Last night we said good-bye to our Mongolian friends Tsogo, Vikshanam and Erdenebaatar who had to leave for Tokyo but we have two new happy helpers, Kasturika and Bistarini. So we started confidently from Hamamatsu station and ran into what seemed to become a hot day. The girls ran quite a long distance and Ombo from Mongolia then, as usual, joined also the boys. She has great stamina and gives the team lot of joy!

In the morning everybody is full of energy

When passing the temple Fuden'in, a monk was standing outside and showed interest in our endeavor, so we asked him if he could hold the torch.

With the monk at Fuden'in temple

Before coming to Japan I was merely accepting the fact that a nation could be reverent to a mountain. In Japan it means Mount Fuji. It is told by historians that when Mongolians attacked Japan, Japanese prayed to their Source, Fuji-san, and were actually victorious in their defense. Seeing this breathtaking queen among mountains, I came to understand. Resting in the car I was gazing on the cloudy horizon and the powerful ocean on my right when Krutananda exclaimed and pointed to the skies. Lo and behold, Mount Fuji! I had to lean out from the car-window so that I could admire the mount in all its magnificence and glory.

After the arrival to Kakegawa, we hurried by car to Tanpopo kindergarten in Suruga ward of Shizuoka city. The children, all with the same yellow cap, were already waiting for us in Yoshida park next to their place. They seemed to be very happy to see us so we shared with them our programme on harmony. The most striking thing with the children is their energy – they are full of it. When it came to running with the torch, many of the children got far ahead of the “leading” runner Erik, and they counted joyfully for themselves “one two three”. This all was eagerly jotted down by three reporters who kindly came to the programme. After doing the final high-five, the children ran to their school. On the way they picked some flowers, and running and holding them high as a torch, they screamed "HARMONY". We enjoyed the time spent with the children so much!

Children from Tanpopo kindergarten watching happily and curiously our arrival

Sprinting across the ground

... and touching eagerly the torch

After the goal at Shizuoka City Hall, we drove to Odawara city so that we can start the following day our long course through Kanagawa prefecture. The day was ended by a search for a laundromat and an internet cafe to upload this report. After that we zig-zagged up the steep mountain Tonomine and finally fell asleep in a youth house at its top. There was nothing but dark woods around, the air was fresh comparing to the hot day we had spent and the bath was prepared from spring water!

Distance: 77 km

Team Members:
Bistarini, Erik (Slovakia), Gunarashi, Harashita, Jarmila (Czech), Jyotirmala, Karel (Czech), Kasturika, Krutananda, Ombo (Mongolia), Pramiti, Sudasa

Gallery: See more images!