorts and tank top are soaked.

And it is wonderful.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Please also see “Marty’s” post from August 05, 2026 as a companion to episode 2.

~Kyle

Marty Sklar

Cast Member: June of 1955-July 17th, 2009

Imagineering Legend since 2001

“He is the only person to have attended the grand openings of all Disney parks.”

“Marty first became an Imagineering officer in 1974 when appointed vice president, concepts and planning, a role in which he guided creative development of Epcot Center at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. In 1979, he was named vice president of creative development, followed by executive vice president in 1982. He served as president and vice chairman from 1987 to 1996.

As vice chairman, Marty provided leadership for the Imagineering creative staff, delivering breakthrough entertainment concepts for Disney parks and resorts including Disneyland Paris, the Tokyo Disney Resort, and Hong Kong Disneyland. Imagineering is also responsible for all Disney resort hotels and the Disney Cruise Line ships, and has created concepts for restaurants, children’s museums and hospitals, traveling shows, and exhibitions.”

Source: Walt Disney Archives, at d23.com

November 15, 2024

I stumbled enchantedly onto Marty’s General Store on Main Street U.S.A. in Hong Kong Disneyland.

Christmas decorations blanketed its facade. A giant Christmas tree stood directly across from the store, by the little town green where the flagpole & commemorative plaque reside in the original Disneyland park.

Minnie Mouse is in the gazebo just behind the tree, greeting guests.

Immediately, I knew the Imagineers for Hong Kong Disneyland had taken things up a notch. For the first time I found a Disney Legend who not only had her/his own window, but an entire store.

And not just any store, but one in a prime location on Main Street: at near right to the traveler, in the first main row of storefronts just after the Opera House (which in Hong Kong is the “Disney Bros. Studio,” another amazing Hidden Mickey in and of itself).

It is such a fitting tribute to a Legend we would all do well to remember.

Look here for the “1934…” What does it mean?

Yes, yes many “Hidden Mickeys” regulars were correct.

1934 is the year of Marty’s birth.

February 06, 1934 in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Marty & Walt—dreaming and doing

Photo Source: IMDB

Walt & Roy reading the local newspaper together in Marceline. At right, Walt “OK”s Marty to “GO AHEAD” with the EPCOT video project (also see close-up below).

As seen in Walt’s Cafe, in the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel.

NOTE: Marty sent this message to Walt in the month before Walt’s passing, in 1966.

The real question, I believe, is not what did Marty do for Walt Disney Imagineering? The real question is what didn’t he do?

His creative leadership work led to the inspired development of everywhere from EPCOT Center…to Disney’s MGM Studios (long live the Back Lot Tour & Great American Movie Ride). From Tokyo Disneyland (!), to Disneyland Paris. Mr. Sklar’s ideas landed right here within Hong Kong Disneyland and in some forms surely found their way into Shanghai Disneyland—just a short jaunt across the city from where I type this at present.

Shanghai Disneyland opened seven years after Marty’s retirement; however, he was present at its grand opening.

I know Marty has impacted my own life greatly. It must’ve been in the years between 2009-2017 when I first learned of his name as I read columns he wrote for Disney Files quarterly magazine.

Little did I know at the time that he had already influenced so many formative moments of my own life via experiences I’d had everywhere from the Haunted Mansion, to EPCOT. From the legions of Imagineers he inspired to spread magic globally, to Tokyo Disneyland directly (where I first visited in the year before Mr. Sklar’s passing).

I only wish I had all the copies (or even one!) of The Disneyland News newspaper he wrote for Disneyland’s Main Street U.S.A.

I want to give Marty the last word here:

“Do what you dream of doing and never lose sight of that.”

Source: factsandfigment.com

Suddenly—wonderfully—it is 1983. Splash Mountain in which I am now inside will not open for 6 more years. But perhaps there has always been a grander plan for this “attraction” to be a conduit for those of us who spend our lifetimes searching for portals to bring us home.

In 1983, as Tokyo Disneyland opened its gates for the first time, I could never have known as a kindergartner in Concord, California how or why this place on the other side of the great expanse of the Pacific would become a linchpin of my mid-late 40’s existence.

In that first moment in ‘24 when C & I found this giant table—vacant in a sea of people—lighted window framing the space, woodworks carved by all the creatures inhabiting this mountain, I knew it was uniquely special.

And that was before smelling the wooden bookcase. At right—if one sits beneath the flickering light behind the window—C became alarmed when I put my nostrils down to the wood.

I had to do it.

I’d already detected the telltale scent of the laundry room.

Located in the basement of 2715 Alice Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky, it contains that spirit-filling mixture of a painted wooden model ship…laundry detergent…cold concrete floor meeting steaming Kentucky summer at the small window above the laundry machine. Flutter of freshly mown croquet field yard grass seeping into the home.

Mamaw’s broken bit of taped wood—part of a yardstick?—holding open the machine’s lid, just slightly.

Leaning back just now, it hits me again—harder than ever. Confidence grows in being able to pass through this window, then directly down the carpeted stairs onto the cold basement tiles, Papaw’s green felt pool table at right, huge box TV set straight ahead. The storage room’s unclosable door is ahead of me, the bar is at left. The little fridge full of ice old sodas is just to the right of the laundry room door, adjacent to the bar.

If I can peel back this sturdy bench encircling this giant table, I’m willing to bet the boxes kept beneath the basement stairs are right here.

I think I can see the brown top of one now.

Concrete-cardboard-paint-laundry detergent…suffused with scents of bacon grease & coffee wafting down from the kitchen above.

I hear it!

Papaw’s footsteps on the gray linoleum as he fries up scrambled eggs or his famous fried potatoes.

“Hehhhh, hehhhh. Yeah, boy.” Papaw’s uniquely idiosyncratic words, phrases and

“Brrrrrrrhhhhhhhpppppppp!!”

Sounds.

A roar of his flatulence, alarming to the uninitiated.

“Yeah, man. Hehhhhhh. Paul Revere!”

“Dad! Dad!”

Mamaw calls out from their bedroom in the back of the home as Bob Barker awards more prizes.

I’m nearly there.

T waits for me on the couch near the inexplicably red-painted fireplace to frighten me with another story of ghosts—some true, some not.

Everything here leads me to another portal of memory.

The more I see, though, the more I smell… I am beginning to believe—truly believe—this is all more than memory. [some may even call it madness]

I will nearly bet it all on this—

I have never left the basement. I know I can now walk from this laundry room, around the corner to the right and up those carpeted stairs with the shaky little black metal railing at bottom left. I can glance to my left and see the pool table covered with the green plastic sheet—gray duct tape covering a small hole in a corner.

I know this because the light now beckons me, the books encircle me just as they do in the green carpeted living room right above me, which grows closer with each step up.

I hear Papaw’s voice by the second closing the distance between us

“Hehhhhhhhhh, hehhhhh. Yeah, man. That’s it.”

