Foreword

My first memorable experience in Japan was a several years ago when I was taken to a coastal fish market near Nagoya. It was my first time there. I wasn’t very good at cutting fish so I watched intently as one of the vendors was teaching a young lady how to fillet a fish. He had quite a large knife in comparison to the size of the fish he was cutting but he did it with such precision, calmness and dexterity it was a beautiful thing to watch. There was no speed no fast chopping or loud noises, just smooth and calm. Now I watched the gentleman for about 15 minutes and after getting a decent grip on what was necessary I strolled off. 10 minutes later I get a tap on my shoulder, now physical contact is not alien in Japanese culture but they don’t do a lot of it even amongst life long friends, so this tap was unusual. I turn around and the fishmonger had on a small board made a rose of the fish fillet and offered it to me. I was stunned and I took the gift and ate it. It was made with so much love that I shed a tear. It was amazing on so many levels! A truly unforgettable experience, truly.

Little bit about me.

I always had an idea that I wanted to cycle around the world but I guess I was a bit afraid.

The little kid, who of his siblings was the last to learn how to ride a bike in a park in west London.  An aunt used to take us to the park persisted with me until I got it.   I remember it was on a gentle slope into a small playground drain near a swing. I never forgot that sensation. I knew I had it.  

I briefly worked for a company that taught kids of all abilities how to ride a bike and when I see them riding off shakily into the distance I get the same feeling. 

I  am a skateboarder first, but bikes are a close second.

I remember when I was living on my own it was a rare hot day in the UK and I decided that I could make it on my bike to Oxford. This pre dated mobile phones. I just read the signs and winged it. Was I on roads I shouldn’t have been on, yes. Could I have been on a bike more suitable? Yes. Did I enjoy it, difficult to say. But I did get a sense of accomplishment. When I got to Oxford I had no plan on how to get back. Then I saw the Oxford tube, which I knew stopped very close to where I lived and asked the driver if I could get my bike on. They had a dedicated bike cupboard on board! I did that journey many times with friends and loads of times solo. During the pandemic when I had time off work I used to cycle there and back. I guess that’s when I fell in love with cycling.

Fast forward a few years and I’m cycling up mount Fuji and wondering if this was such a good idea, until I got to the downhill bit. 50mph+ on clear roads! 

If you have an idea you are the only one who can bring it to light. 

I remember when I decided. I was at work and I just said out loud, ‘I’m going to cycle around Japan’. I wanted to tackle the terrain and the language. I left both my jobs with a degree of relief rather than trepidation. I had been working 7 days a week. Plus I got offered a job by a friend when I was away! Perfect. And I sit here after doing it thinking that I want to cycle to Copenhagen next. And around Italy. I guess taking on the world in small bite size chunks.

Cycling around Japan taught me loads about myself and the people around me. 

Also when I refer to cycling around Japan, what I actually had in mind was, my Uncle who passed a while back had given me the impetus to see Hiroshima and Mt Fuji. So I decided I was going to cycle between them and amble around in between. That’s exactly what I did. If anything I did run out of time. If I did it all again I would have taken at least a couple of months off. 

Simply put I would recommend it to anybody. You do need a very strong constitution. And it did help that I had been a bike messenger/courier for more than a decade. 

So here it is in pictorial and verbal form. 

Have any names been changed to protect the innocent? I couldn’t possibly comment.

Writing/compiling this blog has really helped me to appreciate what I did and the fun I had. It was such an enjoyable experience. Taxing at times but in the main, total fun!

Apart from the first hotel in Nagoya and some accomodation in Tokyo nothing else was planned. Me, bike and Japan. I had no idea what the future would bring…

Warning! From this point on there will be many pictures of delicious food stuffs! You are forewarned! I’ll start here…

JAPAN POINTERS

Packing/organising. With a bike its a phaff

Flying. Switch off the worry beacon.

Acclimatising. Necessity. Arrive at the wrong time of the year and it could be a struggle

Toilets. Convenience stores have them.

Onsen. Popular. Great for the soul. Get used to nudity

Bike delivered to hotel. Got it delivered by the airline, very useful

Get simcard at airport! This is very important plus its difficult to find a new sim after 30 days in a regular phone shop.

Osu kannon! Shoppers paradise!

Gyoza. I love them!

Put up tent in hotel room. No point working out how in the dark in a forest in the middle of nowhere.

Fit rack and panniers. 

Meet contact and dump unnecessary. 

DAY ONE

3 days after arriving…..

Go time!  Stop time. Noticed a bolt missing so stopped at a real bike shop and the mechanic sorted me out and off I went for the second time of asking 

Head north/north east go around Biwa Ko in Shiga prefecture, anticlockwise. It was a very good place to start absolutely stunning flora and fauna. Riding had given me the impression that like the French and the Danish they really look after their country. Its very clean. Around the lake i saw very little rubbish which is quite incredible.

The Race

About 3/4 of the way through the first day I encountered a kid on a road bike. I passed him and then for the next two hours it seemed as though we were in some sort of race. He rushed past me so i just let him go. I had all day. Then after about half an hour i had passed him but i couldnt work out why. This was to be a reminder when cycling for extended periods in the heat. He had stopped for water. So i stopped for water a bit later and this went on for a while. It was good for me in that i wasn’t exactly sure what roads i could and couldn’t cycle on. It was like having a tour guide for free! Strangely enough i managed to catch him on a hill with my panniers on and my not inconsiderable frame

Get to hotel. Ran to watch the sun.  Haven’t run since school! Watch sunset then eat.

DAY TWO

Continue to ride around Biwa Ko.

Stop at beach. It was like I had my own private beach. There was a small gap in a wall alongside the lake. Initially I passed it but then i thought, ‘Where am I rushing to?’ So I stopped and had a dip. It was a welcome break watching the fish chew on my feet! Head to northern Osaka to look for accommodation. Stayed at traditional inn. Was shocked at what you get for about £30. Plus they put my bicycle in a garage all by itself. An actual onsen 3 meals and most importantly peace and quiet. Beer is from the vending machine and cold! Cheap too. £1.50. Stunning dinner was surpassed by an out of this world breakfast. Then I went on my way. Next stop….who knows.

Continue to ride around Biwa ko.

Stop at beach, head to northern Osaka look for accommodation.

Stayed at traditional inn. I just rocked up with no booking and tried my rubbish Japanese. Luckily there were rooms available. Was shocked at what you get for about £30. Plus they put my bicycle in a garage all by itself. An actual onsen, 3 meals and most importantly peace and quiet. Beer is from the vending machine and cold! Cheap too. £1.50. Stunning dinner was surpassed by an out of this world breakfast. Then I went on my way. Next stop….who knows. I did ask to stay another night but alas I had to move on, it wasn’t meant to be.

Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe are all pretty much on top of each other so with the aid of Google and lots of traffic lights it was very slow progress. Took me absolutely ages. This is where I thought back to a well travelled colleague saying that putting the phone on the front of the bike was essential. (Traffic lights seem to all go green at the same time and then the reverse).

Then there was something else that I noticed about Japan. They really do have an appreciation for cars. Motor vehicles in general….modern classics. Extremely rare ones always in absolute mint condition. More on car culture later.

