Iwakuni City - The Land of Rocks

This morning, the owner of Wakasagi-no-Yado Minshuku offered to send me and my bike to the top of Aonoyama. He said that from there, it would be a relatively downhill ride to Iwakuni City. Being lazy, I accepted his offer...hahaha.... Furthermore, looking at my map I saw that even after he dropped me off, I would still have to ride a good 80km to Iwakuni City. So I thought, why kill my legs? lol...

On my way to Iwakuni

The sign below states that this is the highest point on national highway #187. #187 was the road that will bring me into Iwakuni City so you can imagine how happy I was to see that sign! Iwakuni City is a coastal area, so if that sign is the highest point, it can only mean that its a downhill ride all the way!

Taking a break from braking to take a picture

I stopped at a small town called Miwa-cho to have my lunch by the river. In Japanese, Miwa means beautiful river and this town that was built along the river definitely deserves that name! Lunch was a simple affair of coke and onigiri. Very fusion huh! lol

Lunch point by the river

The beautiful Nishiki River that accompanied me all the way from Miwa-cho to Iwakuni City for over 50km

Entering Iwakuni City at around 3pm, I checked into the Iwakuni International Sightseeing Hotel. A very nice and comfortable business hotel with extremely professional staff. Leaving my stuff in the room, I immediately went to see the famous Kintaikyo Bridge. This bridge was built in the shogun era for samurai to use. Not a single nail was used in its construction and the entire bridge was made just from wooden planks! Beautiful huh... According to the signboard, commoners were not allowed to use the bridge and had to cross the river by boat. Only samurai could walk over it. Even today, they still discriminate between the rich and poor by charging 200yen just to cross the bridge... I, of course, boycotted it... hahaha... I used the free bridge which was 200m away to get to the other side.

Crossing to the other side, I took a 2min cable car ride up the mountain to go take a look at Iwakuni Castle. Having passed by castles in Fukuoka, Kokura, Hagi and Tsuwano, this is the first castle that I will actually be going in!

The view of Iwakuni City from the top of the mountain

The castle looked magnificent from the outside, but inside it was rather non-descript. It`s basically been converted into a museum housing artifacts from the feudal period of Japan.

Iwakuni-jo (Iwakuni Castle)

One of the many swords on display in the castle

After visiting the castle, I just managed to catch the last cable car back down to my hotel. Otherwise, I would have had to hike 30mins down the mountain. Something that I really do not want to do after 80km of riding!

Waiting for the cable car to arrive

Going back to the hotel, I decided to check out the `roten-buro` or outdoor bath. Its basically a huge outdoor bathtub that was constructed on the roof of the hotel. Nice view of Kintaikyo bridge, but the water was a little too hot so I came out after 5 minutes... hahaha....

My room which was about the size of a closet

The hallway to the `roten-buro`

Night Ride

Left Hagi City at around 7am in the morning today. The previous night, Yoneda-san advised me to take the shorter prefectural road #13 to Tsuwano instead of the longer national highway #9. That proved to be very good advice as it saved me a lot of time and suffering...hahaha.... You see, the route between Hagi and Tsuwano was divided by a mountain. If I were to take the longer route, it would have just meant an extra hour or two spent climbing the mountain with my overweight bike!

Taking one last look at Hagi City before I left for Tsuwano

Shortcut to the town of Tsuwano

I managed to make it to Tsuwano rather early at around 2pm. Referring to my Lonely Planet Japan, I checked into Wakasagi-no-Yado Minshuku. It cost 4,500yen per night but as you can see below, it was a very spacious tatami room with comfortable futons and even my own television. The owners were a very friendly Japanese couple who did their best to make me comfortable.

My tatami room in Wakasagi-no-Yado Minshuku

The town of Tsuwano is a very small one with a population of 6,500. Its primary industry is tourism as visitors from all over Japan come to see Tsuwano castle and Taikodani Inari Shrine. The moat around Tsuwano castle is famous for its Koi. Apparently, in the Shogun era, samurai in Tsuwano castle bred Koi in the moats as emergency food in case they were besieged by their enemies. Anyways, that expected siege never came, so the Koi were never eaten and nowadays there`s supposed to be thousands of Koi in the moats!

There`s also an observatory in nearby Nichihara which is about 10km away from Tsuwano. I wanted to take a look, so since the observatory only opens at night, I decided to take a short nap before starting my sightseeing.