Destroying my selfish ego.

Wafting incense through corridors of magnificent cedars. 200,000 or more of Kukai’s fervent disciples wishing to be buried as close as possible to the eternally meditating Kukai’s, believed to be still alive and praying for his believers worldwide.

I walk the path Kobo Daishi took when he established Koyasan as the center of Esoteric Shingon Buddhism in 816.

Come, walk with me…

As I return to Japan for the 12th time early tomorrow morning, I give thanks for every walk, for every run, for every step in this land of wonder.

Japan has become a third home for me. Perhaps the explosive newness of the place has faded a tad bit, but it remains as wonderful as ever. Truly a nation of thousands of enchantments.

I hope others may also find peace, hope and inspiration atop sacred Koyasan, and throughout the Land of the Rising Sun.

The curve approaches.

Why have I not been writing? I’ve always felt the urge—the need—to do so, especially when the heart bleeds. Or, when inspired by the landscapes I find myself within. Lately, there’s not been much bleeding, except that related to racing & time trial finish times. There has been plenty of inspiration—a renewal of running plans-goals-training (going quite wells actually).

Summer approaches; unexpected plans on the horizon. My beautiful girlfriend making me an oatmeal bowl on my birthday morn.

February into March—-First Singapore, then Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Japan.

Blessings in abundance.

Why have I not been putting the pen to the paper?

Dammit.

Have I become content to toil in obscurity—writing goals, running goals relinquished?

Must everything be so well executed, not allowing myself to write a word until goals have been accomplished, races and time trials become proud of?

Must I force myself into silence because of a 5k time trial goal that would’ve been laughable for me c. 2019?

Is my value in life measured by the digits of a Garmin stopwatch?

Well, it is at least in part.

But can I change my destiny? Can I run fast again?

Can I be inspired, again?

Can I help to inspire others—I hope so…

Dammit. I know I’ve said it before.

I WILL be stronger-faster.

I WILL be published.

So much left undone.

And yet, so much done.

It can all be so frightening and moving

panic inducing

sickening (especially those 20:48 5k times)

In times like these, how can I retain faith? Not only in myself, but in all around me? How can I know—truly know—there is more out there?

I know because I have seen the sun set

I have not only seen this but I have experienced this

I felt it in my blood

There is more for me, for us.

There is a Plan, even if I am too shortsighted to understand.

For now, I tell myself this:

Return to the basics. Return to what I know best. Pen & paper. Type it out later…after the inspiration has dripped into the notebooks.

But first—the notebooks.

Young monks in saffron robes sweep the dirt with brooms.

Passengers through the world’s largest religious complex, the temple towers—inspired by Mount Meru of Hinduism— a compass needle transiting us through eras of long ago when countless thousands labored to build this monument for the ages.

Hours of lost sleep losing all meaning as we realize the only thing which truly matters is the here, the now, the power of this timeless place powering our steps forward.

Radiating sun pulling us up.

Video Credits: Wang Chengye

Filmed on location in the Kingdom of Cambodia.

After 2 years away (see earlier video in Vegan Marathoner), we made our triumphant return to the gated walls of Angkor Thom.

Photo Above: Running through the Gate of the Dead (“Ghost Gate”).

CAMBODIA—-there’s just nothing like it anywhere else in the world.

More videos to come.

Many thanks and much appreciation to Wang Chengye for making the vids, and for putting up with my shenanigans.

This is Da Nang, Vietnam.

A descent into hell

Followed by the ascent into HEAVEN

At Plant Lab—-in Hoi An (about 35’ drive from Da Nang). Excellent tofu scramble.

Runnin’ the country lanes spread throughout the middle of Hoi An—-Make sure to get off those crazy main roads overflowing with honking motorcycles & cars. Lace up & get out the door! Remember to “make it happen,” as Mariah Carey has reminded us so aptly.

Fartleked through here this morn…

And then eat well—very well—at Rau Oi, veg eatery-cooking classes-vegan shop. Breakfast/brunch (the best meal of every day), lunch, dinner, coffees, teas—-they have it all.

Banana cinnamon pancake with homemade dragonfruit ice cream.

Fully VEGANIZED

November 21st. The night before, Shanghai Tower at its finest—

It’s a professional operation out here. In my three runs here—’17, ‘24, ‘25—I’ve always been impressed with the way this race is organized. From the ease of registration, numerous (but not too many) friendly reminder messages, packet pick-up, staging areas on race day and the entire race itself…well done from top to bottom, so to speak.

Interestingly, this year I counted the Tower as my capstone goal race of the year. We had Ten Bridges last month (see previous post) and I ran a 57-floor tower a couple of weeks back, but have no truly major race planned at year’s end. So, what better way to exit such a remarkable year than to return to the site of my first ever tower race?

I’ve joined 8 now, I believe. All in Shanghai. Lemme see—-Shanghai Tower x 3, Shanghai’s “bottle opener” building (2nd tallest here), Jin Mao, Wheelock Square, a small one (not much over 50, if that) somewhere near Hongqiao Road (maybe) & the one in Xintiandi a couple weeks back.

Why in the heck would I go back to the tallest again and again? Why not just a cheeky 1 n’ done? After all, I could just do it once and talk about it forever afterwards.

Hmmmmmmmmm

There’s that yearning again.

And again.

To do what most folks would not; cannot.

(Or, perhaps would not even want to if they could)

It is a gift.

It undoubtedly a blessing to be able to run. And I hope to run for those who could not join; at least not this time.

There’s also nothing like a few thousand stairs to get the ol’ blood flowing.

Saturday, November 22nd —-Pre-Race

Unlike a major marathon race 6+ months in the making—or perhaps years if a training to get into a race like Boston—the stakes for Shanghai Tower were lower. I had a somewhat exacting time goal based on last year’s time, but mostly just wanted to run it faster than in ‘24.

I’d heard Top 30 men would get points for the Tower Runner world rankings, but I never really knew my placing in the past two tries. I’d hoped to this time, but it was still relatively stress-free heading into race day relative to many of the other BIG race days I’ve experienced when precise time-place-team goals etched out over months all converge in one single high-stakes race.

With that said, eventually I felt some of that old-fashioned pre-race anxiety.

War of Ages helped to calm those fears, helping me channel the proper energy & strength from beyond this place.

Upon arrival at the base of the Tower, we staged ourselves this year in half of a ballroom. Last year we were just waiting outside so this was really nice. Kept us warmer and we had a more private bathroom area just through a doorway at front-right and up a floor.

“Robbie” & “Jimmy” popped up! We spoke for a bit and some Chinese ladies took photos with us laowai 老外 (foreigners). Robbie and I ran this together last year. It would be Jimmy’s second tower, but twice the height of his previous run.

