19 minute read

CYCLING JAPAN

from The BigChilli April 2020

from The BigChilli April 2020, page 12

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Two wheels over Japan

After watching two games of rugby in Kyoto and Tokyo in last year’s Rugby World Cup, Bangkok expat Andrew Macpherson stayed on in Japan to explore the country’s deep south by bike. Apart from tackling numerous grueling mountain rides, his epic 18-day journey also involved constant and sometimes fruitless searches for overnight accommodation.

Day 1. (15th Oct) 8.30 am start and I’m off on the coastal road to Ibusuki and on to Yamagawa, a 54 km ride from where I catch the ferry over to Nejime, which is a 50-minute crossing. On arrival, I decided to go to the most southerly point at Cape Sata, a 35 km ride from the ferry. Having watched the sun dropping in the sky, I figure it’s time to find a hotel. At 105 km and just as darkness is falling, my front tyre has a puncture. It’s quickly pitch black. This is where the roadside drink vending machines come into their own, by providing a much needed floodlit area to fix a puncture.

Puncture now fixed with a new inner tube, and with information from a local who stopped at the drink vending machine, who had advised me that the only place to find accommodation was by going 20 km back down the mountains I’d already climbed, or maybe about 40 km in the opposite direction.

Since I hadn’t spotted any accommodation in the previous 20 km, I opted for the road ahead and cycled off into the darkness, although I had lights on my bicycle at this point. A wrong turn at a junction found me on a track that petered out into a sandy beach, so a bit of backtracking was called for. Eventually with 153 km cycled that day I arrived in a town, where at about 11.30 pm the only sign of life was a lit window at a launderette. The bench in front of the window was to be my accommodation for my first night of the cycling trip, not quite what was planned. But with a rechargeable front light that had run out of power at least three hours earlier, I deemed it too dangerous to continue riding down more mountains without being able to see the roads.

Day 2. (16th Oct) 5.50 am start and my first stop was about 10 km down the road at the convenience store in Kinko, where the previous evening’s missed dinner and this morning’s breakfast was consumed. Then it was off and following the coastal road to the ferry at Sakurajima. This coastal route 224 brought me immediately below the most active volcano in Japan and the volcanic ash left me constantly needing to clear the grit out of my mouth as I’m cycling. Wearing glasses helped to protect my eyes, but they still were becoming irritated with the ash. Whenever I rode on a pavement or on any track that wasn’t well used that day, my tyres left a trail in the ash. It definitely can’t be a healthy environment to live in, but it is a natural environment nonetheless. Fifteen minutes after boarding the ferry and I’m already disembarking and with a booking made I’m soon heading to my hotel in Kagoshima City, located about 200 m from where I’d stayed two nights earlier. Just 75 km covered that day.

Day 3. (17th Oct) 8.30 am start and I’m heading off on the coastal road (Rte 10) which for the first 35 km has me riding in the area that’s also blanketed in volcanic ash from Sakurajima. I then get into the mountains and decide to try to make it to Miyakonojo, which is 76 km from my start point. After reaching Miyakonojo I had to cycle a further 20 km before I could find a hotel with a no smoking room.

Day 4. (18th Oct) 10.00 am start with the rain retreating to a light drizzle and then I’m off heading over the mountains towards the city of Miyazaki. At some point during the day I decide to book a room ahead of my arrival so at least I will be guaranteed a bed, even though I don’t know what the terrain will be like. My hotel in Nobeoka represents a 139 km ride for that day.

Day 5. (19th Oct) 9.45 am start and I decide that Saiki located just 66 km away is my destination. Not too many mountains and I’m in Saiki in the early afternoon and find a room at the first hotel I go to. I’m feeling so energetic I then go out for a 10 km ride around the city on my bicycle, just to remind me how nice it is to ride without the weight of my luggage on board.