Unfortunately, by the time I woke up it was already 6pm and fast getting dark! The castle was rather far away so I had to give that a miss. Instead, I headed for Taikodani Inari Shrine which was 5 minutes walk from my accomodation. Taikodani Inari Shrine is a large shrine built on the side of the mountain. From the entrance, I had to take a 2 minute hike up a couple flights of steps to reach the actual shrine.

Entrance to Taikodani Inari Shrine

The steps up to the actual shrine

Climbing to the shrine, it gave me a panaromic view of Tsuwano town which was built parallel along the Tsuwano river. After the shrine, it was almost dark, so I grabbed a quick discount bento at the nearby supermarket and started by ride to Nichihara Observatory. Before I left, the owners of the minshuku which I was staying at tried to dissuade me from going and offered to give me a lift there and back, but I stubbornly refused. This was a decision that I I stubbornly refused. This was a decision that I regretted about an hour later!

Initially, the ride towards Nichihara on national highway #9 was rather easy. It was downhill most of the way and the air was cool. The only thing was that it was getting rather dark and there were quite a lot of large trucks passing by the area. Luckily, I had all my lights on so visibility wasn`t that much of a problem.. YET...

As I entered the town of Nichihara, it was totally dark! Being a small town in the countryside, Nichihara did not have much street lighting. Using my Cateye front lamp, I was somehow able to spot the signs pointing towards the Nichihara Observatory. The problem came when I reached the beginning of the road to the observatory. It was completely dark and isolated!

Being an observatory, it was located at the top of a mountain, whereas I was in the town at the foot of the mountain. So, now I had to climb up the narrow isolated mountain road in total darkness! To make matters worse, the temperature had suddenly fallen from 21 degrees celsius when I left Tsuwano to 8 degrees celsius by the time I had reached Nichihara. Totally regretted not heeding the owners advice! hahahaha....

Oh well, since I was there already I had no choice but to proceed right? So I slowly made my way up the mountain. It was 3km to the observatory but the slope was so steep that I kept going in zigzags! By the time I reached the top 30 mins later, I had made up my mind - I shall succumb to the owners` offer and call him to pick me up on the way back! lol...

Reaching the observatory, there were only 2 visitors that night - Myself and another lady who had driven up. As a result, this meant that we had the telescope all to ourselves. The resident astrologist had the huge telescope hooked up to his computer, so we could practically view any constellation or planet we wanted! haha.. he even gave us a running commentary about the stars that we were looking at, but unfortunately, my Japanese astrological vocabulary is very limited so I couldn`t understand half of what he was saying! hahahaha....

All　in all, despite the gruelling ride up the mountain to the observatory, the wonderful starscapes that I managed to catch with the Nichihara telescope made it all worthwhile! Next time, I`ll think twice before riding up a mountain at night in total darkness though!

The Youth Hostel that Wasn't for Youths

Today, I woke up with a slightly swollen right knee. I guess this must be the effect of yesterday`s intensive climbing up the slopes towards Mine City. Anyways, after putting some of the ointment given by Eileen`s grandma and wrapping my knee in a kneeguard, it was still a little sore but I was good to go!

Left Mine Grand Hotel at around 8 in the morning and headed straight for Akiyoshidai which is the most well-known attraction in the area. Akiyoshidai is a limestone plateau that was supposedly a huge coral reef 300 million years ago. This means that 300 million years ago, the area where this plateau was situated was totally covered with water!

Underneath this plateau, erosion created a very large cave called Akiyoshido. Below, you see the entrance to this cavern as well as a dark shot of the cavern`s interior.

Entry into this area cost me 1,200yen and it covered entrance both to Akiyoshidai and Akiyoshido. I first explored the cave, and from the center of the cave, I took an elevator that went straight up to the top of the plateau. From there, it was a short hike to Akiyoshidai observatory where I could get a good view of the entire plateau and the surrounding highlands.

After spending about 2 hours at the Akiyoshidai area, it was time to head towards my destination city of the day, Hagi City. Although Hagi is situated in the Chugoku Sanchi as well, it was located along the northern coast of western Honshu. Being a coastal town, this meant that it had an altitude of 0m above sea level. This translated for rather easy riding for me as I cruised downhill most of the way from Akiyoshidai (225m above sea level) to Hagi (0m above sea level).