One of the more unique things here are the rolling starts. Basically, you go down to the starting line as you’d like. Interesting, right? My bib number and color coded wrist band—purple!—had me assigned to starting group 5. In this photo above are folks primarily from groups 4 & 5. Later, others wandered in from groups 6, 7, etc. Eventually, I saw runners for a group 10.

As we relaxed and stretched here in the ballroom, folks from the 0 professional group, along with runners from the first group, wandered in periodically. These would’ve been among the first finishers. Although a reminder text message I’d received advised me of the group 5 starting time between 11:40-12:00, I’d gone down sometime close to 11:45 during my warm-up and seen how there was literally not a single person at the starting line. Yes! More time for some short back and forth strides and stretching, along with a final bathroom trip.

A man perhaps a decade older than myself wandered by. Pretty sure I’d seen him at another tower. “Slovenia” jersey. I said hello. He kind of nodded but said nothing. I assume he doesn’t speak much English. Seeing him gives me even more hope for racing into the future years.

I’ve always wanted to run on into forever. Tower running opens up a whole new chapter for the future.

My Time Is At Hand

Nearly so. But first things first—the requisite medical check. Another unique thing about these tower runs is the blood pressure check pre-race. I’d recommend doing it during packet pick-up 1-2 days in advance. Knowing you’re about to run up the world’s 3rd tallest building can play with your nerves a bit 1-2 hours pre-race.

Let’s just say I was not the only one who needed the check re-checked. On my third try—from left arm to right arm and back again—I passed. Many other folks were sent over to the “Recheck” area where they sat in chairs, trying to calm themselves and their heart rate. My friend Robbie who I ran into just before he went off with the 3rd group had a resting heart rate of 92 during his medical check. I’m pretty certain this long time runner usually has a lower heart rate than that.

The lady with blood pressure cuff awarded me with an identical purple wristband to match the one I’d gotten with the race bib. With both on my left wrist, my time was truly now at hand.

11:56

That’s the time I last saw on the clock as I stood alone near the starting line, backing up to let another minute or two pass after I saw a man and a woman take off.

Alone near the starting line. Very soon, alone ON the starting line. That doesn’t happen all that often, right?

Finishing my pre-race prayer, I figured then was as good a time as any…I toed the line. Two young race staff members held up starting line tape. Large clock overhead. Glass lobby doors open straight ahead. Complete clearance on “the roadway.”

7-6-5-4-3-2-1 second countdown. The tape was dropped. I shot off onto the glossy lobby floor. Velvet ropeway barriers marked my path, curving leftwards just past some escalators ferrying innocent folks behind me. I had VIP access to the world’s 3rd tallest building! Security guards & race volunteers were posted in various places near doorways, ropeways. Large, colorful race stickers marked the path forward.

That’s always the fun part. That first jolt of adrenaline. Especially when it’s a solo jaunt across a waxed floor, past huge plate glass windows, running past not trees but elevators…it’s such a uniquely odd race experience.

Later, I would learn that all these moments within my first minute of the run were live-streamed. Chengye saved them all.

It’s all fun n’ games until that abrupt turn which invariably arrives; that one which contains the first flight of stairs. I can’t quite say the fun ends then and there. I can say that so much work begins to happen so quickly that any further adrenaline shot is obscured in a fog of race-type haze.

Above: Right around the time I shot in through the lobby. At right, runner bib numbers being tracked up the tower.

NEXT UP (but not yet sure exactly when but I hope within the next week or so…): Part II

A few weeks ago, we had a little half-marathon along the HuangPu River here in Shanghai. Ten Bridges Half, an annual event.

I loudly, proudly wore NO WATCH.

At least one fellow runner noticed this fact immediately and asked me about it. I was indeed SANS WATCH.

But WHY?

How in the heck could a runner—-a looooong time distance runner no less—go into a half marathon of all things without a stopwatch?

Would—-Could—the run even happen without said device strapped down upon slender wrist?

If Garmin does not record the run….if run is not uploaded to Strava app…did run ever actually occur?

Furthermore, if a watch is truly as indispensable to a runner as a pair of running shorts (if not more so for some), then were other folks seeing me street side in my birthday suit, as naked as the day I was born?

But WHY, why was I going to such lengths to not wear a watch?

It’s been a tough row to hoe, a tough row indeed. If you have some spare moments in your busy day, I’d like to help explain the trajectory I’m on….

TEN BRIDGES

I was FREE. Steady, strong. No idea what my pace truly was. Just trying to mix it up with a few guys. Stay as close as I could. Over the 21.0975 kilometers of distance, I never once saw my pace. To this day, I still do not know my time.

I reminded myself to dig in at times, but there was an additional space of freedom not having any opportunity to look at a device. Just wanted to feel myself again. To try and regain some of that hallowed FLOW STATE.

That’s how I usta’ run. When in my best of shape, I could rely solely upon my heart, my spirit. I would show up to some starting lines with laughably oversized cotton t-shirts, mismatched tube socks, regular Joe shorts. Was it deliberate rebellion against the consumerism encroaching upon our sport? Or, was it simply indifference to anything secondary to heart-lungs-legs?

At the Bridges, I wanted to recapture some of that ol’ Kentucky Spirit. Not the drinkable kind, mind you, but the inner FLOW.

I was compelled to restore myself at least a bit after so much knee irritation—since the failed marathon in February. Doubts had crept in. Mood had darkened time and again. I had to get myself back.

I had to.

Afterwards———

I never checked the race results.

As someone who’s always wanted to go faster and race for time, as well as place, I have traditionally checked my net time, age place, overall placing as much as the next chap. Yet, I’m completely content to not know. I’m more than content not knowing my overall time, nor place.

This time—for this race—I just needed to regain some of my former self.

FORTUNATE VEGAN CAFE CLOSES ITS DOORS: Monday, October 20th

It’s been pretty rough, losing my main writing space-office-classroom-lunch & dinner space where family/friends & I would commune at the greatest vegan restaurant I’ve ever known.

You see, Country Life Boston (RIP February, 2004) was one of the all-time greats, if not the best of its time. Also a family-run biz. And where Country Life Boston left off, Fortunate more than happily took the reins—-running away to become Best of All-Time due in large part to its uniquely warm, welcoming atmosphere.

“Welcome home!” still rings in my ears.

Shockingly, from one day to the literal next day it closed. After at least 9 years in Shanghai—weathering the pandemic, Shanghai lockdown, change of location, etc.—then, it was gone.

It was truly a gut punch and felt like a friend had died.

I still haven’t regained my proper footing since (hence the primary reason why I haven’t published here for weeks).

However, all excuses must come to an end. I’m writing now.

And Fortunate’s famed clock still hangs high here in Shanghai—-

~at the new Green Friday location, in Scandi Village atop Livat Swedish-owned mall, Metro Line 2 SongHong Road station

XINTIANDI TOWER RACE—-Making a Comeback on November 1st

Just a week after Ten Bridges, I was at a 58-story tower in the Xintiandi area of Shanghai. We raced up 57 floors. There’s really nothing quite like those tower races to jumpstart the heart.

