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.