The day started around 6.30, as usual. I got up around 7am and made full use of the sun to dry my clothes from yesterday, so some exercise and stretching and meditate for a bit. It was the perfect spot with just the sound of the waves and the sun warming my body. Some fishermen started to drop by to got to their usual spots by the looks of it. I had some rice cake, green tea and wrote my blog before packing up n heading out. I only knew that I will be staying in Ibusuki, a town famous for its Onsen and sand baths. I had pre-booked a hotel there after some nights of camping, to also make full use of the Onsen there and the sand bath. I set off, knowing it would be around 77km, the longest cycle yet. However, along the road I decided to go to Kagoshima to shop for another tyre as it would be the biggest city in a while and most shops in Japan don’t have specialised tyres like the one I required.
I the strongest I’ve felt since setting off on my bike some days ago, somehow my body got used to the cycling, the weight and what’s required of it. The first Kilometers flew by, even though the road was very annoying and bumpy. I stopped at a road side ramen shop around 12 noon before continuing towards Kagoshima to check out the Trek Flagship shop, hoping they will have some decent tyres and new gloves as I can’t cycle for more than 30km before my hands become numb. My old gloves did a good job but keen to get my hands into some new ones. I headed towards Kagoshima I saw a huge mountain as a backdrop and a big plume coming from it. Could it be a volcano? And it was Sakura Jima and one of Japans active volcanos! I had never been so close to an active volcano before, as a backdrop to this seaside town one could only marvel at its size. The ride into Kagoshima was the fastest and longest downhill so far, I covered 10km in 15min only being slowed down by cars and lorries in front of me who stuck to a 50km/h speed limit.
Finally I got to Kagoshima but the Trek shop sadly didn’t have the tyres I needed but was happy to call around for a shop that had Schwalbe tyres. They’re special enough as they’re so puncture proof and many serious cyclists swear by them. I still got my hands on some new gloves for ¥5,500 (£34) that fit well and hopefully will do a better job with preventing my hands from going numb. For the tyres, I had to go to one more shop where I didn’t quite get the Marathon tyres but one version down. I was quite happy and bought one. The old shop keeper was happy. Eventually his wife and son also came out of the shop and we started chatting a bit, they enquired where I am from, where I am going and they then also pointed towards the volcano as some ash has been coming down and covering their bicycles that were standing outside. I was shocked I could not imagine living nearby an active volcano. After I bought the tyre ¥3,800 (£23) they gave me an energy bar and drink for the road, as it was another 45km to Ibusuki, a distance I knew I could cover in about 2-3h depending on headwind and hills to climb.
It was after 15km that I was overtaken by a road racer who wished me good afternoon! He wasn’t just cycling, he was also travelling as I could see his gear neatly packed into and around his bike. Not like me in a big bulk at the end, all integrated vial small bags here and there. I decided to stay in his wind shadow and continue the cycle with him. As is customary with “road trains”, eventually the person who enjoyed being at the back, has to jump in front or the first rider drops back. I overtook him after a few Kilometers and we continued cycling. I think I was cycling too fast for him as he eventually overtook me on the pavement and said he’s doing a quick stop. No problem! Let’s st and have an apple and a drink. We then continued down towards Ibusuki, continuing our road train. The Kilometers flew by and we got here really quickly. We stayed in the same hotel and also went for the famous Ibusuki sand bath. We also decided to share a Japanese style apartment as this was still cheaper than each of us getting a room in this Onsen hotel. It was a typical tatami apartment but it felt so authentic and the view was awesome!
Before we got to this however, I had to check his bike out. It was a mean, high-end road bike, with electric gear shifters, various speedometers, sat nav and all luggage neatly integrated. The rider himself, a fit 62 year old told me that this was his retirement present he bought himself 2 years ago and is now travelling around Japan. I caught him on Kilometer 3,0000! His bike weighed less than 8kg and his gear 8kg, with everything being high-end, lightweight and expensive. His tent is just big enough to fit himself into it, and this is how he travels. 3-4 days tent, one day hotel unless it’s raining, then more hotels. His English was pretty good as he was volunteering in his youth in Nepal and seemed to enjoy going places.
We decided to do the sand bath, which was a fun experience and set me back another ¥1,100 before heading to the nearest restaurant to get some food. As usual, we engaged with some locals from the restaurant and had some amazing food. I tried some new things, some I didn’t like for example the firefly squid in vinaigrette (yikes) but the fried oysters were great. I also got a small lesson in Japanese road etiquette, as my travel companion explained that cars are Number 1 on Japan’s streets and cyclists have to bow to them. He told me that I can’t cross diagonally at street crossings if there is a right lane (its only for cars and motorbikes over 50cc), but have to wait for 2 traffic lights to cross at a right angle, unless there’s no cars. I also should not use the standing strip on roads but claim my space on the road, even if traffic behind me builds up. I knew this but sometimes that part of the road is the worst, with most potholes, worst road surface etc. I was happy he shared with me, which also brings me to my 5-point action plan, I’d love to share with Japan’s minister of transport. I had figured that all out during my cycling over the last few days as I believe there are huge opportunities to upgrade cycling from being a “necessity” for people to get to work and to develop cycling tourism and a bike industry like Germany has it, which brings in an annual €15 billion, with €9 billion from tourism alone. Japan has such great potential to do something similar, but it would need serious investment and rethinking of whether cars should continue to enjoys such a high status in the country, especially at a time when “going green” is all the rave in so many other developed nations across the world!
At the end of the evening, a local elder decided to chip into our bill, something that my travel companion wasn’t surprised by and after refusing a few times, he insisted further, before leaving. We then settled the rest of the bill between us.
At the hotel, he wrote his blog, I wrote mine and we both had some laundry to do. I had loads, he had little as he only has less than 12 pieces of clothing, including spares! I have at least double! No wonder total travel weight for all my shit is around 25kg, including bike bag (for the bullet train) and travel bag for all my bags and various miscellaneous items I think I’ll never even need…
We went to sleep around midnight but I wasn’t able to sleep until 2am, big mistake having 2 cups of green tea before going to bed. Oh well…I did some route planning as I’ll be getting another ferry tomorrow and then go and see the wild horses in a day. The weather isn’t looking too great with rain in the morning and around lunch. Hmmm…
I gaze up at the sky and wonder:
is that the same moon
that shone over Mount Mikasa
at Kasuga
all those years ago?
No comments:
Post a Comment