Sleepless in Japan

Apologies already. This post is more of a brain dump, allowing me to deal with last night's insomnia. Having slept 14 or 15h straight the night before, I was absolutely unable to sleep a single minute this last night. As I laid awake for about 8h pretty much since going to be around midnight, a million things went through my head. Some of them need some afterthought, most of them don't.

Being able to come to Japan every year is a big privilege in every way. On one hand its a financial outlay, a time outlay, being away from family and work and comes with opportunity cost attached. On the other hand, it's been one of the single most important things I've been doing in the last couple of years to continue to stay motivated in my job, apart from the satisfaction you get helping people generally, and its been a big inspiration to not only continue to train martial arts but to also start teaching it. Something that was much encouraged by my teachers here in Japan who said that in order to get better, I should consider to start teaching. That was pretty much 3 years ago, when I started our martial arts South London chapter. Indeed, having to prepare for lessons and generally trying to understand the material that is often theoretical and translate it into physical exercises that can be understood, repeated and improved upon has enabled be to be a little less bad at martial arts, or so I believe.

My fascination with Japan started when I met a fellow martial arts student in 1998, about to do driving lessons. She just finished her session and I was about to start mine. We got talking and she said she's off to train martial arts now. For me this was a big surprise as I lived in a small village and I would have/ should have known if there was anything like this. Turned out I didn't. A week later I was all signed up to what would become a 20 year love affair with Japan. Its a healthy historic, spiritual, physical and cultural obsession. At one point a few years ago I managed to go through all my favourite Japanese and non-Japanese anime movies, with many of them showing how life is and was here in Japan through the eyes of children or through the eyes of the eternal child, some of my favourite anime are compiled here. This is one of my favourite anime of recent years (demo only, also exists as dubbed version):

Laying wide awake for 8 hours gave me an opportunity to look at my life as it is, without attaching too much importance to the process as it happened considering I was getting more and more agitated as they night went by tossing and turning. However, a few really interesting questions came up time and time again, some of which I hope this trip will help me answer:

1. Being in the so called 'prime of my life' (almost 40), where do I want to be when I'm 50 and 60 and importantly, what do I have to do now and in the next few years to get there? We're talking what country, what work (and income potential), and how to continue to achieve work-life balance. I'm a big believer in plans and goals, even if they change/ evolve as I go along.
2. What will the next 5 years of our organisation look like, that's just turned 5? Its an amazing organisation that has supported hundreds of people into business and enterprise already but where to next, especially how to manoeuvre an ever tougher funding environment?
3. Can I and should I share with 'the world' what I believe are some of the fundamental insights and learnings I have taken from studying and practicing martial arts and how they've helped me be a better entrepreneur? The idea of a book has been with me for a couple of years now but it may be too presumptuous. 

Apart from these big questions, I've spent part of the night continuing to read Jordan B. Peterson's '12 Rules For Life', an interesting read and I am very much agreeing with the 8 I've read so far., whilst acknowledging that putting them into practice at all times will require much more awareness. A lot of the material corresponds to my reading and understanding of C.G.Jung that I consumed heavily in my early 20's, when I couldn't get enough of reading his books as his mind and insights into life fascinated me and to this day, continue to do so. My obsession with Jung went as far as visiting his home in Switzerland and to scale the walls of his 'fortress' just to sit in the courtyard that he would have once sat in, contemplating life and surely death. My last C.G.Jung book was his monumental life's work as he called it - The Red Book: Liber Novus, Jung's most intimate diary of his experiences and visions. It now feels hard to connect with all that I read as life seemed to have moved on, but certain truths still persist until this day. 

C.G. Jung's house (not open to the pubic)...

The other parts of the night were spent browsing videos on Facebook, some conspiracy stuff around Trump and how he's apparently unsettling the world powers (I skipped past that eventually), to Musk smoking a joint whilst on air doing an interview with a pretty well known talkshow moderator (who was also well known for being pro-marihuana) - sorry Musk, that wasn't very clever, you're getting a bit cocky here. I've also put a preliminary itinerary together when my family comes over in a few weeks to check out sights and sounds of 'my' Japan (the things I'd love to show them).