OSAKA/BIKE PARKING

When I arrived in Osaka city the first thing I started panicking about was where I was going to park my bike. I locked my bike to a rail outside a supermarket opposite the hotel. MASSIVE MISTAKE. I had a note on my bike in the morning and I sent a picture to my Japanese friend who said that it was really bad. (They were going to tow my bike)

When it comes to parking your bike in Japan you will find out the importance of the word trust. You are supposed to just leave your bike where you need to and trust that it will be there in the morning. There are bike parking areas. Sometimes it’s a whole infrastructure with gates and stands and attendant, and others it’s a bit of scaffolding outside a hotel or even more simply a painted area on the ground. Get used to it. A small lock is normally enough. Having said that there were a few establishments that let me keep my bike in the room. This is not the norm so don’t expect it. Where they point to is where you park. In Hiroshima they had large underground bike parking with racks an attendant and a very small charge. It was very well organised with sliding overhead racks. You even got a ticket.

KOBE/FOOD

Japan is very food quality oriented. If it’s not fresh they don’t buy it. Fishmongers don’t smell of fish. It is also magnitudes cheaper than Europe. 

Kobe isn’t the only place that has beef

HAIRCUTS ETC

Barbers are ten-a-penny in Japan, and cheap too. Wash, haircut and cut-throat for under £20. One thing I noticed is the ones I went to were all run by elderly men. All were professional no hassle.

The first barbers I went to was opposite a Nepalese restaurant that I hadn’t expected to see. Looked a touch grotty inside but when you looked at the plates the food looked really good and regular clientele. And it was! Homely tasty well presented.  You got the impression the food hadn’t deviated much from what was served to the chef as a child.

Onto the next town / village.

One thing that I was a little concerned about before I left was the conveniences or crappers. Don’t worry. A konbini(convenience store) has everything your local convenience store has. Plus one thing it definitely hasn’t, a clean toilet. You can just bowl in. Ordinarily you don’t have to ask, unless there is a sign telling you to, which obviously you do. Plus convenience stores are awash. Daily Yamazaki, Lawson’s, 7-11 to name a few. Pre-packaged but very fresh. You can get a very nice sandwich very late that doesn’t look like it has died the death of a thousand cuts. And it’s all cheap. Fresh, cheap readily available. One thing to remember is that they will ask you if you are eating in, there are chairs, normally one or two and you sit in and eat. You generally dont stand in the street and eat in Japan or on the train. You eat inside or you take it home.

ROAD ETIQUETTE

Be aware that the whole time I was cycling in Japan the drivers give absolutely no quarter whatsoever in any way. Doesn’t matter the age or where you are. If you are not comfortable with this don’t cycle around Japan. Having said this nobody hit me, which more than I can say for the London commute. Also pay attention to road sign colours. One minute you are on what looks like the equivalent of an A road the next minute it turns into a major highway. Think the M1 in the UK. And if you make the mistake I made they drive even closer to you than on inner city streets, at speed. 

It takes longer but it’s safer. Take the back roads. Wiggly roads on the map=steep!

Now upon reflection there maybe several people that ask why on earth I didn’t have Kobe beef. Loads of prefectures have their own beef so why just stick to this one. Plus the world was my oyster. Food quality is taken very seriously here so you can eat anywhere. From konbini to omakase. Everywhere I ate and everything I ate was top drawer.

Next stop Himeji. I didn’t plan this but that’s where I ended up. So after nearly getting my bike confiscated in Osaka and failing to eat beef in Kobe, Himeji held so much promise. 

Passed a very impressive graveyard location that overlooked some houses and in the distance the sea. Then passed the impressive Akashi-Kaikyo suspension bridge. For all your bridge otaku needs please find attached.

Keep cycling until I get hungry for dinner or my legs get tired. Because it’s by the coast the journey,surprisingly, wasn’t that photogenic. I think at this point it became patently aware that I needed to mount my phone on the handlebars. So I bought a Minoura phone mount. Really complicated to put on your handlebars but very secure. Now something to remember is that it does rain in Japan so being able to put my phone somewhere dry yet handy I decided to invest in some waterproof shorts. Perfect for the extended rain sequence. Plus I worked out that I was losing about 500 metres per stop,using an old Japanese man on a Dutch ebike as my reference when I had my phone in my pocket.  Not too bad on the open road but terrible when you are negotiating a major city(Osaka). Oh and ebikes have been a thing here for a while. The west is just catching up. They are considered more of a utility than a luxury item.

Not much else happened today so onto the hotel then dinner. The routine for stopping was simple, sun starts to head towards the horizon/I get tired or the hangover from the previous night killed my energy levels.

THE KIOSK

Possibly the second most important thing to the konbini is the kiosk. They are sometimes randomly and sometimes very helpfully placed on the edge of a remote forest road. On more than one occasion in the heat I found myself without water. 2x suntory .75 litre was perfect for fitting in the net side pockets of my North Face rucksack. This leads me very neatly onto my next subject. Change or cash. You need cash in Japan and the more rural you get the more you need. Most establishments have card facilities but it simplifies your life because some of the vending machines do not accept cards and if you are traveling in the hot months you will be in trouble unless your uncle is Bear Grylls. I normally had a pocket of small change in my rucksack plus 500en in change in my short pockets. Enough to get water or a snack without having to go through rucksack palaver.

HOTELS

In Japan hotels are….cheap plus although I was travelling on my own they don’t always charge for the second person. It does seem weird that if you book a room with a double bed in it that you have to pay for the second person. One hotel, ahem, even gave me a refund when they realised that I was staying alone, more details on that on my return to Nagoya. 

Great thing in Japan is with regards to food you can go as far away from the hotel as you dare or eat right next door. I usually wandered around until I found something very local looking and wander in. When they cross their forefingers they are fully booked. It’s great when you know a bit of Japanese via an app but remember there are a variety of answers said at speed that you can’t quite comprehend. I got by generally but Google and friends helped too.  I spent a fair bit of time after dinner walking around looking in supermarkets to check food quality and bike snacks. Usually dried meats were very handy.

There was all sorts of different stuff of which some was departure for me but there was nothing that I tried snack wise that I didn’t like.  Top left is little ice cream coated chocolate buttons. About 10 in a pack but perfect for dessert. They do serve desserts in restaurants but it’s not as much of a thing as it is in the west I found. The edamame flavour snacks were perfect. Not too salty. And the Hi-chew think opal fruits or fruitella. Back to the hotel or nearest bar….If I drank alone in a hotel .ie. grabbed a vending machine beer I generally didn’t drink it. So I’m not really sure what the hotel staff did with the many beers I left in hotel fridges dotted around Japan…..

HIMEJI

Rode through the city of Himeji quite quickly had a quick look at the castle….and kept it moving, places to see and all that. Stayed in the industrial district of Himeji after a couple of hotel fails then decided that I was going to book online only. Previously I was just rocking up and asking if they had a room in possibly the worst Japanese anyone has ever heard. With a modicum of success….I could barely work out what the reply was!

I booked a place which I was a bit baffled by so I phoned my friend for help and basically I had a whole apartment to myself for about £30!

The guy was very friendly and patient with me. But I REALLY REALLY messed up Billy big time! The landlord had just let me into the flat and I was inside the door and there was a big step (shoes off) but I didn’t see him take his crocs off and he had put them on the top of the step so I decided that they were for me (crocs being the almost international language of, ‘put these on guest’). So as he was showing me about he looked over his shoulder and said those are mine. #ABSOLUTELY MORTIFIED.  I proceeded to apologise profusely and he was good about it but when I told  my Japanese friend what had happened the reply was, ‘Thats really really bad’! After this everything else went surprisingly well.

Trip around the supermarket to gaze at the extremely fresh looking fish. Sometimes in supermarkets they don’t like you taking photos of the fish. I don’t know why. Longingly gaze into a local sake shop. And generally get a better feel for Japan. Looking around malls etc. I decided against eating out in case I made another faux pas. I really liked the apartment. Spotless plus it had a washing machine. I had three days worth of cycling clothes plus two pairs of chill shorts and one t-shirt. But this would change.

