I slept ok, with the sound of the waves providing a nice backdrop. Eventually the surfers parked in cars some 100m away also got up and started chatting. I crawled out of my tent at 7.30, packed my bags, had some more tangerine and nuts for breakfast and did some blog writing and route planning. I was excited to see the wild horses today, something my cycle buddy and others told me about. I set out around 9.30 and passed what has to be one of the best campsites yet some 15min down the road, water, toilets food, everything! Oh well, my little camp spot served me just well enough. I did use their facilities though as they were unbelievably clean, modern and free!
The road to Cape Toi would also mark a big change in my journey as I was no longer going south afterwards but go north, back to Fukuoka. I have 10days to get back and to the pre-booked bullet train to Tokio. The morning cycle was nice and warm, with the sun blasting. I had put sunscreen on all uncovered areas but couldn’t find my Onsen towel for my neck, but it already sufficiently tanned (I hoped), so it wouldn’t get any more sunburn. As I approached Cape Toi, the landscape changed, with many of the hills being logged for wood and replanted with monocultures, pines of some kind. This must have been going on for decades by the looks of it and completely transformed the way the mountains and the whole area looked. This continued all the way up and down and away from the cape. I followed the main roads for most of it, but ignored sign for the main road some 12km away. Google maps had other ideas and I followed it. This turned out to be a mini adventure.
The road google said I can use as a “pedestrian” must have been a very old one, used decades ago as it was derelict for most of it, even locked with a gate I had to open (but unable to read the signs), so I continued. The road snaked around the mountain up towards Cape Toi, with some incredible uphills and of course downhills, past some derelict hotels and an abandoned house. I had to stop here as it was also the first time to see one of the wild horses. This was a strange encounter as the horse seemed to be living by the house. It’s hard to say when it was abandoned but it was literally falling apart. Next to it was a makeshift camp and loads of shochu bottles and crates. My theory was that the man living in the house could no longer stay there as it fell apart, so he moved into the shelter and sadly drank himself to death, before turning into a horse that now lived there…
The horse looked a bit lonely and only ate bark and dry things off the ground in front of it, was it telling me it’s got nothing else to eat? We grasp for meaning when faced with the unknowable. I continued up the hill and eventually reached civilisation again, groomed, manicured, ready for the many tourists that come here to see the horses. I had some lunch in restaurant, bought a souvenir, whilst charging my tech.
I found the horses eventually but they all looked a bit hungry and sad. As I continued my descent down from the cape and onto Kyushu’s west coast, I saw more logging, with the whole top of the cape essentially being tree-free apart from a few surviving ones. My theory was that logging had created artificial grasslands and because the area doesn’t have much else to offer, people decided to put some horses there and turn them into a tourism hotspot. Somehow I was sad at the large scale environmental destruction I saw, but it seemed Mother Nature is getting her revenge, as many businesses up here are failing and being clawed back and rewilded.
Kyushus west coast however was pretty spectacular! The water was much more wild with much bigger waves and many beaches with surfers. I also passed through many more tunnels, in one, a car stopped next to me cycling and an elderly lady passed me a tea bottle! The kindness of strangers in Kyushu! I also stopped for some ice cream, not too far from Nichinan, where I also found a much-longed for Onsen. As I got there, it turned out to be an Onsen hotel, closed for refurbishment. Thanks for telling me Google. The next Onsen was some 10km away, but I was desperate by now. I had done 75km already and I was ready for a soak as my legs hurt. The next Onsen turned out to be amazing! It was a well frequented Onsen ryokan (onsen family hotel) and the water came from 800m below ground at a temperature of 50C. The bath was full and I just about found a spot to wash as all “wash stations” were occupied, with one guy just leaving as I came in. I continued to be surprised that for the past 800km or so, I had headwinds 80% of the time, including today coming up the west coast. I was so sure that the wind was blowing up onto Japan from the south, but this theory seemed flawed as it just keeps blowing in my face…
After the Onsen I bought and ate some tomatoes before heading back to Nichinan. I had 3 possible sites for my camp, with the first two discarded and the last and furthest near the harbour being chosen. I set up camp, picked up my valuables and cycled back into town… Ouch, no cycle shorts and more cycling. But it felt amazing not having any luggage on the bike, racing into town. I had some pizza, chatted to the staff before going to a local jazz bar for a night cap. By midnight I was all tucked in and had the most amazing sleep. It looks like the air mattress just about hold it together until next morning, deflating just a little bit.
Locals had told me hat good sights I could visit tomorrow, with some shrines high up on the list, before heading further north.
I look out for where
the little cockoo called
but all that is left to see
is the pale moon
in the sky at dawn.
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