Invigorated by my nakedness in the half, I reversed course a bit and actually wore a timepiece during my 10 minute 19 second adventure up the stairs.

Perhaps my 7th tower race, it was also one of my best in terms of effort-time-clearance on the stairs (read: not being blocked in by others who’d started ahead of me).

It was a blessing in disguise to start at the front of the 4th group. If these races are organized well as this one was, then there’s plenty of space between each group of runners, as well as each individual runner. Each of us raced off 7 seconds after the runner ahead.

It was a great training run before the Shanghai Tower race on November 22nd, which probably will deserve its own report after 119 floors of vertical running.

After double-stepping best I could for 57 floors and feeling that in my hammys for a few days, I can only imagine how it will feel after 119.

I am proud to report I am not currently in marathon training. I am tower training. And that’s perfectly fine with me…for now.

DISNEY MAGIC RUN: November 8th

Those needing a little pick-me-up of pixie dust need look no farther than Shanghai Disney Resort. On the 8th, 21 of us ran long on the main 10.2 km resort loop, with some of us also adding on 5 km during a jaunt around Wishing Star Park, gazing across the lake toward the largest of all Disney castles.

Organizing the run, then leading a group around the course was fulfilling in a way races are not. No pressure, no stress, just folks meeting up to run. Although after 20 km I had a dehydration episode, I’d thankfully already fulfilled my tour guide duties.

I would’ve most likely cut things off at 23 km except I’d told my Seneca High cross country coach Top a few nights before how I was going to be leading a 30 km run. So it goes without saying that I still dragged myself—almost literally—across the finish line to 30k.

All in all, though, the Disney Magic was real and everyone seems to have had good, strong training in post-rain humidity.

It was another experience showing me there’s more beyond the watch. Perhaps even something more beyond one’s own personal race times and placings.

THE FUTURE IS NOW: Suzhou Creek

And so here I find myself, in 北欧小镇. “Northern Europe Village.” Scandi Village. Christmas comes alive up here.

It’s the lights, the sunset, the cold breeze.

Today, it’s also the gusts of wind bringing in winter-like air.

IKEA’s China HQ is all-around. C Trip travel agency—my old standby (trip.com)—looms ahead, looking like luxury cruise ships steaming forth towards Suzhou Creek, just across the way.

Truly, one of the world’s greatest urban running routes—-mile upon mile, adding up to ultra-marathon distance (over 42.2 km) course length traversing countless parks as it carves its way through the megalopolis of Shanghai. Deteriorating industrial wastelands given way to wooded pathways, boardwalks, bridge after bridge providing sustenance to the runner in need of kilometers.

Even more pathways soon to be opened just across the water at this precise point— We’ll be able to run on into forever…

Our Fortunate Family has sadly returned to Hong Kong.

But this Green Friday has opened.

I am spreading my wings, finding new spots here and there.

My irritated knee remains,

But is charging me forth.

My left leg’s disruptive behaviors have calmed.

The students I teach have increased in number.

My mind—clearing (maybe all the Japanese punk & metal I’ve grown quite fond of is helping?).

And Christmas is fast approaching.

The CK hill repeats on the “mountain” across the river in Pudong District are working their magic.

I am determined to get stronger. Faster.

I will be one of the best Master’s runners.

I will continue to race the whole field.

Top wanted to run the 30k with us. 90 next month, he may not be running the streets anymore nowadays, but still is “in my dreams,” he says.

And now, impelled to get back out there, to use the gift, I run onwards.

I must.

And I WILL.

~In memory of my friend Ruth.~

It is easy to find in online guidebooks, Sapporo tourism sites & Trip Advisor. But there’s no direct mention of a samurai linkage.

Previously, the Maeda Family lived here. I think. Or, someone somehow connected to this family. Perhaps. A local told us about a hidden connection with this famous family of samurai who ruled much of west-central Japan from the 1500s until the mid-1800’s. Their domain was “second only to that controlled by the powerful Tokugawa family.” (Britannica.com)

“They were the daimyo, or lords, of Kaga Province (now part of Ishikawa Prefecture).” (Britannica.com)

I cannot vouch for any direct connections and am not sure how a park in the central region of Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido ended up with the Maeda name; however, I can state certifiably that this is a wonderful little nook for running.

A colonnade of bright white poplar trees line the pathway at what I presume is the main entrance to the park. Even on a clear, sunny day in late August there were no more than a dozen of us in the park during our late morning-early afternoon run.

Several days later, there were many loads more during the Hokkaido Marathon when the same entrance off the main road—just across the street from the empty river pathway seen in my previous post—transformed into an aid station, complete with a man shoveling “snow” from a pile on the granite entryway, with depleted runners scooping it up readily beneath burning sun overhead.

I’d never seen that before.

Wet sponges were being chucked around. Some marathoners we’d been cheering on over the past 45 minutes or so lay prone on cots receiving medical attention.

(I empathize with their plight.)

Scorching sun was burning up the runners at around the 14 mile mark of a 26.2 mile course.

It was still warm the day we ran in the park, but not quite so intense. We also had the luxury of a 1-hour or so jaunt vs. the sometimes seemingly endless march of a marathon distance.

Passing the poplars, following a curve just past the reflection pool—600-meters around—straight ahead into the shade of fragrant pines, with one of the only other parkgoers coming directly at us on a bicycle. Or, were we going directly at him??

This being Japan, there are two things to note about this normally forgettable encounter:

1. I was confused yet again about which side of the pathway we should run on. Road traffic in Japan is on “the wrong side,” (read: left), so most folks on most sidewalks and pathways stay at left, too. However, sometimes in some places this inexplicably is just not the case with most folks back on “the right side,” literally & directionally.

2. The Japanese man said nothing, slowed to a stop so as not to endanger us and gave us his right of way to pass. He did not seem annoyed at all, although I could not blame him if he was.

   We wound our way around this estate, searching for any sign of a home or historic ruins. Following a seemingly abandoned road we followed it…straight out of the park! Turning right, we continued along just a regular countryside road and at that point we may as well have been running in Nelson County, Kentucky. It reminded me of some of the quiet country roads surrounding the bourbon distilleries—places from which I do not imbibe of anything save the bucolic surroundings of bluegrass, whitewater smoothing over limestone, rolling fields of cows & horses and the packs of farm dogs I must at times escape from.

Nary a car drove past us along the straightway, as we went past a larger truck (still smaller than an American semi-size truck). Turning right at the first cross-street, I figured we’d get to another entrance of the park. Soon, we re-entered by some soccer fields with an interesting little coffee shop nearby, covered intriguingly with USA license plates—but, regretfully, not one from Kentucky.

Also, beware: coffee shop only open weekends & holidays.

