Day 16 - From Onsen to Onsen: Ibusuki to Shibushi (64/ 701km)

 The day started early. I couldn’t sleep till 2am and was awake by 6, with my room buddy waking up and getting up at 6.30. Not much sleep but hey. I laid in bed for another hour or so before getting up. Keiji already left by then, he wanted to do 120km today on his machine, circumnavigating Kyushu in exactly the opposite direction to me, clockwise. For me, there was no rush as I would catch a ferry and then had a relaxing cycle in front of me. Also, the weather forecast said it’s gonna rain here and on the other side of the ferry until noon. 

The hotel was and Onsen hotel so I checked it out. I was the only person in there and it felt so good to soak self. The right side of my chest had been paining me for a day or two, not sure what it is but the hot water seems to help. After the Onsen, today up my room, my stuff and check out. As I got to reception to settle my bill I was shocked to find that Keiji had already paid for the room - all I had to pay was for the hot sand bath. Arghhh! I sent him an angry/ grateful message! 

The weather outside looked miserable, not great for cycling and upon enquiry with reception, the new t ferry was at 1pm. Ok, I had 3h to explore Ibusuki in the rain and get some breakfast. The hotel gave me an umbrella and I left to explore town. The first place I got to was a small cafe, with old men sitting inside smoking and having coffee. The menu looked good and there was pictures! Despite the smoking, I sat down to order some omelette, salad and bread. That was so tasty! The owner also brought me coffee on the house afterwards ad all for ¥600 or just under £4. I then strolled further, in search of somewhere else to sit where there was no smoking going on. It seems that down south here in Kyushu or in the countryside, smoking in bars and cafes is still ok. I also noticed that most people had ditched their masks down here with maybe just 20-30% of people wearing one, in Nagasaki or Fukuoka it was the other way round, 80-90% of people would wear a mask, even though there has never been a mask mandate by the government. 

The next place I found was a cute little cafe with some delicious sweets and red bean tea (Asuki bean tea). Very delicious. The owner was doing some paperwork and as I asked if I could stay she cleared a small corner for me to sit down as she mentioned that it’s not nice weather outside! I took the kind offer and enjoyed my cake and tea.

By now, the rain became less, but still enough to use an umbrella. I strolled back to the hotel, past the hot sand beaches with the steam coming off the sand looking mystical. I wonder how this must have been back in the days in olden days Japan. How did this city look like? I am sure they would have made use of the hot sand and Onsen waters already back then. 

I got to the hotel around 12, put on all my rain gear: overshoes, trouser, rain jacket and my good mood orange sunglasses as they didn’t steam up as quickly as my regular ones. The journey to the port was quick with around 7km. I cycled past some derelict hotels as it looked like corona also impacted businesses here, which many restaurant and hotel owners testified to. The ship was already waiting but there was still about 30min till we’d leave. The ticket was ¥1200 or £8ish. There was a local bakery and I bought some more break, breadstick and a baguette. This was the most bread I had eaten since arriving in Japan. A welcome change to my diet? I also knew that this was all I would eat till dinner, considering it was nearly 1pm. The ferry set off and I got chatting to an elderly couple who were on a 3 day visit down here. The ferry took almost 1h to get to the other side and I had another 50 or so Kilometers to do. I knew this would take me 3.5-4h to get to an Onsen in Shibushi, which already looked great from the pictures. 

By now, the weather had completely changed and it was sunny and cloudy, no more rain! This made cycling so much fun and today would be a great cycling day, with the backdrop of Mount Sakura Jime at the beginning and huge mountains along the journey to Shibushi. I wasn’t quite prepared for the amazing ride I was going to have. Google maps for pedestrians did an excellent job navigating through a long valley, picking roads alongside river dams, past little villages many, many rice fields. Gone are the fields with potatoes and nobody seems to be growing strawberries here. I came across a huge number of derelict and empty properties, more so than anywhere before. I wonder what it is like to live down here, being a farmer? 