And the final part of my night was pretty much spent tossing and turning, adjusting the blinds, listening to the never ending noise of the crickets, which seemed to stop around 4:43am. I eventually got up at 8.30 to start the day with some yoga and 10min of mediation before making a killer of a wake-up tea (green tea, guarana-green tea, turmeric tea)...yes, they all go together in one pot. 

The plan for the day looks as follows: go to Kashiwa Starbucks to get a coffee, sit and read, do some journalling (training notes and travel journal) then go to my favourite sushi place for lunch before finding another, ideally new and more comfy coffee place that's not Starbucks, before eventually going to training again at 3.30. The evening can wrap up with a visit to the onsen in Minami-Kashiwa...and dinner.

Have a plan, have no plan, change of plan...

With Hokkaido in turmoil, I had to figure out what to do next. When I checked in the early morning, the bullet train wasn't running all the way to Hakodate (Hokkaido) yet. So, after quickly bumping into my landlord at 6am, just before he went back to Tokyo, I went back to bed. An go my gosh, did I go back to bed and sleep - another 7h, bringing the total hours spent in bed to 14h! ...that really felt like I needed it - my body needed it especially since I worked lots during the last 8 months, pretty much Monday to Saturday every week, to afford going to Japan for longer than usual.

After waking up, I had breakfast (toast, avocado and egg), got my training gear together, faffed around a bit looking at which room I'm going to occupy from tomorrow as there were 8 empty rooms to choose from, with one having an actual bed as opposed to just a futon. Not that I don't like a futon but knowing that I am going to spend the next 3 - 4 weeks on the ground in my tent, I didn't mind the luxury. I left the house at 4, just enough time to go back to the Kashiwa (nearest big town with some 400,000 inhabitants) and get a coffee before heading off to training.

My other big activity in Japan is always martial arts training, I've been here now the 8th time to train what can be described as old Japanese Martial arts (ko budo), a system of armed and unarmed combat. It's been a steady companion in my life since 1998 and its been one of the most important and impactful things I got involved in. Whilst life is a series of ups and downs, training martial arts has provided much needed balance and stability, often literally. Since arriving in London in 2001 and finding a class to continue my training, I can only say that martial arts practice can offer an alternative way of looking at reality, providing different insights into how we behave as human beings. Human beings have been at war with each other ever since and being able to defend yourself and those close to you felt like something I wanted to be able to do, as and when needed. Whilst London is relatively safe, there are more and more occurrences of violence, especially among younger people, but the chance of getting caught up in a sticky situation remains, no matter what age. Being able to deal with such a situation requires training and practice.

34th Soke (Grandmaster) Dr Masaaki Hatsumi...the one sporting purple hair!

It's always a great opportunity to learn from people here in Japan, many of whom have studied martial arts for 20, 40, 60 years. At the same time, and after spending more than half my life practicing, the people I meet and continue to meet have become more than just training partners, they've become (martial) friends and family. Especially in London, the connection and the friendship among people I train with meant having a completely new circle of friends, which sometimes also developed into work relationships or became really solid friendships. Something I really value.

So, arriving in the dojo and getting changed, I couldn't believe my eyes as I saw one of my training buddies here from London. We chitchatted about his experience so far before training started. Afterwards I showed him my favourite Ramen place in Kashiwa. Sadly, he ordered a spicy Ramen, which seemed to have been too much to handle. I finally remembered my usual statement about not putting meat into my Ramen and really enjoyed this hearty food juts after training

the surprise was big on both sides. Welcome to my favourite Ramen place Derrick

After food, there was not much else to do but to head home and to go shopping. I've bought the usual, a bit of breakfasts stuff, some green tea and avocado. Just as I was about to pay, IO noticed the guy in front of me putting a little sign on his beer, which I could only assume meant "please don't give me a plastic bag", a sad issue you're confronted with everywhere - plastic, plastic bags, plastic containers, plastic packing. This was new and I had to try it out. Wow, what a relief not to have to explain that I didn't want a plastic bag or my stuff put into one. She did still try to wrap my avocado into a really small one but I protested - successfully. 

that little sign did the trick, no more explanations about not wanting a bag

The final thing to do was to decide 'the plan' going forward. I'll be heading back to Kashiwa to book my train to Hokkaido for Monday, the bullet train is back online and as I'll be avoiding the epicentre of the quake for at least 2 weeks, I think I'll be fine. Hokkaido is pretty big and my route going round the island clockwise should make things be ok. It'll still be strange to go to a place that's just been struck by disaster, despite people getting back on their feet. I don't want to feel like a disaster tourist. Something to think about.

