21/10/2014 - Cycle Touring Japan - Day 29 - Pummeled into the road by rain.

 

Distance cycled: 107.4km from north of Imari to Nagasaki, Kyushu, Japan. 
Average speed: 19.1Km/h
Moving Time: 5h36m
Elevation Ascended: 1359m
Total Distance on Current trip: 2507km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 9,783km
Money spent: $65

I've cycled in a torrential downpour before but never had it lasted as long as it did today. Being wetter than any human being alive today I had rain drops force themselves into my lower eyelids making it difficult to keep them open to see the now reflective surface of the road.
There were some sketchy moments where I aquaplaned almost losing control but to add to this treacherous situation my brakes (like always) didn't work when they were wet..
..eventually I made it to Nagasaki safe and sound and also where the weather had cleared and I was happy to receive the warming properties of the sun through the overcast sky.
Checking into the hostel I randomly ran into Derek, a German guy I met in both Hiroshima and Miyajima. We cycled around some parts of the city to see what was left of Chinatown which was tiny, two roads converging in the center, an extremely expensive place for Chinese food, more expensive than I have ever seen Chinese food before, it was ridiculous.
With Dutch, Portuguese and Chinese influence this city differs much from other cities I have visited in Japan with many European styled homes and what seems like more open minded people.
Nestled amongst high peaks this port town seems to have a lot to offer with many parks and many photo ops in the evenings as the bridges and decorative designs around water features are well illuminated. Hopefully tomorrow the rain with stop for me to take shots of them.
I'll be spending two nights here hoping that the weather clears.

A beautiful morning

Some pics of Nagasaki

20/10/2014 - Cycle Touring Japan - Day 28 - Hungover like hell!

 

Distance cycled: 70.4km from Fukuoka to some island that is only accessible by a walking bridge, Kyushu, Japan.
Average speed: 16.5Km/h
Moving Time: 4h16m
Elevation Ascended: 998m
Total Distance on Current trip: 2,400km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 9,890km
Money spent: $15

I started the day feeling rough as hell, it was difficult to stomach anything and I know that mixing beer with anything will kill me the next day, but does this mean I listen to myself... Of course not, it gets me every time. There is no way I could become an alcoholic, I regret drinking every morning after a night out in the drink.
This wasn't going to stop me from cycling today. It's predicted that another storm is passing through the region and will be hitting Nagasaki tomorrow late evening.
Hopefully I can make it to Nagasaki before the storm hits.
I struggled all day today, only guessing I was cycling in the right direction. I didn't so much want to cycling over a mountain pass so I stuck mostly to the coast.
Getting out of Fukuoka turned out to be very easy, typically its a nightmare getting out of a city in a bicycle but here I'll give Fukuoka a big thumbs up for the road network.
In the late afternoon when looking for a place to sleep as my eyes were sinking into the back of my head I stumbled across a very nice beach with a walkway over to an island just out from shore. This turned out to be a spectacular place to camp for the night and certainly one of the best places I have found, surrounded by the sounds of the sea 360 degrees.
Just perfect! Ok, time for sleep. Zzzzzzz

Best bakery in Japan, but that’s not saying much..

19/10/2014 - Cycle Touring Japan - Day 27 - Fukuoka, not much seen of the city but a great night in.

Distance cycled: 50km from Shikano island to Fukuoka, Kyushu, Japan
Average speed: 15.6Km/h
Moving Time: 3h11m
Elevation Ascended: 726m
Total Distance on Current trip: 2,330km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 9,960km
Money spent: $50

I'm now down into the remaining 4 digits until I can say I have cycled the circumference of earth!
So this was my day of celebratory drinks for such an occasion.
I had made it to the hostel in Fukuoka where I checked in expecting to meet fellow travelers wandering the halls and in the room as yesterday all hostels were fully booked up for the night. There wasn't anyone about so I got chatting to the girl who worked there, Alyssa, a free spirited Japanese girl who had travelled and was always smiling. We got along just chatting away after I had freshened up (it had been something like 5 days since I last had a shower).
There were a bunch of things I wanted to see in town but I was far too tired to mount my bicycle and set off in the city in the evening.
Thankfully two American guys showed up, Mel and Waddie, just awesome characters who made my night especially after finding out my achievement this day where drinks were freely distributed into my stomach to the point where it came back up again.. Twice.
I've become such a lightweight when it comes to alcohol and every morning after anything more than 2 beers I will have a hangover. 
Showing each other magic tricks, yapping  away with stories of our adventures and good having great banter was exactly what I needed. There didn't need to be music, or dancing (actually, you have to go to a specific dancing club to dance and in a bar you will be kindly asked to stop, something to do with license restrictions)
Good old fashioned drunk talk and lots of good laughs, even some Japanese guys staying in the hostel joined us for shots of rice wine.