I made some occasional stops to take some pictures, have some more water or check out a shrine here and there and I was very happy about todays ride that didn’t involve huge climbs over mountains or negotiating my way alongside busy A roads or dual carriage ways. By now, my right side of my chest continued to hurt. On downhills I protected it with my left hand from the wind, always contemplating whether I should put on a jacket, even though I’d get more sweaty in there. I decided against it, hoping that the Onsen at the end of the day will work some magic. 

By 4.40 I got to Shibushi, a friendly small town where I shopped for some veggies, fruits and nuts, assuming that this might become dinner and breakfast as my final resting spot was outside town on a beach. At 5 it was Onsen time - the pictures on the internet did now lie. It was an amazing small Onsen with 3 baths and even a sauna. I weighed myself too. The scale said 81.5kg, so the weight loss continues but is slowing down. The Onsen was absolutely amazing, after about 15min my right hand side stopped hurting and I just felt whole and happy. I left the Onsen shortly after it’s another 8km to go to the beach. It was already getting dark and the sun had just set. 

I got to the beach just in time with enough light to put up my tent and crawl inside for some dinner: small cucumbers, 2 tangerines, nuts. Nommi, nommi. The beach wasn’t as nice a camp spot than the previous one, a big road running past it some 100m away. Eventually, around 9 some cars arrived with some local youths who’d blast some music. My tent was hidden away so I didn’t really bother. To the sound of their music I eventually fell asleep by 10 and didn’t wake up till 4, which felt like some solid sleep. I got up by 7 with some more people arriving n their cars, taking out their surfboards and having breakfast. I did the same, dried my clothes, did some stretches, had more tangerines and nuts plus did some blog writing before packing up. Todays ride was pretty long if I’d do it, and steep. It would also get me to a nature reserve with some wild horses and would also essentially be as far down south west as I’d go, then rest of the journey will be “The Way Back”. I’ve got 10 days to get back to Fukuoka where I’ve got a Shinkansen already booked back to Tokyo. 

A twilight breeze rustles

through the oak leaves

of the little Oak Brook

but the cleansing rites

tell us it is summer. 

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 14 - Busy roads, rain & new friends - Ushibuka to Kushikino (75km/554km)

 The night wasn’t so great as I seemed to have slept very little, waking up 3-4 times to check the watch and whether it was time to get up. It wasn’t… whilst I had the second air mattress fixed and the air stayed inside, it was still uncomfortable. Maybe I pumped them up too hard. More experimenting is needed. 

I got up and luckily had my little wash house / toilet in the little park. That was very convenient. I did some initial blog writing, packed my stuff and headed to the ferry which was only a 5min cycle over some fancy bridge. The next ferry was at 9.40am, time to do some breakfast shopping in the nearby shops which mainly had touristy stuff. I picked some rice balls, some sweet filled rice cake and some mange tout, just in case plus some water for the ferry. 

I desperately needed to charge my devices as even my power bank was on 50% and my wife router and phone only had one more charge. This means I can go one more day with my tech. It’s current charge. My earphones were giving me trouble either not charging properly or misbehaving. I reset them and re-paired them with my phone. That seems to have done the trick. The short ride on the ferry was uneventful and only took 35min. Charging my tech on the boat was slow at only 100V. Oh well.

I arrived back on Japan mainland, picked my route and was immediately greeted by a huge uphill. But at least there was no wind, which gave some comfort. The road along towns provided a different picture to the usual rice fields as they had all turned into potato fields with many farmers already busy harvesting. And this in April! The climate must be very different here as it was harvesting season not only for potatoes but for onions too, the smell of drying onions increased over the last few days, only rudely interrupted by the smell of diesel fumes from the many lorries and vans. Petrol is still so cheap here compared to Europe, with 1L costing around £1 or around ¥160. 