Arrival in Japan...Waking up to news of strong (6.7) earthquake in Hokkaido

After a relatively uneventful flight, with some sleep, some diary writing and 2 movies I've arrived in Tokyo this morning. I had to wait until they brought my bike, which I was very happy about, especially since I had to wait another day in 2009 as they didn't manage to put my bike on the plane then. Being the last person to hang around the conveyor belt waiting for luggage a strange feeling set in but thankfully a friendly airport staff looked at me and said "bike", to which I happily answered "yes, thats me".

I've had to transfer the bike from its cardboard box into its 'official' travelling luggage (you can't take bike onto trains in Japan unless they're packed into a bag), I was on my way. The humidity and temperature hit me immediately as it was somewhere around 30C and high humidity. 

I was obviously very much in the way of most train passengers trying to board the early morning (just post-rush-hour) train but there was little I could do. I managed to go to Kashiwa (north of Tokyo) where I would be staying for the night, before continuing onto Hokkaido in the morning - so I thought...

News of the earthquake spread quickly and both Japanese friends and my Japan-landlord Jeffrey told me that Hokkaido was hit by a big quake. More loss of life, just after typhoon Jebi hit, more disruption to an already very busy emergency response teams across the country, including the army. Below is a picture of Hokkaido and the red circle is where the earthquake originated but then spread across the whole island. The blue circle was my to be my first stop, Hakodate.

It seems that Japan is getting it this summer, a strong typhoon sweeping across south and central Japan and now a 6.7 earthquake in Hokkaido, its largest northern island. I've kept on checking whether I could find info online on trains going to Hokkaido but it wasn't until I reached Kashiwa Station and enquired about going to Hokkaido tomorrow that the reality actually hit home. There was no electricity for 3 million people, houses had collapsed and all train and flight services were cancelled.

quick reality check.

Somewhat taken aback by these events I went to Starbucks to contemplate what to do. Its the same Starbucks I go to pretty much every time I'm in Japan to think, write, work and for the first time did I feel like I had actually arrived in Japan. I took out my note book and wrote some thoughts down before heading to my favourite Ramen spot. Turns out they didn't know me anymore and my Ramen order came with meat, oh well, I've got to tell them again :)

"Niku tabenai" (I don't eat meat)

Big taboo, just noticed that I left my chop sticks in the food. Thats a big "No, No" in Japan as it resembles funeral rites/ rituals (read all about using chopsticks here). Either way, I felt thoroughly "at home" now with some good Ramen in my belly. Back to Starbucks for a final coffee before heading to my home away from home. 

I picked ups some ingredients for dinner to make some salad and eat fish, before getting home and pretty much crashing on the futon. I was actually exhausted. I put my alarm clock on for an hour, knowing I didn't want to waste my time sleeping now and then not being able to sleep later.

There's one final thing to do now to conclude my first day in Japan - go for a soak. I arranged to meet with a friend for 'onsen' (Japanese hot spring/ public bath), which is really relaxing as it's got sauna, various small (hot) pools, jacuzzi and an outside 'thermal spa' pool. This will conclude all activities for today.

Biggest Typhoon hits Japan...and travel prep

One of the biggest Typhoons in nearly 30 years has hit Japan's Southern and Central parts. And it hit it hard with almost 10 people deal and over 150 injured.

The storm was brewing in the Philippine Sea and then made its way North, hitting Osaka and Kyoto, albeit much weaker as it travelled over land.

I have mixed feelings leaving tomorrow for Japan, especially as they had to shut down Kensei airport, due to flooding or it seems it got completely demolished by Typhoon "Jebi". 

Such is the power of nature. We are at mother nature's peril when it comes to the big things like earthquakes, typhoons, hurricanes and all other natural disasters. I've been contemplating small disasters that could strike me when travelling across Hokkaido. The most feared one for me is a traffic accident, followed closely by an encounter with a wild brown bear. 

