Journal Archive
41 entries, 51 prefectures, one long road. 旅の記録
Kitakyushu Is So Beautiful, Why Would You Need to Go Abroad?
The morning began with radio exercises alongside a group of elderly locals, then it was past the Kanmon Bridge and on into Yamaguchi. A hot 93 km day that ended with an old lady waving me off down a 200-year-old road.
I Could Buy Five Onigiri for That
Sore legs, a headache, and heavy rain all day meant I only managed 55 km. Even so, I stopped at Mangan-ji and Hōfu Tenmangū in Hōfu, and embarrassed myself with a slip of the tongue at a convenience store.
Is That an Island up in the Sea of Japan?
With nowhere to stay along the way, I rode the full 95 km from Shūnan to Hiroshima. A day of kindness at a bike shop, a chat with a schoolboy, and being chased by deer at Itsukushima Shrine.
This time it hit me suddenly
A rest day in Hiroshima. The Atomic Bomb Dome hit me hard, and I was drawn to the strange darkness and liveliness of the city at night. After five days in the countryside, a big city was quite a shock.
I Ended Up Sleeping for 11 Hours
Seventy kilometres of nothing but mountain roads. I didn't make it to Onomichi, but the rice fields lifted my spirits, and I pitched my tent at eight and slept like a log.
"A Foreigner Is Coming"
Two strangers treated me at a 7-Eleven, I fuelled up on Onomichi ramen, and then it was onto the Shimanami Kaidō. It was longer and tougher than I expected, but a kind couple on Ōshima guided me to a campsite.