Day 24 - The Last Ride…Tsuiki to Fukuoka (68/ 1,243km; 450 height metres)

Wow, I can’t believe the day has come! One more bike ride, one more packing my stuff together, having breakfast on a campsite here in Kyushu. But what day was it going to be? The weather forecast said rain, not just a little bit, a lot! And not only for a few hours, all day, here and in Fukuoka, with the rain steadily getting heavier towards the end of the day. 

This was not how I had imagined my last day of cycling in Kyushu to be but I also acknowledged that I was very lucky that I only had like 2-3 days rain in 3 weeks of cycling, with one being spent stationary in Nobeoka and the other 2 days with just a little bit of rain. I was still awfully unprepared for serious rain, none of my cycling jackets can bear more than an hour of rain before being soaked, the same can be said for my “rain trousers” and overshoes. They were all pretty useless in the conditions I’d face today. There was only one thing to do, find a local building supplier and get some rain gear. 

I woke up with the sound of rain drops hitting my tent. Here it was, the big cycle back. I braved the rain and got up at 7am, put all my stuff under the little wooden pagoda next and had breakfast: a cucumber, 2 tomatoes, 2 mange tout, 2 oranges and some green tea from the vending machine. Healthy but not substantial breakfast, but it had to be enough. I wonder what my weight will be by the end of the cycle as I tried eating healthy throughout the journey but the sustained exercise definitely had an impact on my “fat reserves”. I used a temporary switch from rain to drizzle to pack up my tent, my bags and set-off to the next building supply store. It was only a few kilometres away and today was Saturday, so I hoped there will be fewer cars and especially lorries.

Sadly my cycling shorts didn’t dry overnight, despite wrapping them in a dry towel. The other cycling shorts were useless and without cycling shorts it’s not a ride I wanted to attempt. Ok, into the wet cycling shorts we go and off to the building supply store. Luckily my body warmed up and almost dried the shorts in the few kilometres or at least it wasn’t too uncomfortable. After some browsing of the aisles in the large building supply store I found them, rain coats, rain suits, rain jackets and wellies! I picked a trouser/jacket combo that I thought would serve me for today, including some cheap wellies, knowing that eventually I’ll get wet from inside and out, especially after the first uphills. I spent ¥3,700 (£23) for the rain combination and wellies. This turned out to be a great investment! I put everything on straight away and it felt pretty solid and I was happy seeing the rain form little pearls on the jacket and trousers as I got going, this was good news!

My next stop was a Lawson or 7eleven, whatever came first. I had to stock up on some drinks and I was already hungry again. I bought 2 rice balls, one for now and one for later, some more green tea and then it was go, go, go - Fukuoka here we come! I hadn’t done a full day in the rain so the experience was still weird. I had to take off my good-mood-orange-sunglasses as they steamed up after some time, the same as with any other glasses so it was my first day riding without. Luckily the rain jacket had a see through hoodie at the front so I could pull it down into my face and ride without glasses, something I never do as there’s too much shit you get hit with when cycling, from flies to dirt. To my surprise my earphones still worked, despite their cold-wash with my trousers yesterday. They didn’t work in the evening but I put them next to the Wi-Fi router and battery pack, which warm up when charging. This seems to have done the trick and both worked again in the morning. This was a gift in itself as cycling in the rain without music isn’t so much fun, cycling without music generally. I put on an electronic music playlist to keep me company as the kilometres melted under my tires.

The first 30 kilometres went by relatively quickly, sometimes a bit fiddly as I had to stop often to check my phone, which also got wet every time I took it out of its waterproof holster on the handlebar. I had to keep checking for routes that were off the main roads as traffic was still bad enough and there were still many lorries on the road, with many drivers who still couldn’t care less about cyclists, just like on any other day and this despite my two rear lights and bright yellow flashing backpack cover. Oh well, I just needed to work around the main roads. This worked for most part of the first half of the journey but eventually it was up into the mountains again, no matter which road I chose. 

By now, my rain jacket and trouser had lasted a good 3h and the wellies proved indispensable, as they kept my feet dry and warm but they too gave up at some point, whether from the under splash of rain water from the bike, puddles or sweat running down into them, or a combination of everything. The trousers didn’t quite go down far enough over the shoes, despite them being the longest size they had. It was no use, I had to make my first stop to de-water my shoes and wring out my socks as the slushy feeling of water in my shoes didn’t make me feel good and it got cold more quickly than just being damp. This procedure would repeat itself 3 more times over the next few hours as the rain got heavier and heavier.

