Rain

It rained the entire today! From the moment I left Kyoto till when I reached Hikone, it was raining. Wasn`t exactly pouring, torrential rain, but nevertheless, it wasn`t a slight drizzle as well....

Before I left Kyoka Ryokan, I spent about half an hour trying to waterproof everything. Once I thought everything was fine, I put on my Adidas windbreaker and headed out into the wet.

Initially, traffic was rather heavy along national highway #1 as I headed out of Kyoto City. Riding along the 6 lane national highway in morning rush hour traffic on a rainy day is really not fun. At first, I took care to avoid puddles by swerving around them or going through slowly, but after the first 18-wheeler came by and totally immersed me and my bike in water, I didn`t really care anymore. hahaha....

Its surprising that just the day before, when I reached Kyoto it was 25 degrees Celsius, but on a rainy day, the temperature could drop 8 degrees! Its a good thing my jacket most of my body dry, but unfortunately, it wasn`t as good as stopping the wind as my Salomon.

Anyways, reached Biwako (Lake Biwa) right on schedule despite the wet conditions and I proceeded to cross Biwako Bridge to get to the other side of the lake.

Biwako is the largest lake in Japan and its almost like a small sea! Crossing the bridge from one side to the other, the view would have been fantastic if not for the very gloomy weather. So, unfortunately all I saw was a vast expanse of grey.

Crossing Biwako Bridge

Risking getting my N95 wet, I try to take some pictures of the lake

After crossing Biwako into Omi-Hachiman City along Route #477, the road to Hikone was rather quiet. It was mainly countryside with the scores of rice fields as usual.

Golden rice fields on my way to Hikone City

Reaching Hikone City, I check into the somewhat pricey Hotel Estacion and begin to check my equipment. All my bags were totally wet and anything that was not ziplocked was soaked!

Luckily, everything important had been waterproofed and I did not destroy anything important. My bags were extremely dirty though, and even a little oily from the dirty water that the trucks repeatedly splashed onto me. It took me a whole 3 hours to wash everything and slowly dry everything with the hairdryer. The hotel`s electricity bill for that night must have sky-rocketed! hahaha....

Breakdown!

Today, I head for Kyoto City - the old capital city of Japan. It was going to be a rather long ride, more than 80km, so I left Ashiya City at around 8am.

It was good that I left early, cause along the way, my bike rack broke! Due to my luggage being too heavy, one of the support bars on my rear touring rack broke off. This caused the rack to sink down and it kept hitting my rear wheel, making it impossible to cycle.

So, stopping in a nearby carpark, I had to make some emergency repairs to the rack. Finally, after about 30mins of struggling with the rack, I managed to use some twine to secure the rack to my bike frame again. However, in order to reduce the load on the rear, I had to sling my heavy trunkbag around my shoulders. Good thing the support broke only 30km from Kyoto!

Emergency Repairs

The remaining support bar on the other side of the bike (the bar with holes in it)

About 5km from Kyoto City central, I found a bike shop, but unfortunately they didn`t carry any spare to repair my rack or even a new touring rack, so I had to borrow a pair of their pliers and make do on my own. I managed to re-attach the broken support bar to the rack (its much shorter now though). Now the rack`s a little lopsided but I guess it`ll have to do! hahaha....

Entering Kyoto City, I checked into the very run-down Kyoka Ryokan and went out to catch a glimpse of the city. Kyoto is an extremely large place with lots to see. The city itself is split into 5 sections of which I was at the central area. However, since I was rather tired from cycling and fixing the bike, I just went to check out the area around Kyoto Station. Apparently, the station building is an architectural masterpiece...

The sprawling Kyoto Station complex

Kyoto Station Building

Inside Kyoto Station Building - `The Grand Staircase`

Too bad I didn`t have more time. Kyoto seems a rather interesting place and it would have been nice to spend a few days there!

The White Castle

Before I started my journey for the day, I visited Himeji Castle - a World Heritage Site. It is supposedly the most beautiful castle in all of Japan and is nicknamed the `White Egret` due to its walls being covered with white plaster to prevent fires from spreading around the castle.