Day 6. (20th Oct) 8.00 am start I head off over the mountains (or at least through the mountains) towards Oita and then start to check the apps for hotel availability. The rooms are ridiculously priced, some four or five times the usual rate. I was soon to realise why - the place is filled with foreigners here to watch the Rugby World Cup. England had played Australia the previous day and Wales were playing France later that day. I continued on my way and headed for Buzen. Going over the mountain from Rte 10 over Rte 24 was a most exhausting 343 m climb in the midday heat, taking me almost three quarters of an hour just to cover a 4.6 km stretch of a 7.4% gradient hill. I eventually arrived at Yashitomi after cycling 138 km and easily found a hotel for the night.

Day 7. (21st Oct) 10.15 am start and I ride on the road running parallel to the coast before heading to Kanmon to make the crossing to Shimonoseki. Problem was when

No rooms available, so it’s a launderette for me!! It’s midnight and lone cyclist Andrew, now shivering from the cold, can’t find a place to stay

Day 10. (24th Oct) 9.15 am start, which saw me pedaling along the north west coast of Western Japan (Japan Sea coast of Shimane prefecture), where I cycled from Masuda to Hamada, a distance of just 42 kms. I was planning to continue to the city of Oda, which was a further 65 km along the coastline, however the weather was against me and I made a decision to head inland in search of better weather. I picked the city of Kake located 65 km inland as my destination for the night, thinking it’s the same distance as I’d planned to ride anyway, and set off in that direction. The weather didn’t improve, but at least I’d no longer be battling the headwinds coming off the Sea of Japan I’d been experiencing along the coastline.

At one point during the days ride I saw a sign that read ‘Alps’ and a roadside temperature reading showing that it was 12° which when soaking wet from the rain and an additional drenching coming from almost every passing vehicle, (such things happen when traveling on roads with deep surface water, or streams running down the mountainous roads) made for a less than enjoyable day’s cycling. However, I was still in good spirits as I knew it would soon be over, counting off the kms covered as I neared my destination city of Kake. Having cycled up a mountain with an elevation of over 700 m, I was able to enjoy the downhill ride, albeit a rather cold ride.

Next thing I’m arriving into Kake and and it’s just starting to get dark. Time to get onto the Agoda app and find a hotel for the night. Because of the foul weather, this is the first time since early in the day that I fetch my phone out of my waterproof pannier bag. Unfortunately the phone is damp and it seems the battery isn’t good. Switching over to a new battery, I find it’s the phone that is wet and not working. I think ‘never mind, and dip into the other pannier bag and retrieve my backup phone, which I had safely stowed away at the bottom of the bag with a fully charged battery. Opening the other bag I discovered that everything is damp and as I reach to retrieve the phone realise that there’s at least 50 mm of water in the bag and the phone is fully submerged. That’s my backup phone gone.

Having now lost my ability to use a booking app to find a room, and unable to use the Google trans

No rooms available, so it’s a launderette for me!! It’s midnight and lone cyclist Andrew, now shivering from the cold, can’t find a place to stay

late app to assist with my enquiries, I set out to just ride around the town/city in search of accommodation. After a fruitless search I’m now feeling very cold, and shaking with the cold. Then I see a light at a workshop at the back of someone’s house and ask for assistance. The kind guy can see I’m not in good shape and fetches me a chair to sit on while telling me to wait while he jumps in a truck to go and see if he can find someone who can assist me.

Ten minutes later he arrives back and tells me to follow him down the road to the school where the English language teacher is waiting to assist me. She then asks the name of the place I’m looking for, and upon learning I don’t actually have anywhere, she discusses my situation and then informs me that there’s actually no accommodation in this town! However, there is a place about 20 km back up the mountain road that I’ve just come down, but don’t worry, this gentleman will give me a lift with my bicycle in his truck back up to the top of the mountain.

Being so wet and cold I’m now thinking, what if it’s the same tomorrow and I have to come down that mountain in the morning in the cold rain? At this point I ask what is the next town further down the mountain that would have accommodation. They tell me it’s 38 km to Hiroshima, but advise against it because of the danger of riding in pitch darkness and in such terrible weather.

Thinking (foolishly) to myself now that I’ve stopped shaking from the cold and that I have three hours of battery power in my bicycle lights, I ask whether there are any more mountains that I need to climb if I ride on to Hiroshima. They say it’s pretty much downhill all the way and any uphill sections aren’t too steep or long.

