200km + A Bike + The Inland Sea

After an emotionally tolling day in Hiroshima, it was the body's turn. We began with a ferry ride from Hiroshima, made a quick stop at a maritime museum and then it was time to head out of the city. Dave and I were to be Vince's "guinea pigs" for a new tour he was planning to do in the future.

So I donned the tight lycra bike shorts, shedding a small amount of dignity, and headed off for what was to be a great few days. From the outset of our ride, it became clear to me that this was not the kind of landscape I affiliated Japan with and if I were to have guessed on sight where I was, I'm sure it would have been somewhere completely different.

Upon arriving at our accommodation on the first night (which was nothing short of phenomenal), I shed myself of clothes and apprehension soon after, to take part in a traditional Japanese tradition - the public bath (or onsen). It was a new experience for me, which I thoroughly enjoyed (and also felt a hell of a lot cleaner after copius amounts of sweating during that day of riding). Following the onsen, we were treated to a Japanese seafood extravanganza of sushimi, prawns, clams and grilled fish, accompanied by traditional Japanese tea. It was a bit confronting for Dave, understandably as he is vegan, but the food was magnificent. I did notice that the Japanese can make a small meal look deceptively big. Vince later told me that the Japanese have a concept in which they intend to only eat till they are 80% full, though I don't think that applies to Sumo wrestlers. Here are some photos of our seafood feast on the first night, with me and Dave dressed in traditional Japanese robes.

The following morning we were treated to a buffet, a rare commodity in our travels this year I'm sure. I can assure everyone that I made the most of this opportunity, and with the knowledge that I was about to ride 80kms, definately got value for money out of it. The day involved more riding along the coast and we also crossed the longest bridge I have ever seen, around 5km to get to the island of Shikoku. After a great lunch we arrived at our accommodation for the night, yet again in a beautiful setting nestled in the hills in the small Japanese town of Nibugawa, and went to another onsen, this time overlooking a creek. It was followed again by a seafood dinner in traditional style, accompanied by some sake - which in my opinion tastes somewhat similar to a cheap vodka - but I decided that it was a necessary thing to try while in the homeland of the rice wine.

My main source of apprehension for the whole ride centred around the following morning - a 15km climb. I told Vince and Dave that when speaking in relation to cycling, "climb" and "fun" should not be in the same sentence unless to say that "A climb is NOT fun". Luckily, I made it all the same and on reaching the peak of the hill I was greeted with a few hoots and smiles - and more importantly a 10km downhill to compensate.

The most interesting part of the final day for me was on the train home. As we crossed one of the many bridges from Shikoku on our way back to the mainland, we witnessed a myriad of huge ships passing through what must be a sheltered path between islands. It represented another side of Japan - the sheer scale of industrial activity. Probably sounds boring to most, but being interested in Economics this showed me the sheer scale of industrial activity on which Japan's economy prospers.

We returned to the mainland to a place called Matsiyama, where we were to go to a 300 year old onsen in the middle of the city. We had one factor against us, time. We had to get from the train station to the onsen across town and back again before our Shinkansen (bullet train) left at 3.30. Navigating through backstreets, we made it there in 20 minutes, and decided on a 15 minute time limit in the onsen. We then had half an hour to get back to the station, disassemble our bikes and get on the train. After an adrenaline fuelled ride through the city, we made it back in 10 minutes - which must have been some kind of record. We made it to the train on time, and upon getting back to Kyoto it certainly felt like home. A weird feeling considering we have been here for all but a week.

After the apprehension preceding the trip, and the satisfaction and enjoyment after the trip I (plus the sore quads) can say I thoroughly enjoyed our adventure. I'm sure that had it not been for Vince, I would never have seen the side of Japan I was lucky enough to experience. So I would like to thank him for his hospitality, and putting up with us and our horrible jokes over those few days - Cheers Vince!

I apologise if this update seems vague, I am quite tired after a big day. But a few people have been hassling me to do it (i.e Maia and Mum). Hope you enjoyed it. I'll keep anyone who is reading it posted with more stories from the land of Japan. Sayonara!