Himeji Castle

On my way to the castle, I met Chris, an American freelance photographer. Like me, he was travelling around Japan for a couple of weeks using his 7 day Japan Rail Pass. Since he was on his way to the castle as well, we went in together.

Chris adjusting the settings on his new Nikon DSLR

View of Himeji City central from the top floor of the castle

Chris from California, U.S.A.

After spending almost 2 hours in the castle, we parted ways as Chris had to catch his shinkansen to Nagoya.

As for me, the plan for the day was to cycle southeast down to Akashi City where I could catch a ferry to Awaji Island. From the island, I was supposed to take another ferry to Izumi Sano town in Osaka city. Unfortunately, when I reached Akashi City, I learnt that the ferry from Awaji Island to Izumi Sano was no longer in operation! This meant I had to change my plans and head to Kobe City instead. Lucky, the cashier at the ferry terminal was nice enough to refund me the ticket for the ferry that I had already bought!

On the way to Kobe City, I passed by the Akashikaikyo Bridge. This bridge linked Akashi City to Awaji Island, where I was supposed to go. I took a break there and took a few photos as well.

Akashikaikyo Bridge

The promenade in the park by the bridge

Me, my bike and the Akashikaikyo Bridge

From the bridge, it was another 20km to Kobe City and I reached the city central at around 3pm. Little did I know, there was a huge conference being held on the same day and ALL accomodation in Kobe City was fully booked!

So, I had no choice but to head for Ashiya City which was another 20km away. Luckily, the roads were quite flat and I was able to reach Ashiya City before 6pm. The only hotel in town was called the Hotel Takezono Ashiya and it cost me 10,500yen! But having no other choice, I checked in.

So far, this hotel has been the most expensive one that I`ve stayed at, and its also the one with the worst service! Upon checking in, I asked the counter staff if there was somewhere in the hotel I could keep my bike in. The unfriendly staff flatly refused to help me and asked me to leave my bike at the public parking which was 2 blocks away.

Not wanting to argue further, I went to the parking lot, which required me to pay 200yen to park my bike, and then lugged my bags 2 blocks back to the hotel.

Even small hotels that I`ve stayed in for half the price in little towns have better service than this `5-star` hotel. Never will I stay in a Hotel Takezono again!

Back to Honshu Island

Kimi-san sent me off at Takamatsu Port this morning. She drove me and my bike in her lorry and we reached the port at around 8am. It was a pity that I couldn`t stay longer at the Nakamuras. Anyways, they promised to call if they ever came to Singapore, and then it`ll be my turn to show them around!

I caught the 9am ferry out to Shodoshima Island, which was my intermediate stop on the way back to Honshu Island.

Takamatsu Port

The ferry ride from Takamatsu to Shodoshima Island took around an hour during which I caught some shut-eye. Reaching Tonosho Port on the island, I immediately set out for my destination, Fukuda Port, from which I will take the ferry to Himeji City on Honshu Island.

Shodoshima Island is located in the Seto Inland Sea and is famous for its olive trees. All over the island, there are scores of such trees. Its a pity the Japanese don`t really use olive oil in their cooking!

Olive Garden - Where there was an olive tree museum

Cycling northwards towards Fukuda Port, I passed by the Olive Garden, but did not enter. Didn`t really fancy paying money to learn about olive trees! Next to it, was Olive Beach, where I took a break at the little pier below.

Olive Beach

Me at the pier

View of the Seto Inland Sea from the pier

About 20km from Fukuda Port, I ran into a mountain. Didn`t really expect it cause I was travelling along the coastline, but apparently the mountain ridge formed a cliff along Shodoshima Island`s eastern coast. The climbing was tough, but the views were good....

Start of the climbing

Taking a break at the top

Great views of the sea

Finally reaching Fukuda Port at 130pm, I realised that I had just missed the 115pm ferry for Himeji! The next one left only 2 hours later, so I had the opportunity to have lunch first. Lunch was at a small cafe next to the ferry terminal where I had `so-men`. `So-men` is the specialty of Shodoshima Island, and I had mine cold, `zaru-soba` style. Texture of the noodles were great and didn`t cost me that much as well!

