When I went home during winter vacation, I had the pleasure of cycling with friends almost everyday. One of them, Joe, mentioned that he would go to Onomichi City in Hiroshima Prefecture sometime in the Spring to ride the famous Shimanami Kaido Bridges. These series of bridges connect the main island, Honshu, to the smallest island, Shikoku. I didn't know logistically how I would plan this trip, as I would only be riding with friends for this one day. It seemed like a waste to travel all the way to Onomichi (Around $100 one way from my city by train) for just one day of riding. So something inside my brain thought it be a good idea to return back to Iizuka by bicycle. Luckily, I have a good friend, Tyson, living in Uwajima City, a fishing city in southern Ehime Prefecture. I thought it would be a good opportunity to visit him.
Therefore, the planning went as follows.
Iizuka to Onomichi (by Shinakansen and Local Train, 3 hours 11 minutes)
Overnight in Onomichi Hotel
Onomichi to Matsuyama (by bicycle, ~75 miles)
Overnight in Matsuyama Hotel
Matusyama to Uwajima (by bicycle, ~60 miles)
Overnight with Tyson in Uwajima
Uwajima 1 (Day with Tyson)
Uwajima 2 (Day with Tyson)
Uwajima to Yawatahama (by car, ~1 hour)
Yawatahama to Beppu (by ferry, ~3 hours)
Beppu to Iizuka (by bicycle, ~80 miles)
One of the most difficult aspects of planning this trip was how I would transport my luggage and bags from place to place. I refused to wear a backpack and for that matter, carry any more weight than was absolutely necessary. Therefore, prior to my trip, I sent bags to the hotels and to Tyson's house packed with the bare essentials for that night and the next day. The contents were basically clothes to sleep in, the next days cycling kit, and energy food. the following morning, I would send that exact bag back home. During the ride, I would carry: phone, external battery charger, cycling wallet, 2 tubes, tire levers, and cycling food, specifically, 2 shot bloks, 2 gels, 1 Clif Bar. I also had a saddle bag that carried my transport bag and multi tool.
March 22, 2016
Not wanting to waste a vacation day, I went to work for a full day with the intention of arriving in Onomichi at night. I didn't look forward to commuting with my bike, but it turned out to not be a hassle at all. While it was a bit inconvenient and cumbersome to walk around the station with the bike, while on the train, it was hassle free. I definitely lucked out with the train times as every train I went on was relatively empty.
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| bike on local train. |
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| Random picture on train through greater Iizuka |
I finally arrived in Onomichi at around 9pm. I was initially planning on walking to the hotel as it is described as being only 500m from the station. However, I got a message from Joe insisting to catch a cab. By chance, when I arrived, Joe and Zara were near the station so we were able to catch the taxi together. When I realized where to hotel was, yes, there was no chance I was going to make it to the hotel with my bike by walking. Although it may only be 500m from the station in distance, it fails to mention the cliff that it is essentially perched upon.
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| A castle right next to the hotel |
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| Building bikes at night. |
The hotel itself was a Thai themed hotel. That was a bit interesting, but a room is a room and it was a spacious and comfortable room. That evening Joe built up the bikes in the front of the hotel. It was a quiet and peaceful night (except for the motorbike guys that seemed to follow me here from Iizuka)that also happened to be new kit day. I very much looked forward to the days to come.
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| New kit(s) day |
March 23, 2016
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| Sunrise over onomichi |
The next morning was a beautiful morning. It appeared that we would be lucky to have both sunny skies and warm air. We had breakfast together in the hotel and were able to enjoy the view from the restaurant.
We rolled out at around 9:30am to meet with James at his hotel. Prior to that, we had stopped by a post office so i could send my first bag back home. The hotel that James stayed at was built specifically for cyclists who planned on riding the Shimanamikaido. They had a large dedicated rental station that was run by Giant and it was a bit odd to see that nearly every person out on the roads were riding Giants. I would definitely like to see some brand diversity come into this area.
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| Bike on boat |
We finally rolled out at around 10am. The first leg of the journey was actually a 110 yen ferry ride that probably lasted 4 minutes at the most. While we obviously weren't the only cyclists aboard the ferry, we definitely looked the most intense. So if they weren't already staring at us for being foreigners, our appearance gave them more reasons to do so.
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| Prior to the first bridge |
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| Riding the bridge |
The ride itself was mellow. We took the ride at an easy pace as it was going to be a long day for us all. Joe, Zara, and James would ride the ~40 mile route one way, then return making a round trip total of nearly 90 miles. The route itself wasn't marked that well, so we did miss a few turns here and there, nonetheless, we were able to find our way as we went along. We did see many other cyclists and yes, they were riding on Giants. Perhaps the best part of this ride was the numerous convenience stores dotted along the route, each with a bike rack.
