Every Tuesday, I hike sixteen kilometers through the quiet mountains of Hanno —
a place close enough to Tokyo that I can be back by noon,
yet far enough to feel completely alone.
This time, I came across something new: fresh bear droppings on the trail.
It was a reminder that nature can be dangerous,
but its danger feels different from the kind we face in the city.
Bears, after all, have no malice.
They’re just alive.
And maybe that’s what makes the silence of Hanno
feel strangely peaceful.