Heading towards the middle of the park, traversing little steps downhill on the pine needle blanketed forest floor, we then shot out into a small field of grass with a little stand of trees. There seemed to be ruins of some kind, a circle of large stones with gaps between them. Almost like they demarcated the doorways of a building—a home?—which seemed to have once stood on the site.

Could this have been the place where a prominent samurai family once lived?

Glancing around for historical markers, there seemed to be none. Just snow white flowers blossoming at left. A quiet peace pervading.

Ending up behind a structure under renovation, we clamored over a railing and onto a long covered walkway. Looking out into the distance was a stunning sight:

Just below, a European-style garden with narrow brick pathways. A long colonnaded walkway descending on each side. Reflection pool just ahead of the garden. But the real pièce de résistance—-Mount Teineyama directly ahead.

If it had been snowing, I would’ve needed to be picked up because the sight of a winter wonderland would have floored me. As it was with royal blue sky, billowy cotton white clouds & a tapestry of greenery weaving the scene together, it was still a show-stopper which did quite literally stop me in my tracks.

Just imagine that bad boy with snow atop its crown.

We ran straight into the garden area, zig zagging as we traversed every little segment of the brick pathways. Could this have been the Maeda family’s European-style garden? Were we running in the footsteps of the samurai?

Only after the garden running did we loop around the reflection pool.

If only a snowfall had begun…yet, it remained a wondrous site, this little nook of the world tucked away so close to the mountains and the sea. The city center a mere 12-15 kilometers away but it may as well be a world away.

Sapporo—-such a quiet place. Two million people?? Perhaps they all live within a mile of the city center & nightlife district. Maeda Park encapsulates the reason why Sapporo is such a prime place for running; almost as though it was built for runners. There are so many wide open spaces devoid of most people. Long river pathways, short canal pathways, unnaturally quiet neighborhood streets, a beautifully wooded university campus, cheeky gravel trails popping up here and there. All of this surrounded by stunning mountains with the Sea of Japan nearby.

Chuck the guidebook onto the couch & go out to explore…

And don’t forget to pick up a coffee on the way home.

NOTE to Readers: Although not yet the promised Otaru running tale as mentioned in my previous post, I hope you nevertheless enjoyed this glimpse of a gorgeous nook of Sapporo.

VIDEO CREDIT: Wang Chengye

Primarily, I expected us to be running along the Toyohira River pathway in the center of Japan’s 5th largest city—like, on a daily basis. I’d read runners discussing its half-marathon + distance, with easy add-ons to a nearby university and some smaller parks and it seemed like the ideal spot for daily maintenance running.

We also made a point to include a Half Marathon Challenge in our trip up north to help kickstart a new cycle of training. And what better time than while in JAPAN—on the shortest of short lists of the world’s greatest nations—and further northwards in late August where it would be cooler?*

And that’s the funny thing about traveling…finding the unexpected whilst not doing what was expected.

We barely even touched the Toyohira pathway (!), only running a tiny segment of it one night—ONE time—in a week spent in Sapporo. That time would not have even happened had it not been for us dropping our stuff spontaneously by some trees next to the pathway (——then coming back after what turned out to be a nice lil’ progression and changing beneath an awning straight out of Arachnophobia, huge spiders descending from webs directly over, first, Chengye’s head and then soon thereafter over my own).

So, why in the heck were we not hitting the “hot spots” of Sapporo that everyone else was raving about? How could we have not even visited Odori Park in the middle of the city (although I did visit a bookstore by the Odori subway station twice; great spot for picking up newspapers)?

Well, this is the magic of what happens while staying away from the city center—in a suburban-like neighborhood a mere 25-minute bus ride from what seemed like the closest part of downtown. Kazue’s home in the very quiet Kita-ku area of Sapporo—enroute towards the smaller city of Otaru—opened up a whole new world different from the typical guidebooks.

Within these environs we ventured into little worlds previously not researched.

Two blocks from “home” was an entirely different riverfront pathway, set down bank from the streets above. Seemingly virtually unused, it was a lushly green, peaceful place with asphalt path—occasionally crossing over some stones or bricks overgrowing with wild grasses—stretching on for what must be at least a couple of miles one-way. I’m still curious how far it goes on for, but going towards the sea we definitely found its terminal point. From there, we jaunted out into another new world of quiet roads traversing an industrial park.

Doesn’t sound too welcoming, does it? Industrial park. However, if one takes the path less traveled to the side of one of these factories at road’s end, one is led along a beautiful gravel trail beside a channel of water leading directly to a beach and the Sea of Japan.

Truth be told, the channel view is the best part. It feels so wild and looking out into the distance in between stands of small trees and vegetation, one feels worlds away from the 2 million folks living in Sapporo (although even that was always hard to believe because outside of the city center’s nightlife district, everywhere else is so calm and quiet, if not devoid of virtually all people in many places).

Once upon DREAM BEACH (actual name), it’s a mixed bag of sorts. Hitting the sand is wonderful—as the soft sand replaces hard asphalt and stone. Salty sea air and tiny piping plover-like birds…wind gusts over the grassy dunes beneath hot sun…gazing out over miles of sea water in the distance…

Emerald mountain ridge lines float out to the waterline, as if they are marching out into the open sea.

But also a beach desperately in need of a beach clean-up, Florida-style. A bunch of us needing to descend upon its sand to pick up the loads of trash washing ashore. It’s sad. There remains beauty when one sees the essential nature of the place beyond its contamination by modernity.

A ramshackle wooden outdoor cafe where everyone seemed to know everybody else found us washing up upon its shore at beach’s end. Shirtless Rastafarian-looking local guy with rainbow-colored hair extensions, skin deeply tanned, sold us some very overpriced ginger ale in 1950’s-type glass bottles. An older gentleman nearby rocked in a hammock as he burned to a crisp beneath the blazing sun. Everyone seemed surprised by us sauntering into their midst, but welcomed us onto their seemingly private club patio.

Rasta guy asked for a pic with us—but he never asked us to send it to him. He posed wildly with tongue out, Hawaiian-like hand gestures. Then we were up and over the jetty cutting this beach off from its next segment, found by crossing over a bridge behind the cafe.

Not much later—not much at all—we needed more fluids so we hit up the ol’ Japanese stand-by—a Lawsons full of its COLD 100% fruit juice selections. I love that stuff. And it’s so cheap by American standards.

We stood out front of the konbini (convenience store), drinking our beverages, just across a narrow road from the beach with the Sea of Japan leading the eye far out onto the horizon. It felt a lot like being back in Florida, Satellite Beach-like, c. ‘92. Good feelings, good times.

We wanted to keep running through the narrow beach town streets towards the nearby city of Otaru. I wanted to revisit The Garage just down the way for its winter cabin aesthetic—complete with wood burning cast iron fireplace—and excellent hand drip coffee. We’d gone there the one other time we ran through town—the day when the footage in the short video above was filmed.