OKAYAMA

I got up early with the sole intention of blasting through Okayama and make steady progress towards Hiroshima. Bike says NO! As I rolled across a bridge and into the main part of the city I lost shifting in the rear derailleur. It wouldn’t budge. I thought maybe I could tough it out to Hiroshima but the bike was having none of it. 

Nerdy bike tech alert, Shimano had taken the spring out of the rear derailleur that helps it maintain tension on the chain in an exercise in reducing weight possibly? So when you shift to a smaller cog you have to pedal or the shifting cable pops out of the housing. A relatively easy fix but I thought better to find a bike shop and get it sorted.

Bike shop etiquette

Do not bring your bicycle into a bike shop, unless they tell you to. This might sound weird. Usually there is a scaffolding ‘A’ frame outside. (Pic) Hang your bike on it by the saddle. This is protocol. Then go in and try your best to describe the problem. They are extremely helpful. I needed to sort out the derailleur cable but they spotted a couple of other issues which would require a new chain and block. So I got everything sorted for about £60 inc labour! Cheap. They told me they would email me when it was ready, probably in about 3 hours. No problem. I was going to chill, although in the back of my mind I wanted get back on the road.

Then I changed my plan. What was the rush. Find a hotel and check in. By the time I checked in the bike shop had emailed me. The bike was ready. Plus they had sent me a detailed explanation of the problems and how they had fixed them with very clear photos! Also when they say your bike is ready they pretty much need you to get it off their premises soon as. So I went to pick it up and the lady behind the till gave me a full rundown. Massive shout out to Bicycle Pro Shop Nakayama.One thing I noticed.

The guy on the hotel reception spoke fluent Japanese and English but he definitely wasn’t a local. He told me he was Indian. I was impressed.

I then decided to chill for a day or two. Went for a walk and found a few record shops, one called ‘Jamaican Taste’, where I found what I can only describe as a reggae otaku as the owner. He helped me out, was very knowledgeable and allowed me to play whatever I wanted. Then he invited me to a few events so staying for a couple of days would be the right thing to do. It would be fun. So I chilled and went record shopping a touch too overzealously! I was so relaxed that I spent the rest of the afternoon in a record shop above a crossroads selecting some choice cuts.

Then I realised how much I had bought. There was no way I was carrying all that to Mt Fuji……

I went to a bar called rude boy where I had a very nice time. Listened to great music spun by local djs vinyl only. Got talking to a Parisian local called Leonard. Who was having a crack at the local lasses. At least he gave it a shot. Left there at about 3am.

Got up early and headed out. Back on the bike awash with flyers and with a plan to come to another event or two on the way back from Hiroshima. What a fun city. 

Next stop Hiroshima… hopefully. As I progressed on route 2 I noticed the amount of mechanics and car showrooms liberally sprinkled around. They range from the very general to the very specific. And the greatest care is taken with attention to detail. #manhours onwards

Covered shopping area Okayama. Japan has a lot of these. Maybe because of the rain. Shop all day don’t get wet. Also explains the clear umbrella thing.

Very hot today 36°c. So had to be very careful with food and hydration. Which stood me in very good stead. It was about 2 o’clock and I was doing well and decided that I felt pretty good so I was going to go as fast as I could for as long as I could. Fast forward two hours and I’m still going strong. An hour later I’m still feeling very good. So I thought I can make it to Hiroshima that evening at the present rate. Hit a hill at a good clip then realised I was on a major highway and had to double back to find a small road. I was really enjoying the day on the bike. Then I noticed it was getting dark and I was still 30 miles or so outside of Hiroshima. Then my body made me pay the price for my earlier exertions and my legs became empty so I decided to stop in a place called Ikehabara. Plus it was raining and I was getting tired of getting rained on or I was getting soft.

It’s a small town. Oysters were a thing there. It started to rain. I found a large slightly delapidated hotel and plotted there completely drenched. 

I took a few recommendations for food establishments and headed into a very quiet road that seemed to have a few restaurants. I found one with an old Japanese man and an ancient looking kitchen. But the people inside looked local. I took a seat next to a salary man and his  mother. He spoke a little English and asked me why I was in town. I told him of my travels and he opened up a bit and we chatted a little while I ogled the plates of other diners  and perused the menu. Obviously in Japanese, no English menu here mate!

On the salary man’s recommendation I ordered the local sake. Put the glass in the box and pour…. 

I tried my best to use as much Japanese as possible but regions are just as important here as in every other country.  

At one point he insisted that I eat what his partner had not eaten. It was battered small fish with green salt. I felt bad but he told me that she always ordered more than she could eat. I repaid the favour by attempting to seruptitously pay his bill. A combination of my bad Japanese and Google and a big mouthed cashier almost put paid to this but mission accomplished. He thanked me profusely. I told him I was repaying his generosity, helping me order and giving me food.  That was around 6pm.

As I walked out of the restaurant there was a lady dressed in black coming down a set of stairs opposite. She turned a sign around to signal that wherever she had emerged from was now open. She walked back up the stairs and opened a door and disappeared inside. I followed. I opened the door. The lady and a guy in a 3 piece suit beckoned me inside. The rest of the night/morning can only be told from memory as some of the people who later turned up were very interesting people. Lots of flamboyance and jewellery. I was in a hostess bar. I had a great time and there were lots of questions about why I was there. I distinctly remember quite late on talking to a guy, who in London I probably wouldn’t have had a similar conversation with (he looked a bit tasty) as the saying goes,about his favourite manga (Shin Chan) which he still was really into. I bought a round of drinks for everyone and then chatted more. My entire bill, bearing in mind I left just after midnight was about £60! That might get you 6/7 beers in London depending on the establishment!

What a night! Local food local beer local people. The mission was really afoot. My fears before I left London were allayed.

      Left my hotel early and headed to the nearest konbini and grabbed a breadcrumbed squid stick. Great choice! Delicious and fresh! Then grabbed a smoked salmon sort of onigiri. My favourite but are not always available. I’m guessing I’m not the only one who likes them

Umai! Ready for anything 

Headed towards Hiroshima taking my time but buoyed by the previous nights frivolity. Maybe changing a few people’s perceptions. I really was having fun. Me bike food new people new culture. 

Quite hot day full sun. I decided to head straight to the monument and then worry about hotels. Any picture does not do the magnitude of what happened any justice. Actually being there gave me an odd feeling that I can’t describe. It was similar to Dachau. A strange sense of peace…there is a gong? that goes off every minute approximately but I did not enquire as to the significance.  Took a few photos. Eerie atmosphere. 

Started searching for a hotel. Ended up at a nice hotel very close to the bomb site. About £30/night. Clean blah blah. I then went for a wander. Food is everywhere. Then I went record shopping. I just can’t help it. Cheap mint vinyl. I’d just have to carry the extra weight. Hit Uniqlo to get some more chill attire. One long sleeve t shirt was not enough. Ended up in Mos burger….I know it’s a chain but love it. And I wanted to try and figure out the workings of the place. A cheap and tasty burger. More wandering. Found a tiny bar at the back of a building in a quiet alleyway that was playing ska and rocksteady. It was absolutely packed. The music was good and the sound system was top drawer! Back to the hotel.

Woke up nice and early. Had a massage. All the massages that I had were ‘shirt on’. They actually have a little matching two piece that you are required to wear. Went for a walk again and found another record shop. Found some really nice records. Weight was becoming a bit of a consideration.

