What seemed like a last minute decision turned into a nice day for a hike. It was cold and much longer and strenuous than we had planned for, but a hike in Japan always produces spectacular scenery.
While living in Japan, I always wondered which season I prefer. Summers temperatures can reach up to 90F+ with 95% humidity and winters can dip below freezing for a few weeks. Summer has bugs. Winter doesn't have proper heating. I used to think I preferred winter. Turns out. I was wrong. I prefer summer. While summer is far from pleasant, at least I'm still able to ride my bike. Sure, I could ride my bike in the winter, but it's far more painful when your hands, feet, and face freeze from the windchill. Of course winter riding gear exists, but those pieces of kit are expensive and still leave me feeling cold. Not to mention that putting on winter kit is quite the task. Then when it snows or gets icy, it's actually dangerous out there. Days are short. Many rides are done in the dark, when it's even colder. Simply put, riding in the winter is painful and depressing. And yet, it's still fun. But this is why I prefer ...
Guidebooks will tell you that you can tour Iki Island in one day; catch an early morning ferry to the island, then return back to Hakata later that evening. Most of the guidebooks don't recommend that however. In fact, they suggest spending at least one evening and one entire day. At first I thought two days seemed excessive. The island is very small. One entire loop of the island would result in only around 50km of riding depending on your route. On a bike, that means only 2 hours of riding. I thought someday I'd plan a trip to Iki; arriving in the morning, circling the island, then returning home later that night. While I'm always up for quick, high-paced adventures, I wanted to enjoy the island. I suggested the idea of visiting the island to Seamus and Cash. They agreed. We chose a 3-day weekend for our adventures and ended up staying for 2 nights. My recommended amount of days to visit Iki Island is as follows: Stay forever ...
Morning Traffic on the H1 and just like that, I found myself back in Iizuka. I never like coming back to Japan for many reasons. The number one reason being, of course, that returning to Japan means I'm leaving home for at least another year. I leave behind family and friends, and perfect weather. Not to mention, travelling with a mountain bike back to Japan made travelling a little more cumbersome. But eventually, before I knew it, I was back in my cold apartment in Iizuka. Life is cold in Japan. Life is (nearly) perfect in Hawaii. I suppose I started the New Year right, by having the opportunity to continue to ride my bike, and ride my bike a lot. Some unfortunate and surprising events took place on New Year's day itself, but luckily, everything is seemingly ok now. My final 2 weeks in Hawaii didn't really see any rain or any hot temperatures. I had the privilege of riding with friends and the owner of MAAP on my last Frid...
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