My ride to Himeji City

Ferry to Himeji City took almost 2 hours and by the time I checked into the Washington Hotel which was near Himeji Station, it was almost 6pm.

The Nakamuras

I woke up at 5am today and then left Imabari Station Hotel by 6am. I had 150km to cover to Takamatsu and I promised Kimi-san that I`ll reach at around 4pm so I had better start early!

Breakfast - The giant `ama-mitsu` that the kind fruit seller gave me during my Shimanami Kaido route

At around 1pm, I reached the town of Kotohira, about another 40km to Takamatsu City. In this town there was supposedly a very famous shrine called Konpira-san. Apparently, one has to climb over a thousand steps to reach the main shrine! I did a couple hundred then I gave up and went on my way to Takamatsu City.

The start of the steps to the main shrine at Konpira-san

Below is a box of rock candy that I received from a kind Japanese lady at the bottom of the steps. She had just come down from the shrine and wanted to bring these sweets home for souvenirs, but decided to give them to me as a good luck gift. Nice huh!

I finally reached Takamatsu City at around 4pm. At around 5pm, Kimi-san came to pick me up in a lorry because the Nakamuras did not actually stay in Takamatsu City, but they stayed in Sanuki Town about 20km away from Takamatsu.

Pachinko parlor opened by Aizen Sousuke in Takamatsu City

Upon reaching the Nakamuras` place, I left my stuff in the guest room then Osamu-san brought me out to tour his estate. In addition to their full-time jobs, the Nakamuras also grow rice and vegetables on their own land for sale at the local markets!

Me and my `Mama-Chyari` - Thats what the Japanese call their market bikes

One of the many cabbage patches owned by the Nakamuras

Kimi-san, Osamu-san & Me

Me and Osamu-san`s Parents

Dinner was a very delicious affair of yakiniku and rice. The rice was from their own fields and most of the vegetables were self-grown as well! The food was really great and very different from the barbecues that we have back at home in Singapore. We ate for a total of 3 hours (or more like I ate and they watched me eat, cause I was so hungry after the day`s ride)!

After dinner, Osamu-san showed me pictures from his travels in Europe, New Zealand and Singapore before we turned in at around 11pm.

It was a truly great experience staying with the Nakamuras and I am grateful for their hospitality!

Aston Martin`s Island Hopping Campaign

The Seto Inland Sea bounded by Honshu Island to the north and Shikoku Island to the south. In between, there are numerous smaller islands - some inhabited, some uninhabited. The Shimanami Kaido is a series of huge bridges that allow vehicles to cross from Honshu Island to Shikoku Island. It is also the only large bridge in Japan that allows the passage of bicycles on it.

The Shimanami Kaido bridge system consists of eight large bridges - the Shin-Onomichi Bridge, the Mukaijima Bridge, the Innoshima Bridge, the Ikuchijima Bridge, the Tatara Bridge, the Oomishima Bridge, the Hakata-Oshima Bridge and the Kurushimakaikyo Bridge.

These bridges connect the islands of Honshu, Mukaijima, Innoshima, Ikuchijima, Oomishima, Hakatashima, Oshima and Shikoku. The total distance from Ononomichi City in Honshu Island to Imabari City in Shikoku Island is around 80km.

First Hop - Onomichi City to Mukaijima

The first bridge in the Shimanami Kaido system is the Shin-Onomichi Bridge. Unfortunately, bicycles were not allowed on this bridge so I had to pay 110 yen for the 5 minute boat ride from a little pier in Onomichi to Mukaijima.

The 5 Minute Ferry Ride

Reaching Mukaijima, I rode south towards the next connecting bridge. Mukaijima is one of the smaller islands in the Seto Inland Sea. It was a rather quiet place, with mostly fishermen out along the coastline. Didn`t see many residents on this island.

