Every story has an ending

So its been quite a few weeks since my last update, I’m now back home and the jet lag is slowly fading as the trip starts to feel like a distant dream. I’m certain it all really happened but I don’t think that it has really sunk in yet, regardless of this there are still some stories to be told and its about time I sat down and got typing.

I last wrote as I was heading south from Chiba to a campsite in Futtsu to stay a couple of nights, it was around 30 miles to the site and the ride itself was relatively simple, though I was a little tired from spending the night in the capsule hotel that smelled permanently of feet (this was an exception to the other capsules I visited on my trip).

The route took me out of the city following the coast of Tokyo bay, seemingly full of industry and factories, and I wondered how many times in my life I had watched Godzilla destroy very similar buildings. Thankfully there was no sign of him on this particular day much though the small child in me would have been very happy to see the big guy.

I headed inland a little avoiding a peninsula and following the main road as it wound its way between small towns and rice fields.

These little frogs had been croaking away to me for months so I was pleased to finally see one up close.

Pretty soon I was at the campsite and was stunned to see it filled with hundreds of people! Worried I may not get a pitch I headed to the office and after the initial usual confusion caused by my terrible Japanese skills I was relieved to be checked in and left to find a suitable place to setup.

The larger groups of people seemed to be on some kind of company outing and all merrily eating and drinking away. By around 6 pm my tent was up and the campsite cleared a little, daytime only camping seems to be popular in Japan and I guess it is a way for people to enjoy the experience a little even if they don’t quite have the time to stay the whole weekend, personally it seemed a huge amount of work for a short visit but each to their own and the more lubricated members of this group seemed to have enjoyed it enough for everyone.

Money was a little tight at this point so after setting my ferry crossing cash aside I headed to the nearby Conbini to get enough food for two nights. With pasta and fresh bread in the tent for the next few days food I settled down for the night with a book.

I was woken early the next day by my neighbours children running laps around my tent, I don’t mind children normally but at 6:30 am my sense of humour was buried somewhere at the bottom of my sleeping bag. I was getting ready to brain Ken-Chan and his little friends with the pan containing the remnants of my previous nights meal when they headed off in a different direction, saving both themselves and my breakfast  in the process.

This was to be a lazy, reading in the sun, kind of day. I spent the morning soaking up the rays while my solar panel did the same, charging my battery packs. The kids had mostly left me alone apart from one very inquisitive young girl who asked me if I was Japanese. I tried in vain to convince her I was a Tengu but she continued her questioning until I relented and explained I was from the UK, disappointed she headed off to resume playing with her friends now the mystery was solved.

By mid day the campsite was virtually deserted, and I enjoyed the peace and quiet while the local stray cats fought with a pack of crows for whatever scraps of food people had left around the site.

The next morning was thankfully much quieter than the previous so I had a slightly lazy start before packing up my camping gear for the very last time on the trip, loading the bike up each morning was my least favourite part of the journey but I couldn’t help but be a little sad at the realisation that I was getting closer to the end.

I only had 15 miles to get to the ferry so I grabbed a small breakfast and headed south, it was a beautiful morning and the clear sky meant that once I reached the coast I was treated to views clear across Tokyo Bay with Mt Fuji looming on the horizon in the background.

I arrived in Kanaya just in time to see the earlier ferry head out into the bay, I was due to take the next ferry so I wasn’t too upset so bought my ticket and milled about the dock with the camera enjoying the sunny morning and the sound and smells of the sea.

After spending the last of my spare change on an Ice cream the ferry sailed in to the dock and I was rolling aboard following the motorbikes, and strapping the bike down for the short crossing.

I sat on the top deck enjoying the sunny weather and watching the hundreds of ships passing through the bay somehow manage to miss each other, it wasn’t too long before we were pulling into Kurihama and I rolled off the boat to find Koichi waiting for me.

We loaded the bike into the car and headed to a local hotel for a cold drink and a good chat to catch up with each other before heading to a local steak restaurant for a fantastic dinner, it was good to see him after what felt like a very long time since we last met.

With dinner settling down we headed out to Koichi’s family shrine to pay his respects to his father and I had a chance to look inside the temple while talking to the temple master a little with Koichi as a translator, it was a real privilege to be allowed to take a few photos here.

Now I have a bit of an interest in a man called William Adams, who was the first person from Britain to arrive in Japan and played an interesting part in that era of Japanese history. Koichi and I had talked about him and it turned out that he had been local to this particular area so we set off to find his memorial stone, winding our way up increasingly narrow roads before reaching the memorial at top of a hill.

With the sun setting we headed back downhill to the coast and a beautiful viewpoint looking over the bay and the Nissan test track.

From there we headed into Yokosuka and my hotel for the night, the town is also home to a US naval base so you couldn’t help but notice the large amount of non Japanese people in the streets. Once I had checked into the hotel and had a shower I headed out to Dobuita Dori at Koichi’s suggestion, to try the food at a place called Honey Bee and to see the impact of the Naval base on the area.

The food itself was fantastic and I really enjoyed my Teriyaki Chicken Burger, the area itself however felt decidedly odd with uniformed naval staff standing on corners observing passers by (I assume to ensure off duty staff are behaving) and for the first time in my three months in the country I didn’t feel safe. That said I didn’t see any problems and everyone was having a good time but it was certainly a much different atmosphere to the rest of the country which maybe explains my uncertainty.

The next morning I was back on the bike again and heading off towards Kamakura for a few days, crossing the peninsula to follow the coast from Hayama along to my hostel for the next few nights.

The road wound its way along the shore, diving inland and up over the little hills before working its way back to the sea in a way that kept the scenery constantly changing even for this relatively short trip.  I rolled into Kamakura pleased to see that the hills I remembered from the start of my trip had shrunk after my months of riding, feeling pleased with myself I stopped for dinner at a place called Pacific Drive-In which seemed far too fashionable for me going by its clientele, but they let me in even though I was a bit ripe after not having laundry services for the past four days.

After a nice dinner of Hawaiian Mochiko Chicken I still had a few hours to kill so rode out to Enoshima Island for a look around before relaxing on the beach with a book and a couple of large cold drinks for the rest of the afternoon.  I was soon bored of the beach (seriously how do people do that for weeks?), but thankfully my hostel had opened so I checked in and got started on my laundry in case the next place I went to eat was a bit more fussy.

The next day was a little grey with rain forecast for the late morning so I decided to head into nearby Fujisawa to have a look at potential hand luggage for the flight home, I had brought a small rucksack on the way over but had overloaded it to the point it fell apart when I arrived at Narita.

The train to Fujisawa stopped pretty nearby on the Enoden Line which winds its way from Kamakura through the streets and houses of the area, the train itself is pretty famous in Japan appearing in various Manga and films so it isn’t unusual to see people crowded outside stations taking pictures of the carriages and stations like paparazzi at a film premiere.

I topped up my Suica card and headed on the train with the drizzle turning to rain and the number of tourists dropping as I headed closer to the city. I have mixed feelings of Fujisawa after being trapped here at the start of my trip when I was unwell and shopping didn’t help that. I had a rough idea of how to get around the city but my fuzzy memory combined with the constant unfurling and furling of my umbrella as I went into different shops was starting to grate.

All this meant that I soon decided that I didn’t need a bag anymore, and that I would use a bike pannier for the trip home. Relieved I hopped back on the Enoden line and headed back to Enoshima. The weather lifted with my mood and the rain became a light mist so I walked along the now empty beach watching the surfers wait for waves before heading to Yoshinoya for a cheap chicken rice bowl to end the day.

The next day looked much brighter so I put my last load of laundry on before heading out to see some sights. Enoshima Aquarium is pretty famous and I enjoy walking around them so I headed along to go see some fish. What I didn’t plan for was arriving in the car park outside the Aquarium at the same time as what must have been hundreds of school children, with memories of the campsite fresh in my mind I turned on my heels and got the hell out of there, deciding that no fish was worth that.

With my plans in tatters I headed back towards Enoshima and decided to go explore the Island one last time, taking the boat to the back of the Island and working my way back from there.

The steps from the shore sadly hadn’t experienced the same shrinking phenomenon as the local hills and I was puffing by the time I reached the top of the hill. There are lots of cats on Enoshima, and in keeping with the majority of cats in Japan they kept their distance from me, I should have tried to play it cool I guess!

It’s a bit of a climb but the view is worth it

Now when I first visited Kamakura in 2012 I wanted to visit the Zeniarai Benzaiten shrine, however, I was suffering from food poisoning and a grumpy wife on a very hot day, so after looking for a while gave up on my mission. This time would be different, for starters I wasn’t carrying spare underpants, and the grumpy wife issue had been resolved some time ago, so I again hopped onto the Enoden line to take care of some unfinished business.

The train was filled with school children of varying sizes, I can only assume that Kamakura is the default school trip destination for the Tokyo area and the classrooms must have all been empty on this particular day. I dove off at the Wadazuka stop and headed north along the little narrow roads between the houses, doing my best to avoid the roaming packs of kids dotted along the way like a surreal version of The Warriors.

One of the main reasons I had wanted to visit this shrine was the entrance and after climbing up a steep road I found it, a small tunnel cut through the hill with a Torii marking it as the place I was looking for. The Kami of this particular shrine is associated with prosperity so it is customary to wash your money in the water of the shrine to bring you wealth and fortune. I had a go once I manged to get to the spring after a small boy who nearly washed the pattern off his coins in his enthusiasm, I can only assume he is a millionaire by now, I’m still waiting for the results of my efforts.

Feeling brave and thinking of my future fortune I decided to start saving money right away and skip on the train back to the hostel, instead walking the four miles. The first few miles in were pleasant enough but before long I was realising that three months cycling had left my feet pretty unaccustomed to walking and they were starting to get pretty sore.

My stubborn streak has come in handy a few times on this trip and it ruled the day on this occasion, no matter how much the comfort of the passing trains taunted me as I hobbled home, this increased my fortune the princely sum of £2.59 excluding the change I spent on a couple of cold drinks… yeah, I should have got the train.

Look at all those comfy seats…

Now when I let Koichi know I was back in the area the previous week he had mentioned a friend in the area who’s son was visiting Australia soon and wanting to practice his English. So it was arranged that I would check out of my hostel and pedal over to spend the day with Yusuke and his friend Hiroki before staying the night at their apartment and meeting his mother Jyunko.

I got to the apartment at around 10 am and, after getting to know each other a little Yusuke and I walked into Fujisawa to meet Hiroki and head into Kamakura on the Enoden line for dinner. Hiroki has a bit of a sweet tooth so we headed along Komachi Dori to a restaurant that had a Matcha Tiramisu as a speciality, I opted for the Udon set with Shirase Tempura  which was very tasty.

With dinner sorted we headed to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu shrine to get our fortunes, I had never done this so it was good fun to try with two helpful translators. It turned out that my fortune wasn’t too great and warned me to be careful with relationships and marriages,  this was old news so at the advice of my new friends we headed to a nearby spot to tie the fortune slips to a string, nullifying any negative aspects and apparently increasing any luck gained. I should have brought the divorce papers to tie up there as well.

With my bad luck now behind me we headed back to the train and headed down to the aquarium. I had my fingers crossed that it wouldn’t be a repeat of yesterdays child infestation but the tying of the fortune had obviously worked as we walked straight up to the ticket office without anyone else in sight.

The aquarium was fantastic and I especially enjoyed the large main tank, I love visiting places like this when abroad as you tend to see animals you would never see anywhere else in the world. The Giant Spider crab in particular left an impression with its sheer size (they can reach up to 5.5m in leg span…) and its striking resemblance to a H R Giger creation, fearing crab related nightmares I moved on.