The journey today was one of my least enjoyable as it was mainly on A roads or dual carriage ways. Google maps couldn’t find any good roads, neither on Pedestrian setting nor pushing it towards detours. Oh well, it had to be done. I didn’t even fully realise that I was going to go 75km, so far my longest cycle. 

I had to watch the road like a hawk, as there were many potholes and the white lines that mark the side of the road provided an ever present challenge as they are raised high enough to derail my tyres. I had to always cross them consciously or even stay on top of them when the road was too narrow. I had many annoying close encounters with cars that just passed by too closely and never seemed to be using indicators to warn traffic behind them that I’m on the road. I also saw many people on their phones and it is totally legal here in Japan to watch TV whilst driving and most modern cars have a TV right in their dashboard. Eventually, I turned on my two red lights at the rear of my bike but was also painfully aware that I hadn’t charged them in a while. Despite all the challenges, there were was an amazing coastline to marvel at when I could and to indulge in some of the usual treats like strawberries and even a small jam-filled croissant on the go.

This whole thing continued for another 60 so Kilometers. At some point I needed to pick my final stop and I chose an Onsen and nearby park in Kushikino, hoping that the opening times are accurate. Just 10km. Effie my final destination it started to rain and I had to stop, get my rain gear out, rearrange my lights, change sunglasses from dark to mood limiting orange and continue the journey. 

I got to the Onsen just around 5.30 and it was super cheap with ¥450. I headed in and there was only one more person with me in the bath. I quickly looked for some charging opportunities and the nearby drying up and relax room had just that, phew. I hooked up my devices as they were all on their last leg. The Onsen was amazing, just all I needed with one hot bath, no cold pool but a cold tap. After bathing I went back to the rest room, had some water, stretched and chilled out. I was pretty knackered from the journey.

Sadly the ,Aussage chair didn’t work in the Onsen, it looked like it was as old as the Onsen itself and only took ¥10 coins but was also sadly switched off

After the Onsen I headed to the park near the ocean front. Sadly it didn’t turn out to be a great spot but something told me to just keep cycling. Eventually, I circumnavigates the little half-island and got back towards the harbour, with an amazing spot for my tent, with lights, ocean waves crushing onto the rocks underneath and a toilet 8min walk. Yeh! Life can be so simple.

Best campsite ever! Even all my clothes dried in the morning sun, the next day phew!

After changing, I headed into town, walking again to give my bum a break. As I was now further away than planned with my new tent spot, I had to also find a new restaurant. I picked a Japanese style fish restaurant some 1.5km away or 20min walk. The streets were dark, with only few street lights here and there. Thankfully google maps got me where I needed to be, or did it… I ended up in a restaurant that wasn’t quite the one I picked, but one that stood out as I approached it. I went in and picked a place by the bar. There was only me on the bar and behind some curtains another group of men.

I ordered some food, which took some time as the menue was in Japanese and google translate wasn’t up to the task. I pointed to some pictures on my phone and the chef understood. As I kept struggling with my phone, speaking my little Japanese and telling the, that I eat everything but meat, one of the members from the group of men approached me and struck up a conversation. After a few minutes, I was surrounded by all 3 of them and they insisted that I eat not alone but join their table. 

It turned out they were all medical doctors, with the most senior one in his early sixties, one in his early fifties and on around 40. None of them looked they age and all of them could speak some English. Our conversation topics ranged from work to health, to sports and that in Japan holiday is a precious good because most people have little of it and the one they have, often don’t use it. Two of the three doctors hadn’t travelled to Europe and only one had been to Italy and Austria. I invited them to come and visit London if they ever get a chance. We ordered some amazing food, of which I would have had no idea it was on the menu. I had a big salad with seafood and a grilled fish and ended with a bowl of noodles, apparently the way to end a drinking session here in Japan. I also had a refreshing glass of beer, which was much better than having 3, like the night before. I felt very happy that I ended up in this restaurant as the company was very pleasant and I didn’t even need to use google translate as we all muddled through the conversations with the little English they had and the little Japanese I have. Gosh, I want to get better at Japanese! We also exchanged business cards and became online friends. They left me with a note not to go up towards Fukuoka where I would end my journey using the coastal roads but to go via the mountains. I would even get to see the place where Japan was birthed, by the goddess Amaterasu, in Takachiho. I shall check this out as I know that the mountains here are beautiful…and steep!