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| The second bridge? |
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| Joe showing off his no hands riding in a horrible cross wind section |
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| The obligatory selfie. |
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| Good times |
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| All day, headwind or crosswind |
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| Another bridge |
The morale stayed high throughout the ride as we took it easy and rode safe. On some of the small hills (though arguably I wouldn't even call them hills) up to reach the same elevation as the bridges, Joe and I would take off just to put a little hurt into the legs. I strangely can't explain how well it feels to give a little kick here and there to the legs and lungs. There came a point, probably around 35 miles or so, where we had to say goodbye to James, for he had to return to Onomichi by 6:30pm. It was a shame he couldn't make it to the end, but we continued along.
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| The final and longest bridge connecting to Imabari |
The final bridge was an extremely long bridge, connecting whatever small island we were on to Shikoku island. The headwind was unreal. As this was our final stretch riding together, Joe and I took off to ride at a decent pace. We must have passed by quite a bit of people on the way, but I was a bit unhappy with how narrow the cycling lanes were on this bridge. The passes were not easy to make and as there were numerous cyclists. We had to slow down here and there, a few times nearly having to come to a complete stop. We made it to the end and said our goodbyes there. Joe and Zara would turn around and head back to Onomichi, while I would ride another 35 miles or so along the coast of Shikoku to the capital of Ehime Prefecture, Matsuyama City.
I have no pictures of my ride between Imabari and Matsuyama. Mostly because I was no longer in the mood to take pictures, take in the scenery, and for that matter, enjoy the remainder of the ride. I was just interested in getting to my hotel. It's never particularly fun to ride alone and it was definitely worse to be on unfamiliar roads alone as well. The ride itself wasn't so great. Narrow roads and worst of all, more headwind. There were also little to no convenience stores along the way so I had to stop at a random roadside gas station to use the toilet. As it turns out, it probably was in my favor as there was no queue to use the toilet and it was much cleaner than your typical konbini toilet. It was a lonely ride but I eventually made my way to the hotel in Matsuyama.
I had notified the hotel ahead of time that I would be arriving by bicycle and would send a bag to the hotel that would include my necessities for that night and the following day. They were more than willing to accommodate my needs and were very helpful. However, their "bicycle parking" happened to be in a garage behind the hotel. I was at first reluctant to leave my bike unattended in a parking lot in a relatively large city, so I decided to take apart my bike and put it in the transport bag. I assumed then it would be safe. Thankfully, this is Japan. The next morning when I checked on it, all was well. I should probably point out to make sure I'm not condoning leaving a bike unattended.
In the hotel I was a bit lonely. After having ridden alone, it really mentally wore me out. Coming into a hotel with a bag that included only clothes for the night and next day left me with not much to entertain myself with for that night. I also didn't pack clothes to walk around in, so I did not adventure around the city. I did walk a bit through the shopping street in slippers to find dinner. The best part of the evening was the in-hotel onsen on the top floor. I could relax the muscles and prepare to set off for the next day.
March 23, 2016
I woke up early to go to the onsen one more time before heading out. It was a good thing I did so because I woke up feeling a bit stiff. The onsen definitely helped relax the legs so I could be ready to go. I left the hotel around 10am, of course stopping by the post office first to send my bag back home, heading south to Uwajima City.
There were two routes I could have taken. A ~100 mile route along the coast with supposedly nearly 10,000 feet of elevation gain, or a ~60 mile route through the mountains with supposedly around 4,000 feet of elevation gain. At first, I wanted to do the former of the two routes, but on the day of, decided for the latter. My reasoning being, 1- my garmin only had 38% battery left and 2- I didn't really want to ride 100 miles alone.
The benefit to the shorter route was that it followed along route 56 the entire way from Matsuyama to Uwajima. Another benefit was the winds were in my favor that day, with a slight tailwind breeze.
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| First mountain pass of the day |
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| Descent into Ozu |
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| Random stoplight, first sign of civilization in miles. |
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| Second mountain pass. It sucked |
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| Final descent into Yoshida. Greeted by Sakura |
To sum up this days ride, it sucked. It was probably one of the worst rides I have ever been on in my life. I do not recommend for anyone to ever ride along Highway 56. It was the most dangerous ride I had ever been on. From narrow roads, numerous tunnels, and dangerous drivers, I could recount nearly 5 times where I thought I would die. The worst of all? I'm certain a car tried to hit me, or at least run me off the road as he, driving in the opposite direction, crossed the center line heading straight towards me and at the last second as I swerved on to the sidewalk, pulled back into his lane. While one may think it could have been a lapse of focus on his part, it seemed quite purposeful. I did however channelled my inner Taylor Swift and shook it off.