Not a crab in sight

Hiroki had to head back to Tokyo for university so we said our goodbyes and Yusuke and I headed back to his apartment for a lovely evening and a home cooked meal from Jyunko. Again the hospitality from people who were virtual strangers was overwhelming and it had been a great day with my new friends.

I set off the next morning waving goodbye to Jyunko and Yusuke, I was riding 20 or so miles north towards Yokohama and Koichi’s workshop for my last days riding before going home. My sat nav seemed to sense this so as it did on the first day, it decided not to play, simply refusing to navigate. I looked on google maps and memorised the route in 5 mile increments, stopping at set points and specific turns to make sure I was on the right path. After about ten miles the sat nav must have realised that this was nearly the end as it started to work and safely guided me the final few miles until I was at the workshop and at the end of the riding part of my journey.

Koichi and Masa both gave me a warm welcome and I relaxed a while in the office with a cold drink, enjoying being among friends at what was a time of very mixed emotions, pleased I had made it but sad that it was over and I would soon be leaving Japan.

Koich had picked up a very nice box to pop the bike in for the flight home so he and Masa set about building that, while I stripped the bike down and decided what would and wouldn’t be making the trip home. Once that job was done Masa dropped me off at my hotel for the next two nights, I grabbed a shower, a quick snack and a nap.

 

Masa and my now neatly packed bike

That night Koichi and I headed into Tokyo to meet up with a mutual friend. Taiju had actually introduced me to Koichi back in 2014 so it was great to spend time with them both and we had a great meal at the Tonkatsu restaurant that Taiju took us to before we headed to a coffee shop to talk the evening away. I must have been a bit of a bore as I hadn’t spoken English much over the last few months but if that was the case both Taiju and Koichi were far too polite to say anything.

The next day I was up early and after a quick breakfast out on the road with Koichi and his wife Kana, Kana and I had never met before but we soon hit it off.  We were going to visit the Studio Ghibli museum in Mitaka, it had been a while since I had seen any of their films but I was looking forward to a look around and spending time with my friends. We stopped for dinner in a family restaurant and with the help of Koichi as translator Kana and I were chatting away, her energy is contagious and I can see how her and Koichi are a good match together.

We had a very enjoyable afternoon walking around the Studio Ghibli museum, it’s a fantastic experience with great insights into the process of the film making and animation that goes into each of their movies. Sadly you aren’t allowed to take photos or video inside the building, but I understand and appreciate that this is to keep the experience a new and exciting one for visitors rather than seeing it on the internet first.

I wonder if I can get these for my bathroom..

After the museum we had a brief stop outside the actual Ghibli studio buildings for a few quick photos before heading into Yokohama for the evening, we drove through the city centre and up the hill to an old part of the town containing the graveyard for foreign residents in times gone by. The view over the bay from here as the sun set was lovely.

We finished of the evening with a lovely meal in the Yokohama Chinatown area, the food was delicious but I’m afraid my palate wasn’t up to the challenge of some of the dishes, I was a little embarrassed at this but Koichi and Kana were very nice and understanding about it.

Kana, myself and Koichi

Yokohama looks to be a fascinating place and walking through Chinatown after our meal was amazing for street photography, I hope to spend more time here the next time I am in Japan.

After our meal I went back to my hotel, sad that my last proper day in Japan had come to an end.

I was awake early the next morning, packing my bags and deciding what would and wouldn’t be making the trip home with me, I had accumulated a few souvenirs on the trip in the way of leaflets, tickets, receipts etc.. and I was worried about the weight limit on the flight home. After getting a bag together of things too good to throw away I packed my remaining Items and checked out of the hotel, meeting Koichi outside.

We drove to his workshop where we loaded my bike into the car and headed off to Narita. I was pretty quiet this day, thinking allot about the past three months and the friends I had made along the way. Koichi took us out of Yokohama on the Tokyo Bay Aqua Line, a nearly 15 mile stretch of tunnels and bridges crossing the bay to Chiba prefecture and a spectacular example of Japanese engineering, the views from the Artificial island where the tunnel ends are fantastic.

The view from Umihotaru Island – Note the Gojira footprint at the bottom!

We were soon at my hotel in Narita where Koichi and I said our final goodbyes, he had been an incredible friend on this trip, offering support, advice, help and a friendly face when I needed it most. I will always be in his debt for this and I look forward to doing my very best to try and repay him as best I can as his friend.

Thanks again Koichi..

After a restless nights sleep in the hotel I headed out the next morning in the airport shuttle bus, trying to take in my last views of Japan and thinking about the first day I set out from the very same building to explore the country.

Once I was at the airport it was a simple case of checking in (thanks for not charging me excess baggage again Cathay Pacific!), and waiting for my flight to Hong Kong for the next few hours. The time passed relatively easily and by 6:30 I was on the plane and finally on my way home.

And that’s that, I have been home nearly a month now and have been busy looking for work, catching up with friends and family, and cycling as much as I can to try and keep my new found level of fitness. I hope to return to Japan again one day and I’m currently looking at my options on possibly living there.

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Thank you’s

I have been told that this trip has been quite an achievement but I struggle with this idea. The help I have received from so many people made this possible so it isn’t my achievement to claim alone, as such I would like to thank everyone who believed in me and made this possible –

My family and friends for their support (both emotional and financial!), throughout my life they have been there for me and these three months on the other side of the world were no exception. I love you all and am so grateful to have you in my life.

The people I met along the road who took time to talk with me, feed me or even put me up for the night. The hospitality of the people I met along the way was beyond expectation and really made the trip into the amazing experience it was, Japan is a beautiful country because of the people who live there.

Mitsu – Thank you so much for letting me stay in your home for so long in Ina, you gave me an insight into life in Japan that is not easy to see as a foreigner, as well as good company, food, and humour. I hope we can meet again soon in either Japan or the UK.

Koichi – for a person who I knew only a little before the trip started his support was amazing. Id like to think that we have become close friends through this trip and I look forward to talking with you and Kana and repaying your hospitality when you come to the UK again.

Waiting for the Kanaya Ferry to cross Tokyo Bay – 21-05-18 

Total distance ridden – 1,560.44 miles or 2511.28 Kilometres 

Total Elevation Gain – 56,299 ft or 17159.93 Meters

 

South to Chiba

After a welcome rest in Iwaki it was time to get going, I was now pretty close to Narita airport but with time on my hands I had decided to ride south along the coast of Chiba prefecture before crossing Tokyo bay by ferry to go catch up with Koichi and my friends in that part of Japan.

The ride out of Iwaki started with a small climb before levelling out on the coast road. I had picked two possible campsites for the evening, one was a wild camp in a coastal park with the advantage of no climbing to it but meaning that I would have to wait until dark to setup the tent, the second option was a genuinely free campsite which was up in the hills with around five miles of climbing, but I could setup and leave whenever I felt like it.  With rain forecast from 5 pm and sunset due at 6:30 pm my decision was made for me and I turned the bike skyward for the five mile climb.

Now at the start of my trip I hated climbing, I just didn’t have the stamina and after short steep climbs my legs would have nothing left. After two months riding I have started to ACTUALLY ENJOY CLIMBING! It’s scary, I’m still suffering but I know that as long as I keep my legs turning and ignore the pain that I will make it over the hill and the satisfaction from achieving that is immense.

That said with a light drizzle falling I wasn’t particularly thrilled to have a long haul ahead but thankfully the scenery was beautiful as I followed the river up the valley before reaching a dam and running along the lake it formed. After another few miles climbing away from the lake I was at my campsite by the river, I setup my tent just in time for the downpour to start so settled into my sleeping bag for the night.

I was up early, well, I was still wide awake when dawn arrived at around 5 am the next day. The rain had turned into a storm the previous night and my little tent was tested to its limits, making it through to the morning just barely still waterproof. Thankfully I bought a very good sleeping bag before leaving the UK so I was toasty warm at least.

I packed my bags and threw the sopping wet tent into its pack on the back of the bike and made my way gingerly downhill, drizzle still falling. I grabbed my breakfast at the nearest conbini and headed to the coast.

In contrast to the previous night and day it was a lovely sunny morning and the temperature climbed up the thermometer, drying out my bags and my tent in the process. I headed down the coast to a campsite I had found on google maps, I was in need of a shower and was glad of the shade of the pine trees when I finally arrived at my spot for the night.

I grabbed a quick shower and let my tent dry in the sun while the local cat population came and introduced themselves, I had been missing my own cat since I left home and the cats in Japan had been doing there best to avoid me until this point so I was glad of the feline company.

After relaxing with the cats I was sitting in the sun when one of my neighbours came over to introduce himself, his name was Kosuke and he was there camping with his wife Rieko and their dog Mob and I spent a lovely evening chatting away with them. I headed to bed early to make up for the long night in the rain the day before.

I woke up early and was greeted by my new friends with a lovely cup of fresh coffee before the cats joined me to sit in the sun a while. Kosuke and Rieko had invited me to come and visit them in a few nights, so I had revised my plans to head inland and would be going to Tsukuba for a couple of days to visit JAXA (the Japanese space program) before heading down to Inzai for one night with my new friends before riding to Chiba the day after that with Kosuke.

It was a simple 35 mile ride to Tsukuba and Chiba is a relatively flat prefecture so in no time I was at the hotel and relaxing while waiting for my laundry to finish before heading to bed for the night.

I headed to JAXA the following morning not sure what to expect (the reviews on Google maps were polarising, either very positive or very negative), it was a short walk from the hotel and after ac quick chat to the security guard on the gate I headed over to the visitor centre after stopping to admire the rocket on display outside.

I spoke to the staff at the visitor centre and while there was no English tour available that day (book ahead people!) I jumped onto the Japanese tour after looking around the excellent free display area.

The tour only cost ¥500 but we would be guided around through the astronaut Isolation training area and then finally we would be shown the control room for the Kibo section of the international space station, it was a real thrill to see all of this and the small boy in me who loved all things space was very happy. I left JAXA at mid day and headed to a nearby restaurant for dinner to complete a very good day.

It was a short 20 or so mile ride to Inzai and I took my time with a strong headwind pushing against me all the way. I had a lovely evening with my new friends enjoying good food and conversation, both Kosuke and Reiko are from near Osaka so we ate Osaka style Okonomiyaki which I had never tried before. It was a real treat to spend the night like this and I hope I can return the favour one day if they come to the UK.

I had booked a cheap capsule hotel for the following night so Kosuke and I had been looking at maps trying to figure out the best route to take to get to the city. There was a straight path along route 16 but we decided eventually to head to a local lake and then follow the cycle path along the river that would take us to the sea and Chiba city.

Kosuke is a pretty experienced rider and lead the way on his lovely Colnago road bike, the pace was a little faster than I am used to but it was fun to push myself a little even if I did struggle to keep up once the road hit an incline. With neither of us speaking much of the others language conversation was basic but very enjoyable, each of us getting our point across with a mix of words and gestures making the miles sail by all too quickly, it was good to have company on a ride and I would miss it in the next few days.

We arrived at Chiba by mid day and sadly it was time to part ways, with me heading into the city to my little tube for the night.

I woke the next day pleased with only banging my head once on the stupidly low hung TV in my capsule, I know that the reputation is that westerners are taller than Japanese people but I refuse to believe that TV hadn’t claimed hundreds of scalps in its life.

The roads out of Chiba city were nice and quiet for a Saturday morning so I had a good ride for the first five or so miles before traffic became very busy and I headed pack onto the paths, slowing my pace in the process. I was heading south to a campsite around 15 miles north of the ferry terminal where I would cross Tokyo bay, the plan was to head there and stay a few nights before meeting up with Koichi and making the most of my final full week in Japan, the trip was nearly over.