Found a burger joint. It was small and quiet. The burger was fresh tasty and delicious. Washed down with obligatory ice cold beer. Did some more wandering. There isn’t that much of interest that I could find apart from the monument. They have galleries and all that but that’s not my thing.  I found a rock and roll record shop that took me a while to actually find. 3rd floor back of a building.  When I walked in the first thing the guy said to me was, ‘this is a rock and roll shop’. I said I know that’s why I am here. Thought about having a beer there but I got the vibe that I wasn’t cool enough. So i had a good rummage through the rock vinyl.

Then I got a pizza craving that hit me like a junkie looking for crack. I found a restaurant that was a very short walk from the hotel on the second floor overlooking the river. It had all the decor that you would expect. I had carpaccio and pizza which I wasn’t sure what to expect. But it was good. Not the best pizza in the world a mile from the worst. Also had some prawn linguine which was perfect. Hotel

Back on the bike in the morning.

The Shimanami Kaido cycle route. It was heavily recommended to me during the outset of my journey. About an hour after I left Hiroshima it started raining. By the time I got to the Shimanami Kaido cycle route it was raining heavily. I wanted to explore more but the rain and lack of places to shelter kept me moving. 

I crossed one bridge that had the largest expansion joint I have ever seen. Plus it was metal and riding across it in the wet made for an interesting sensation. I’m sure I mentioned that the road was very busy.

There is a cycle route that you can follow (blue arrows on the road) but I chose the less beaten path which was really steep but more interesting. Plus I came across the most vibrant colour flower I have ever seen. The globe amaranth. The camera (phone)really doesn’t do the colour justice. 

There are alot of James Bond looking beaches that are viewable from the bridge. But I had to cross the bridge first. 

I have never crossed a suspension bridge on a bicycle before. Disconcerting. You are crossing on a path underneath the main traffic road for the bridge and everytime a large vehicle goes across the bridge ‘bounces’. I rode on a curly cycle track on the other side to get to one of the many beautiful beaches. Now it’s raining persistently and heavily. I went down to the beach which was extremely clean and the sand was orangey yellow and the grains of sand were like little flat squares. I decided that I should start to head off and start the hotel search process. 

As I rode back onto the mainland I saw school kids walking. Then I observed something I had never seen before. As the group split up one small group started walking backwards away from the group until they were out of sight of the main group. Unusual. Would have ask someone about that….

It’s still raining as I managed to find a hotel. Standing in the lobby literally dripping wet. I stood patiently as I saw a nice looking road bike hanging on the wall. Very careful not to step onto the step. The manager/receptionist was very accommodating. ‘Nice bike’ was the first thing he said to me. The room was in another building. So he showed me where to park my bike which was in a carpark but one street away from the hotel. So my pride and joy was locked to itself leaning against a post in a pachinko carpark. Oh well… we’ll see in the morning.  

The hotel itself was more of a labourers hotel. But it had everything I needed and a dryer. Still raining….. I got out of my clothes and headed out. I decided to walk past my bike and saw that, I’m presuming, the hotel receptionist had tied my bike to the post it was leaning on with a bit of white rope! The Japan you hear about…..

I searched for a Coco curry house, I needed a large hot meal and it did just the job. After dinner I did the obligatory walk around the massive supermarket to gaze at food and grab snacks for the morrow. Fell asleep to the sound of locals chatting outside my window. 

Woke up and knew that it was raining. My clothes were dry but it was really raining. Went into auto mode grabbed my gear checked out and discovered my bike was still there and hadn’t been touched (apart from the rope). I started to not think of them as hotels but ‘home for a day’.

Back on the bike in the rain and back onto the Shimanami Kaido cycle route. It rained all day. It was like being a courier again. There were some beautiful spots but the rain stopped all chance of play. I was getting a bit sick of it. It was warm rain which was a blessing, but I guess if you stand in your shower all day fully clothed after a very short while you might get a bit peeved. Finish the day a bit early. I noticed that if you don’t get to a hotel before 4 it gets more difficult to get a room especially if you are winging it. Still raining..

In one instance I rode into a city went to literally every hotel in a mile radius, nothing. So I rode all the way back out of town.(20km) And managed to find the last room in a hotel. Just what you need at the end of the day. 

The hotel I stayed in had a bit of a story attached to it. I arrived just as it was getting dark. I hadn’t booked anything so walked up the elevator to the front desk and in my rubbish Japanese asked if they had a room. The cross keys and the receptionist both turned to me at the same time and made a cross sign with their index fingers. Okay. In my mind as I headed back down to my bike I got a bit angry and said to myself, I am staying at this hotel. It was about 20 storeys, I was sure there was a room. So I did what I should have done from the beginning. Book online. Went to the Google. Found the hotel then went onto Agoda website and booked the room. Took about 5 minutes. Went back upstairs to the reception armed with my booking code and my passport. I told them that I had made a booking. They were a little surprised. But they checked and there it was. And after all that they offered to let me put my soaking wet bike in the room. Result!

Dried my clothes out again and hoped that it wouldn’t rain again tomorrow. I was too afraid to even look at the forecast! I decided that I was going to move onto the next city and forget about the Shimanami Kaido. Two days in the rain and not being able to enjoy it was enough. And to top it all  off in the shower that evening my toenail fell off! Wasn’t painful at all. Just grabbed a meal in a restaurant and chatted briefly with a waiter who told me that he had lived in a kibbutz in Israel and said that Japanese society was way too rigid. I guess a view from the inside.

Next day was absolutely glorious! Full sunshine, blue cloudless sky. And about 10° warmer. After the last two days I was going to enjoy this! Breakfast was going to be alfresco (outside the konbini). 

I looked at the weather and thought that I might go back to the Shimanami Kaido trail  and have a proper look around. But then my phone started to ping. All of a sudden I was being asked, ‘can you get to here by’? Or there by….? I didn’t know because I hadn’t been on a cycling tour before…I had to get a spurt on. Maybe next time…

Back to Okayama.

This time I was going to be prepared and would book a hotel on Agoda but it’s difficult to do when you don’t know where you are going to be. Simple plan. Wait until I’ve done enough cycling then look for a hotel about 5-10 miles from the location. Book it, then head for it.  Winging it completely wasn’t working. 

Okayama!

Found a hotel after a bit of riding around and settled in after booking for two nights because I planned to go to an event that night and the following night. That’s two nights right? Maybe…got some food at the supermarket and chilled in the room. Went back to Jamaican Taste. Grabbed a record or two. Then headed out to Bar Rudeboy.

It was an interesting night and made a few connections.  Went back to the hotel at a reasonable hour…..

10am the phone rings. I ignore it. It rings again I ignore it. No one knows I’m here. 

I think nothing of it. I’m chilling. Then there’s a knock on the door. I ignore it. Another knock. A small Japanese woman is demanding that I leave the room. I said why on the ticket that I showed her it said two nights specifically 4+5 underneath it was written check out 6th. I showed this to her and she started shouting at me.  I shouted back at the two of them read what it says. She was telling me this is a five and I said what’s that then pointing to the ticket next to the nights part. She went silent. Then the guy starts shouting at me. I shouted back and thought I didn’t cycle a whole bunch of miles to be shouted at by a bunch of rude fools who cant read. I had paid my money but they literally chased me out of the hotel then started shouting at me about the key. I threw it on the ground. And left hoping that my bike was still in the garage underneath. After a short nervous moment my bike was there. That was the very last time I was going to wing it regarding hotels. (I thought it would be more fun trying to use the language). F that I’m going online sod them all. But right now I had to get a hotel immediately. It’s midday and I went ‘money no object’.

