Don't know how to adjust the photo on my phone so I'm sorry if it's horizontal!

I'm currently in the first, first part of my journey. Not quite beginning the walk yet since I'm taking the bus to travel up North and trying to visit the Akita and Aomori Churches first before I get to Hachinohe on the 22nd of February.

I'm carrying probably 7kgs worth of luggage and it's not a walk in the park. Hoping to lose most of this (plus my weight) as I progress on. Winter hiking means more need for equipment. I am carrying the Singaporean flag because I happened to have it and I think I'm probably the first Singaporean to do such a foolhardy thing, not only walking the trail, but in winter.

Making my way to Yokote, Akita first for the Kamakura Festival and then to Higashinaruse Village, listed as one of the villages under the Most Beautiful Villages of Japan. It supposedly has the most beautiful view of the starry sky in Japan.