The Downhill Route to Hagi City

Upon reaching Hagi City in the evening, I decided to give sightseeing a pass as I was quite tired. However, I did go check out the famous Hagi-yaki. Hagi-yaki is earthenware that is specially made in Hagi City. It is said to be the 2nd best quality in Japan, coming after Kyoto earthenware. So, I went to a shop recommended by the Lonely Planet guidebook and bought a nice coffee mug for my mom at 2,500yen. It was beautiful!

After my shopping, I attempted to look for Hagi Youth Hostel. The map wasn`t very clear so it took me about an hour to locate it. Checking in, I found out that I was going to share a room with 3 other persons. Naturally, I expected it to be people of around my age, it being a youth hostel and all.... but, after I came out of my shower, I saw 3 guys in the room, all in their 40's! hahaha... it is soooo not a youth hostel man!

Anyways, it was a great fun sharing the room with Yoneda-san, Sekihara-san and Murakami-san. Yoneda-san was also on a cycling holiday, but his was a short weekend ride to the city of Hagi. He`s a really nice guy who gave me a packet of his favorite Japanese crackers specifically to be eaten with beer, according to him.

Sekihara-san is a portly salaryman who was in Hagi for a course that he had to complete for his long-distance degree. He was really helpful in showing me the terrain and the way for the next few days as he had a Japan driving atlas... lol... it was even more detailed than mine....

As for Murakami-san, I didn`t have a chance to talk to him much as he went out for a movie after dinner, but all I know is that he was very friendly and he stays in Eastern Hiroshima City.

Oh well, although Hagi Youth Hostel isn`t really a youth hostel, I must say that it was really great fun and a wonderful experience getting to meet and talk to these people!

Goodbye Kyushu Island!

Today is the day that I say goodbye to Kyushu Island - its friendly people, chanpon and hakata-bijin! I woke up rather late in the morning and set off for a bike shop called Click! in Kokura City. Shinji had earlier reserved a portable bike bag for me to collect. With it, I should be able to get on trains, buses and ferries should the need arise.

On the way to Kokura City, I stopped by a small neighborhood park to use the washroom there. When I came out, I saw an old lady admiring my bike. She asked me where I was cycling to so I described to her my planned journey from Fukuoka to Tokyo. And she was so nice! She wanted to give me a gift for good luck but she didn`t have anything with her, so she gave me her apple that she had brought out as a snack. Really sweet huh? And it was a huge apple too!

Sarakura-yama or Mount Sarakura in the background

Kokura Castle - Passed by it on my way to Click!

After I picked up my little big bag from Click!, that cost me 5,985yen, I continued to make my way towards the coastal town/port of Moji. Moji was where the Kanmon Tunnel was located and I planned to use that tunnel to cross into Shimonoseki City in Honshu Island. Surprisingly, as I cycled along the coastal route towards Moji Port, there wasn`t much headwind to contest with.

On the way to Moji Port and the Kanmon Tunnel

Oh yeah, along the way to Moji Port, passed by the Asahi Beer Company Moji Port Brewery - XT, this picture is for you... hahahaha...

Moji Port Asahi Beer Brewery

Mehari Shrine - The Northernmost Shrine on Kyushu Island

I finally reached the Kanmon Tunnel at around noontime. The tunnel is an 800m long undersea tunnel connecting Moji in Fukuoka Prefecture to Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture. It is free for pedestrians to use, but cyclists have to pay a token fee of 20yen. There`s a seperate tunnel for vehicles that runs parallel to the pedestrian/cyclist tunnel.

Half my bike in Fukuoka Prefecture and half my bike in Yamaguchi Prefecture

Crossing over into Honshu Island, I start to ride for Mine City (pronounced as Mi-Neh). It didn`t look that far on the map so I was expecting to reach there before 5pm. Little did I know that a mountain stood between me and my destination!

Random monkey sculpture that I took a picture of before I hit the mountain roads

Today, I experienced my first mountain pass in Japan. Little did I know that this was just a hint of what kind of riding I was to do in the next few days. Later on, I found out from one of the owners of the hotels that I stayed at that I was entering the Chugoku Sanchi or Middle Kingdom Mountain Range.