The road home has a few bumps

After one night in Sendai I woke to rain, this was expected but according the the forecast it would move on by around 10 am. I held out as long as I could in my hotel before heading to the local covered shopping arcade to wait for the rain to pass. By about 1pm it had eased off enough so I got on the bike and headed north out of the city towards the campsite I would be staying the night at.

The rain had other plans, within a mile or so it started to pour down making it hard going. sure enough while passing a parked car I rode over a metal gird I hadn’t seen and the bike slid away from me. I tried to keep it upright but failed and hit the floor with a thump, more embarrassed than anything I hopped up and picked up the bike, moving it out of peoples way to inspect the damage.

I had come down pretty hard on the right side of the bike and it had managed to break the right bar end and moved the brake and gear levers out of position. The wrist I had hurt in Kyoto was starting to grumble and looking at my legs I had managed to tear through the right leg of my trousers. I gave up on the idea of camping that night and headed to the nearest and cheapest hotel I could find to fix myself up and figure out my next move.

When I arrived at the hotel I must have looked a bit of a mess as they made quite a fuss and let me into my room well before the check in time. I dumped my bags in the room and checked my legs, there was a short deep cut on my right knee just below the knee cap that looked a real mess but after a quick clean it was manageable with some gauze. My wrist was getting pretty sore so I soaked in bath a while before dosing up on painkillers and getting an early nights sleep.

I woke early the next day aching all over, but with the sun shining it was time to be heading on.  Without the bar end on the right side and with my wrist being a bit of a mess it was a very uncomfortable few miles at the start, within a few miles there was a bicycle shop so I popped in and picked up a new pair of bar ends to give me a place to rest my hand.

The route out of Sendai was relatively simple, following the main roads south towards Fukushima prefecture, the bike felt better with the new bar end and after straightening out the various levers but something wasn’t quite right. After about 20 miles I found out why, I hit a bump in my path and heard a loud ‘clink’ from below me before feeling an odd sensation through the right pedal. I stopped to have a look and saw that the pedal was loose in the crank, I started to try and tighten it but the thread was stripped.

I rode another two miles with the pedal loosely in place until a reached a conbini. As soon as I stopped the pedal fell to the floor and I looked to see that the right crank was completely destroyed. When I had crashed the previous day the pedal had rammed into crank at an angle and trashed the threads, as I had ridden the pedal was slowly turning inside the crank arm deforming the internal diameter and ruining the pedal at the same time. I was stuck.

 

cof

cof

Earlier in the day I had booked a hotel in a town called Soma and I was 15 miles away when the pedal gave up. I had two choices, did I forget the money paid for the hotel and head back towards Sendai in the hope that there would be a bike shop? or should I press on towards the hotel in Soma, knowing that the further south I got I was heading into areas heavily effected by the 2011 tsunami and the subsequent issues with the Daichi nuclear power plant.

Fearing I would never leave Sendai due to some unforeseen curse I plumped to head to Soma, 15 miles sounded better than 22 with one pedal missing and Soma had a train station should I be unable to fix the bike.

So, pushing up hills and rolling down, pedalling in a fashion with only my left pedal I managed 8 miles before finding a hardware store on my route. I popped in for some inspiration and after debating a few options grabbed a coach bolt and a couple of nuts to fashion a makeshift pedal.

This made life easier and meant I could ride in an almost normal way, despite the sole of my shoe slowly rotating to the end of the threaded bolt every ten or so rotations. I arrived at Soma exhausted, hungry and worried if I could continue my trip.

After a quick meal and a few phone calls home and to my good friend Koichi a plan was formed. The next day I headed to the train station and bought a ticket to Iwaki, a city 50 or so miles down the road with a good bike shop that Koichi had been in touch with. It sounded simple but the matter of getting there would be far from that.

I arrived at the station with only around 15 minutes to spare for the next train, as Bicycles aren’t allowed on most trains in Japan I had to strip the bike and pack it all away into a large plastic bag I had brought with me. I had bought some cable ties and duct tape the night before so it was relatively simple work if not time consuming, once I was done the train was leaving the station so I decided to catch the next one I could.

My new friend in the ticket office was less positive about my journey, the bike passed inspection now but because of the exclusion zone around the nuclear power plant and various train lines not being rebuilt it would now mean I would have to take three different trains and a bus to get to Iwaki, with a four and a half hour wait in Namie, just inside the exclusion zone.

Not having much choice I set off armed with pockets full of time tables and a cheery wave from the ticket office, hauling my bike and luggage up and over the stairs to the first platform, stares from locals wondering if I was nuts, I was starting to wonder myself.

The first two train journeys passed quickly, short local hops with few passengers save the occasional elderly couple and one other foreigner. I arrived in Namie pretty quickly and got myself comfortable for the long wait.

Namie has had most of the restrictions from the 2011 Tohoku earthquake lifted, with people free to return to their homes, but in reality it seems to be almost empty. In my four and a half hours I saw few people, mostly police, or builders, trucks moving through the town towards areas requiring decontamination, the only other occupant of the station was an elderly man who wandered in for a short nap before heading back out into the town. Though 2011 is quite a few years ago it seems very close here.

After reading a few books and sampling the delights of the station vending machine, the bus arrived, I quickly loaded my bags and hopped on board. Sitting ahead of me was the other foreigner from a previous train, he was interested in the disaster and had previously visited Chernobyl and Hiroshima, he had come prepared with his own personal dosimeter and had been exploring the area taking readings of radiation levels and photographing the decontamination work. It was fascinating to talk to him with his knowledge of this particular subject and I was surprised to hear that the levels he had found were lower here than in Tokyo! While we talked the bus took us along route 6, within 3 miles of the Daichi plant and acting as the border for the no go zone surrounding it. The area was eerily quiet with the plants over growing the buildings, car dealerships abandoned with vehicles rusting on the front lot. The bus pulled to a stop just past the Nuclear plant as a scruffy fox wandered across the road in front of us, making his point that this wasn’t a place for people any more.

The bus rolled into the brand new station at Tomioka and after saying goodbye to my new friend I hauled my various bags and the bike into the train, jamming them into the luggage area and rendering it useless for any other passengers. Normally I would try to avoid inconveniencing others but by this point I was exhausted and wanted to be away from the exclusion zone, I’m certain I was safe but I had a slightly unsettled feeling and needed to move on.

I had booked two nights in Iwaki, unsure of how long the repairs would take, so I quickly abandoned my bags with the very confused man on the front desk and hastily pushed my quickly assembled bike to the local shop, eager to drop it off before closing time.  The store closed at 7 pm so arriving at 6:10 pm I was expecting to be told when I could come and collect it, I was stunned when they simply started stripping the front crank apart and proceeded to fit a whole new front chainset, shorten the chain, index the gears and fit new pedals, all in the matter of half an hour and at a very reasonable price!

I was back at the hotel by Seven with the bike repaired, ready for a good nights sleep and a relaxed wander around Iwaki the following day before resuming the trip.

To be continued

 

Socks full of gravel and sleeping with strangers

Its that time again, I have managed to get myself sat in front of the laptop in a hopefully awake enough state for all of this to make sense when anyone else reads it.

When I last wrote I was in Otaru, Hokkaido recovering from a 21 hour long ferry trip and after a days rest writing and doing laundry I was ready to make a move again. I packed up and headed the 23 or so miles it was into Sapporo, the largest city in Hokkaido.

Hokkaido itself has a relatively young history having only come under direct control of Japan in the late 1700’s / early 1800’s and the island had a very different feeling to it, to me at least, Japanese for certain but at the same time with something else I couldn’t put my finger on during my brief visit.

There are certainly various influences on the Island itself, with the docks in Otaru having adverts in both Russian and Japanese, and the layout of the towns and cities on a ‘block’ style giving a very western feel.

The ride to Sapporo was relatively simple, a short run alongside one of the main roads into the city. Once into the city I was pleased to see lots of small parks dotted among the larger buildings huddled around the train station that seems to live at the heart of all Japanese cities.

I arrived at my hotel for the next day or so and headed out to wander the city for something to eat. I eventually ended up at a local burger place as sometimes happens when I’m tired, I love the food in Japan but exhaustion makes me lazy and it can be an effort to figure out what you are eating sometimes. Lucky for me the burger was amazing so I went to sleep dreaming of the Honey mustard sauce I had eaten.

The next day I had planned to wander around the nearby Botanical gardens however rain had moved in so I spent my time walking through the city, visiting the various sights and enjoying a relaxed day as a tourist before an early night to rest to the next days ride.

The weather was coming in strong and I had decided to press on south to Tomakomai to get a ferry back to the mainland that evening at 7pm, I hadn’t clicked with Hokkaido and the weather had made my mind up for me to leave.

The rain had reduced to a slight drizzle when I left the hotel but the wind was picking up and blowing straight at me, I crawled out of Sapporo up a long slow gradient. The long winters in Hokkaido must play havoc with the roads and footpaths as they were badly rutted and breaking apart, with the spray from my back wheel showering the back of my legs with rain and grit from the ground.

I was loathed to stop in the conditions, knowing that I would only feel the cold once my heart rate dropped and my body temperature lowered after exercising, however after around 35 miles I was getting close to the ferry so I decided to double check the times and have a quick energy gel in a conveniently placed bus shelter. To my horror I discovered that the cash I had taken out the previous day was no longer in my wallet, I rushed through checking my bags trying not to soak the contents but with no luck, I had lost a substantial amount of cash and didn’t have enough to pay for the evenings ferry.

A quick, and rather stressed call home resulted in me being bailed out yet again, and I was soon back on my way, cold, wet and filthy with grime from the road cursing myself for my stupidity.

My misery was compounded when I arrived at the ferry terminal to find it sold out for that nights crossing, after a quick internal debate I gave up and booked a hotel for the night, the days first sensible decision. Once at the hotel I set about washing my luggage, shoes and self, the grit had not only coated my legs (yes I was wearing shorts, less clothes to wash afterwards) but had run down into my socks, coating my ankles and rubbing the skin away in a few areas.

I had a quick shower, then headed to the Onsen in the hotel for a long needed soak while my washing sloshed about in the adjacent laundry room. Heaven is a long soak in a bath followed with fresh clean and warm clothes.

Not needed a hair dryer for a while but they come in handy sometimes.

I woke up in a much better mood the following morning, the sun was shining all though the wind remained, so I loaded up the bike after rinsing off the worst of the previous days muck and headed down to the ferry terminal. I was only a couple of miles away so I soon arrived to find that the desk didn’t open until 15:30, undeterred I called up the ferry company and via a translator booked my ticket for the evening. It being the final Friday of golden week the only remaining cabins were the cheapest option so I went with that, hoping that I wouldn’t have to row for too long and wondering if the drum would keep me up at night.

With quite a few hours to kill I decided to show the bike some TLC, the previous day had taken its toll on the poor thing and it was squeaking, rattling and the front brake was pretty much non existent. I parked up outside a 7-11 (cant go wrong with a free sink and loo) and set about swapping the pads over on the front brake, thankfully it was a pretty simple job and I was done in about ten minutes.

Deciding that the job needed doing properly I rode to the nearest bike shop and grabbed some cleaning wipes and a small can of the local WD-40 equivalent. There was a park nearby so I pulled the luggage off the bike and set about scraping off the grime, grit had gotten everywhere, filling up allen bolt heads and even rubbing away my name decal on one side of the bike where my shorts had been touching. The wipes I bought were pretty decent and got the majority of the rubbish off so I coated everything in the multipurpose oil and gave it a good wipe down with a clean cloth.

I was admiring my handy work when a local popped over to see what was happening, he was a friendly sort and despite us not really understanding each other we had a good chat, after he headed off I loaded the bike back up and was getting ready to move when he came back with a massive bag of crisps and a bottle of Coffee! We chatted a little more and after I drank some of the very sweet coffee he seemed happy enough and we parted ways for the final time.