The Mukaijima Bridge - Did not cross this because it did not connect to the next island that I wanted to go to

The Innoshima Bridge - Just before I cross from Mukaijima to Innoshima

Second Hop - Mukaijima to Innoshima

Crossing the Innoshima Bridge from Mukaijima to Innoshima, I had to travel in a seperate portion of the bridge under the main carriageway meant for automobiles. Still, the view was great!

View from the Innoshima Bridge - Thats Mukaijima on the right

Crossing into Innoshima, I take a break at the peaceful Shimanami Beach below. Had a quick brunch of bananas and muesli bars.

Shimanami Beach on Innoshima Island

Riding towards Ikuchijima, my next stop, the huge Ikuchijima Bridge comes into sight. As I will find out later, all the bridge entrances and exits for cyclists are located on the top of a small hill, so everytime I want to enter a bridge, I need to ride uphill, and everytime I exit, I get to enjoy some downhill!

Below the Ikuchijima Bridge

The uphill ride to the entrance of Ikuchijima Bridge - This path is only for pedestrians, cyclists and scooters

Third Hop - Innoshima to Ikuchijima

Unlike the Innoshima Bridge, the rest of the other bridges allowed cyclists on the main carriageway in a lane next to the automobile lanes. This let me get a better view of the surroundings as well as nicer photos too!

View from Ikuchijima Bridge

Reaching Ikuchijima, I cycled southwards again towards Tatara Bridge that would link me to Oomishima. Again, this island was rather deserted. I stopped for a break at this place called Sunset Beach, but there wasn`t a soul there!

Oh yeah, along the way to the Tatara Bridge, there was this lady selling organic fruits. As I was passing by she held out a giant grapefruit/orange-like fruit and asked me to have it, wishing me luck for my journey! I later found out that the fruit was called `ama-mitsu` in Japanese.

The Tatara Bridge - Seen from Ikuchijima

Entrance to the Tatara Bridge

Fourth Hop - Ikuchijima to Oomishima

The Shimanami Kaido bridge system only passed by Oomishima for a mere 5km. So after reaching Oomishima and cycling for around 30 minutes, I reach the entrance of Oomishima Bridge, that would bring me onto Hakatashima.

The Oomishima Bridge - Seen from Oomishima

Fifth Hop - Oomishima to Hakatashima

Again, the Shimanami Kaido bridge system only passes Hakatashima for merely 5km. Within less than an hour, I was almost at the entrance of the Hakata-Oshima Bridge. This bridge will lead me into Oshima, the final island before I reach Imabari City in Shikoku Island.

Taking a break before I start the uphill climb to the entrance of the Hakata-Oshima Bridge

Sixth Hop - Hakatashima to Oshima

Along the various cycling tracks and bridges on the Shimanami Kaido, I met scores of cyclists doing the route as well. It seems that this route is a very popular one with Japanese cyclists who live in the area due to its beautiful scenery and quiet roads.

Beautiful view of the Seto Inland Sea from the middle of the Hakata-Oshima Bridge

Oshima is the largest of the six islands that the Shimanami Kaido crosses in the Seto Inland Sea. As I was cycling towards the final bridge in the bridge system, I met a couple who were cycling towards Imabari City as well. They were the Nakamura`s and were on a single day cycling trip. They parked their car in Imabari and were on their way back to collect it when I bumped into them. An extremely friendly couple, Osamu and Kimi, invited me to stay at their house the following day, after I rested in Imabari City for the night.

Osamu-san and I in front of the Kurushimakaikyo Bridge - the largest bridge in the Shimanami Kaido system

Final Hop - Oshima to Imabari City

For the final leg of my Shimanami Kaido journey, I cycled with Osamu-san and Kimi-san to over the Kurushimakaikyo Bridge towards Imabari City. Upon reaching the city, Osamu-san helped me to arrange accomodation at Imabari Station Hotel before driving back to his home in Takamatsu.

I rested early that night. Its gonna be a long ride (150km) to the Nakamura`s place in Takamatsu the next day!

Final photo of the Shimanami Kaido - View from Kurushimakaikyo Bridge