The Mountain Roads to Mine City

By the time I entered Mine City, it was just getting dark at around 7pm! I was just glad to be able to check into a hotel, even though it cost 5,775yen. Leaving my stuff, I headed out to get some much needed fuel for my weary body. And that`s when I discovered something very important!

Japanese supermarkets all have a section selling freshly cooked food such as corokke, bentos and other yummy stuff. However, due to quality control reasons, they have to clear such foodstuffs by the end of a business day. SO, if u go to a Japanese supermarket about 1 hour before their closing time, all such leftovers are going for 50% discount! hahahaha....

I couldn`t resist it and bought enough food for my dinner, supper, breakfast and lunch - all for only 1,550yen!

A Day with Shinji

Today, I was supposed to meet Shinji Abe at Munakata Shrine at 1100hrs. He came right on time and we went off riding after paying a short visit to Munakata Shrine.

He brought me along for a very scenic coastal ride which followed the coast of Genkai, or the Gen Sea. At first, it was rather difficult for me to keep up with a roadie using my fully loaded 40kg bike and battling strong coastal headwinds. But luckily, after awhile, Shinji realised that I was always like 100m behind him, so he started to slow down... hahaha...

Riding along the coast of Genkai

Lunch was a ramen-like meal called Chanpon. The difference was that unlike ramen, Chanpon had lots of vegetables and meat piled on top. Forgot to take a picture of it though!

After lunch, Shinji brought me to Ashiya Village. This place is well-known for the production of iron tea kettles called Ashiyagama. Such kettles are then used in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, Sado. Each kettle is unique and takes months to produce!

Ashiyagama and other tools used in Sado

After a very yummy and authentic cup of matcha that cost me 300yen, we continued our ride towards Shinji`s house in Mizumaki Town. He brought me along a nice cycling track by the river and various backroads to avoid the heavy traffic in Kitakyushu City.

Taking a short break at his house, we then continued on to Kurosaki Town where I was to stay for the night. Left my bike in the hotel, took a quick shower then went downstairs for dinner with Shinji.

Dinner was Shinji's treat. He brought me to a very nice yakitori place in Kurosaki. His childhood friend, Yoshiyuki, who currently owns a dental clinic in Kurosaki joined us too. Apparently both of them grew up in Kurosaki and knew the town like the back of their hands! Dinner that night was great as we enjoyed very good yakitori with Japanese beer, and made interesting conversation with a mixture of English and Japanese. Good food, and even better company makes for a great evening!

Yoshiyuki-san on the left, Shinji-san in the middle and me on the right

The Riding Starts

Left at 7am today. Riding through Fukuoka City was relatively simple. Traffic was heavy though, so I kept mostly on the pavements while I followed National Highway #3 towards Kitakyushu City. Breakfast was on the go at a convenience store along the way.

Bike and me in front of Hakozaki Shrine in Fukuoka City.

As I entered Wajiro town along National Highway #495, I saw the sign for the road leading to Uminonakamachi. This place is supposed to be one of the attractions of Fukuoka Prefecture so I decided to take a short detour to check it out. Little did I know this detour would turn out to be 34km!

Uminonakamachi used to be quite a popular attraction. But as the novelty of the place wore out, less and less people visited it. While I was there, all I saw was the rare jogger in Uminonakamachi Park. Opposite the park, the amusement park was totally deserted and didn't even seem open!

Continuing along my way towards Fukutsu City, I took a few more breaks before reaching my destination without problems. However, when I reached Fukutsu, I realised that it wasn't really a city but more of a town only. There was no accommodation to be found!

The road to Munakata Shrine and Konominato Sky Hotel

Having no choice, and since it was still rather early, I decided to ride down to Munakata Shrine. This was the place where I was to meet my friend Shinji Abe the next day. According to him, Munakata Shrine was a very famous shrine in Japan, so I figured, if its famous as a tourist destination, there's sure to be hotels right?

Reaching the shrine, I asked around and one of the caretakers pointed me in the direction of Konominato (roughly translated as the Gods' Pier). So after an hour later, I finally checked into Konominato Sky Hotel.

My dinner for the night

After dinner, I went to the common bath area on the ground floor of the hotel. Apparently most Japanese hotels have these common baths even though every room has an attached shower room. It seems that communal baths are very much part of the culture here. My first time in a public bath - quite an interesting experience! No pictures though... hahaha...