Alas, Chengye needed to return home by a certain time for another woodworking workshop with Kazue, a professional woodworker.

We’d brought transit cards expecting to take a bus home, but figured we could more efficiently just run, even though it was like another 8km home and that number stung a bit considering I was already pretty well spent from the sun’s intensity beating me about the head.

Running home through so many oddly quiet neighborhood streets we were able to get a real feel for what it would be like to live within such peaceful environs, where folks place a real premium on quiet, not bothering others.**

[In a full week in this city of 2 million, I heard a grand total of 2 vehicles honking.]

The architecture I’ve seen in many Japanese neighborhoods over the years has not been particularly eye-catching, it’s very different from the much larger (and at times ostentatious) diversity of styles I’m accustomed to in the US or even China. However, it is supremely functional, practical and with so many relatively smaller homes so close to one another alongside so many dollhouse sized streets, usually with a river or small canals nearby, it all comes together to form such a neatly organized whole.

Together with the general atmosphere of safety, quiet and cleanliness, it becomes impossible to doubt the top-tier benefits children in Japan have while growing up within such surroundings.

I actually thought these precise things, among other thoughts, as we ran our way through such precisely organized neighborhoods, occasionally compelled to say aloud: “They’ve put together a real nice society here.” It just cannot be doubted.

Interestingly, what are considered “weeds” in the USA are allowed to grow freely along the streets of Sapporo, leading some sidewalks to become exponentially narrower as nature reclaims its space. Wildflowers and wild plants sprout from every direction, looking like miniature forests in places. Some plants have grown taller than me. It’s quite fascinating from an American perspective, where such greenery would’ve been long since mowed down with complete abandon, leaving bare concrete in its place.

Back through the park with breathtaking mountain views in the distance, where we huddled with polite 9-year old school boys and an older gentleman beneath an awning during a rainfall a few days before. Good vending machine fare there, too. I can never get over how good their vending machine cold green teas are. And every machine indeed has green tea, believe you-me. 1980’s phone booth on the street side. Larger than average homes across the street.

Yes, I could definitely live right about there.

We’d discovered a little woodland trail that just came out of nowhere in front of us within another neighborhood. It was a bit overgrown, but offered respite from the sun. Nearby, we ran through tall grasses, cross-country style, and I’m happy there were no chiggers nor ticks to report of (soon thereaft, I read how Hokkaido does have ticks, though).

We ran down a short but sweet gravel road connecting two streets, sunflowers on our right. We said “konichiwa” to a city worker on the sidewalk, who responded in kind.

I found a Japan News in the Seicomart konbini near home. It’s a Hokkaido chain and this was the only place outside of the city center where I could find an English language paper. A few days before, I ran back to Kazue’s with it in my bag.

In a light rain, we made our way down bank to the Shinakawa River, then rejoiced in having our own running path as we made our way home. Passing by Maeda Forest Park just above us, reminded of yet another place we had not known about pre-trip. A gem of a little park comprised of the estate of the Maeda samurai family. 600 meter loop around the reflection pool standing just before the ruins of the Maeda home, still encircled by long colonnaded walkways.

If we’d stayed in the city center, if we’d taken only the advice of the guidebooks, perhaps we never would have experienced such places.

When in doubt, do not fear to take the running path less traveled.

*ended up being both Hokkaido & Japan’s hottest summer in history. Average temp around Sapporo during time we were there around 8-10 degrees Fahrenheit more than usual.

**In 3 total weeks in Japan, I NEVER ONCE heard anything from a single person’s phone—young nor elder person—within any confined public place whatsoever…restaurant, bus, countless subway trains. This goes for both Sapporo and Tokyo.

(Only one time late at night outside next to a bustling night life street in Tokyo did I ever hear a Japanese person’s phone, from a man seemingly taking a short break from a nearby business. No one else was even around, save for myself across the street.)

WHEN IN SAPPORO:

For Vegan Fare (not commonplace in these parts):

Vegan Sweets & Deli 3Beans—-Really nice owner; great bento boxes; delicious baked goods & coffee〒063-0006 Hokkaido, Sapporo, Nishi Ward, Yamanote 6 Jo, 6 Chome−2−11 麺屋丸鶏庵 隣

Aeon grocery stores (some plain but good vegan yogurt; plant milks; several types of vegan rice crackers)

India & Nepal Curry—(name may have changed…near Hokkaido University) Best Slogan Award: “We Are Served You Testy Food Next Your Mother”

Taj Mahal—〒060-0032 Hokkaido, Sapporo, Chuo Ward, 北２条東４丁目 (inside mall) Staff really friendly and welcomed us to eat a late dinner just before closing time.

Mos Burger—really friendly folks; all-vegan plant burger option, not too exciting but a very happy cafe-like fast food experience. And really cheap. Next to the GEO video rental (!!) store—-Geo Sapporo Kita24jo Ekimae [subway & bus station just around the corner]

For Books & Newspapers:

Maruzen & Junkudo, across street from Odori Park subway station

For a Wonderful Home Stay:

Kazue’s guest house! https://www.airbnb.com/l/XWChCk3u

NEXT POST PREVIEW!

Running in Otaru, including its famed all-vegan, homemade soba noodle joint easy walking distance from train station.

But does it still exist today? What is the history of this famed attraction? And, what connects Anaheim—Paris—Shanghai?

Join me as we explore the history of Mr. Toad, in the first of a series of “Disney Originals”—places found in Disney parks since day one.

If you enjoy this episode, please let me know & consider subscribing & letting your friends know.

Grateful for your time,

Kyle

Film & editing credits: Wang Chengye

All present day photos taken by Wang Chengye or myself (except me outside Toad Hall—taken by Jeff/T).

Credits: d23.com; Disney Family Museum

“Wishing You Away”

Heavy doors hold us in

Bricks wall us off from you

Our air scented with death

Your attempts to blanket our breath

(they will fail)

We are the giants on whose shoulders you now stand

These walls cannot hold us back

Our Father, Our Mother,

Pearl Harbor

Belgium, The Bulge,

Auschwitz

Germany, tyranny

A recession, The Depression

We are the ones who have sacrificed,

Now being sacrificed

We are Hopeful

We are disposable

These tied that bind, they bleed us every day

We yearn to be, breathe

You kick in our teeth

Your attempts to cut us down,

We refuse to drown

Hopeful

Disposable

We sacrificed

Now we are sacrificed

De oppresso—zìyóu自由！

We refuse to drown

Your feeble attempts to blind, jagged cuts through these ties that bind

Will they remember us?

Those who sacrificed, now sacrificed

Together we resolve to disinvolve our lives from you

These ties that bind, blind

These chains, they bleed us every day

We are forgotten

Verboten

You bleed us every day as you are wishing us away

We are Hopeful

We are disposable

~16-17 May, 2020

Kyle Macy Hall

First, while being dropped off outside of a fancy-looking hotel, I saw the car ahead of us being inspected by large men with guns for possible explosives. This is a volatile region—directly on the Israel-Palestine border, but within the much quieter alcove of Jordan which aims to remain quiet and safe.