You can never really prepare for bike accidents other than doing what you can to be seen. I've got 4 sets of lights, two on the bike and two on the helmet. Japanese roads are generally really busy and my trip in 2009 had a few scary encounters with crazy drivers who needed to overtake me no matter what, almost brushing against my rear rack/ panniers. 

Some of my initial research now on getting in contact with a bear:

1. Stay calm, never surprise a bear, leave the bear exit routes
2. Make noise (if its a brown bear) + wave arms to be bigger
3. If the bear charges towards you, defend yourself by waving sticks/ stuff
4. If it's already attacking you, play dead, ideally with the backpack on (spread legs so he can't turn you)
5. Never leave food inside a tent, not even a chocolate bar. bears have great sense of smell

So, tomorrow is lift-off. Japan, here we come. Bags are packed, bike is packed and somewhat safe, hoping it'll make it to Japan with me! Until then

Japan...Here we come again

Hokkaido - Solo Roundtrip - 1000 Miles - The next adventure is about to begin.

2009, Virgin Touring Cyclist

Almost 10 years later, I shall venture back to Japan for another 1000 Miles Challenge. There are many reasons for me to take strategic time off and to do something new, something adventurous. With 2 weeks to go, I've already laid out all my camping and cycling items in the living room, checking for usefulness, weight and frequency of uses. We're talking taking a 2x3m tarpaulin to user as ground sheet or as rain cover. We're also talking buying a handle bar pannier as my old one is no longer fit for duty. 

How is it all going to fit? Well, same as last time. Whatever doesn't fit stays home

Strong memories flash back from 2009 and having taken way too many clothes back then and having to leave some of them along the route (carefully recycled). Lugging more than absolutely necessary weight around on a touring ride can make a huge difference to the cycle experience. More weight means more inertia and getting the bike rolling. Once it rolls and lets say it's going down hill, the bike becomes a projectile. It almost feels like a motorbike and it also wants to get handled as such. Steady in the corners, in wet conditions or with dirty streets, loosing control in a corner can happen quickly. Sometimes you're able to stabilise machine and riders but often under duress, if at all. 

Some checking in stats:

• Rider weight: 82Kg
• Cycling since: a few months after birth (my mom is also a keen cyclist)
• Cycling proficiency: you would hope so
• Attempted distance: 1000 miles (1600Km) 
• Attempted timeframe: 24 days
• Miles/ day: 42 miles (77km)
• Average speeds: 10-15 miles/h (Hokkaido is very mountainous)
• Bike: Focus Arriva (2015)
• Modifications: saddle (brooks cambium), ergo grips (ergon), tires (schwalbe marathon), flat , wide-body aluminium pedals (meet looks)

Japan, Hokkaido

Why Hokkaido? Why Japan? Well, as I attempt to cycle 1000 miles I believe there are a 1000 good reasons to cycle and/ or tour in Japan. A big plus is that Japan is very safe and hospitable. I've only had positive experiences in 2009 about people being friendly, helpful and where necessary go out of their way to help, in a way that felt embarrassing as I didn't want to disturb them or even make them way me to places I needed to go. 

Tokyo to Hakodate (Hokkaido) by bullet train

This time I will circumnavigate the biggest Northern island of Japan - lets go to Hokkaido.

Hokkaido -- Clockwise,1000 Miles in 24 days

Hokkaido will be beautiful right after the summer and the swathes of tourists that would have visited. Apparently there will be rain, hopefully not too much but the weather should make for great cycling and camping.

...MTB repair! service mystery  

for the last couple of weeks I had this strange noise coming from the rear wheel. Its a Hope XC hub and Mavic 321 Disc rim, 2mm spokes. The cassette and chain are worn in but not work out. I recently tried to replace the largest of the three front sprockets and replace it with a slightly smaller version (40 teeth instead of 42). The part I bought online was however for single speed use. In addition I had to get my 2004 (and never serviced) Marzocchi Bomber checked out.