I reached the mountains towards Fukuoka and the uphill battle began. I was used to it by now, switched into first or second gear and just kept going. Everything was wet now, my hands looked like I was in a swimming pool for too long, the same with my feet. Everything else was completely soaked too. I was about 22km away from Fukuoka and still in the mountains when I made a quick stope at a roadside station. Most people looked at me in disbelief throughout the day but I don’t think they were ready to see some Westerner take of his socks and shoes to turn them over so the water can run out, followed by some squeezing of socks and putting everything back on. Oh well, I couldn’t care less. I just had to keep going! 

Then followed the first of two big downhills! Yes, we like downhills! But Japan had other plans - one last time it would throw everything it had at me, with the rain intensifying to a point where I could barely see through the rain jacket visor and the wind became a gale that wanted to throw me off my bike. The bicycle-hating Ministry for Transport also had the final word in the way they designed the mountainous roads with deep ruts in the road along the width of the road around corners, which made my bicycle wobble as the tyres couldn’t stay in between and neither on them; on top of that, the road markings were raised as to force cars to slow down, especially in corners of this downward slopping road and the strip next to the road was unusable, so I had to stay on the car lane, wobbling downhill - But the human-bike-machine could not be stopped, slowed down maybe, but not stopped!

This was the most treacherous cycle experience in the whole of the 3 weeks as the combination of rain, road conditions and strong winds sometimes forced me to a near halt. This continued for another 30min as I also managed the second up-and downhill, only to be greeted by road signs of Fukuoka being 12km away. Yes! We are so close. 

Being back in a main city made me fight with some more “pretend cycle pathways” that either ended in nowhere, being blocked off by a building or with too frequent interruptions as Japan just doesn’t do cycle lanes, with driveways interrupting the so-called-cycle-lanes every few meters through lumpy ups and downs. This meant back onto the main road, with everyone else as I was getting uncomfortable in my wet clothes by now. My thighs were hurting, my fingers numb, my feet cold. Just…a …few…more..kilometres…

I turned on turn by turn navigation on screen as I couldn’t be asked to take the phone out of its case every hundred meters as google gets confused being a cyclist, using the pedestrian setting and I had enough battery to just keep the screen on. There it was, Fukuoka City and just 2 more kilometres to the hotel that I booked last night, one of the few hotels with reasonable room rates available, as it was already Golden Week, or the weekend preceding it and everywhere was busy. It had to be done. There was nothing I wanted more than a hot bath and dry clothes. 

I found the hotel relatively quickly but I couldn’t bring myself to go to reception looking like a wet poodle. I felt so uncomfortable as it was, that I found the hotel rear entrance and changed from my soaking wet clothes into dry ones, quick emptying of the wellies which were full of water again and I was ready to check-in at 2.55, perfect timing as I could go straight to my room. I had the best bath ever but it took my feet over 10 minutes to warm up. Eventually I found out there was an in-hotel onsen, laundry facilities and vending machines! Perfect! I did some much needed laundry, turned the dehumidifier in the room to  maximum as my jackets were still wet, as well as most of my bags. Time for some tea and rest. 

It has been done, circumnavigating Kyushu in 3 weeks and over 1,200 kilometres! What a ride, especially today, with Japan testing my resolve one final time. I still couldn’t believe it as I was laying there staring at the ceiling that this was it,  no more camping, no more cycling… but onsens, there was still one more thing to do: Check out the onsen as my clothes were washing and drying, which took about an hour. I changed into the hotel Yukata, and headed down so I could soak my muscles one more time. The high-tech onsen scale told me 78.5kg, which meant that I lost some 7-8kg over the last 3 weeks, whilst gaining muscle mass and losing fat. I can’t remember a time in the last 5 years that I felt as good as now, physically and mentally, which means my body was quite happy with this change of diet and exercise regime, surely something to keep up?

The rest of the evening was spent eating celebratory ramen, with desert and obligatory visit to Starbucks for some blog writing as Fukuoka descended into a wet mess thanks to some more torrential rains here.

This is the end, my friend!

Blown by fierce winds,

I am the waves that crash

upon your impervious rock.

Though my heart shatters,

my love rages yet.