To new friends!

As it was time to pay I ordered my bill but again, the group would not allow me to pay despite my strong insistence. I didn’t want to be disrespectful and turn down their hospitality or generosity. Happy, full and somewhat exhausted I headed back to my tent to get the best nights sleep so far. I slept through till 6.30am with the sun greeting me. Time to dry my clothes and plan the day.

On this journey

I have no streamers to offer up.

Instead, dear gods, if it pleases you,

may you take this maple brocade 

of Mount Tamuke’s colours.

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 12 - Encounters: Nagasaki to Kazusacho (58km via detours/419)

After my night out I woke up around 6.30, way too early for my liking. I packed my bags checked with reception to get a trolley and then went to write my blog. I wanted to check the local shop for a new mattress, but the shop wouldn’t open until 10 am so I browsed for my route and headed off to Starbucks just before 10 to get a coffee and finish uploading some pictures to the blog. Then I headed to the shop, sadly it was just a clothing shop with no mattress in sight. One of the shop assistants told me to go to another shop in another mall. Sadly here too, no mattress. At this time it was almost 12 noon and I eent back to the hotel to grab my stuff and start cycling.

Today should be an “easy” day, but I also need to take it easy as my cycle sores needed healing, and I didn’t want to overdo it. My plan was to get as close to the ferry port as close as possible and I picked a nice route along the ocean. The first 20 km were difficult. The streets were busy coming out of Nagasaki and there was lots of traffic. I didn’t enjoy cycling so much on busy streets. But eventually as the roads got quieter as I headed higher up into the mountains, the rice fields turned into potato fields. Apparently this region is really famous for its potatoes and vegetables. I went into one of the local shops picked a muffin and some strawberries for the road. I had to stop at one of the local convenience stores to check my plasters, which by now felt just as uncomfortable as the cycle sores themselves, as they presented just another foreign object on my skin. I then grabbed some more water and then was on my merry way. 

The roads overall were pretty bad compared to most of the days and in one of the larger towns, on a pretty big downhill, there were so many potholes that I couldn’t avoid. I continued cycling but had a bad feeling and after some checking, my front tire got damaged. It looks like some of the metal threads got broken and now there was a lump on one side. It seems okay to cycle but this can only go one of two ways, it’s either gonna stay the same or get worse over time. There’s no cycle shop that will have the same quality tires here so I will have to wait until I get to a bigger city or just manage. This is a bit unnerving as my tyres are so critical and they held up so well until now.

After another 10 km or so Google Maps told me to branch off into one to tiny Seaside Roads. This was the nicest cycle I’ve had so far with the road snaking around the coast - It was beautiful.

 I was close to my final resting spot, was another 10 km or so to go, I stumbled upon an interesting city, I already noticed oncoming cars with one lady having her head wrapped in a white towel and lots of smoke or steam coming from buildings and houses. This must be a Spa town. Indeed, this small city had over 10 Onsen of varying quality, sizes and prices in many locations, including 1 free foot spa by the beachfront that I had to check out. It was right next to the main street and many locals were just stuck to fit into the small hot water canal that snaked towards the ocean. I struck up a conversation with two locals who must’ve just come from work or we’re on a break. They told me that this is a famous area for hot springs and spas with a volcano in the middle of the island on mount Unzen.