So, this noise & feeling that the chain is slipping had been there for many weeks and I decided to do something about it. the front derailleur had been on the bike for around 4 years or more. it had become worn out. I did blame it partially for the general repairs as it had to be fixed. Then the rear shifter developed issues, it wouldn't always grip and shift upwards. but the annoying feeling was more towards the actual chain (partially) slipping off the respective gear. the more force applied the worst the problem got. however, it was not at all times evenly. it would be on and off.

ordered a new front shifter and cables, a new chain, also new front derailleur from chainreactioncycles.com. I didn't get a new rear cassette as the one on was still in good nick. The front fork service (£80) was not done to my or to the mechanic's satisfaction at BikeWorks (East London). The fork was sent back and the bike was complete 1 week later.

However, the rattling noise had not stopped. I went to Jorrin who know's all about bicycles and how to fix em. We both concluded, after some more testing, that it must be the rear hub that's causing the problems. I've never taken a rear hub apart nor did I know how it functions.

Here is how to service a Hope (XC) Rear Hub Freewheel Body (partial courtesy of www.mbro35.co.uk). If you need to take the whole rear hub including bearings apart...click here for detailed instructions

Tools needed

• chainwhip
• cassette lock ring tool & suitable spanner
• flat bladed screwdrivers
• circlip pliers
• terpentine (or other)
• grease

1. Remove the wheel from the bike. Remove the quick release skewer from the axle. Using a chain whip to stop the cassette turning, undo the cassette lockring with a suitable lockring tool and spanner. Remove the cassette from the freehub.

 2. Prise off the drive side spacer. If it is difficult to remove try two flat bladed screwdrivers opposite each other to lever it off. be careful not to damage it. Remove the non drive side (coloured) spacer.

3. Pull the freehub off (a bit of gentle leverage from a screwdriver may be needed). Be careful that you don't loose any of the three pawls and springs - they might come out with the freehub or stay in the hub. Remove the internal spacer from behind the freehub.

 Cleaning

To clean the inside of housing I used a tooth brush and terpentine (just a little of it). You don't want terpenting dropping onto your sealed bearings. I cleaned the paws and the springs also with terp and toothbrush. there was a lot of grit inside the springs, got it out with a little allen key. The task of putting the little pawls and the springs back into the freewheel body is daunting.

 

Putting it all back together

Insert the internal spacer into the drive side of the hub. Put a blob of grease on each of the holes in the freehub that the pawls fit into. Insert the pawls and springs. The grease should hold everything together. Holding the pawls in with your fingers slide the freehub into place. I have read many tips about using elastic bands etc to hold the pawls in but they are not really needed as long as you have at least three fingers and a thumb on one hand! Make sure everything is spinning freely.

the beginning

the beginning of something can happen at any moment. sometimes its possible to know what is coming, other times its 20 seconds warning, or less.

are beginnings fully planned and is there an element of chance or coincidence?

Cycling is full of beginnings, changes, interactions with human beings and our surroundings. to deal with them requires some basic skill (cycling), experience, but also openness, responsiveness, and being able to listen (sometimes ideally being really quiet).

Many outdoor sports like snowboarding, skiing, kayak and of course long-distance running/ hiking, seem to have this element of constant beginnings. it feels like cycling particularly helps make informed decision at certain (plannable) intervals, whilst being opportunistic and allowing for certain risks in route planning and, say cycling style.

The Blog features some longer distance rides over the last years and some shorter ones too. its been a diary on the discovery journey to some really amazing places in this world, the chance to meet amazing people and encounter familiar/strange cultures (especially re-encountering my own).

 

Fellow travellers - Wayima, Japan (en route to first 1000 Miles Challenge)

in the Scottish Mountains on second 1000 Miles Challenge

sometimes, beginnings start by ending something - permanently or temporarily. recovering from my cycling accident is taking longer than expected but new routes and rides are already in planning.

Current possibilities are:

+ Pan-European Tour

+ Japan 2.0 (Hokkaido)

2014 is looking likely for something like this to happen. in the meantime, I'll use this blog to write about stuff. possibly something on entrepreneurship, funding for social enterprises, .... possibly something on the beginning of capitalism 3.0

here an examples of social entrepreneurship in Britain:

http://ysee-project.blogspot.co.uk/p/se-stats-uk.html 

and here a blog I read a lot that helps connect some of the dots:

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.co.uk

dirk