Went roaming for a hotel. It wasn’t until an hour or so later I found the most ostentatious hotel and walked in and in my absolutely atrocious Japanese asked if they had a room. I was in luck, but the receptionists reply had a slight air of negativity in it. As my mind went through it’s cobweb filled database I remembered the word for double. Unfortunately they only had a double room. Mondai arimasen! It was about £100 for the night, very expensive for Japan. But I didn’t care. I paid up and went in search of somewhere to park my bike. The lady escorted me to a spot around the back of the hotel and stuck a hotel sticker on it! By the time I got back to my reception all my bags and panniers that I had left at reception had been taken up to my room. It was palatial by anyones’ standards and it’s was a corner room with amazing views over the city. From the ridiculous to the sublime.

Roamed around on the bike for a bit. Gave me an idea for another trip. Japan on a Brompton…..hard work but fun. 

Found another record shop that had some 90s-2000s rap and rnb classics….I went too far. I’m going to have to dump these in Nagoya at a locker or some such. 

Went to the event at bar rude boy where I met a Parisian called Leonard. We chatted like old friends. Also spoke to briefly to a couple of guys from Prague who had been there the previous night. I gave up at 2am.

He continued on. What an evening. I was told about a hip hop day event that afternoon which seems like quite a bit of fun. But it was in the opposite direction and I really wanted to get going. With hindsight I should have gone to the event. It was called Okayama street fest!. In the Okayama dome. Next time. 

Went through a traditional Japanese village and noticed the abundance of rice fields. Everywhere where there is even the smallest piece of land, a space between two houses, they will use it for what looks like rice. 

Roamed around for a bit looking for nothing in particular then I was looking for a hotel but there wasn’t much where I was. The heat and nights frivolities was taking its toll. I was wondering what to do and stumbled across a beach. 

Japan isn’t the first place you think of when you hear the word beach but I had come across some great ones and they were clean. So I sat on the beach and just relaxed. Then I realised that it was probably the first time I had relaxed properly since I had arrived. Had to get here had to get there no time for just me. It was nice. Only a few people on a nice beach on a warm day. Couldn’t really go for a proper dip. No boardies no where to change plus id have to buy water to wash the salt off. Nothing worse than cycling in gear that is saturated with drying salt. Word of the day, abrasion!

After an hour or so itchy feet got the better of me. I should have just camped on the beach. But the hangover was brutal. I managed to find a relatively close hotel about 10 miles or so on wiggly road that dead ended.  Wiggly roads normally mean hilly. This was no different but the views were stunning. A little spicy at times, becoming very narrow and unkempt. Stop take pic and carry on. This road was really steep and everything, including my ‘excess baggage ‘ was really beginning to weigh me down. But it would be worth it.

It was about a 6 mile climb to the hotel. I hadn’t booked and I was just praying that they had a room. Quite near the top I was literally on my last legs and a stag was standing about 20 metres in front of me. Cue trying to get my phone from it’s mount. Too slow he was long gone. I finally get to the hotel. If it had been 100 metres further I would not have made it. I was dead. I left my bike outside reception and waltzed in. The place was huge but a tad delapidated. Lots of former glory. And definitely not as busy as it should have been based on the absolutely unbelievable views! It was like walking into a classic James Bond movie! Furniture included. 

There was no shower in the room. I needn’t have worried. They asked if I wanted a shower and I followed a woman down a corridor and down a flight of stairs into the basement where there were three rooms up a step! Shoes off. We went into the first room and it was tatami and with an ensuite onsen! I didn’t have the language to ask her if it was a genuine onsen. I didn’t care. Plus you quickly got used to the animals right outside the ensuite window. The perfect antidote to a hungover ride up a 12% incline with panniers in the heat. On a random passed through a small village with an unhealthy amount of scallop shells. All stacked very neatly in racks. Absolutely everywhere.

After being stunned by the views and wildlife in and around the hotel, I then realised why it wasn’t so busy. If you didn’t have access to a vehicle it wasn’t much fun. If you just wanted to chill it was perfect. And that I did. 

Got chatting to the manager of the hotel and his sidekick. A young Instagram influencer. Needless to say all meals were amazing. The oysters were absolutely delicious! According to the manager they had come from the bay in front of the hotel. The only things that I didn’t get on with, but did try were the fermented beans and the steamed egg white. Taste and texture not my speed. Had to give it a try but I really struggled.  After dinner I was introduced to the animals. Then the manager brought in the baby emu. Well it was quite big and it kept pecking at the pygmy rabbit that if the influencer hadn’t been holding it it would have been killed for sure. Then the emu started eating my shoes. Next thing I know I have a chicken sat in my lap. It was very calm. Then after some time the animals were moved aside and a taiko drum appeared in front of me. I hadn’t practiced drumming for a while. I was encouraged to try. 20 minutes later I think everyone had had enough.  

I met the managers mother who informed me that all the furniture was of her choosing. Impeccable taste. And in true Japanese style all original. No copies or fakes. 

Then I started chatting to the manager and the influencer. They were friends. He had asked her to come and help him get some promotion for the hotel. I guess she was staying for free. The hotel owners hadn’t spent any money on the hotel in terms of maintenance so he was having to struggle through. In the summer apparently it was a great place for having BBQs. Of which there were several on the back deck of the hotel. But the maintenance bill was a killer. I chilled at the hotel for a couple of days and paid upfront.

Based on the view and food alone it was an absolute bargain. And I had never been that close to an emu before. Note to everyone else who hasn’t encountered them pecking is their thing. I ended up staying there two nights and including 3 meals per day it was cheap. Also the manager seemed to be doing almost everything, from changing the sheets to making all my meals. Plus when a room with a much better view became available he automatically transferred me! There was only one downside. On check out day the manager was nowhere to be seen and the stand in tried to charge me again. It took a while but I stood my ground and he did not like it but I was not paying twice just on principle alone. There is an under current in Japan and you really get to see it in the hotel game.  Onwards…

I did have a walk around the grounds and the site was way bigger than I thought. It had tennis courts and it’s own family of deer. There were also marked trails leading off into the surrounding woods. If I had more time…

Heading back towards Nagoya I passed a bridge that was an entry point to the Shimanami Kaido cycle route and the weather was perfect. I just couldn’t stop. I already had at least three places I had to get to before my trip was over. I was making good time with the addition of my new phone mount and I decided that sunglasses were just getting in the way of me unlocking my phone. Plus the weather was glorious. The temperature had dropped about 7°.

Onto Osaka and Hirakata.

Osaka. Not much to say except a whole bunch! Only upon my return to London I was told that I had been in the home of Shimano! I should have found a bike shop and grabbed some gear. Oh well. 

Because it takes so long to navigate a city in Japan I decided I would stay in the north of Osaka near Hirakata amusement park. I was actually cycling alongside it on a quite precarious road. So I was concentrating and hadn’t noticed the occasional screams of the riders. I thought I would spice up my holiday and get to having some rollercoaster action! So I get to the entrance and noticed that there was no queues……so it’s about to close probably. I was unfortunately correct. I thought that I would just come back tomorrow. Unfortunately it was shut tomorrow…noooooooo!

JAPAN MAIN PT 2

I had already booked a place so I headed that way. It was in a really suburban area where I stumbled across some school kids in a park arguing about a bike that had been stolen. It was one of two times that I heard a raised voice, outside of an izakaya.

I got there and the classic Japanese grandma greeted me with a whole bunch of rules and regulations. It was her house after all. I think that she lived next door and rented the house as a business.

