When I arrived in Fukuoka, I rebuilt my bike and went to get rid of the cardboard box. I couldn't find a big bin anywhere, but a kind old lady came to my rescue and I left it in her garden. At that moment I was glad I could just about speak Japanese.

The truth is, I'd never once tried riding the bike with all my luggage back in the UK. Honestly, I was worried about whether I could really ride with a load this heavy. On top of the gear for the tour, I'd also packed loads of everyday things for Tokyo (my laptop, for example), so it felt even heavier. After getting rid of the cardboard, I went back to the airport entrance and turned my attention to the next problem. I tried riding with two different arrangements of the bags, but I fell over. Third time lucky, I just about managed it. Even so, I had to push harder on the pedals than I'd expected, so I started panicking again. Can I really do this? It'd be embarrassing to give up on day one after coming all this way.

I had tomato ramen in Fukuoka and it was incredibly good. I also bought gas and food, but that made my luggage even heavier. I couldn't find any high-calorie snacks, so I'd be grateful if someone could recommend their favourites (after writing this, I settled on sweet buns).

On the way to the campsite I stopped at three Buddhist temples. I didn't know their names or anything when I visited, but I looked them up afterwards.

Henjō-in, Temple No. 62 of the Sasaguri Shikoku Pilgrimage Sannō-ji (Omuro school of Shingon Buddhism), Temple No. 61 of the Sasaguri Shikoku Pilgrimage Nanzō-in, Temple No. 1 of the Sasaguri Shikoku Pilgrimage

They were all amazing. My favourite was Nanzō-in. Unfortunately the big Buddha statue was under repair, so I couldn't see it. Even so, there were lots of shrines, so it was interesting. While I was riding to the campsite it got dark along the way, and lots of fireflies started to appear. It was truly beautiful, like a scene from a Ghibli film. After that, I stayed at a free campsite called Yakiyama Keiryū Park. I even found a decent spot to pitch my tent beside a waterfall. It hadn't rained that day, so I decided not to use the outer cover, but that was a bad choice. I woke up at 2am to find it raining, and the tent got completely soaked. Because of that, I had to put the outer cover on at around 2 in the morning, half asleep.

What I've realised is that being able to understand matters more. If you can understand, you can get hold of important information and somehow get through things. Because I can read, I can pick up society's rules faster than usual. That said, there was culture shock too. Japan really has a feel all of its own, and you can sense it even in the air. Though that's probably just the high humidity. The contrast between technology and nature is striking too, and the vending machines out in the countryside were my favourite culture shock. I mean, why don't we have them in the UK? Maybe because everything would be stolen within an hour. Everyone also always waits at pedestrian crossings until the light turns green, and there are far too many traffic lights, which is a waste of time! What I like more than I expected is Japan's rich nature. Thanks to the shrines, even the countryside feels connected to the gods, and it's soothing. I love the waterfalls too.