I'll write the distances so far below:

Day 1: 32 km, Fukuoka to the campsite Day 2: 57 km, the campsite to Kitakyushu Day 3: 93 km, Kitakyushu to Yamaguchi Day 4: 54 km, Yamaguchi to Shūnan Day 5: 90 km, Shūnan to Hiroshima Day 6: rest day in Hiroshima Day 7: 73 km, Hiroshima to Mihara Day 8: 72 km, Mihara to Ōshima Day 9: 73 km, Ōshima to Niihama Day 10: 75 km, Niihama to Marugame Day 11: 32 km, Marugame to Takamatsu Day 12: 32 km, Takamatsu to Himeji Day 13: 62 km, Himeji to Kobe Day 14: 28 km, Kobe to Osaka (plus 20 km) Day 15: 48 km, Osaka to Kyoto Day 16: rest day in Kyoto Day 17: 70 km, Kyoto to Makino (at the top of Lake Biwa) (plus 7 km) Day 18: 72 km, Makino to Echizen Day 19: 93 km, Echizen to Komatsu Day 20: 17 km, Komatsu to Kanazawa Day 21: 70 km, Kanazawa to Toyama Day 22: 77 km, Toyama to Itoigawa Day 23: 42 km, Itoigawa to Jōetsu Day 24: 82 km, Jōetsu to Nagaoka Day 25: 70 km, Nagaoka to Niigata Total: 1,414 km Average: 56.56 km

Today I rode 70 km from Nagaoka to Niigata. It was raining heavily in the morning. It wasn't that hot, so I got to sleep a little longer. I set off at 10.

For a day and a half I couldn't use my higher gears. It was making me waste effort. I could put up with it, but it was really inconvenient. The cable was about to snap, so I had no choice but to get it fixed. I'm really fed up with this.

Every time a problem comes up, I panic that the tour might end right here, and just imagining that frustration gets me down. Even so, mentally I'm fine, and whatever happens, there's no way I'm giving up. But if a problem came up that couldn't be fixed, it really would be gutting. Feeling powerless, facing problems I can't fix myself, is what worries me most.

Today was tough. I had no room to think. It poured with rain, and the bike broke again, though I got it fixed. By the time I reached Niigata it was already getting dark.

I couldn't speak Japanese at all either. I don't know why. It might be stress. If I'm always anxious, even communicating makes me anxious.

Even so, there were good points too. I started listening to Haruki Murakami's 1Q84. I like it! Before listening I thought it might be too difficult, but when I tried it, it was fine. Most of the content is about the main characters' everyday lives, so I can understand almost all of it.

I've arrived in Niigata. I've completed my mini tour from Kanazawa to Niigata. It was 341 km in total.