Day 19 - Running from the rain: Tonda to Nobeoka (67/ 939km)

This was a great nights’ rest on this forgotten campsite. The ocean waves provided a soothing backdrop even as far away as they were, past the local park and past the derelict outdoor swimming pool. I visited the shore the evening before to try and take a bath there but there was no way. The water was too wild and the waves a well-mixed concoction of water and sand. I got up around 7.30 with one goal in mind: pack up, eat something quick and cycle as fast as i could to avoid the rain which was meant to set in around 2pm. Th weather forecast indicated it was to be strong rain and I didn’t fancy getting soaked. My rain gear was sub-par, which was noticeable after 2h cycling as it didn’t keep the rain out. Breakfast consisted of 2 long but skinny cucumbers and some dried goji berries with some green tea from the vending machine nearby. Ready steady go! I left the campsite around 8.45, initially along some quiet countryside lanes, past an old Shinkansen track hat now spotted solar panels atop. The Japanese are also really heavily investing in solar farms, small and big, on all kinds of places and in the countryside. I guess it’s always gonna be hard to get away from nuclear, considering how power hungry Japanis. 

If only all roads could be like this…cycling would be so much more pleasant

Tea harvest, with some machinery and 2 people! The light-even shrubs are yet to be harvested, the dark-green ones already are. No plucking tea leaves by hand here.

Eventually the quiet countryside lanes would turn into bigger streets and eventually fully blown A-roads and dual carriage ways. A steady headwind blew in my face as I tried to pedal as quick as possible. After 1h I had another 2 rice balls and some Pocari Sweat drink for energy. This was second breakfast and lunch! I also put on my rear light and took my bright yellow backpack cover out to help the many drivers notice me. It worked for some, it didn’t for others. One guy in particular, in one of the main cities I. H led through, decided to pass me with about 20cm or so, earful,y. Loose when there was more space he could have made, or wait as the upcoming traffic light was red anyway. This was very unnerving as I was going at 20km/h and cycled close to the pavement. Eventually I caught up with him and indicated that 20cm is not good enough. He laughed, as he took another puff of his cigarette and indicating that I should go onto the pavement. I took my camera out and took a picture of him with strong thoughts around his rebirth being as that of a bicycle tyre of a long-distance cyclist circumnavigating the world, or as an inner tube to never see the light of day but to keep spinning round and round, in the dark…

This guy!

Eventually I reached Nobeoka in record time at around 12.30 where I had pre-booked a cheap hotel whilst on my rice ball breakfast stop, ¥6,600 without breakfast. It was high time for a stop as I ran out of battery on everything, all the tech and the power bank were on their last leg and half my clothes needed washing too. Nobeoka seemed the perfect gateway town into the mountains to visit the mystical Takachio. According to legend (and Wikipedia): “According to Japanese mythology, Takachiho is the land where Ninigi descended from the heavens, sent by Amaterasu, the sun goddess. It contains the Ama-no-Iwato shrine which is, according to myth, the location of the cave where Amaterasu hid, plunging the world into darkness, until clever Ame-no-Uzume lured her out.” It’s a great story! Check it out by clicking on a link.

Ame-no-Uzume, her dance is said to have lured out Amaterasu and is the foundation of the Japanese ritual dance, Kagura.

Its also hopefully a welcome change in scenery as I don’t want another day of cities, urban landscapes and A-roads with lorry drivers who think they own the road. As I entered Nobeoka, I already had a good feeling; it was a smallish town, nestled between mountains and the Pacific Ocean to the west. My hotel was relatively close to the city centre, or so I hoped. I got there, unloaded my stuff and went to reception. After some passport and reservation number checking the friendly hotel staff told me I’m in the wrong hotel as there was another, similar named hotel which only had a different word at the end. I didn’t pick this up when setting my location earlier but I also didn’t mind. By now, it had started to rain and I was pretty happy to have to just cycle another Kilometer towards the other hotel. Once I got here I unloaded my stuff, changed and asked if the hotel could keep my things as I couldn’t yet check in for another 2h. This was perfect as I wanted to sit down and relax somewhere. After my marathon sprint here I was pretty exhausted. My thighs have been in pain for a few days and my left arm’s tendons are strained a bit and some usual lower back pain, which seems to come and go.