Thanking them for their assistance I ride off into the dark, wet night. Even though it’s probably only 6 pm, it’s already a pitch black night. Riding through tunnels gave momentarily shelter from the weather, but I couldn’t stop as they aren’t fun places to be in when other traffic comes,

so I continued pedalling down the road until I reached the welcome sight of Hiroshima’s bright lights..

From then on, I was on the lookout for a hotel, and followed the signs that would lead me to the main railway station, since there’s always lots of hotels near a railway station. Arriving outside the station about 7.30 pm, I head for the nearest big hotel and find they are fully booked. I try the hotels on the opposite side, physically visiting them one by one and find they are fully booked; I am no longer

requesting a non-smoking room, as absolutely any room will do. I’m now getting very cold as I continue my visit to each hotel. Many hotels were very helpful, phoning around and pinpointing possibilities, only for me to find they’re full. After trying 40 different places, I started looking to for a Lawsons convenience store with a launderette attached. I figured at least I could use the dryers to dry some clothes for myself and also the heat from the drying machines would warm me up - and I could get my dinner from the attached shop. I hadn’t stopped to eat since having an early lunch sandwich. En route to find a launderette I spotted a sign for a capsule hotel, not quite what I had hoped for at that time of night, but it was a more welcoming sight than many a five-star hotel on any given day. It was 11.45 PM and with 169 km cycled that day, I walked into the lobby of the Hiroshima Peace Hotel and learned that they had a capsule in a dormitory that was available for me.

Five minutes later with towels rented, a pair of shorts and a T-shirt in the tumble dryer, I took a long hot shower to get myself warmed up. I came out of the shower just as the dryer stopped and wearing dry and warm clothes I headed up to my capsule. At 00.20 am I crawled into what was a very comfortable bed in a capsule hotel, I took my phones apart and placed them to ensure drying them out with body heat, and I thought to myself, I’ll have a day off tomorrow.

I arrived in Kanmon I couldn’t find any bridge except the Expressway bridge which had signs saying no bicycles, so I headed off looking for a ferry to make the crossing. Soon found there was a tunnel below the sea and that was the route for pedestrians and cyclists and those on small motorcycles. A lift took me down to the entrance and then it was a case of pushing the bicycle through the tunnel, just under 1 km in length. Upon reaching the surface at the other side, I met a fellow touring cyclist, an American out of the Philippines, who said that I was the first fellow touring cyclist that he’d met in his almost two-month cycling tour in Japan; he was the first one that I had met since I had started my ride. Not being too late in the day I arrived in Shimonoseki and managed to find a room in the fourth hotel that I visited.

Day 8. (22nd Oct) 9.30 am start and I followed Rte 191 which was mostly a coast road but eventually became a very steep 253 m mountain climb towards the end of the day as I had decided that Hagi was my destination at 109 km cycled that day. No hotel rooms available here so I used an app to find a guest house, I should describe it as a shared dormitory. However, after warning the other guests about my snoring, I was given a dorm to myself.

Day 9. (23rd Oct) 8.30 am start and after not too long I figure I should book a room at a distance that I can confidently reach. I note two cities showing hotels available, so I book a hotel in the nearer city and after just 66 km cycling along Rte 191, all the time on the coast road, I arrive in Masuda before the 3pm check in time. Day 10. (24th Oct) See box story.

Day 11 (25th October) Checked into the Hiroshima Crowne Plaza Hotel, handed my bicycle to the concierge and enjoyed a day off.

Day 12 (26th October) 9.45 am start and I’m heading for Fukuyama, following Hwy # 2 most of the way. However, somewhere around Onomichi I found myself on the Expressway and there was nowhere to exit it, (high fences and barriers along the sides). After a very fast approximately 10 km cycling at an average speed of 34.9 kph for half of that 10 km distance, I found an exit onto a rural road and headed for the nearest 7-11 for a break.