The rules….there were literally dozens for everything! On the stairs, in the hallway, in the room, for the bathroom, for the toilet for the washing machine and they had all been written in Japanese obviously! I was a bit concerned that if I broke one of them, because I had forgotten,  I may have been thrown out. One thing I remember about the rule of the toilet was telling me I had to sit down to pee ‘no pit pit pit’ was the phrase that grandma used! That phrase has stuck with me. Once was enough…. But I needn’t have worried. She was kind enough to provide me with a small lock so that I could lock my bike to something, a drainpipe, and proceeded to give me a complete demonstration of how to use it. Thorough. I dropped my gear into the room very mindful of the rules. It appeared that I was the only guest. Then I went in search of food. There were alot of the usual chains about so dinner was cheap and I had konbini for dessert. Had some washing to do and some sleep.
I got up to bright sunshine and got myself together. I had settled into a routine. I packed my panniers in a certain way. Clean chill clothes on one side and dirty cycling on the other and smalls in my rucksack. So I didn’t have to keep moving things around. My records were also split between my panniers. So I was about to jump on the horseless whip and, I will call her grandma from this point on, came out and severely tested my knowledge of Japanese. She asked me if I knew anything about flowers and Japanese history. No I replied. She told me about really beautiful flowers and there was some link to a empress or some such. It was a beautiful story. She also told me about the specialty food of the area. I switched off my London head and probably listened to her fill my head with knowledge of Osaka and the surrounding area. Including Biwa ko. Which I said I had already cycled around. She was really nice to me. Unfortunately I can’t remember much of what she told me. I should have written some of it down. If anyone out there knows anything of the story please help me out. I would love to know. So we said our goodbyes and I cycled up the steep road and I glanced back. Grandma was standing in the middle of the road waving me off with both hands all the way until I got out of sight. That hill was very steep, it took about 5 minutes! Moral of the story don’t judge a book by the amount of rules left all over the house. Maybe I altered her perception of western people.

I got my cycling game on and headed for top up snacks at Daily Yamazaki. I had the over sliced bread which was fresh and grabbed a whole bunch of dried meat snacks which would come in very handy…
I must’ve spent about £15-20 on snacks. Which is alot! Two bottles of water were definitely necessary because it was 30°C. So there I was in the boiling heat cycling. Every turn was an even bigger climb. So after about 6 hours of climbing I saw a downhill which looked quite long. So forgetting what they had told me in two bike shops I banged down the gears and lost shifting again. The cable head was bulging the shifter head. Damn. Stopped at the bottom of the hill in the middle of nowhere and tried to free the cable head with an Allen key and just made it worse. I didn’t want to do any damage, so I tried old Google foolishly assuming that there was no bike shop in this wilderness. Maybe I could find a station if I could find the overhead lines. Google came back with a quite stunning result. Not only was I near a bike shop. It was also a frame builders! Sick mate! It was 400 metres away! So I could limp there. I gave serious consideration to muscling it into the next town but the bike said, unequivocally, NO!

Macchi Ueda/Makisan. A frame builder of the old school variety. Lugs and brass guy fitted with top end campagnolo groupset. A customer, who was picking up his brand new hand built frame helped with some translation issues I had and Makisan got right to it. Within half an hour it was sorted. I was walking around the small store admiring his handiwork. Long travel hardtail steel mountain bikes,roadbikes. He even took me into the workshop. I got excited to see the brazing setup. It reminded me of my week of making a frame in Canterbury. The smells, the canisters etc.al.  Then I proceeded to buy as much of his self designed merch as I could. I left two things, relieved and happy. No new shifter required!

I continued up the road and got a few hundred metres and noticed that I had run out of water. So I went into an organic matcha shop and bought some bits and pieces including a matcha ice cream. I also had a cold tea and a hot tea bearing in mind that I could see the proprietors sorting out a heap of tea leaves on a large tablecloth.
When I asked for some water, because the vending machine was empty of water, the lady asked me if I had a bottle, she took my bottle, filled a kettle with ice then gave it a good swirl and topped up my bottle! Beginning to enjoy the taste of Japanese hospitality. It definitely got me to the next vending machine.
I had been climbing for a bit enjoying the scenery. The snacks were doing their thing.
     

Then I had one of those moments. As I turned off the main road into a tiny traditional village these two orange wasps on steroids which were linked together flew down to the ground from eye level. My childish curiosity allowed me to get close enough to them to get a bit of footage and a good photo.  Depending on what you read online maybe I shouldn’t have got too close but there were only two of them.  This was my introduction to the Japanese giant hornet, Vespa Mandarinia or as I later found out, o suzumebachi.  They are serious beehive killers but they are also very important to the Japanese ecology.  

Onwards. It was getting late the sun was beginning to clip the mountains and I was the wrong side of the range. I was thinking about finding a place to camp. Then I don’t know what hit me. I decided that I was going to muscle it over the mountain I thought I could get there before the sun went down completely. So stopped for a toilet break. The road was getting steeper. The on impulse I ate all my snacks in one go. The straight looking road was not that far away but it was very twisty=steep! This was the start of a very exciting ride. Some of which I had made assumptions about.
So after two hours the sun had gone down so I stopped again and put my lights on. Onwards. I went as fast I dared because I had no idea what I was in for on the other side.

Eventually I hit the straight road which I had guessed was the top. It was a very well lit tunnel. I breathed a massive sigh of relief. The traffic was extremely light. Maybe one car every 5 minutes. So I bombed it out of the tunnel and realised a two things. Firstly I definitely needed the lights. Two, the night vision thing, turn your lights off and use night vision, doesn’t work at 40mph! So based on the previous high quality of Japanese roads I took a massive risk. I had tried to stay with the cars but they were doing at least 60mph on the straight. So I turned my lights back on. Because I would wear both sets of brake pads out if I just stayed with the cautious approach. I spent the next 30 minutes praying that there were no errant branches or car parts on the road.

The road was completely unlit. No cat eyes nothing! Only the Chevron black and white corner signs and because the corners were very tight I had to guess at how tight at high speed. So this was a 30 minute trust fall. I can promise you that there is no rollercoaster or fairground ride that has even come close to that experience. Descending into an unlit unknown road at speed knowing that at least it would be a serious trip to the hospital. WOW! Then as I came to the end I had to stop to grab a photo the view was stunning. Everything around me was dark except the valley was completely lit with the city of Nagoya! Stunning.  A few people got a photo text at some ungodly hour back west.  When I got to the bottom I was looking around for somewhere to stay. I saw a glamping place that was absolutely gorgeous under a motorway bridge. It looked perfect until I saw the price! It was cheaper to stay in a really nice hotel!  Another thing I saw was a really well manicured country house done in the traditional style. It looked picture perfect. And i thought to myself, I wonder who owns that house, more on that later, a proper signpost moment!
Note to self when looking for a hotel always look at the pictures of the room. It tells you exactly what you are dealing with.
So I booked a nearby hotel and as I pulled off the main road. It got real quiet and a bit dark. The cars were parked in bays that didn’t allow the cars to be seen from the road and a few cars had a piece of wood that hid the registration plate. Okaaayyy..

