Death will be like the end of the summer holidays

Hello from the southern shore of the Sea of Okhotsk, a few days’ walk from the La Pérouse Strait, which separates Hokkaido from Sakhalin and will mark the point where I turn south. The first post from Human Again, my series of dispatches from the road, is now online.

Most of this first post was written at the Erdős Mathematics Café in Monbetsu, Hokkaido, an after-school refuge run by a wonderful pair of teachers for high school students, where they can play and study in the afternoons. It is named after one of my heroes, the peripatetic Hungarian mathematician Erdős Pál. I do not much resemble a Japanese high school student but Mr. Hanaoka and his colleague welcomed me in and gave me apple juice and a table to write at, which I drank and I did.

I’m also publishing a picture each day to Glass. These are close to real-time, posted a day or two after I take them. This one I’m reasonably happy with.

Do you know anyone who would be interested in reading about a walking journey in northern Japan? Please forward them this letter or send them this link.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a fine day.