I still had a couple of hours left to kill so I grabbed some dinner before heading to the ferry terminal with my crisps and sundry other snacks I had grabbed at the 7-11. The terminal was busy but I didn’t have to wait long to sort my tickets so settled down with a book to while away the last hour or so.

Once it was time I headed down to the ferry and was allowed to cycle aboard under my own steam. I headed up to my cabin and found that my bed was what appeared to be three chair mats, a block of foam and a small duvet, surrounded by 15 other people.

Thankfully I was by a wall so I got as comfortable as I could and tried to get some sleep, headphones in to keep the noise out. It was fairly simple until around 2 am when an older gent slightly worse for wear (the boat wasn’t moving that much), got his footing wrong and landed on top of two rather surprised and understandably angry people. Luckily it was on the opposite side of the room to me but the commotion woke me up and I struggled to get any more rest, working out potential trajectories our unstable friend may find next.

I was spared from being squashed by any fellow inmates and by about 9 am the following morning we were coming close to Sendai port, I packed up and headed out to the back of the boat and was soon rolling off the ferry onto the wet dockside after what must have been a pretty heavy shower.

It was a short ride to Sendai and I had booked a cheap hotel to get a good nights rest so I dropped my bags off and set out for a wander, my body still rolling from the boat. Sendai is a lovely city with streets lined with trees and it was sunny but cold when I was exploring. It was children’s day so families were out walking or heading to some event all giving the place a lovely relaxed atmosphere, I grabbed a couple of Donuts and sat down in a park to relax for a few hours before heading back to the hotel for the evening.

I headed north the next morning, I had seen a YouTube video about a place called Onagawa and how it was rebuilding after the 2011 Tsunami so I decided to ride the 40 miles there to see the town for myself. The ride from Sendai followed a few busy roads at first but was soon rolling through fields and small towns, it was difficult not to think about what happened to the area but other than some empty lots and road building work you wouldn’t have had any idea.

I arrived at Onagawa and after having a quick look around the shops in the new high street including a full size cardboard Lamborghini (no I’m not kidding), I headed to my accommodation for the night. My hotel was made up of around 20 or 30 static caravans that had been used as emergency housing following the Tsunami, they had been refitted and used here to create a place for visitors to stay, one of the great little ideas that are all adding up in Onagawa.

The new train station built in the town is a spectacular design and also rather handily contains an onsen so I ended my day with a relaxing soak.

Rain played its part again the following day as I went back south and rather than reliving the misery of my ride from Sapporo I had a short 12 mile ride to a nearby hostel, handily placed next to a great little bike shop where for ¥500 (£3.40) the bearings on my pedals were cleaned and re packed with grease, ridding me of the awful grinding noise that had accompanied me the past few days.

My hostel was very cheap so I was pleasantly surprised to find that first of all I was the only occupant of the dormitories, and secondly there was a fantastic restaurant attached. I waited out the evenings storm eating Swiss Raclette melted over fresh bread and bacon feeling very happy with the world.

I was regretting the cheese the next morning as the sheer quantity of it weighed me down and made me feel decidedly bloated and sluggish for the majority of the morning to come. Helping fight the dairy induced lethargy was a fantastic tailwind and I was cruising along at a great rate. Passing a local JSDF airbase I saw several planes taking off and for the next three miles was treated to what felt like my own private display as the planes banked and twisted in the sky in formation, smoke trails following behind them.

The next surprise came about half way in my journey, ahead on the opposite side of the road I saw another cyclist with panniers so I rode over to say hello. To my surprise it was the very same Italian rider I had met going the opposite way on the Shimanami Kaido, nearly a month and around 700 miles away! We both had a good laugh at the chances of that happening and caught up with each others progress, after swapping information on routes and camping spots we parted ways again.

And that brings me back to Sendai, I have around three weeks left of my trip and will be heading south through the Fukashima and Ibaraki prefectures before riding through Chiba and back to Yokahama and Tokyo for my flight home. As always I will try to keep you updated as I go.

The Japan sea coastline

After a couple of days rest in Tottori waiting out a storm it was time to move on, the rain had lifted enough to be safe enough to ride and was due to clear  by mid day. I left in a cloud of drizzle thankful for the covered shopping streets of Tottori and for once pleased to see any tunnel or covered bridge to get out of the wet for a while.

The wind was blowing off the sea and my route following the winding coastal path seemed to lead me in and out of strong headwinds, thankfully the rain was easing off and soon I was riding through some of the most spectacular coastal scenery I have ever seen, bringing to life images only seen in woodblock prints with the odd kei truck thrown in to keep me from totally forgetting my circumstances.

Normally I don’t take many photos as I ride simply down to momentum, the bike weighs around 40kg so stopping and starting tends to take its toll on me, however with the views on the coast being so spectacular I stopped regularly, finally appreciating the strong wind as it drove the sea into huge waves crashing over the rocks and throwing a fine mist of spray and sand in over the land before it.

When the road wasn’t rolling along the shoreline it was climbing slightly inward up steep winding roads, short but with enough of a gradient to make me work for it to get over, then would come the all to short twisty descents. The roads were deserted to I could take advantage of the full width of the tarmac where I could see far ahead, carving around the bends finally appreciating the weight of my luggage pulling me down the hills.

I arrived in Shinonsen by about mid day after a short 20 miles, I wanted to keep the day fairly short after my time off the bike and because of the bad weather. I found a nice little campsite and after assuring the man running it I would be fine with the cold he gave me a map of the town, pointing out the local onsen and supermarket. After a good soak and a bite to eat I settled in for an early night in the tent with a good book and the noise of the waves crashing into the shore nearby.

The next day I was greeted with sunshine and a light breeze, the weather had moved on and it looked like a warm dry day was ahead of me. I had picked up some saddle sores in the rain the previous day so had booked a couple of nights in a cheap place in Kinosake Onsen about 30 miles away from my campsite. Like most stays on my trip it was picked on distance rather than any prior knowledge of the area.

My route took me back inland and I was soon repeating the slow climb and fast descent pattern from the day before, heading in and out from the coast as the road weaved its way around some of the more stubborn geography in the area.  Again, I had the roads pretty much to myself and could relax enough to just concentrate on the scenery and the cycling.

By mid day it was getting hot and I was starting to wilt, whatever I drank seemed to pour off me instantly and at one point I was struggling to read my satnav as the sweat from my head ran over the screen.  After one last effort I was over the final climb and had a lovely run down the hill into Kinoseki.

My first idea that the town was a little different came as a passed a temple with a large rock outside it, boiling hot spring water was bubbling out of the top of the rock, steaming even on this hot day. As I got closer to my hotel I was riding through crowds of people walking the narrow streets in Yukata, the sound of their wooden geta clicking on the paths as they made their way from one bath to another.

I crossed a small decorative bridge and arrived at my hotel. After a lovely warm welcome from the staff who even let me bring the bike inside I was checked in and given a free pass to use any of the seven of the onsen the town is famous for.  It seems that good luck had landed me in a rather nice little tourist spot and I spent the next day and a half enjoying the baths and taking in the wonderful postcard scenery of the town,  there was a lovely atmosphere as families walked through the streets looking through the various souvenir shops and food stalls, boiling eggs in the spring at the temple, or relaxing at a foot bath outside some of the larger onsen.

By the end of my first full day in the town I had visited six of the seven onsen (one was shut) and was feeling much better. Before I had to pack my bags and go to bed I went to my favourite onsen and sat in the outside bath in the dark, looking up at the sky as the lights lit up the new leaves on the maples overhanging the bath above me and the waterfall ahead of me gently crashed down through the hill.

The next day I set out pretty much healed from the saddle sores, aiming to head about 30 miles then a further 20 the next, taking me to the Maizuru ferry terminal and all being well, on the boat to Hokkaido.

It was a hot day already when I left at about half eight so I was a little nervous of the day ahead, I had checked the route and there looked to be some pretty sharp short climbs one after the other on the route and I hoped I had the stamina to make it through the day. After the first climb I was feeling good and by twenty miles I had had a quick bite to eat and felt surprisingly fresh, I only had ten miles left on the planned route of the day and I was ahead of the time schedule for the day so decided to go for broke and head for the ferry that day.

The ferry wasn’t due to leave until quarter to midnight so as long as I could get a ticket I had plenty of time to make it, it was a gamble as if I couldn’t get a ticket I would have to try and find somewhere to sleep but I figured it was worth the risk.

At around 30 miles I started to see more and more rally cars passing me in the opposite direction, I was climbing a narrow road up a steep climb as they all went past me. I reached the pass to find a small road leading off to the side with a closed section and the end of what was obviously a closed tarmac stage rally, stopping for a brief rest to watch the cars I pressed on into what became a little rally stage of my own.

I kept pressing on and was still feeling good all the way. The scenery on these back roads was stunning and I was amazed to find Pitcher Plants growing wild on the side of the road. Carnivorous plants were a childhood obsession and always seemed so exotic so finding ones in the wild was a bit of a thrill. Along with the plants I would occasionally see and hear lizards along the side of the road, warming themselves in the sun until my shadow fell over them starting them into running into the leaves at the side. It was a great days riding and the miles were hard fought but enjoyed all the way.

I rolled into Maizuru ferry terminal at around 4 with the reception opening at 4:30, again dumb luck had played its part and I got the cheapest ticket possible for the ferry, now all I had to do was wait until 10:45pm to board before waiting out the remaining 21 hours the crossing took.

I went for a quick walk around the harbour, watching the locals fishing as the sun went down casting reflections off the water onto the nearby Japanese Self Defence Force ships and creating silhouettes of the figures on the dock.

I spent the remaining five hours sitting on the steps outside the terminal with my bike, reading my book, watching people come and go as the sun went down, and chatting a little with a new friend I had made who was also boarding the ferry.

The ferry arrived at around 9 and was soon unloading the bikes, cars and trucks while doing a swift clean and turnaround before we would be allowed to board. I was going on as the same time as the motorbikes and quite looking forward to the ride onto the ferry up the big ramp. My new friend was a little sceptical of my chances of making it after feeling the weight of the bike so I was looking to proving my mettle as it were, sadly the people loading the boat felt otherwise and decided letting a mad welshman peddle onto the boat was asking for trouble so they made me and the only other cyclist push our bikes up the ramp despite my protests that I would be fine riding.

Once on board I headed to my ‘cabin’. As the crossing is so long you are obliged to have a cabin and the cheapest option was a small capsule type bed with a couple of shelves next to the bed. I had packed what I needed into one pannier so i popped the bag into one of the shelves and got my head down, I dozed off as I felt the ship move off at around 11:45.

At about 6am I woke the next day sore and sweaty, I hadn’t had a chance to have a proper wash the day before after my ride but had quickly scrubbed in the gents loo at the terminal before changing my clothes before boarding. I hung on till the last minute trying to sleep before giving up to head to the bath at around 10 am.

Having a bath on a boat is an odd experience, it was the usual Onsen routine (see the last blog post for that) but soaking in the water was a slightly unsettling experience, with the boat, water, and myself all moving independently of each other. My fear of getting seasick cut the bath short so I headed back into the steerage section with some drinks and snacks to hide for the duration. By 8pm I was feeling pretty rough but had held onto my dinner so far, the ferry was landing at 8:45 so I packed up and headed to the gate at about 8:30.

In Maizuru I had quickly booked a cheap hostel near the ferry terminal before boarding but, with no idea what time check in finished I rolled off the ferry at 9 pm like a Tour de France time trial start. I had two and a half miles to do so sprinted as best I could up the hill to my hostel, making the cut off with plenty of time to spare I grabbed a shower and went to sleep, happy not to be on a moving boat.

So whats next, I had planned to spend more time in Hokkaido but being realistic I just don’t have the time. The second month of my trip finishes now and I am on the countdown to make it back to Tokyo in time for my flight.