As I’m exiting the shop a police car pulls up and out come two policemen to speak to me about my cycling on the motorway. With the assistance of Google Translate I explained what had happened and how once I realised my mistake I couldn’t find a way out of my predicament. They took details of my passport and said not to do it again.

Soon afterwards I’m back on the road and arrived in Fukuyama with 109 km covered and started to look for a hotel. After six hotels visited and no vacancies I’m on the booking app to find a hotel in the nearest town, and then it started to rain. In my new panic to find a hotel I tried another booking app that I’d not used before and in my rush to secure a room I found I’d made a non-refundable booking, not for a hotel in Fukuyama but in Fukushima. I’d just paid over double what I’d been paying for hotel rooms previously and the hotel I had booked was over 900 km away. Tried to cancel but to no avail, so moving on I found

a room available in a bunkhouse, a mere 20 km cycle ride into the hills. At least I had a bed to look forward to and as it turns out a very warm welcome by the folks that own the place.

Day 13 (27th October) 8.45 am start and having chatted with the owner the suggestion was that instead of just heading towards Tokyo, I should ride a very famous Japanese cycle route, The Shimanami Kaido from Onomichi to Imabari, which is a 70 km ride across six islands. Having to cycle the three km back to the start of the route, it’ll be a 105 km ride for the day. Before leaving the guesthouse I make my hotel booking for that evening in Matsuyama. The route adds a lot of extra distance to my day’s ride, including lots of up and down mountains in the dark. I eventually arrive at my hotel having covered 163 km that day.

Day 14 (28th October) 9.15 am start and follow the coastline for the first 60 km before arriving into Uwajima with 108 km covered for the day

Day 15 (29h October) 10.00 am start, Uwajima is a small city by the sea and surrounded by mountains. Despite the rain, I was eager to get going as I knew I had a fair distance to cover and that the chances of mountains was fairly high. I was to follow Rte 320 for 33 km until the fork in the road and then take the right fork and follow Rte 197. Of course I should have started wondering why there wasn’t any other traffic, but I was already a good 10 km up into the hillside before I realised I was on the wrong road. I figured it would probably come out and join Rte 197 sooner or later, but after a total of 17 km mostly cycling uphill I came to the end of that road, then had to backtrack to the junction of Rte 320, where just around the next corner was the fork in the road that I should have taken. Trying to make up for a lost hour and a half is pretty much impossible on mountainous routes and made even more so when I needed to stop and fix my rear wheel puncture. I found a small road that bypassed Susaki and eventually after 157 km covered for the day’s ride I reached my pre-booked accommodation at the side of the Niyodo River.

Day 16 (30th October) 9.15 am start and it’s a long gradual uphill climb. Today was a bit different in that apart from a very long tunnel section of just over 5 km, I was following a river, or rivers for 70 km out of my total 82 km ride to Saijo.

Day 17 (31st October) 9.15 am start and having decided that rather than take a ferry off the island, which was one option, the other was to cycle back over the The Shimanami Kaido six islands. Actually I would have preferred to cycle to Naruto and then cross the bridge to Awaiji Island and then on to Kobe. However there was no train or ferry on that route and bicycles weren’t allowed on the bridges over these islands. Therefore I decided that if I cycled to Sakaide I would take my bike on the train for the 50-minute crossing to Okayama. I arrived at the Sakaide midafternoon after a 90 km ride, dismantled my bicycle and put it in the bag for taking on the train, booked some accommodation in Okayama and 50 minutes later after coming off the train. I was now only 50 km away from where I had stayed the night on Day 12! I re-assembled the bike and rode to my accommodation, which was my first time in a booking. com apartment.

Day 18 (1st November) 7.45 am start and head first to Hemeji (where I had visited 22 days earlier by train) and then on to Kobe before eventually reaching Osaka, a total distance of 191.58 km covered for my longest ever distance cycled. I decided that as I needed to be back in Bangkok sometime mid-week at the latest, rather than attempting to cycle the remaining 600+ km to Tokyo, I would try to fly back to Bangkok from here, and the following day I managed, not without some difficulty, to make a phone booking for a Sunday afternoon flight.