I had to decide whether to quickly soak myself in one of the many local Onsen, because there might not be another one where I was going to stay tonight. I picked a really small one that was from 1937, as the elderly lady at the entrance told me after some Google translation magic. This spa really was a blast from the past. It’s a wooden lockers were from a time long gone. This Onsen had two entrances up front, one for men, and one for women, both overseen by an elderly lady indoors, who pointed me towards a ticket machine for ¥200. There was only one big bath and the water was boiling hot, but smooth and silky. Two elderly gentleman just left as I came in thought I had the bath to myself. I had to remove the plasters before going into the water and I don’t think I’m going to put them back on tomorrow. It just seems too messy and I’m not sure if it’s doing anything.

After the bath, I had another 10 km or so to go, but I was getting more hungry and I was looking for the restaurant to have some dinner in the place. I picked turned out to be a fish shop and not a restaurant which wasn’t very apparent from the outside, at least not for me. A young man with AirPods in his ears came out. He even spoke some English and told me that this was a fresh fish shop, and that there might be a good restaurant in either eight or 10 km away from here if I’m going down south. Eventually more family members came the sister the mum and dad we got talking and eventually they invited me to stay for some sashimi and rice balls. We enjoyed chatting to each other and eventually I parted with one of my two remaining Toffifee (chocolate) boxes. They then insisted to take some pictures for their Instagram account and we had a great time together. The father told me to go and visit his friend down at the next village who runs a Japanese restaurant.

By this time, my bum continued to hurt and I wasn’t really up for cycling that much further I had already picked a campsite and a local shop that would do some more food. This was another four or 5 km from where I met the friendly family. however, I got to the shop bought some dinner and then cycled down towards the harbour. Sadly the road leading to the campsite was broken and derelict and didn’t seem to be used for many years, I should’ve listened to the family and went straight to the restaurant where they also told me that the beach nearby is great for camping. Oh well listen to your intuition I had another big gulp of water and somehow those last few kilometres just flew by. 

Many tunnels, where only one car could pass, or me..

The shimmering light on the other side is where I came from earlier

The narrowest roads yet. Everyone here has tiny cars

By this time it was already 730 and the Sun had already gone down with a spectacular sunset. I quickly pitched my tent through my stuff into my tent and then walked a few hundred metres towards the Japanese restaurant. The owner immediately recognised me as the guy from the fresh fish shop had called ahead to inform him of my potential arrival. This felt very welcoming. I was greeted with a starter on the house. There was another local who was sitting next to me on the bar drinking shochu, an alcoholic beverage made from wheat with 25% alcohol. He insisted on sharing with me, which basically meant getting a glass with ice filling of shochu and topped up with water. Gosh, this drink is strong. I don’t know how he finished 2 1L bottles as I was sitting next to him eating my dinner. Eventually the owner came out and we talked for another hour using mainly Google translate in hands and feet. another guy from the bar joint in everybody tried to practice their small English and I continued to try my very best in Japanese. When stuff got too complicated. I had to use Google translate. Next door to the bar were the Izakaya style rooms, with floor seating and in one was a group of men having a dinner party. In the room next to it, with regular table was an 80’s party. Not that there was 80s music blasting from speakers, no, it was a meeting of octogenarian who were having a get together and to eat and drink in style. Everyone was well dressed but not overdressed, the way I would probably dress when I’m in my 80s. They seemed to be having a great time. With some we talked about what it took to get to 80. One said that it’s good health, simple lifestyle and good friends. That seems to resonate also with what research says in that social contact is a huge factor for people to age well and live long. 

The bar closed around I just left before that, very happy having met so many nice people today from the people at the foot spa to the fresh fish shop family all the way to the Japanese restaurant owners. 

Life is good! I headed to my tent, knowing I was going to sleep on just one mattress, with the other one still being broken and no replacement in sight. This wasn’t too bad as it was sandy beach. Regardless, I woke up a couple of times during the night at 2 am 4 am, 6:30 and eventually got up at 7:30. I had a dip in the ocean to wake myself up before packing my stuff and doing some blog dictation and writing. It seems that dictation is having many hearing/ writing issues so I’m still not sure what’s more effective.

Like water rushing down

the river rapids

we may be parted

by a rocks, but in the end

we will be one again