I found a cute cafe not far from the hotel where I had a cup of coffee and a piece of cake. The cafe staff also offered me another coffee to try as a goodwill gesture. It was delicious dinner from Ethiopia, not too strong and so smooth. We talked about her “egg pastry”, which really wasn’t egg pastry as such but “pastel de nata”, a typical Portuguese pastry. At some point another customer came in and joined in the conversation, very quickly she dug out her excellent English, having studied it in Tokyo in university. We had a good laugh about her ending up here, when she really missed Tokyo so much, especially when I enquired what there was to do in Nobeoka. She said “not much, but there is a castle ruin and nice local park nearby”. This was perfect as I was in need for a bit of an afternoon programme, as I had just finished yesterdays blog and the cafe was closing soon. She also told me that there is an old school sento (public bath) nearby, which was just what I needed. 

The coffee shop closed at 3.30 and this time it was my turn to invite someone if only I could be quick enough. We were both happy to have met and she even showed me the way to the sento around the corner, which really was very old school and very local. Only one bath and many wash stations, with wooden lockers like the one I had seen a few days ago, which dated from the 1930s. Judging from the creaking of the wooden floorboards, the grandma at the reception and the general state of the bath, this could have easily competed with the other old school bath. I couldn’t care less! It had a hot pool and after purchasing a small towel for ¥220 to replace the one I had lost, I was also given free soap and shampoo. That and the hot water pool was all I needed to turn me into a human being again.

The lady from the cafe also told me about a good ramen shop, which would open at 5pm. Time to visit the park and castle ruins. The rain wasn’t too bad now and I put up my hood and walked up onto the castle ruin, just in time for the time keeper to tell everyone in Nobeoka that it was 5pm, using a huge bell and a wooden beam, with accurately timed intervals between each of the five gongs. This was my afternoon entertainment and I headed back down to the ramen shop. Interestingly not a local ramen shop but Sapporo ramen, from Hokkaido. Here I had a big bowl of Miso ramen, no meat, extra noodles and some Oolong cha (oolong tea, cold) Elfer heading back to the hotel for some rest, blog writing, re-packing and washing of a big bag of dirty laundry.

After the castle ruins, some ramen and some more walking in the rain my feet were pretty wet. Time to head back to the hotel and get some clothes, do some washing, blog writing and chill, eventually find a bar in the evening to pass the time. 

Around 9 I went to a local, 2min away bar where I got chatting to a music teacher and also another entrepreneur, who’s running a not for profit for people with disabilities and providing them with opportunities for work versus being at home. I know how meaningful this can be as I worked in an organisation in my late teens, as an alternative to joining the military in Germany. It seems that it’s not so easy in Japan to provide such opportunities for people with disabilities from what I understood. Mr Kazuhiro has managed to set up different operations in the region but the work is financially cha,,e ging and he has to now sell his motorbike. He also spent some 6 years in Bulgaria as IT teacher almost 20years ago and his English was pretty amazing, so we didn’t need google translate. We talked for another 2h about social entrepreneurship in Japan and the challenges and opportunities of working in social enterprises vs joining or running for profit businesses.

A great evening overall and even better conclusion to my day. I’m most likely going to stay here as it’s gonna be a fully blown rainy day tomorrow, both here and where I wanted to go and also all affordable hotels in that area being sold out. I’m sure my body can use a rest day before it’s up into the mountains!

Day 15 - New tyre , new friend, longest cycle yet: Kushikino to Ibusuki (83/ 637km)

 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?

Day 13 - Bike, Boat & Best Camp Spot: Kazusacho to Ushibuka (60km/479km)

 The day started, as usual, early at around 7am. I was awake like 3x in the night and I wonder if this interrupted sleep is doing anything to me. The first thing after crawling out of my tent was to take a dip in the ocean, this felt amazing and I think I’m overcoming my old beliefs that it’s not good to run around with salt water on your skin and not shower afterwards. I’ve been doing this now a few times and it doesn’t seem to faze me.

I had a lot of food left from the night before as I shopped thinking I’d have dinner in the tent. After some rice balls, veggies and strawberries, I wrote the blog, which took me an hour but helped me get ready for the day. I was only 4km or so away from the port that would take me off mainland Japan and onto an island called Shimoshima Island. It played a major role in the 15th and 16th century for Christianity in Japan to get a foothold.

I cycled to the port, got my ticket and was hanging out looking at my route across the island. Eventually the ferry turned up, I handed over my ticket a boarded. It was a car and passenger ferry and I had to board last with my mini lorry. The journey took about 30min and was super smooth. I realised too late that I could be charging my devices, all of which relied on my spare battery pack already. 