Beneath blazing sun, I ran from a quiet road down multiple levels of terrain until I could run no further on land, only directly into the Sea.

I think the unique geographic phenomena of this place confused my watch.

This is what it looks like on Strava—-

That descent is correct, though. Indeed, according to National Geographic, the Dead Sea lies about 1,300 feet below sea level.

How salty is it, really?

Ever drunk vodka straight? The saltiness is so extreme, it’s like that in your mouth.

I felt like, one accidental gulp of water would OD me with salt.

Know how in most oceans-seas-lakes, you run your hand along the bottom and come up with sand, or plants, or mud?

Here’s what happens when you scoop your hand along the bottom here:

Big chunks of salt.

Extreme amounts of salt coats everything, like melted wax…

Even the dirt-sand embankment is covered in salt.

Driftwood

National Geographic: The Dead Sea has “a salt concentration of 34%! This is compared to 3.5% salinity for the Mediterranean Sea, less than 100 km west.”

It is about 8 x more salty than an ocean.

DO NOT DRINK THE WATER!

“Nor should you swallow the water; there are signs everywhere warning naïve tourists about the dangers if water is ingested.”

What’s the water feel like?

It’s very warm. Interestingly, felt like a coating of olive oil covering my skin.

But every nick and scratch on my skin–previously known and unknown–began burning right away. This was some serious salt action.

There is a strong current that immediately began pulling me down shoreline.

What’s the water look like?

A bright, beautiful blue in foreground with white Palestinian mountains, with magenta hues, in backdrop. A gorgeous color combination.

What If I Do Not Know How to Swim?

No problem, jump right in!

Immediately upon entering water, I was pulled upward, like a poltergeist exerting force beneath me.

With no absolutely no effort whatsoever, I was floating. Not just regular floating either. Essentially, I was floating over the sea.

Experimenting, I turned onto my stomach. In the Atlantic, I’d be paddling with arms & legs, trying to keep head above water.

Here, I did not move arms and legs one iota, yet head stayed completely above water.

I yelled out repeatedly, fascinating as it was.

The supernatural force within the water refused to let me use any force.

Left side: float; zero effort.

Right side: float; zero effort.

What if I try to force myself under, as though drowning?

Experimenting, twice regrettably–but for you good readers, a fire hose of pure salt shot directly up my nasal passage in .05 second flat.

Both times, I was literally forced back up to the water surface.

Unbelievably fascinating. But burned like heck.

NOT sand…Suddenly outside of the water in the hot air, salt from the Dead Sea radiated out from within my shorts.

[Unfortunately, the Dead Sea is shrinking—and fast! Due to water needs in the region, the Sea is already far smaller than its earlier size.

Come and visit while you can!]

Jesus probably swam here. John the Baptist lived nearby in his cave.

So much history. So powerful, the stories.

Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan just several kilometers away from where I swam.

I floated. I prayed. Through eyes burning with salt, I could still see ever so clearly…

How much does it really matter when the bigger concern is slipping straight off the side of the mountain?

It was no laughing matter; not anymore. Somehow, I expected stairs, lots and lots of stairs to achieve the mission of climbing at least 500 meters in elevation gain. I did not quite expect a 47% up-mountain grade whilst my Adizero Boston marathon racers slid repeatedly in places on damp soil. No way that path could even be ventured with any rain in sight, especially in the day after.

The racing shoes are great on roads. Definitely not meant for the small pebbles-becoming stones-becoming boulders of a steep mountainside overlooking the aqua South China Sea, shimmering in the beyond.

[You know, down by those beaches where there’s lots of flat running to be had.]

And it had all started off so easily. Well, as easily as could be on the legs of C & myself, shot by the jaunt through the bamboo forest, then followed up the next day with over 22,000 walking steps, most in Hong Kong Disneyland. Just before starting out, I was still wondering how in the heck we were going to be able to even get into a stride. Both sets of calves had been blasted by the steps of Shenzhen, quads sore every time we stood up. And yet, it’s remarkable how the mountains nourish.

Only a short stretch of roadway between the Sheraton & the mountain and even after a relaxed hotel breakfast*, the heat seemed manageable. 80’s in temp. Some sun partially blocked by clouds—although this was not to last. And we still had the 70%+ humidity which seems omnipresent here. All in all, though, it felt okay, especially after running past “the screen” of massive apartment towers, standing sentry before the mountains, nary a space between each of them, folding out as if from a very expansive folding screen.**

It began with finding our way through a series of levels, each one with drainage capabilities for this mountainside facing thousands of people situated below, not to mention a roadway, train station not too far off. The initial section did have some upstairs, but nothing like in Shenzhen’s Cui Zhu.

When the stairs ran out, the real work began.

Gradual, then less gradual, the gradient increased exponentially. Very soon, my virtually traction-less shoe soles began slipping on semi-damp soil, shaded by the bountiful plants, small trees, grasses sprouting up everywhere.

It was not so much a formal trail as a water fall, nature’s chosen pathway for rain falling during the tropical storms. Eventually, we crossed over the actual, official pathway most (sane) people would take, but then continued up an even steeper slope to an even higher summit.

It would be the highest of this mountain.

Before reaching that point, I was already drenched from the mini-summit, already overlooking the screens below, and the collapsible bottle stuffed into my shorts’ elastic pocket was growing emptier and emptier.***

To get there, I already had to get down on my hands & knees at times to avoid slipping backwards. Not using my free hands to stabilize myself would have surely meant a fall if not into the bushes, tumbling backwards down a mountainside. That would most likely not have been an enjoyable experience.

Just reached the mini-summit

There was still a ways to climb. Now it was getting hot, clouds fewer and further between. The thought of going back down that way was untenable. No way I wanted to fall the way of water. But no way I was not going to finish our way up to the summit—the actual mountain’s summit ahead, above us. It was not too much further in distance.

What it lacked in distance, it more than made up for in technical difficulty.

Less and less trail. More and more boulders, overlapped with countless stones jutting jaggedly from all angles.

No space to really analyze where we were heading, what we were doing. The only objective—-keep going.

Final push up!

Jia You! 加油 “Add Oil!”

Sun burning more brightly, water scarce, beaches and sea seeming so close, but so very far away. We had made it and stood atop the summit.

Praying, for so many who could not be there with us.

Thanks to C, we found a different route for our descent. It was dry, but chock full of boulders, larger still than those we’d just clambered up. It required both of us to keep center of gravity low, more kneeling, less standing, lest we begin to slip off the mountain’s side. It was a steeply harrowing journey to reach the official trail, seen below, but still so far away.

Switchback after switchback through the harshly born beauty of a timeless land, so far separated from the teeming city below it may as well have been its own planet.