 

Morning View of Fukuoka

Cruise Machine!

Animals at the park

Ocean Views

 

Mel and Alyssa at the hostel.

18/10/2014 - Cycle Touring Japan - Day 26 - Woop Woop, 3/4 of the distance of the circumference of Earth now cycled! Celebratory times needed.

 

Distance cycled: 128km from north of Shimonoseki to the far western point of Shikano island, Kyushu, Japan.
Average speed: 21.1Km/h
Moving Time: 5h57
Elevation Ascended: 1323m
Total Distance on Current trip: 2,280km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 10,010km
Money spent: $12

Would you look at that, with my ability of addition I have cycled precisely 3/4 of the circumference of earth as of this moment. Tomorrow when I finally make it to Fukuoka I will be counting down only four digits.
This would be a great time to celebrate quite an accomplishment however as I was making my way into Fukuoka and realizing it was a Saturday I stopped by a seven eleven to look at hostel locations using hostelworld and I saw that all the cheap accommodations were fully booked up. Of course I would have found a place to stay but a hotel without atmosphere is not worth the money.
So, instead I headed out to an island that was linked to the mainland by bridges between the Genkai Sea and Hakata bay, it was either this or look for a place to camp in the city.
And here I am now on the west coast of Shikano island with my tent pitched in an abandoned toilet block, under shelter that is only a stones throw away from the beach. Of course I could sleep on the beach but tonight is particularly windy.
It's funny, as I'm limited to the things I have with me as a celebratory indulgence I am simply dipping my chocolates in peanut butter. It's awesome; don't mock, it's all I have right now.
I'm tired and need a good nights rest, so that's it, that's all; time for sleep... But first, more chocolate.

... With any luck it won't be as cold as it was last night.

Kanmon Tunnel

 

Nice man at a ferry terminal saluting me farewell

Scenic views on route

 

17/10/2014 - Cycle Touring Japan - Day 25 - Akiyoshi Dai and Dou

 

Distance cycled: 89km from Hagi to North of Shimonoseki, Western Honshu, Japan.
Average speed: 16.8Km/h
Moving Time: 5h11m
Elevation Ascended: 1385m
Total Distance on Current trip: 2,152km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 10,138km
Money spent: $23

Admittedly a big school trip destination and local tourist hotspot, Akiyoshi Dai is certainly an incredible place to see. On the surface is a vast grassland and limestone plateau that is the second largest in Japan and beneath is the largest cave in the country but second largest in Asia.
Cycling the road to reach the plateau was steep but arriving at where the grassland begins was reminiscent of my trips to northern Scotland. It was a welcome change but strange for the scenery to abruptly change as it did and it was for me something new to gander as I cycled by.
Formed from what was once a coral reef this 'karst' tableland has given archeologists and scientists some understanding of what creatures first inhabited the region hundreds of thousands of years ago.
There were a few viewpoints along the way overlooking the plateau but what lay beneath was far more interesting for me.
What is known as Akiyoshi dau is a cave 30 meters deep 20 meters wide and a kilometer in length. For the price of 1200¥ ($12) I gathered my camera gear and entered this cave and explored.
When I mean "explore" I mean follow the well beaten track that everyone else follows, unfortunately this included the ridiculous amounts of school kids blocking the paths and not watching where they were walking knocking my tripod when I was taking a long exposure (!) note: no concept of spatial awareness. Needless to say they were annoying however this place was spectacular, just the shear size of the cave was enough to keep anyone enthralled.

Having spent more than two hours in the cave it took a while for my eyes to adjust to the bright light of the outdoors - today was particularly sunny and hot and an ideal day to sit on my bike and not exhort myself in any way.
This was my attitude, simply relaxed.. However my route took me to places that interrupted this idealistic state of mind; first I thought I could take a short cut down an old road that became progressively more overgrown the further I entered to the point where I cut up my legs from spiked branches.
Secondly I had a 2km stretch of swarms of bugs beside a river that made it difficult to breathe as they pummeled my face, arms and legs as I cycled into them
And Thirdly, the mosquitoes this afternoon when pitching my tent were relentless and unforgiving, as much as I enjoy taking pictures of insects I also resent them especially the ones that bite.
 

Leaving Hagi and hitting up the high road

Enter the high plains Akiyoshi Dai

Entering into the Cave

 

Akiyoshi Dau Cave

Found a converted shipping container with nothing but vending machines filled with sex toys

One of the few roads I took that led nowhere