I aim to spend a day off in Sapporo then will head back south, following the coast through various prefectures including Fukushima. My first trip to Japan was a few weeks after the earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that made the name known through the world and I want to see for myself how the area is recovering. All in a future blog all being well.

Turning around

Thanks to a spot of bad weather it looks like I have a bit of time to get this all up to date with my progress (or lack of it depending on your point of view).

In my last post I was staying in Hiroshima for a few days to rest and avoid some bad weather (I see a pattern forming here….), after a few nice days I was starting to get itchy feet and felt the need to go back riding. It’s odd but this trip seems to have a momentum of its own at times and regardless of how tired I get the urge to move on soon arrives and I look to the maps again to find the next place to aim for.

The place on this occasion was Gotsu on the opposite coast to Hiroshima, by following route 54 out of Hiroshima then route 261 I worked out that it should be a couple of days riding all being well. I’m sure that with a more experienced rider it would be possible in a day but after a long break and given the weight of the bike I didn’t see the need to push to hard.

I collected my bike from the bicycle park in the morning and loaded up my bags, within a mile something felt pretty seriously wrong. After a quick inspection I found that yet another spoke had broken on the rear wheel. I took the bags off, flipped the bike over and got to work fixing the spoke. Half an hour later I was back on the road with a slight weave in the wheel I just couldn’t seem to shake.

I pressed on regardless, there was a slight drizzle in the air but not wanting to put the waterproofs on I kept riding enjoying the cooler air brought with the rain. At about mile 12 the road started to climb and the work became much harder, my mind wasn’t really on the task at hand for various reasons and this day became a long, unpleasant slog to keep riding.

My initial aim for the day had been to get around forty miles done for the day, aiming for a campsite north of Kitahiroshima but by mile 20 I was exhausted and couldn’t go much further. Thankfully I had gone past the highest point on the ride that day so after a slight descent I was heading into Kitahiroshima,  aiming for a rest stop on the adjacent toll road as a possible wild camping site.

After arriving at the rest stop it was obvious that there was no chance of camping there, it was far too busy and the only flat piece of ground had been used as a small golf course so I was forced to rethink my plans.

After a quick check online I couldn’t find any accommodation nearby and was starting to worry a little. I looked at the map at the rest stop and it showed a ryokan not listed on google maps that was only a few miles away, it was a bit of a gamble and typically up a hill but I decided to head over to see if they had any rooms.  Thankfully my luck was in and I grabbed a room for the night, the restaurant was closed for the night but luckily I had some food in my bags and most importantly they had a very large Onsen to soak away my days misery in.

I was up early the next day feeling pretty sore but a little more cheerful, the weather forecast looked good and there was a slight mist in the hills making it look very dramatic. I popped to a conbini to grab some food for the day and finally noticed the cause of the previous days misery.

As the wheel was still a little warped it was causing the back brake to rub a little, not massively but just enough to reduce any momentum I was gaining in my riding. I decided to sort it once and for all and after a quick online lesson on the side of the road I managed to true the wheel enough so the problem was solved for now.

The road out of Kitahiroshima was a slight climb but thankfully most of the hard work had been done the previous day so after about 10 miles most of the days serious climbing had been done.  I was now descending through the mountains enjoying the scenery as farmers worked the freshly flooded fields and frogs in their hundreds croaked loudly away doing what they do every springtime.

About halfway into my day I rode through a small town called Onan which is possibly one of the friendliest places I have ever encountered in Japan. Within minutes of arriving a passing car pulled alongside shouting encouragements and giving thumbs up, and stopping at a conbini I was greeted by four separate people asking about my trip and wishing me well. Morale is a funny thing and meeting these people worked wonders for me so I left after my dinner refreshed and feeling good about life in general.

Once I reached Imbara the road levelled out and turned west towards Gotsu and the coast, following the river that grew larger and larger as it picked up more tributaries along the miles. I had attempted to book a Ryokan for the night but after some dramas with a cash machine not playing I was now aiming for a park that looked promising on google maps.

I reached the park just as the sun was falling and after chatting a little with some local teenagers using the basketball court and skate park I built my tent and settled down for the night.

I woke with the first light at 5 am and after a brief and very cold wash in the park toilets followed by breakfast at the local conbini I hit the road at about 7:30 am. I had been curious to see how riding on the coast would be as my original plan for the trip had been to follow it round Japan, I soon found that all though the elevation wouldn’t be that high the constant rise and fall of the road would mean I eventually climbed more than the average day riding in the hills.

Tired and with rain coming in I rolled into Izumo forty miles later, booking into a cheap business hotel for the night to shower and sleep properly.

The next day I woke early, ready to press on with the ride. I had booked a couple of nights at a cheap rest house at a place called Kaike Onsen about 40 miles away so needed to get some miles under my belt.

Throughout the trip I have been muttering to myself about hills, wondering if I should have perhaps visited Holland instead. Today those prayers were answered and I was greeted with 40 blissful flat miles pushed along by a light tailwind. making it all the better was the vast lakes along the route making my breaks very pleasant as I ate my dinner watching the shoals of tiny fish swim around excitedly below me.

Lake Shinji

The ride was very enjoyable and I soon was rolling through Yonago and into Kaike Onsen, the area was famous for is salt water onsen so once I had checked into the rest house I grabbed my towel and headed to one recommended by the staff.

About Onsen.

The whole Onsen experience was quite foreign to me initially but has now become a wonderfully relaxing routine so I thought I should talk a little about what it entails by describing my experience on this occasion.

On entering the Onsen you remove your shoes and place them in a locker, now padding around in your socks you head over to the ticket machine, thankfully the staff are pretty helpful so noticing I am looking a little lost head over to me and help me select the right ticket for the baths.

After handing over the ticket you head towards the baths, making sure to enter the correct changing room as each set of baths are separated by gender for reasons which will become obvious.

Once in the changing room you either grab a basket or in this case a locker,  then strip off until all you have with you is a small rectangular towel and any toiletries you may need.

Now the next step seems to differ spending on who you talk to, you enter the bath area and either rinse yourself down with some bath water, have a light soak then wash, or (and this is my preferred way) head straight to the washing area for a good scrub.

The washing area consists of a small stool, a bowl, a tap, a shower head and depending on the onsen some soap and shampoo.  You wash by sitting on the stool and giving yourself a scrub down with the soap, making sure to rinse yourself properly and making sure you don’t splash water over your neighbours.  This takes a bit of getting used to being British and a little shy about the whole nudity thing but after a few times you soon are past caring and just looking forward to the relaxing soak.

Once you are scrubbed clean its a case of heading to the baths, taking your small towel with you folded or rolled up, once you find the bath of your choice you either pop your towel on the side (some people say this isn’t done but I have seen it done by so many Japanese people I’m just not sure) or, pop the towel on your head and slowly dunk yourself into the water, making sure that your towel doesn’t touch the water and that you don’t submerge your head.

The baths themselves vary from large stone baths, to cedar barrels, and in the case, a large wooden bath outside overlooking the beach.  The water as well varies from place to place, some clear and piping hot, some naturally sparkling, some sulphurous and in Kaike Onsen, hot spring water with a high salt content is the local speciality.

I personally like the outdoor baths. With the fresh air above you, soaking in water that is usually around 41c and taking in the view that is usually provided, it becomes almost meditative and I will happily spend my time watching the world go by feeling the knots in my legs and back unwind as the water works its magic.

I spent my day and a half in Kaike Onsen walking along the water front, visiting several Onsen, and generally unwinding. This time of year can be quite difficult for me for personal reasons so the time to clear my head of the unnecessary thoughts was most welcome.

Soon enough though it was time to be moving on, so following the coastal path as best I could, headed along the coast towards a campsite shown on Google maps around 35 miles away.

Sure enough within about 4 miles another spoke let go and I was again straightening out the wheel before I could head on my way.

Once I was rolling properly again the riding was relatively straightforward, not a blissfully flat as the previous ride but with no horrible climbs and nothing too unpleasant to deal with other than some occasionally heavy traffic.

I was soon at the point where google maps shows a campsite but sadly it appears to be long closed, tired and not wanting to ride any further I headed down to the shore and setup my tent on a sheltered flat piece of ground to watch the sun set over the sea for the night.

The next day I was up at first light and after realising I didn’t have any food for breakfast found to my dismay that the nearest conbini was around ten miles ride away, packing up the tent I tightened my belt and started pedalling.

I had experienced some nasty sharp pains in my knees during the night so had a short day planned ahead, just 20 miles to Tottori and a capsule hotel to spend a few days in resting the legs and recovering.

The ride along the coast was hilly but beautiful, in the early morning I rode past people diving along the coast harvesting seaweed as the sun rose ahead of me. I was soon at the hotel and after dropping my bags off headed to the famous sand dunes at the shore to enjoy an Ice cream and watch people play in the dunes.

And that’s pretty much where I am now, the weather has come in around me so I am currently waiting out for the storm to pass before heading out to cross the hills and coastline towards Maizuru and a ferry to Hokkaido, before heading south on the last leg of my journey before heading home.

As always I will do my best to keep you all updated here.

Bridges, Onsen, Old haunts, and mountains

Yet another long break between posts, and yet another list type title, inspiration comes slowly even in the most interesting of places it seems but I finally have a little time (and wifi) so felt I should plonk myself in front of the keyboard again.

So, when I last wrote I had made the decision to alter my plan from my initial end to end / full lap route and head back north. After a lovely day off in Matsuyama I dragged myself back onto the bike and headed out into a nasty headwind, with showers forecast, on my way to Imabari to start the famous Shimanai Kaido the following day.

Now morale wasn’t terribly high at this point but after a little break at a well placed ‘Mr. Donut’ involving several confections and a large green tea milkshake I was feeling slightly more human if not a little sluggish with my extra weight taken on board.

The run out of Japanese cities seems to follow a pattern to me now, once you manage to work your way from the centre fighting your way through innumerable traffic lights, you reach the more retail park style areas with their supermarkets, car dealerships, Pachinko Parlours, and blissful Doughnut shops. Once this thins you find the more industrial parts, small factories and garages. Through all these stages there is usually plenty of rivers, streams, ponds and pools all seemingly suitable for habitation by various, fish, fowl and turtle. I still am amazed and delighted when crossing a bridge to look below into the water and see Egret’s, Carp, Terrapin’s, and all kinds of other wildlife in some of the more built up areas. I cant help but wonder how we have lost this abundance of nature back home.

I digress,  once out of the city the wind was thankfully lighter and no longer fighting my progress so I was rolling merrily northward on a mostly flat road, only to feel large spots of rain slowly start to land on me. Quickly throwing my waterproof jacket on I took the cowards option and turned into a local shopping centre, as the shower grew heavier I found a good spot in front of an empty shop. I checked my GPS and saw that the shower was due to pass in 20 minutes so decided to trust the technology and have an impromptu but dry break from riding.

Once the rain finally passed the waterproofs were put away and I got back on the road again, with a small but nasty looking hill looming ahead I scanned my map looking at the route and sure enough I was plotted straight over it. Usually roads in Japan seem to wind up the steeper hills but I can only assume this had received some Roman influence as it shot straight up the hill, causing some confusion among the farmers tending to their Orange trees as a strange sweaty Welshman slowly dragged himself up past them murmuring foul indecipherable words.

Once on the other side the straight road disappeared treating me to a smooth twisty descent and leading me towards to coast. The route itself was nothing special however there were occasional short stretches of road along the shore where I started to get a feel of the coastline and could enjoy the views.

I was joined on the road by an occasional blue line, the start of the Shimanami Kaido route leading from Matsuyama to Imabari then eventually across the many islands and bridges that make up the famous cycling spot.