It was a warm and sunny day, which meant I stayed covered with my long sleeve cycle shirt and a white towel wrapped across my neck to protect me from the sun. In hindsight I should have also worn long trousers as my thighs got a bit burned but I didn’t want another trouser or irritant on top of my cycle shorts to keep the saddle burn down to a minimum. Shimoshima island was surprisingly big and from one end to the other was some 55-60km depending on the route. I made a quick stop at a bakery on the road and had the most tastiest bread ever, it was a small, sweet loaf with a crusty top. Nothing special but this loaf would sustain me for most of the day as I kept nibbling on it.

After this brief stop, I took the high road across the island vs the coastal road, for a change, hoping that the hilly bit will also have some forrests that would protect me from the sun. But to get to that, it was 20km of flat roads along the coast with a headwind so strong that sometimes wanted to throw me off my bike. It was a serious and trying fight. This was a first gruelling 20km after which I entered the mountains, with the road then turning into the most rewarding cycle on this whole journey through Kyushu. I cycled through thick pine forest that shared their space with various leaf trees and of course huge bamboo. The road through the forest also included some steep uphills and smooth downhills. Eventually I was on a road that was so narrow that only one car could pass. The air was warm and I was protected from the sun; cycling at its best!!!

Eventually it was back onto a main road and the headwind was just as strong as before. I think I must have had headwinds now for 90% of the journey, sometimes more sometimes less, but always windy on coastal or general roads. The only protection seems to be in the steep mountains. Eventually I came to a long stretch on a new road with rice fields left and right, where I saw a car in front of me that stopped in a strange place. A man jumped out as I got close and waved me down only to hand me a warm bottle of team. That was just what I needed! I had a bit of water left but the green tea gave me a good boost for the rest of the journey. The kindness of strangers! 

I made a stop around 10km from my final destination as I had spotted an Onsen on the map. I asked a local where it was who pointed me onto a small hill. I went there but sadly it was closed. Noooo. I really was looking forward to a soak. Oh well, the journey continued for a little longer. I was well in time and arrived at a Ushibuka around 4.30. I found a nice little park on the other side of town, overlooking the  park was dotted with palm trees, hibiscus shrubs and various other trees and some stone shrine. The perfect spot for my tent. I unpacked, put up the tent and headed into town. This was a 15min walk but I couldn’t bring myself to get back onto the bike. Before that, I had to check out my private toilet building and wash room that made this stay so much more pleasant. I had a quick wash before changing into my evening robes. They’ve been the same now for almost 2 weeks. A thin linen/ cotton trouser, black; and a jacket, black and a grey or black T-shirt. Not very exciting but it was lightweight and kept me warm if needed. I also made a final attempt at fixing my sleeping mat, this time using the sticky patch AND, critically, zip tie. This seemed to work after a few attempts, wrapping the spot with the hole over a round seed that I found to give the sip ie something to grip. Phew, let’s see if it lasts the night but it was looking solid.

The town was pretty small and I used google maps to find a nice spot for lunch. One Japanese restaurant stood out called “heart”, as it had good reviews and many reviews for the town (35). I headed there and was greeted with a big welcome but also a huge surprising look on the face of the owner and the only other guest, Akira. The owner brought me a starter and I tried to figure out how to find stuff on the Japanese menu. Eventually I showed her pictured from previous reviewers on my phone. She understood immediately and shouted something into the kitchen. It was grilled jaw bone of some big fish…and it was super tasty. I continued to point at things across the evening whilst we also started to make conversation with the owner, the one guest and eventually another 2 who came in. One of them was a high school girl who seems to have been called by Akira to come and “check out the foreigner”, with most of us eventually installing Google translate to talk. She told me that she’s a performer in the Lokal folk dance and all the patrons of the restaurant iterated the importance of preserving culture, especially through the young generations. Our conversation topics spanned from tourism to work to local sights. This turned out into a fun evening with all of us having lots of food and drink. 

After the restaurant I walked home, and to my surprise the mattress was still full. Maybe a better night’s sleep?

Though I am not good enough,

for the good people,

here in the wooded hills

I’ll embrace them with my black robes

of the Buddha’s Way.

Day 11 - I love Nagasaki! (0 km cycled but 18k steps walked)

The day day started, as usual…6.30am despite only getting to bed after midnight. I don’t know why my body doesn’t want to sleep any longer?!  Could have also been the alcohol from yesterday? I laid in bed for another hour, contemplating life and travels and how good it is to be outside my comfort zone for an extended period. I also looked ahead for Monday and where I would go next after Nagasaki and I was sure now that doing some island hopping was for the best to skip past urban areas and also use some Kyushu ferries.