To make matters worse, the road just seemed to get more and more dangerous. I can clearly recall a small tunnel in which I unfortunately had to climb uphill through. The shoulder must have only been 2 feet wide, with a wall on one side, and an uneven surface between the shoulder and road on the other, not to mention cars travelling along at 40mph and up. There were times where I thought I would run into the wall or have my wheel caught between the level gap between the shoulder and road, but there was nothing I could do, I just hammered my way through the tunnel. This trend continued during the descent into Uwajima as well but at least I was going downhill. Still, incredibly dangerous and a ride that a person should probably not do alone.
Getting into Uwajima was such a huge relief. I was incredibly put off with riding after my experiences from the day. I was a bit shaken and mentally exhausted from having spent more time on unfamiliar roads away from home by myself. I considered going back to Iizuka earlier than originally planned and by train as well but I knew I would probably feel better in the days to come.
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| Yakiniku |
It was nice to see Tyson again and I was able to join in on quite a few activities with him. By chance, the day I arrived was the same day he had to attend a graduate/farewell yakiniku party with his now former Junior High School students. Of course me being there was awkward at first, but eventually the shyness barriers broke down and a few of the students started to talk to me. It was a good night, as any night with unlimited meat should be. Awkwardly, I was placed in the front for the ending group photo. At first I didn't want to be in the photo, as I have no affiliation with them, but was not only dragged into the photo, but placed front and center with their Homeroom teachers arms around me as if we all were best friends. I'm not at all against that, but it was something for Tyson and I to laugh about. However, these are great kids and it was my pleasure to have spent an evening with them.
After dinner Tyson and I went to an Onsen in nearby town Matsuno. The onsen, Poppo, is perhaps my favorite one that I have ever been to. We got there just before closing and pretty much had to cut our time there short. But that was okay, it was nice and relaxing.
March 24, 2016
The next morning found me going to work with Tyson at his base junior high school, Yoshida Junior High School, located about 30 minutes from Uwajima city by car. You could definitely call the town of Yoshida to be country. The school itself was very small, especially since the 3rd years had already left for graduation.
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| Yoshida JHS |
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| Surrounding Area of Yoshida JHS |
The day at Yoshida was surprisingly fun. Although they had closing ceremony, which I attended and was actually acknowledged during the Principles speech, I was welcomed very warmly by all teachers and staff members. I was able to watch the 2nd year final class match, then attended the baseball club practice. I'm not entirely how stoked the kids were themselves to have me there, but I know I was able to make their club adviser happy as he had me pitch to them and also hit against their ace. My nickname 'scud' proved to be true as I definitely threw more balls than strikes. It was a fun experience for me and I was more than happy to have spent an entire day at Yoshida JHS.
Of course, after a long day at school on a Friday requires time for relaxation afterwards. So once again we headed to an Onsen, this time, in a further away town, Akehama. The drive to Akehama is absolutely spectacular. The road follows a coastal ridge line and we drove as the sun was setting. We stopped over at a small lookout point to take a few pictures.
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| Stairs too steep |
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| Steep the stairs. |
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| Sunset |
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| The ocean |
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| Mikan hills |
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| Looking towards the mountains |
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| Another obligatory selfie |
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| Oceanside |
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| Lone boat |
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| Too good. |
The views really were spectacular and onsen was spectacular as well. This onsen was unique as they use salt water. Therefore, the sensation of it is a bit different and I feel as though you have to be careful so that the salt doesn't dry up on your skin. It gives the same feeling as when you go to the beach and bask out in the sun afterwards without rinsing off first. Again though, it's another great onsen and it was great for the muscles.
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| Narrow and unlit roads |
I should highlight the fact that the roads are absolutely dangerous to drive on at night. It's just like the roads of West Maui. Single lane, very windy, and not lit at night. Props to Tyson for driving these roads like a madman in record time.
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| Late night breakfast. |
We got back into Uwajima quite late and as one would expect from a small city, not many places were open. However, a favorite of ours was, Moco. This restaurant are run by two amazing people who have a very great and respectful interest in Hawaii. They also just so happen to serve spam so that's a plus. The owners, Miyuki and Takashi often visit Hawaii and do a wonderful job at bringing the culture to Uwajmia. Miyuki herself is an avid hula dancer. It was nice to see them again and to talk story for a bit, although I was extremely tired and probably not as social as I would have liked to have been. It was eventually time for us to call it a night.
March 25, 2016
Although I don't have pictures of the day, Tyson and I headed out to Matsuyama city to participate in a fundraiser that was actually put on by Tyson for the Ehime Jet Scholarship. He had girl scout cookies to sell. We went to the park below the castle. While it was a sunny and warm day, the wind was quite strong, creating a slightly uncomfortable windchill. It was nice to meet a few other of the Ehime JETS and to spend a day there.