Finally, we made it to some relative flatland, vegetation so thick the danger became not seeing the occasional root raised up to trip us.

I understand.

Nature has a right to defend itself.

Glad to be on the trail where all was so much clearer, but never very happy on a downhill, I hiked from that point down. C ran as she prefers, quickly down the mountainside. There were many uneven, roughly cut steps. At least the tops were natural with somewhat softer landings than usual. But the steps’ concrete frames were not flush with the dirt on top and I was cautious to not trip on each and every step’s uneven surface.

Also, cautious about not exerting more pressure than necessary on my just-recovering-still rehabbing right knee, now doing quite well again with the ascents.

Somewhere below, just before or after landing within a giant spider’s web—-quite literally face-to-face with the actual giant spider—C stumbled over a raised root, scraping her left side, arm and leg, along the rocky pathway. I didn’t even realize it happened ‘till we were back in the Sheraton.

My girlfriend is tougher than yours…if I may gloat for a moment.

As we approached the base, curving in a detour from east to west, in two locations we poured chilled water from lightly flowing waterfalls over our necks, arms, face.

It was a gift.

It was all such a gift.

And then, and then it was on to 7-11 to stock up on some Pocari Sweat (like China’s Gatorade), and Japanese tea.

C had to buy the stuff as I was dripping obscene amounts of sweat all over the floor as innocent customers passed by.

I also went home with another South China Morning Post.

Another gift.

Later, at the airport so close by, I enjoyed my first ever milk bubble tea from an all-vegan milk tea joint! [in Terminal 1 right by the arrivals exit area]

HOTEL: Four Points by Sheraton Hong Kong Tung Chung, Lantau Island (really easy and quick access to Disneyland). Booked via CTrip (trip.com) app—highly recommended for travel planning.

AIRPORT VEGAN: 1. NutTea Nut Mylk Cafe (take-out only)——extensive menu options for bubble milk teas & coffees with nut mylks. 100% VEGAN.

Hong Kong International Airport, Terminal 1—near “arrivals hall” exit, with many folks rushing out after arriving from flights.

2. Gelato Combo—8 x vegan gelato flavor options. I had a medium size with 3 x scoops: dragonfruit, mango, banana

Terminal 1—after security, upstairs near many restaurants

HONG KONG DISNEYLAND VEGAN OPTION:

Royal Banquet Hall in Fantasyland will make upon request vegan versions of the wonderful little Mickey Mouse ear potato cake things they offer.

The Banquet Hall is also full of amazing art—some of the best I’ve ever seen in a Disney restaurant. (And this is a casual place.)

*not as vegan-friendly as the Shenzhen Zhouman Hotel, so I exercised the liberty of pocketing “a few” (25+) packets of some quality tea, mostly Earl Grey…hey, if I don’t get to eat enough of the foods set out…

**C’s term, appropriately describing them as a screen as one building looks to fold into the other next to it, as segments in a very large screen of the Orient.

***Fashion Forward! Wearing Dice Runner OG shirt from Dice Run victory, c. 2022; VCTC hat from Van Cortlandt Track Club in The Bronx, New York; scarf from Verdi Marathon in Italy; fav racing shorts (ASICS), which I’ve been wearing now for at least 8 years.

NOTE: Thanks to C for taking all of these on-the-mountain pics!

Prepare yourself for the stairs. Steel yourself for the ultra-humidity. And please be mindful of our LARGE snail friends popping up along the steps.

This is the part of the bamboo forest in Cui Zhu Park—Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China. Not much bamboo to be seen below, but believe me, it’s there.

The Goal: 600+ meters of elevation gain

End Result: 745 meters of elevation gain

I wonder how many steps we climbed? Thousands, perhaps. It was a heck of a lot.

This entire park requires climbing. It is truly invigorating, but you’ll want to allocate time to pop out by the east gate below—by what I think is the main entrance—to grab drinks from the convenience store next door.

Between rainfalls, cloud cover overhead, the dew point was extreme—especially with all the moisture trapped within the park. It was steaming, rainforest-like conditions. But the temp was relatively low, especially being this far south in summertime. And very few people were anywhere.

Tropical flowers flourished alongside a desolate park roadway—-perfect for those looking for some more gradual ascents-descents relative to the crazy, long, steep upstairs climbing. The lushness in the midst of a city of at least 13.5 million was staggering.

Good thing we’d had a BIG breakfast at the highly recommended Shenzhen Zhouman Hotel, because we burned off every calorie and then some.

After showering, we discovered a really good veg spot—Chunsu. Great atmosphere and treated myself to my first fried food in a couple months. Remarkable waffle fries with a mustard-like sauce. This was a delicious tofu dish:

Truly a whirlwind tour of one small nook of the giant city of Shenzhen—-population in 1979 of around 30,000. Population in 2025 of 13.5 million+.

When in Shenzhen, I recommend:

• Stair climbing at Cui Zhu Park

• Hotel: Shenzhen Zhouman Hotel—-People’s North Road No. 3129 Honshu Building , Luohu District of Shenzhen

Why? Super comfortable bed! Rooms are virtually new & very very clean! Remarkable value! ($96 total USD for 2 x nights with 2 x daily breakfasts—-and quite a lot for vegans, relative to American breakfasts) Friendly staff!

**NOTE: This is coming from a self-professed hotel snob.**

Breakfast at Zhouman Hotel. Reserved breakfast in advance with reservation via CTrip—trip.com. Approx. $4 USD for all-you-can-eat buffet.

• Food: Chunsu vegetarian restaurant—Room 1301, Shenzhen Development Center, No. 2010 Renmin South Rd, Luohu District, Shenzhen (13th floor)

• Route to Hong Kong: Luohu Port (Lo Wu in Cantonese)…just a couple miles from the hotel & walk straight across the border! (after passport control, of course)

Lastly, so why “the Wild West”?

“Sidewalks,” in name only. A total misnomer. Scooters shooting around, honking, in all directions, sometimes even when there’s a designated scooter lane roadside. It’s what happens when traffic laws are not being enforced, at least in the area where we stayed. Craziness.

Stay safe & prepare yourself mentally for all the honking and assume scooters will be flying around even when you least expect them.

And then, we were off to HONG KONG.

A land of around 7.5 million people, among the most densely populated cities on Earth, but almost miraculously retaining 38% of its land space as parkland. And it is beautiful—with sea, harbor, mountain views all around.

The humidity is also just pervasive, back in November during our first ever trip there and just as much or more so now in early July. Not so in November but now it’s pretty much constant low-level sweating at all times.

I still haven’t seen much of Hong Kong overall but the places I’ve visited are noteworthy. Highly recommend Lantau Island & Hong Kong Disneyland!

Lunch in Adventureland, the most shaded area of Hong Kong Disneyland.

COMING SOON! Part II—-Up the Hong Kong Mountain…