I got up around 8.30, shower and ready to descend onto the nearest Starbucks for some coffee and blog writing. I strolled up into town to get to the mall where I’d surely find a Starbucks. Before that I had Japanese breakfast in a nearby Izakaya-style restaurant which did some amazingly good and affordable food. For ¥1,200 I had a huge piece of fish, miso soup dumplings rice. That was just the  est and filled my up for the next 8h! Then I went to the get coffee and I don’t know what it is but I order the same thing and the prices fluctuate between  ¥540 and ¥585, even though Starbucks doesn’t have different prices across Japan, I think. After some blog writing I was excited to check out Nagasaki Museum of History & Culture, a must see if you’re ever going to Nagasaki. 

As I strolled to the museum, I spotted a small barber shop and and decided to get a haircut. I’ve never had a haircut in Japan and it was a great experience. The barber asked for ¥3,000, pretty much the same as I’d pay in London. We went through some pictures on the internet as he needed to know what I wanted. We agreed on short sides and a trim on the top. I was wrapped into multiple layers of towels and covers so no hair would fall down into my shirt, a hot towel wrap for my head to get things started and a shave to finish off. That felt really good and I was set to continue my hike up Nagasaki’s hilly side streets. 

The museum was nothing short of spectacular, if you’re into museums... The exhibits covered lots from around the time of Nagasakis encounter with the West (the Portuguese got here in 1543, by accident blown off course on their way to China), to covering the period that ensued, in particular Nagasakis role in being the portal to the West and also to China. It’s culture, advancements in medicine, technology, science, construction and so much more flourished through these exchanges. At the same time, these influences also brought with it different religions, both from China and from Europe. In both cases, Japan’s rulers were aiming to control the movement of religious ideas and people, often confining them to specific quarters like the Chinese quarter in Nagasaki and also controlling where these new religions could be taught. The first Christian missionaries arrived in 1549, leading to the first warlords being converted to Christianity. Eventually, this led to various power struggles in regional domains as the converted elite would then convert or even burn down Shinto or Buddhist Shrines in favour of their new-found religion. But eventually, Christianity was repressed under Hideyoshi and the succeeding Tokugawa Shogunate, leading to the well-documented torture and crucifixion of the “26 Martyrs” in 1597 to discourage Christianity. After that in 1638, an estimated 37,000 were killed in the Christian-led Shimabara rebellion. In the 50 years that followed, the shoguns pretty much eradicated Christianity from Japan. It took until the 1840s and 50s, the opening of Japan to the West, when Christian ideology would return to the country, along with huge Western influences again across various domains, from science to food to technologies. The museum had exhibits on a great variety of relics from the past and Nagasaki’s role as the only Japanese port open to trade with the West.

Communication technology came to Japan 

The highlight however was a role play enacted by local volunteers, dressed in old style clothing and hairstyles, re-enacting a quarrel between a few locals during the kite flying session, which led to a number of people being brought before the local magistrate to arbitrate the case. This was a 10 minute play in Japanese that had the museum visitors in stitches as it was brilliantly enacted and so funny. 

After the museum I hiked some more uphill to see Suwa Shrine and local parry and viewing platform, whilst having a call with one of my best friends (Hey Anne!!!). Gosh, Nagasaki is really hilly!!! 

This was then followed by a visit to a pharmacy to buy some big plasters to cover the sore areas of my bum tomorrow so they wouldn’t get worse or ideally heal, and dinner: Ramen time!!! I had an extra helping and extra egg as I was starving after not eating for 8h.

From the ramen place I went back to the hotel, had a short rest and then went out to explore some local bars. This time I started in a craft beer bar where I met a fellow traveller, an American guy who’s in the Army. We chatted for a good 2 hours, joined in by the staff and other travellers. This was fun, I do enjoy human contact and speaking English when I’m otherwise just left to my own thoughts. As the bar was very pricey, we decided to go to another bar for a ‘last drink’. We found a cool little jazz bar where we did indeed have …one more last drink, or two…or 4? I can’t remember but eventually we parted ways after midnight as I headed back to the hotel, very tipsy and also very happy.

Overall, Nagasaki is a really friendly, welcoming place with a historic international community and a good number of things to do and see. Very highly recommended!

My tear soaked sleeves

are like rocks in the offing.

Even at low tide

you never notice them,

nor can they ever dry.