As I went inside there was no one inside. No staff or patrons. The check in was by machine. And then you get a receipt. I’ll give you a clue about where I stayed. Once you go into the room you are not allowed to leave. I asked for a key but there was only a receipt. There was no key. So I headed to the room. The door opened into an anteroom with a hatch to the left. Okay so shoes off. The room was nice but it had the largest shower room I have ever seen. It was actually bigger than the rest of the room. If the walls could talk. Also there were hard shutters that completely covered the windows. The rest was pretty standard. There were a bunch of menus so I put my snacks in the fridge had a luxurious shower and sat down with an ice cold konbini beer whilst perusing the menus. There were alot of options…. about 6 or 7 different menus. But I went with the pizza and a couple of beers. Then I started getting messages from the reception letting me know that I had bought food and beer for two people and the room rate was for two people. Daijobu, I replied, mondai arimasen. Then about an hour later they resent me a revised bill with the lower rate! And refunded me. Plus I got an email in the morning stating all of the above! What other country would do this. You would just get that blank stare in any other country and the old, ‘the price is the price’ cold.
The rest of the night was largely uneventful except for when the food arrived…I heard the young? Uber deliveroo type guy arrived,lots of rustling of technical fabrics. He called out the order and my name and then I heard some rustling in the hatch by the door and then a red light came on. How appropriate. By the time I got near the hatch he was long gone. He was hustling to get out of there. Opened the hatch. Two ice cold beers and two pizzas. Perfect. Eat drink sleep.
When I woke up and checked out, I had only seen the bottom half of someone behind a reception desk scurrying away desperate not to be seen. It then dawned on me. I had stayed in rabu hotel! Well it was very clean and tidy and there were no weird smells. I checked out.
Onwards to Nagoya!  To be honest this was the worst part of the journey. I cycled along route 22. It’s a major highway. Imagine cycling along the M1. Factories, divey cafes

Unkempt road services. Every junction putting your life in the hands of angry truck drivers. And it took so long, almost 6 hours to get quite a short distance. Debris all over the pavement. No hard shoulder to even allow for a bit of speed. I needed to get off this road. I stopped briefly for lunch somewhere just to get some fuel. Gyoza with pickled vegetables. Delicious. Simple food cooked well.
Back on the road again….dull dreary. Eventually I arrived in Nagoya headed straight to a locker and then to the hotel room.

All those records I bought finally off my back. I put the records in a station locker. I should have found a short stay storage space. But a friend of a friend had offered to store them for me so they organised a meet up. It was a bit of faffing around but it got sorted out.

In the meantime I had an offer to stay at a friend of a flatmates parents house in a place called Tochigi which was north of Tokyo. Plus I had also to get to Gunma. I then realised that I was running out of time and getting questions about how long it would take to get to here or there and bearing in mind I had absolutely no idea because I hadn’t been there before. Just keep pedalling.

I stayed at a nondescript hotel somewhere with a huge collection of some manga in the lobby. A perfectly manicured collection of course!  Food and then hit the road again.

Next stop Fuji San as it’s colloquially known. I thought to myself would I easily recognise Mt Fuji?One thing I will say is that it was really awkward to get to Tokyo. I ended up on major highways several times.

kuhl-japan.com↗

My plan was to go to Fuji over Saitama and then progress onto Tochigi and then Gunma. One of my concerns was that with all the thousands of mountains in Japan that I would inadvertantly miss Mt Fuji. I needn’t have worried.I said a little prayer for my Uncle Erle (G). I made it G.

I underestimated the steepness of Mt. Fuji! After two hours I hadn’t got more than 10 k. It was so steep I was watching a guy with a light camping knapsack walking a few hundred metres in front of me. It took me while to get to him. I was completely drenched in sweat. So when I got to the top of the road I turned right, which obviously went up further still. Then I started hearing explosions and gunfire. I was very close to an army training ground deep in the forests of Mt Fuji.  

Here you could really see the fight with mother nature in full effect. Bamboo encroaching onto the rural roads. Road maintenance guys in small gangs littered all over the mountain. And the road was still going up. I turned left and cycled up the road again. Now I was 6 hours in and there was only uphill in front of me. I had a problem. The road was looking like it may turn into an express way and there were less and less side/back road options.

So instead I decided to head back south toward Tokyo and Yokohama. What a fantastic choice! Grabbed some food at a random rural Lawson’s.

The journey to Yokohama was incredible! Very steep fast roads that had incredibly tight corners.  If you were unaware you would definitely be caught out.

Luckily it wasn’t raining. I probably got to Yokohama in under four hours. It was getting cooler too. Perfect cycling weather.

As I was cycling through Kanagawa a guy with a very similar setup was going in the other direction. We both waved furiously at each other with massive smiles on our faces. This was the only cyclist on my journey that did this. He looked European but I will never know…it was like we were saying ‘well done keep going’ to each other.  

As I arrived onto a main street in Yokohama the starlings? were flocking. It was quite the sight. Headed to the hotel and went for a walk. I walked about 50 metres and saw a really nice looking yakitori place with an slightly angry looking old man in charge of the grill. It looked very good. I walked around for another hour or so and gave in.

Straight back to the yakitori place. Who was I kidding? I was talking about it with a friend the previous evening. And needless to say I went completely mad in there.

Ordered way too much but It was delicious and getting through Tokyo up to Tochigi would be quite full on.

And when I looked on the map I saw that Tokyo is surrounded by other cities that connect with it. So the Tokyo you think you see on Google is not really Tokyo. Tokyo is one city next to a lot of other cities.
It’s relatively easy to get about with one caveat.

When you are on a dual carriageway and it has a tunnel on a bicycle you are not allowed to cycle in the tunnel. You have to go slightly to the left if you are lucky and carry on. If you are unlucky you have to stop getting off your bike and roll the bike down a set of stairs with a bike ramp built into it. Ride for about 30 metres and then there will be another ramp stair combo that you then have to go back up to the highway. After the 5th time, with panniers, it gets a bit annoying. But that’s what the locals were doing.

Once you get out of the city, and had lunch, normal service was resumed.
Saw the trainline and cycled parallel to it and had a completely uneventful ride to the hotel. Toyoko inn✓Pristine room✓modular bathroom✓.

  Went for a walk and got approached by a woman and then noted that she was of ill repute. I had ‘stumbled’ into the red light district! Oh well. Walked around for a bit, looking for a restaurant obviously and found a ‘local’ spot.

A few salary men and some friend groups. I ordered a beer then had a look at the menu. Uh oh. I could read hiragana and katakana with a modicum of success but not stylised kanji. The salaryman sitting next to me helped me to order. God send. Just as I finished somebody behind me had ordered the karage, so I just had to have it. And foolishly ordered 15 pieces! What a glutton.

I did finish the plate but in that laboured slow chewing heavy breathing way. It was really good! Walked around after and grabbed a konbini beer. Text and sleep.
Got up at routine o’clock. It was raining. Headed to the nearest Uniqlo to get some water proof shorts. Sorted.

Rode up the main road for a few hours then decided to follow a river to head north. As I turned into the farmland area i spotted a Pakistani restaurant. But it didn’t open until 11am so decided to wait. It smelt good. I went for a little ride and decided to try some orange fruit that was I picked. Google said it was edible. Blimey it was extremely bitter. Maybe the wrong season.

Back to the restaurant.
The food was really tasty! Bit stingy with the meat but the bread was perfect. It was just like the places I had eaten in Southall in London! The owner just wasn’t that pleasant. Onwards.
Hit the river and continued to ride north. It was a nice ride but it was raining quite heavily. It was peaceful though.

Raised from the road so no traffic on the path. Just enjoying the scenery. Lush fauna alongside a wide winding river. Almost could be in the UK. Picturesque. Rode past a temple with loads of stone animals in the grounds. I wish I could read kanji then I might know what was behind it all.

Next stop Tochigi/Owara. I had to meet a couple who were parents of friends of flatmates.
I did the Japanese thing of buying some gifts from the local Uniqlo. Socks bags that sort of thing…..Plus I was told that Takayuki San (dad) and Junto San (mum) didn’t speak a word of English. For some reason I wasn’t nervous. I got to the house around 6pm. It was like meeting old friends.