Another old friend joined me and the waterproofs were dragged out again as the rain started to pour about a mile outside Imabari, I pressed on and reached my hostel for the night before things got too bad.

The next day the weather was looking much better so after a good breakfast and buying some food for the next couple of days I set off towards the Shimanami Kaido, riding towards the coast for a quick view before heading inland again to cross the first bridge.

The initial climb is surprisingly steep and winding, following a dedicated path for Bicycles and Motorbikes 125cc and under, once you reach the top your greeted with a spectacular view over the bay and the bridge stretches out in front of you, the motorbikes are now on a separate path and you can enjoy the ride over the bridge without fear of anything other than other cyclists and pedestrians.

Once on the other side the pattern reverses, sending you back down an enjoyable twisty little descent and onto the coast of the next island. Following the blue line on the roads and paths is simple enough and the satnav had a well earned rest while I simply kept my eyes peeled for the next sign. The islands themselves are beautiful, with a geography beyond anything in my internal reference making the smallest details fascinating  while leading you along to the next little bay or climb.

I had originally planned to spend three to four days exploring the islands but after a few hours riding realised that this may be too much, the Islands are stunning but I think part of the pleasure in experiencing them was from passing through, and watching the scenery slowly roll past.

After two more bridge crossings I was on Omishima Island and could see something called the ‘Cyclists sanctuary’ signposted ahead, this sounded like it may fit me so I followed the signs and arrived at a nice little service station geared for both cars and bicycles.

Not a bad view from the ‘Cyclists sanctuary’ 

After a lovely well priced lunch of pork and egg over rice I was ready to have a rest and enjoy the day, thankfully on the other side of the hill was a small campsite where after a few misunderstandings and some sign language I managed to get a plot for the night so set up my tent overlooking the beach with tomorrows bridge just behind me.

While the campsite may not have had the best facilities I couldn’t fault the neighbours, with a family mart right next door and most importantly a brilliant little onsen just up the road. After a soak in Tatara Onsen and a nice meal watching the sun go down on the beach I settled down for the night resting for tomorrows ride.

The next day after a quick breakfast and another soak (seriously we need Onsen in the UK),  I was soon merrily rolling along the coastal roads enjoying the scenery.  The weather was a little more overcast this day and a little chilly at times out of the sun.

Sadly there isn’t a huge amount to really write about the Shimanami Kaido in my opinion, it’s a beautiful stretch of paths and roads linking some lovely islands together but I think its very much something that needs to be experienced rather than described.  As such I’m certain opinions on this route will vary wildly depending on what each visitor experiences, for my part I enjoyed the ride, the views, the onsen and would gladly do it all over again.

After a nights sleep in a hostel in Mukojima I hopped on the ferry to the mainland, aiming to complete the longest ride of the trip so far and get to Hiroshima for a few days rest to see the city and dodge some bad weather forecast in the coming week.

I had spoken with an Italian cyclist who was touring in the opposite direction to me and he had explained that the route was quite reasonable with only one small hill pass on the way so I was quite optimistic of my chances. After about 20 miles the road started to climb steadily upwards and my chances of completing the fifty odd miles to Hiroshima sank in proportion, with one final climb into Higashihiroshima at around 30 miles I decided to call it a day and ride the remaining 20 the next morning.

The morning arrived with light drizzle and a slow climb, thankfully I hadn’t lost much of the elevation gained from the previous day so my climb was mercifully short and the run into Hiroshima city was a pleasant descent following a river towards the sea, in the last few miles there was one last short sharp climb but thanks to the encouragement of a lovely old lady (who even offered me a ‘genki’ energy drink) I was soon over the other side and into one of my favourite cities in Japan.

I was last in Hiroshima in 2011 in what feels like a different lifetime, the city left a lasting mark on me and I was looking forward to walking the streets and taking it all in again. I dropped my bags off at my capsule hotel and after finding somewhere to park the bike for a few days I wandered into the Peace park to watch the sun go down.

The next day I made the most of the sunny weather and hopped onto the tram to get to Miyajima island, I had never seen the famous Tori gate in the sea and was looking forward to seeing some old temples.  The trams in Hiroshima are great and now that my old Suica pass works on them I could happily hop on them without worrying about working out my fare or having the right change.

The last stop of the number 2 tram left me right outside the ferry port to head over to the island, the tram had been nice and quiet with locals going about their daily routine but once aboard the ferry it soon filled up with tourists experiencing ‘theme park japan’ ignoring the common courtesy that makes Japan such an enjoyable place to be.

The ferry crossing is short but scenic as the passengers dodge and weave for who can get the perfect photo of the island, trying to get that selfie angle just right while ignoring the general surroundings they had paid to visit.

After landing I distanced myself from the ferry terminal and headed towards the temple, keen to see it in the morning before more crowds of people arrived. Thankfully, like Nara, there were hordes of deer roaming the island to distract people so I managed to make good time along the shore and after taking the obligatory photos of the Tori spent a while wandering the temple.

Once I had looked around the temple I fancied a bite to eat so headed into the busier streets to find a little place for dinner, after about twenty minutes I gave up. In most tourist spots you find the prices a little higher but here it was simply ridiculous, a simple curry rice that would cost you ¥500 was nearer to ¥1500… I decided that while I had planned to stay the day it was simply easier to head back to the city and grab something there, a real shame as I would have liked to explore more of the Island.

The remaining few days were spent resting and enjoying Hiroshima, its a lovely city and much more than its name is famous for.   I wont touch on its past here, only to say that the stories I was told and the feelings I experienced in learning about what happened through two of the survivors on my previous visit changed my life and will be a part of me forever. If you can please try to visit the city, and enjoy its atmosphere but also please visit the peace park, and the museum within it as the experience which may not always be pleasant is something that needs to be remembered, especially in recent times with the current taste for Sabre rattling among the various elected,and un-elected representatives of the worlds countries.

The next blog will cover my trip north from Hiroshima,  crossing the country through the mountains, visiting more onsen and finally turning towards Hokkaido. Fingers crossed its a bit sooner this time.

A change of direction

So, after my last update I was in Kyoto for a couple of days following an accident and needing new front luggage for the bike. I had checked into my hotel and ditched my bags. After a quick google I found the nearest Ortlieb dealership and headed over to see if they had any replacement bags. After a little miming and showing them the now-destroyed pannier they got the gist but didn’t have anything suitable in stock. I hit a couple more bike shops in the area with no luck, so with my frustration with the crowds and crowds of tourists growing, I headed back to the hotel for some food and a soak in the onsen to pick me up.

I had initially felt fine after the accident, but with adrenaline wearing off I was starting to have real trouble moving my right hand. The watch strap on that hand had snapped in the crash and had either strained or bruised the joint to the extent that I couldn’t lift a drink to my mouth. A soak in the bath eased it off so I was able to head back out into Kyoto again to search for new bags. My trip was feeling like it was in serious danger at this point.

At the suggestion of a Facebook comment (thanks, Japan cycling navigator group!), I headed to the Mont-Bell outdoor shop, where amazingly they had a pair of pannier bags that would fit, and most importantly are waterproof. Looking at the price, I started to swear – I could have bought two pairs of my original Ortlieb bags at this cost – but with no other option, I bought the bags and headed back to the hotel for some sleep.

The next day I woke up hoping to head out to some temples, but the pain in my hand soon let me know that was a bad idea. If I was going to carry on with the trip I needed rest. Thankfully I have some very good friends looking out for me (thanks, Koichi!) and should the worst have happened they were offering to help me out however they could. I’m a very lucky guy.

After a day’s rest and a very nice pizza from a local takeaway (morale is important too!), I was getting a little feeling back in my hand. I set out for Nara with a rough idea of a cycle path following one of the rivers out of Kyoto and managed to find it briefly before being directed back onto the main roads out of the city, waiting at the many traffic lights and climbing and descending countless overhead bridges to cross junctions where Bicycles where forbidden.

Just when I was giving up hope of a relaxing ride, my satnav beeped at me indicating to turn off the road and head towards the river, finally sending me along the quiet, car free, cycle paths! It was real pleasure to be riding with other cyclists and I enjoyed a long rest among the sakura with families around me enjoying the weekend and fine weather with a picnic under the blossom.

With around five miles to go to Nara my wrist was starting to ache and the short sharp climbs became very uncomfortable as I gripped the bars with the effort. On the outskirts of Nara I assessed my options and booked a cheap hostel in the city centre. I still had a few hours before check in time so I headed to the park and read a book under a tree while children chased uninterested deer around with biscuits. After 10 minutes I had a small gathering of deer around me as the strange book reading Gaijin seemed to put the children off coming any closer. It wasn’t to last, sadly, and the children soon became braver, realising I wasn’t a threat, and resumed the force feeding attempts on the local wildlife.

Once I arrived at my hostel I was told that they had been overbooked and I was to be upgraded! Now I had a private Japanese style room with tatami mats and a futon. Heaven!

After a quick curry rice at a local chain place I soaked in the onsen and headed off to sleep, feeling much restored and a little happier with my general lot in life.

I haven’t really mentioned the weather much so far. Other than my stay in Ina I had been dealing with an exceptional run of good weather resulting in a severe set of tan lines and by the end of most days smelling like something had been left out of the fridge too long. All these onsen weren’t just for show and served many purposes!

Leaving the hostel, I had been warned by the owner (who was also a cyclist) that my planned route to Hashimoto had a few big climbs; however, I had no other available options so pressed on regardless, back on the roads after the previous day’s respite.

Sure enough, at mile 20 the hill started to kick upwards, nothing too high but with nasty little rises that would drain the legs just enough so you couldn’t recover in time for the next one. Thankfully the past few weeks’ riding were starting to make a difference and I struggled through till I arrived in Hashimoto. I found the local sento / onsen and scrubbed up before grabbing the reduced meals at the local supermarket and picking out my spot in the local park for the evening.

Now the next day I planned to head to Wakayama ferry port, and depending on the time, either hop on the ferry to Tokushima or stay the night in Wakayama, heading out on the first ferry the following morning.

Grabbing my now-traditional breakfast meal of a Lemon vitamin drink and a chocolate croissant at a Conbini, I rolled out of Hashimoto for the quick 30-mile ride to the port. After the previous day’s climbs it was a pleasant, long descent to the coast, gliding through the various small towns and enjoying the ride.

I arrived at the port at around 12:30 and without thinking bought a ticket for the next available ferry at 13:40 – so much for planning, but it worked out well and impulse had done me well so far. While I was waiting for the ferry I booked a cheap hostel in Tokushima. My track record with boats isn’t great and I didn’t fancy finding a campsite felling seasick.

I needn’t have worried as it was a relatively smooth crossing and in two and a bit hours we were on the other side, I had always wanted to cycle on and off a ferry so got a bit of a kick out of rolling out onto the dock and on my way into the city before all the cars. Tokushima is a nice city and I spent a little while walking through the dockside after dropping my bags at the hostel.

Now I had noticed that my old Catlike helmet had sadly cracked clean down the middle after the accident, so I started a little late out of Tokushima after attempting to find a helmet that fitted with no success.

I had been looking at my planned route, and to make the most of my stay I needed to cross Shikoku quickly and get on the ferry on the other side to head to Kyushu, before heading to Sata and going back the same way so I could cross the Shimanami Kaido as I wanted to. With all this in mind, I set out at a fast pace with the hope of getting as many miles as possible done in the next couple of days before a short trip to the ferry port, as I had done previously in Wakayama.

I got to around the 30-mile mark when the thought of places to stay came up. I checked Google Maps and found a free campsite next to an onsen another ten miles up the road, so with visions of soaking my aching legs in hot spring water, I pressed onwards. I arrived at the campsite, scoped out my preferred spot, and after a hot sweaty day on the bike, headed to the onsen. Sadly, today was the day it was shut, so, reeking and clammy, I rolled back down the hill to set up my tent.

