There is nothing better than waking up and knowing you can stay in your Yukata (morning robe/ house robe) and head straight to your rooftop onsen to wash and bathe; and so I did, just after waking up around 7.30 and even before my 8am alarm clock. This was a great feeling to chill in a big outdoor bathtub on the 11th floor, overlooking a foreign city that’s just woken up. My legs still felt a bit sore, especially my thigh muscles but also my buttocks. The hot/ cold bath surely helped a bit but it’s just got to be ok for now. Not that I could change it anyway. I’ve certainly tried to keep my body nourished but the relentless exercise is taking its toll.
This morning I wanted to get up as soon as I could to get ready, pack my stuff, head over to Starbucks for some blog writing, before I forget everything, and then head off around checkout time, 10am to do another 75km going North on Kyushu’s West Coast. I didn’t fancy any more big cities as the traffic is usually annoying and there isn’t much to see unless you stop and look at stuff. So, it was back into the mountains. But breakfast first. The hotel wanted to charge ¥1,800 and I did not fancy what they had on offer so I found a bakery on the way out of town. They had some delicious nut bread, of which I bought a small loaf and a pastry. Nommi, nommi! This will do for breakfast and surely lunch too!
Just as the previous day ended, with some amazing downhills, this one started with one, just in reverse with a huge uphill! I wasn’t quite ready for the struggle but that was nothing I could do about it. The small, windy road seemed to go on forever, past villages, some beautiful valleys and gorges and up and up some more. It wasn’t quite as steep as the days before but enough to get my cycle shirt completely soaking wet and for me to do a couple of stops to press the sweat out of my helmet foam before it ran into my eyes or over my sunglasses, which usually annoyed me as cleaning them was never much fun. After an hour or so, I could see the mountain tops and it was time for my first downhill! I readjusted my backpack, tightened and tangled by backpack straps so they don’t flap against my chest when racing downhill, which is kind of annoying and painful. The new front brakes worked a treat and were very much needed as I had to slow down in a few corners so I wouldn’t drift out too far.
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| Bye, bye Beppu, hello mountains! |
This was a great adrenaline rush and it felt like I made some good time on those downhills, with about 50km/h judging by the cars that had to break to stay within the speed limit. This game of uphills and downhills would then continue for another 2h or so before I needed to get off my bike and take a lunch break. More of that tasty walnut bread and some green tea helped restore some energy. I cycled through a really nice valley just after lunch, the smell of flowers was pertinent and it all looked very smooth and lush, when I spotted a straight rainbow in the sky. I had never seen one before but I had to stop and check it out. After that, I cycled around the corner to make another small stop at a stone formation, some kind of mini-Stonehenge. It all felt very nice in this valley, the farms were good looking, the fields were heavy with grains and that smell of flowers or whatever it was.
From here, the journey continued and slowly but surely the hills got less hilly and the mountains were replaced with farms and eventually urban landscapes. I took a few more breaks and took a few picture of some nice shrines along the way.
Around 15km from my final resting place for this evening I went to the supermarket as I was t too sure if I would find another big one where I was heading. I loaded up on fresh veggies, some rice balls with tuna, and some more mixed nuts. As I browsed the ever so popular “delicatessen” section, short for ready meals, I used google translate to look at the ingredients as I wasn’t sure whether the potato salad had any meat in it. I was surprised to find hydrogenated vegetable oils, fructose corn syrup and other nasties in it. Not only there, most other ready meals including salads had fructose corn syrup, sweeteners and all kinds of funky ingredients in it. The potato salad stayed where it was and I opted for for more cucumbers, tomatoes, Japanese oranges and some strawberries to eat immediately.
This experience really made me think. Why is there so much of of these nasty food additives in everything? Yes, they are cheap fillers but they also make us sick, with most westerners suffering from diabetis, heart problems, high cholesterol etc etc. I was surprised to find these ingredients here too, especially in simple things like cucumber salads or other, apparently healthy takeaway meals. Hmmm, must chose food more wisely and ideally make from scratch or just eat as simple as possible, when possible.
The shopping weighed me down a lot as I had to stuff it all into my backpack. I had to take another break some 5km before my campsite. The sun was still blasting at 4.30 and I was pretty exhausted by now. I didn’t fully realise but I’m finishing my cycling a day earlier than anticipated. I think it’s fine, especially as it will be raining tomorrow and I don’t mind getting to Fukuoka one day earlier. There will surely be things to do, stuff to see there too.
My campsite was amazing, with toilet and washing facilities. I headed over to wash my cycling shirts but silly me, I forgot my earphones in them. I hope they dry out to be good to go again tomorrow. I unpacked all y stuff on a wooden platform, headed to the shop for some more water and more cucumbers before building y tent one final time, in a. Ice location too, right next to a fighter plane!
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