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| Thin mints and Tagalongs. Samoas sold out. |
After we finished there, we of course went to onsen again. This time, back to Poppo. I finally took a picture of Poppo just to show how quiet and quaint this place is. I also learned that the water is heated by burning the local town wood and that their wooden tub is an old and historic sake barrel.
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| Quiet and Quaint. |
We ended the night with dinner in Uwajima. Tyson took me out for a local specialty. It essentially Tamago Kake Gohan, except with Tai fish. You mix the egg and shoyu as usual, but also mix in slices of Tai. I definitely enjoyed the meal and it was a good last meal in Uwajima.
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| Uwajima Speciality |
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| Restaurant with nostalgia |
The restaurant looked strangely familiar, and it is, I believe, the same restaurant where I had my farewell dinner back in 2004 for the Ehime Hawaii baseball tournament. Who knows, if this is my last time ever to Uwajima, it would be great to end it here.
March 26, 2016
The final day saw us waking up at around 4:00 am to drive to Yawatahama so that I could catch the early morning ferry to Beppu. Many thanks to Tyson for willingly waking up so early to make the 1 hour drive to Yawatahama.
The ferry itself is around 3 hours, departing Yawatahama port at 6:20am to arrive at Beppu port at 9:10am. I definitely was judged at and stared at for walking onto the ferry with my bicycle and in cycling tights. But surprisingly, there were 2 other individuals who did the same as me. We didn't talk as we had sat in different areas of the ferry. I can't say the ferry is very comfortable, but I assume it may be more comfortable if travelling with a group of people. I tried my best to sleep, but if anything, probably got a good 15 minutes of quality sleep at the most.
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| bike on boat |
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| building my bike back up at Beppu port. |
If I had to sum up this days ride, I'd once again say that it sucked. While I never once felt particular endangered, I just was not able to enjoy the ride very much. It was more so about just wanting to get home than it was about enjoying the ride. I knew that I had a long day ahead of me so I didn't even look at my GPS. I didn't want to know how far I had already gone or how much miles remained till I would be home. I just kept riding and riding and riding.
I was once again lonely and the worst part of the ride was the mental part of it. When finished, my legs and body still felt like they could keep on going, but my mind didn't want to be on the road for another second. There were times when I felt completely isolated going through the extremely rural areas in Oita and also Fukuoka. It was comforting to once again see Fukuoka based license plates on cars. But still, there were many times when I felt like I was a million miles away from home.
I knew that when I would reach Yukuhashi city, that I would be relatively close to being home. From Yukuhashi is just a tunnel to Tagawa then another tunnel to Iizuka. However, a few towns before Yukuhashi, my mind had already given up. The wind wasn't particularly favorable and the sun was starting to beat down on me. Yukuhashi was also much bigger than I had thought. Needless to say, when I emerged through the other end of the tunnel and into Tagawa, I had a huge sigh of relief and actually gave a little fist pump to celebrate the fact that I was finally on familiar roads. The remainder of the ride was a blur. My pace definitely picked up and before I knew it, I was home. Finally I was home.
Everyone may know the movie "50 Shades of Grey" and perhaps everyone has a different opinion of it. I have not seen it nor have read the book and also have absolutely no interest in it. However, after having completed this ride, I was the star in a new movie myself, "Guy rides bicycle and returns 50 shades darker". It's horrible. As I'm writing this I'm literally at least 5 shades darker, peeling skin, and it burns like hell. But oh well. I finished this ride.
That's right. I finished this ride. I'm not really proud of myself for doing it nor do I view it as an accomplishment. I'm just happy it's finished. I would never do this ride again alone. But I am not at all apprehensive towards riding. I'm itching to ride more as my body still feels great. I never once worried about my physical condition, but only my mental condition. While that definitely suffered, at least I can overcome this and continue to ride on.
I got all of my bags and boxes that were sent back by the next day of arriving home. Japan does post very well. It was a bit of a letdown to open up bags that were filled with nothing but dirty clothes, but there were two boxes filled with excitement, Ehime Omiyage and Ehime Mikan. As I did on my previous trip to Ehime, I decided to buy a box of Mikan and send it home through post. It's actually ridiculously cheap and a great way to make people happy. Posting the 10kg box of Mikan with next day delivery only cost 600 yen.
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| Box of Ehime Mikans. |
I thought for a moment that I wouldn't want to ride my bike for a while. But I really want to ride again. The legs still feel great. The only thing I don't look forward to is not recovering from my awful tan. I spent all winter getting lighter for one day in March to not only lose it all, but make my skin much worse than it was before.
For once I can actually anticipate when my next blog updates will happen. During Golden Week I'll travel and in May, I'll participate in a bicycle charity event in Oita. Perhaps something will happen between those times that will prompt me to write again, but at least for me, there are things to look forward to in the near future.
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