After I had parked up and was enjoying a cold drink, a camper van with a bicycle arrived onto the site. After a brief explanation it appeared that the younger of my two new companions was completing the Shikoku Henro (a pilgrimage around 88 temples and shrines encircling Shikoku that are associated with the monk Kobo Daishi), and that he was being helped by the owner of the camper van.

I was invited to join them for dinner, and once I had put my tent up for the night and put on a slightly cleaner shirt, I sat with them and enjoyed a lovely meal of Yakiniku. Again, the hospitality of strangers makes a difference on a difficult day.

I bedded down for an early night but was restless most of the evening, and just couldn’t get off to sleep properly. So by 7am the next morning I was packed up, and feeling more than a little weary, set off down the road looking for my breakfast.

It was 3 miles before I managed to get anything to eat, and by this point I was struggling. My stomach was a little off from the rich food the day prior, and my energy levels were at rock bottom – not great when you have planned another 40-mile day.

At about 6 miles the first climb started, but surprisingly by this point I was starting to improve. The legs were loosening off, and cheered by the sight of a few families of wild monkeys on the road beside me, I pressed on upwards. Soon I was back down the other side, and the remainder of the day’s riding was spent descending with the occasional kick upwards. I rolled into Saijo with the longest ride of the trip so far, at over 45 miles covered.

I was greeted the next day with grey skies and drizzle. Being Welsh, this made me feel quite at home, and knowing that I had a climb in the middle of my 30-mile day, I was glad the heat had lifted a little finally.

I threw on the waterproof jacket to keep the chill off me and headed out through the rice fields and towards the mountains, starting the long slow climb to the high point at about halfway distance. I love the mountains in Japan, the way the cloud clings to the side and the trees, in this case the cherry blossom still blooming this high up among the bamboo and pine trees.

After the previous day’s struggle this was a pleasure and I was feeling good for the whole ride, eventually arriving at my Hotel in Matsuyama at around 14:30. I had decided to stay a couple of nights there to think about my trip and maybe reassess what I was doing and why.

I started off with a trip to a very special onsen. Dogo Onsen was built in 1894 and has three levels of baths, the highest being the Yoshinden, a bath solely for the use of the Imperial Japanese family. I paid for the second highest option and was given 80 minutes to soak in the bath and enjoy my private Tatami mat room with fresh Matcha tea and Dango to follow. Allot has been written about Dogo Onsen already so I wont go on too much suffice to say that it is one of the most relaxing experiences I have had the pleasure to experience, the joy of stretching out on Tatami mats in your yukata drinking tea after a hot spring bath simply needs to be experienced.

Dogo Onsen – The Inspiriation for Spirited Away

I wandered out of Dogo in a slight haze, happy with the world and as luck would have it happened to find a bicycle shop that not only had a helmet large enough for my noggin but also had an adorable small black cat, making me miss my own moggy all the more. Matsuyama is a lovely city and stopping here was one of my better decisions.

The weather finally broke the next day, as forecast the rain and wind had arrived so I donned my waterproof and grabbed a cheap umbrella before heading out to the Castle, I love castles and the rain had kept away the usual crowds so I popped into the cable car up the hill to the main keep and enjoyed several hours wandering around, resisting the offer to try on a suit of armour for fear of wanting a set for myself, you know to pop to the shops in and stuff.

The problem has always been time, time and money, and looking at both the idea of completing my ‘end to end’ or ‘full lap’ trip of Japan was looking difficult, the last few days’ hard riding showed me I could do it but there wasn’t a great deal of pleasure in them: I could have been anywhere. So, do I press on to Sata, reaching a goal for the sake of doing it, or do I divert, spending longer in places I find interesting, and simply enjoy the ride?

The last day or so in Matsuyama has shown me that I need to take my time, so I’ll be turning north tomorrow, heading away from my goal and trying something a little different. Still cycling, just not chasing those miles and figures anymore. Maybe I’m a little sad that I wont have quite done what I set out to do, but if it comes at the cost of enjoying the trip, so be it.

Heading south and eating miles…

Writing on the road has been a bit of a challenge for me I’ll admit, with days blurring into one another, riding, resting and riding again but, after much kind harassment from friends and family wanting more of this sort of thing, I have finally sat down with the laptop to look through my logs and see what actually happened since my last update.

When I last updated you I had just left Mitsu and Kyle near Kiso and was headed south on route 19 following the Kiso river. I was more than a little rusty after a week off the bike but thankfully the route was mostly downhill and at times incredibly scenic in between the bouts of busy traffic around me.

The Kiso River, my travel companion for a few days.

The river starts reasonably narrow with fast-moving white water but slowly picks up more and more tributaries until it becomes a wide slow moving flow, heading its way to Ina bay on the other side of Nagoya. My plan was to work my way north of Nogoya heading towards Sekigahara and Lake Biwa while skirting the main cities and getting some proper miles under my belt after my stay in Ina.

After nearly 30 miles I had descended nearly 2000ft and was starting to feel a little pain from the knee. I pressed on and managed to reach 41 miles before finding a suitable place to stay the night in Nakatsugawa and devouring the Bento very kindly made for me by Mitsu before I left.

The next day was a short ride with me suffering some knee pain. I only managed around 22 miles before having to stop and rest, I found a cheap hotel with an onsen and settled in for an early night after a long soak.

I was refreshed and back on the road from Toki at 9:30, starting out pushing the bike to try and stretch out the legs as well as avoiding the short nasty climb up the back road out of the town. Up in the hills of Toki I was finally away from the traffic of route 19 and headed north to meet the Kiso river again, following route 21 along the river I was joined by heavy traffic and eventually jumped onto side roads to try and lighten my mood a little.

I was riding through Kakamigahara when I was greeted by the sight of Sakura coming out on the trees, a lovely relaxing sight after mile upon mile of main roads, underpasses and trucks to be sure.

In hindsight I should have stayed here but I pushed on, trying to get past these densely populated areas and back into some countryside, I was missing Ina and the quiet of the mountains quite badly by this point.

I was soon losing daylight and needed somewhere to stay; with the sakura in bloom the parks became impossible to camp in, so after a quick check on Expedia I headed to the cheapest nearby hotel, a basic business hotel in Gifu-Hashima. I arrived exhausted just as the sun was setting and booked two nights to try to rest my legs that were now in agony.

Gifu-Hashima is an odd place – that is putting it very kindly. The town appears to be a collection of hotels, car parks, chain restaurants and mosquitoes, all centred around a Shinkansen station. During the daytime it felt like a ghost town, no local population, no wildlife with the exception of the aforementioned flying, biting kind, a very unsettling place and not one I was pleased to realise I had to spend another night in. The majority of my stay was spent in the hotel room sleeping and I believe that was time well spent…

I hit the road at 8:30 the next day wanting to be rid of the feeling of the town, within five miles the unease had lifted and I was glad to be back in the midst of humanity once more, to hammer the point home further I was treated to yet more Sakura, wiping the grime of the previous day away thoroughly.

Refreshed, I pressed on, heading towards Sekigahara. Now Sekigahara is a significant place in the history of Japan and the battle that took place here signalled the end of the Feudal era of Japan and the beginning of the 300 or so years of rule of the Tokugawa shogunate (also known as the Edo period or Edo Bakufu). The town itself lies on the top of a long slow climb at a point where the valleys narrow, reaching a natural bottleneck, and it was fascinating to ride through the area, following slight diversions to visit the places each encampment was based.

From here it was a nice descent heading towards Hikone, and the shores of Lake Biwa. With about two miles left before the shore line I felt a weave coming from the back of the bike; looking down, I could see the wheel had buckled slightly and after a close look found a broken spoke.

Thankfully it was not on the cassette side and I had spare spokes with me so after pushing the bike to a suitable repair spot I stripped the rear wheel and popped the new spoke in. Having never done this job before I was pleasantly surprised to find it only took half an hour and after a quick true of the wheel I was back on the road and on the shore of Biwa for the evening.

I woke the next day deciding to be a bit of a tourist. Hikone is famous for its castle that initially began construction on 1603 and today it is one of the oldest original construction castles in Japan. I headed to the castle mid morning and joined the large groups of tourists wandering through the museum and castle grounds. It is a stunning series of buildings and you really get a feel of the history of the place as you walk through it.

At around Midday I headed to the shore and joined the cycle path that circles the lake, loving the absence of traffic and being able to simply pedal along enjoying the view.

At around the 25-mile mark I found a suitable spot of the lake to stop for the night and set up my tent, watching the sun go down on the lake, listening to music, until the moon shone bright enough to light the hills on the opposite shore. One of those small magic times that makes the pain all worthwhile.

Sunset on Lake Biwa

Sunrise was just as spectacular.

The next day I was up early and on the road, I had loved Lake Biwa and was looking forward to cycling along it for some more miles before a planned day off in Kyoto exploring some temples I enjoyed visiting on earlier trips.  The remaining 15 or so miles along Biwa were a pleasure, watching people and birds fishing along the shore. Sadly I had to head away from the shore and start the climb over the two hills between Otsu and Kyoto, the climbs themselves weren’t too serious and I was enjoying the good feeling in my legs finally being able to get up a hill without pushing!

Unfortunately this wouldn’t last too long and on the second climb before the descent into Kyoto I had a spot of trouble: riding around a narrow bend on the climb, a car only saw me at the last minute, and due to oncoming traffic couldn’t give me enough room. Choosing between hitting the car and a wall, I decided that the wall was the better option and clattered against it in a heap.

I got up and dusted myself off, relieved to find no serious injuries other than some cuts to my legs from the spiky DMR pedals I use and a broken watch strap. The bike had fared slightly worse and along with a bent front luggage rack, one of my Ortlieb panniers was pretty much destroyed with a hole in the front and the mountings smashed beyond repair. After bending the rack back into shape and cable-tying the bag to it, I gingerly headed into Kyoto on adrenaline and parked up at my hotel.

To be continued…

Onsen, Castles, Mountains, Monkeys and Friends

After two days’ rest at an Onsen in Yamanakako, I was feeling much revived and ready to hit the road north towards Nagano; the power of a good hot spring bath works wonders and I was ready for a few long days in the saddle. I set off after breakfast (sometimes a challenge in Japan: I like fish, but it’s a bit much at 7am), and was soon cruising along the cycle path along the lake, staring at Mt Fuji while trying not to run over groups of Chinese tourists who were like narcissistic jousters armed with selfie sticks. After casting scorn over the mobs of coach trip passengers taking selfies (I hate that word) with Fuji-san, I decided I should probably do the same… seems to be the done thing and all that.

Being the snob that I am, I decided to use my small tripod and, after realising there was no sturdy object to perch it and my camera on, I was soon negotiating with a nearby shrub, trying to delicately balance my camera in its branches. Upon witnessing this stupidity, one of the other tourists popped along and took pity on me, offering to take the photo. I should have bought a selfie stick…

How to ruin the view of a perfectly good mountain.

After my humbling tourist moment I headed away from the cycle path and in the general direction of Kofu. Having looked at the map, there was supposed to be minimal climbing today and I was being treated to mile after mile of glorious descending. Soon I was on route 137, a busy little road with relatively little climbing initially; however, it does have some fairly long tunnels, at least a couple of miles in one case.

Thankfully the Japanese drivers were kind to me and gave me plenty of room despite the horror stories I had been told of the truck drivers over here. After the first few tunnels I reached what would be my only serious climb of the day, about three to four miles of twisty busy road leading up to another very long tunnel. Thankfully there was a fantastic view and the long slog gave me plenty of time to have my last full views of Mt Fuji.

Once the tunnel was dealt with I was soon on possibly the most fun descent of my life, eleven glorious miles of wide smooth twisting roads shooting down a mountain into the heart of Kofu city. Pedalling like crazy enjoying the free miles gained on the descent, I reached 39.5 mph but just couldn’t break 40; for the first time on my trip I wished for heavier luggage!

I had initially planned to stop just outside Kofu and camp for the night, but at the 30 mile mark I was feeling good and probably a little giddy from the descent so decided to press on to a promising camping spot in Nirasaki, another 10 miles down the road. It was a bit of a long ride as the road had started to climb slowly and the adrenaline was wearing off from my earlier excitement. I had been browsing Google maps looking for potential camp sites and was torn between a park by a river and a ruined castle with a temple.

After spotting the river site and seeing no cover to hide the tent, I pressed on a few more miles up a steep hill to reach my home for the night. It was a lovely place and I set my tent up near the toilets tucked away out of sight behind the temple.

After a slightly restless sleep hearing multiple varied animals snuffling about the tent in the middle of the night, I was treated to a glorious but chilly sunrise, the light streaming through the temple buildings.

I’ve slept in worse places

Once I was all packed up I headed back out on the road, it was a very cold start despite the sunshine and my route seemed to have me in the shade for the first hour or so. The ride was to take me to Okaya, north of Suwa lake, and looking at the map it seemed a relatively straightforward ride down a valley with a river.

What the map didn’t show is the long, slow climb, which in over 30 miles gained nearly 2,400 feet in elevation. It was a long day broken up with rest stops for ice cream, wild monkeys drinking from a river, and some dubious shortcuts suggested by my satnav. After about 20 miles I was over the highest point and slowly rolled into Okaya, parking myself by the lake for a well-earned rest.

Cities and lakes at nearly 3000ft

I woke the next day to the sound of rain, lots of rain, and wind. I had gone to sleep in some pain due to a fair amount of sun burn over the last few days riding but there was no danger of that today.

On my visit to Tsukuba circuit with Koichi at the start of my trip, I had met a few of Koichi’s friends, and it turned out that they lived on my planned route through the Japanese Alps. I was offered a place to stay and was told to let Koichi know when I would be in the area.

My first port of call would be Garage Pierce in Ina City, run by Mitsuru Miyajima. It’s a specialist garage dealing with classic British cars and lots and lots of Minis. Ina city was a short 17 mile ride downhill from Okaya and with a strong tailwind behind me I was enjoying flying down the small country roads despite my shoes being full of water.

On one particularly good downhill section I heard a funny noise. Pulling over to inspect it, it seemed that the front mudguard had been knocked and was rubbing on the tyre. After a quick bit of cable tying and bending of supports all seemed well so I set off again. Within a mile I was back parked on the side of the road wondering what the heck was still making the noise.

I found some shelter in the lee of a hill and took the luggage off the bike to inspect properly. Once the front bags were off it was clear what had happened: another bolt supporting the luggage rack and mudguard was missing, and this time the bolt had sheared clean in half, leaving the remaining part immovable in the front fork. The words uttered at this point will go unrecorded; however, with a few more cable ties I managed to get everything braced up enough to get back on the road for the remaining ten miles.

It was a sodden, cold and a muddy wretch that arrived at Garage Pierce and I don’t know if Mitsu and his apprentice Kyle quite knew what to make of me initially. I was soon ushered inside the apartment above the garage and got into some dry clothes, was fed some lovely home cooked curry and rice, then dunked myself in the bath for the sake of all around me.

Feeling much more human, I was soon in the garage with Mitsu fixing the bike and replacing the old bolt with something a little more sturdy. Mitsu speaks a small amount of English, and my Japanese as I have sadly discovered is appalling, so we chatted a little with bits of both languages and the help of Kyle who had lived in New Zealand a while and was fluent in both languages.

With my shoes drying by the kerosene heater in the Garage office, I was off out with Mitsu in some borrowed Crocs to the local bodyshop / blacksmith / swordmaker (probably something I will never see again), after looking at the Nissan GTR that was in for some repair work for a customer we went into the office for a chat with the owner, who could not only make stunning hand made knives but also had a great collection of vintage cameras. We were on firm ground here and talked for at least an hour with neither of us knowing a word the other said, the joys of a common interest sometimes goes beyond shared language it seems.

Next was a trip to the local supermarket, not normally an item of interest but after a walk around it appeared that I was to be cooking the evening’s meal. I quickly rattled through my brain and the ingredients for Spaghetti Carbonara were purchased along with sundry other items for the coming days. I say days as the garage operates on a 5 day on, one day off rota and it was a few days till the next day off. I agreed to stay a few days helping out, then we would enjoy the day off together before I would be back on the road heading south.

The evening meal was a half-success in so much that it was eaten and nobody was ill; however, I still don’t think it was quite my best work (and the appearance of a bottle of Tabasco sauce may suggest that my hosts felt the same, but they were far too polite to say so if that was the case).

The next day arrived with the joy of clear skies, dry shoes (I still am not a fan of Crocs), and work to be done. Now in a workshop I am pretty much useless, I can hold things, pass things and generally otherwise get in the way, so I was put to work cleaning and polishing one of the many Minis that Mitsu has for sale. It was good work and somewhat surreal to be polishing away at a Mini in the middle of the Japanese alps; the last time I had done this job was as a child for pocket money back home in the UK. I made sure to do a better job this time!

Parked up outside the garage

Kyle’s father Paul had arrived for the day to help out with some fabrication work on an old MG for the day. I hadn’t spoken much with anyone for a week or so, let alone in English, so I’m afraid I must have quite bored both him and Kyle that day!

Work finishes at the garage at about 8pm and another new friend from Tsukuba circuit had arrived to join us for dinner for the evening. Hideyuki Yamaoka is a customer of the garage and Mitsu runs a race Mini for Hide when he isn’t running his ENT clinic in nearby Komagane. After a quick scrub up and a slightly awkward moment explaining that the clothes I had on were the best I had, we headed out to a nearby Yakiniku restaurant.

Now for those who don’t know, ‘Yakiniku’ basically just means fried meat. You all sit around a table with a gas grill and various dishes of raw meat and vegetables waiting to be cooked by the customers. It may seem a little strange to cook your own food at a restaurant, but it’s a lovely experience with everyone pitching in to make sure it’s all cooked the right way, etc, and it was a really good ice breaker for me with everyone. Plus, like an awful lot of Japanese food, it tastes amazing.

L to R – Hide, Kyle and Mitsu

Lto R – Kyle, Mitsu, yours truly, and Paul.

During the evening it was decided that Hide and myself would meet up the following morning (while everyone else was still working) and take a ride in his Mini over to a neighbouring valley and have a look around, so the next day we headed up route 361 through the Gonbei tunnel and into the Kiso river valley.

We stopped for a delicious locally made ice cream, and after deciding it was a bit chilly, headed to a nearby Onsen for a soak to warm up. This particular onsen’s party trick was that its water was naturally sparkling, and I was happily entertained watching the bubbles rise off my arms under the water. I resisted my ‘Sparkling water is Still water’ joke, assuming that perhaps the pun may be lost in translation despite Hide’s excellent English language skills.

Snow on the ground and we are eating ice cream: totally worth it!

After a tasty lunch of cold soba noodles and miso soup, we were off on our way to Narai-juku, a historic town on the Edo-era Nakasendo highway that linked Kyoto and Edo (now Tokyo) and the two main powers of Japan at the time, the Shogun in Kyoto and the Emperor in Edo.

Narai-Juku was a post town where people would rest before crossing a border into a neighbouring prefecture. As such, the town is filled with lots of classic Ryokan (a kind of historic travel lodge if you will). It is a stunning place, and other than the odd parked car and the occasional tourist, you feel like nothing has changed in the hundred or so years since its heyday on one of the busiest routes in Japan.

Hard at work while I’m playing at photographer

After a lovely day chatting and enjoying the comfortable silence of friends driving through the countryside, it was time to head back to the garage and say goodbye to Hide. We parted ways and I sat down to relax and edit a few photos.

The next couple of days were spent helping out in the garage where I could, and generally settling into the routine of life in the garage. There was talk of my route south, and after looking at the route, Mitsu offered to take me and the bike over the nearby pass into the Kiso river valley that heads south to Nagoya. There was snow coming, so Mitsu and Kyle very kindly agreed to let me stay a couple of extra days to miss the worst of the weather.

Soon enough, the workshop day off arrived. It started with a spot of spring cleaning. Mitsu is a collector, a true enthusiast of classic cars, and as such has amassed a large amount of books, cars, films, magazines, parts, etc, so we spent the morning arranging a small part of the collection now that there were three of us staying in the apartment.

Once this was taken care of, it was time to head out, visiting a nearby ruined castle that is famous for its Sakura in springtime. We were a week or so early so we didn’t see the famed Cherry Blossom, but it is a beautiful place with great views over the valley below. After that we popped to a local tourist information spot, sadly the croissant shop that Mitsu wanted to visit was shut, but after a suggestion from Kyle it was decided that we would head up a nearby mountain pass to try to find some snow and wildlife.

No Sakura, but the view was great

Kyle is Japanese born but has lived most of his life in New Zealand and is snow mad; I have never seen somebody so excited about the stuff and his enthusiasm is infectious. We were soon heading up an increasingly twisty, narrow and rock strewn road leading us up the mountain. Mitsu was undeterred by the challenge and my growing terror as he flicked the car up each hairpin and eventually into then above the cloud level. Once the majority of the clouds were below us the visibility improved and we were treated with the sight of what I think was either a Serow or Shika Deer; whatever it was, it was beautiful, and the sight of it wandering through the trees was a real thrill.

We soon arrived at the top, and to the delight of Kyle we found it covered in snow. It was beautiful there, with the trees literally dripping in lichen as the fine mist of cloud swept through them.

We had a quick look around, and after Kyle built a snowman we headed back down the mountain, our eyes peeled for wildlife along the way. Sadly our rather spirited drive up the mountain must have alerted them all as we didn’t have any more sightings until we were off the mountain and on the other side of the river, where we encountered several families of Japanese macaque running across the road. I attempted to take a photo but the excitement got the better of me and I missed the shot.

After a nice drive around the area and a few errands for the garage, we popped into a local place for dinner and I enjoyed trying the local dish of Romen (a mix of mutton and vegetables stir-fried) and Sauce Katsudon (a different take on Katsudon, replacing the usual egg with a coating of a deliciously sweet sauce).

The next day we were greeted with snow, first a small amount then increasingly thicker. By dinner time it was snowing hard and Kyle was merrily shovelling the road and paths, a large smile on his face, while I and Mitsu were feeling the cold somewhat. Thankfully the snow eased and turned to sleet with the roads clearing by the next morning.

My last day in Ina was full of mixed emotions. I was looking forward to getting on with my journey, but I had grown very fond of everyone there and was sad to be leaving my new friends. Once the day’s work was finished I was treated to a lovely meal of Gyoza and a cake for dessert.

We were up early the next day and I loaded my bike and bags into the back of the shop pickup, a two-seater ‘Kei’ Subaru. After Mitsu and Kyle obliged me in posing for multiple photos of them in the workshop and surroundings, it was time to go.

Much to my surprise, Mitsu had decided that all three of us would be going in the pickup, himself and me in the front and Kyle in the bed of the pickup holding the bike upright between some spare wheels from the workshop! The life of an apprentice isn’t an easy one, but Kyle took it in his stride and was laughing at the situation.

After a short ten-mile hop over a high pass with snow, we were through the last tunnel and parked up ready for me to make my way on the road.

My time in Ina was an amazing experience with lots more stories than are written here, and the generosity, warmth and friendship I experienced from everyone is something I will always remember and cherish. It was very hard to leave and I hope that one day I can repay their kindness to me.