References to surfing everywhere. Takayuki San was a keen surfer. Had been so for a big portion of his life. They were obviously very welcoming. Then there was Lua Chan, the dog. Very friendly. She sat on the sofa with me for ages. In between drinking sake from designer gilt silver sake cups. Very fancy. Plans were made for the following day. But tonight we were going to a local yakitori spot.

I was shown to my room and then to the shower room. Very nice. All sorts of jets everywhere. Perfect. Then I decided to go to the toilet. It was the most bling bling toilet room I had ever seen. All sorts of red and gold stuff and auto everything. Possibly the only toilet I will remember on my deathbed!
Arrived at the yakitori spot. Everything went fine until I attempted to pick up the bill, I wouldn’t say that l was wrested to the ground but a grappling battle ensued with Junto San. Albeit brief. And Takayuki San has positioned himself between the ‘battle’ and the till so there was no way out except to let go and not cause a scene. One nil to Junto San….

The next day I was supposed to go to the gym with Junto San in the morning but I couldn’t lift my head off the pillow until 10am. Oh well.  But the whole thing might have been a little bit of a ruse to set me up with her personal trainer.  

We picked up a family friend by the name of Yukio San who was a strawberry farmer. First one I had ever met. He was an interesting character. De- ROI was the best he could do with my name pronunciation.

I had an introduction to Keirin. The Japanese cycling version of the dogs (ask an English man for details) or horse racing.  I did have a flutter just to get into the spirit of the thing. Watching guys of wildly differing ages compete. Before each race they had a parade lap. Some guys in certain bike shops I know would wet themselves if they saw some of the steel finery on offer.  The bikes were immaculate and they were dressed up in brightly coloured and distinctive cycling gear.  Some completely colour coded.  100 ¥ here 200¥ there.  It was all good fun.  Apparently it can get quite exciting when it’s a big race. After a couple of hours of boys fun we headed back to pick up Junto San.
I was taken to a gyoza restaurant that was in essence in the middle of a parking lot. A bit like an American diner. It was raining and there was a queue. We stood in the rain for about 10 minutes. It was my hosts favourite gyoza spot. As soon as I got inside I could see why there was a queue. It smelt delicious, the chefs were working hard and the plates looked really fresh!

All gyoza all day all tasty. Fried, boiled, steamed. Just gyoza. The deep fried gyoza had the texture of cannoli. It would take me a while to get used to. The boiled ones were lovely but my favourite was the more traditional style fried then steamed. They were amazing. A little bit of crunch or bite then all the flavour floods out. Garlic pork spring onions. Washed down with ice cold beer or three.
Back to the house and prepare for the next days meet up in Gunma. A friend of a friend who had previously lived in the UK. So the conversation would flow a bit easier.
My hosts had been amazing. I had my own room. There was fresh bedding. I had breakfast. Plus luachan had sat by my side on the sofa for almost the whole time I had been in the house. I had also met Junto Sans parents who were lovely. Her mother was gardening furiously in the heat. Apparently at the ripe old age of 85!

It was like leaving old friends. Also Takayuki San never wears socks outside of work. Never. Just flip flops regardless of the weather.

Next stop Gunma. It took a little bit longer than I had anticipated but I did wander into the remnants of a food market that was shutting down. I tried to peak at what the traders were putting away. All looking very fresh. Shame. Lots of treats that I had never seen before. It was a flat ride to Gunma.
I got there around 5.

Put my bag down said hi and Taka San said we had to get out of here it’s a two hour drive. I had no idea what he was talking about. I thought I was stopping for a couple of beers and a meal overnight. And I was going to stay in a little container village a short walk from his house. Not so. My host hadn’t mentioned it but we were going to a place called Kusatsu. I’d never heard of it. Apparently it was an onsen city not far from Nagano. When we arrived there it reminded me of a Swiss alpine village.

With a twist. There were hot spring sulphur baths in the main square and in the middle of it was a large Sulphur hot spring pseudo waterfall that was backlit. The Steam adding to the visual drama. Very atmospheric. It was almost like a scene from a batman movie. The town was obviously very busy and parking was a nightmare. We checked in and headed to the tatami mat room. I put on the yukata? And we headed to the onsen. The hotel also had its own onsen which was very quiet. Perfect. Just me and my host. I just sat there looking at the build quality and thought of all the energy that went into keeping the onsen so clean and cobwebs free. It was all old beams high ceilings and stone floors.
We went for dinner afterwards which was nice. It was quite cold around 6°. And all I had was a long sleeve t-shirt and shorts.

We went to dinner somewhere close by and polished off the food with a couple of beers. Back to the hotel, where I went to sleep and Taka San went back to the onsen.

The morning was bright and less cold. We went to the hotel onsen and looked around for breakfast/lunch. We found a nice place that my host had been to previously. It was a long queue and pricey but it was definitely worth it just on looks alone. A manicured brunch. Miso, sausage and egg, roe, yoghurt and salad etc. etc.

Then we went to an open air onsen which was really nice. Very big and surrounded by autumn infused maple trees. I noted that every onsen facility that I had used throughout Japan had been very clean. Wether it be in a hotel or a standalone. That includes any sento. 

They were mostly very reasonably priced bearing in mind the facilities available. Springs, electricity bath sauna etc.al. it was a perfect end to our little jaunt. We drove back chatting about life and the general experience.

On the ways back I realised that my SIM card was running out the next day so I had to get one sharpish. But the difficulty in getting one was proving very tough. After much driving around by my host he turned translator and literally saved my bacon. They had to drag out a SIM card from the depths of a huge electronics store. What a huge relief!
After that I checked into a nearby container hotel which was reasonably priced and was small but spotless. I spent a bit of time sorting out my SIM and chilled. My host then asked if I would be able to stay another day because he wanted to go to dinner the next day. I said no problem. I would get to repay the favour.

The next day I went around the general area. I found a local area museum and a temple was next door. It had a circular lake Infront that was green with algae. Deeply photogenic.

The museum, despite it’s size was quite small in terms of exhibits inside. Very informative. And some truly stunning exhibits. Rich local history. And recorded in minute detail.  Wasn’t allowed to take pictures in the main museum so the picture below is all I have.

Took some pictures of the grounds and wandered over to a park that had what looked like a pomelo tree. I had never seen one before. And i still haven’t.

The park was like a golf course without the sand traps. Perfectly manicured. I roamed around a bit and sat by a river in the sun. That’s when I noticed that I had cooked my front disc. It was discoloured. Probably on the way into Nagoya over the range.  

I was getting peckish. Time to start looking for lunch. Roamed aimlessly and found a sushi conveyor belt restaurant. It was really cheap. Fantastic looking see through tuna ngiri for 70p! The coffee looking cake was also delicious and soft.

After lunch I found a second hand books toys manga and  record store. I think it was called books buy or something similar. I bought some Golgo 13. Looks like a precursor to the punisher. And obviously I bought some more records (which I’m playing as I edit today) #doobiebrothers. The toys were interesting.

I headed back to the hotel container. I had an evening meal booked in with my host with more than the most.

We met up at a nearby spot where I had soup and very thinly sliced pork. Simple yet delicious. We chatted and drank beer for a bit and then we parted ways. Taka San asked me to and visit him the next day before I left which I duly did. He said he might come to visit London the following year. Here’s hoping.  (He made it)!

Onward to Tokyo. The rain started again. I stayed riding alongside a river for as long as I could. The flat farmland area made for quite good going.

Then it started to rain. It didn’t stop for a few hours. I hit the konbini and pressed on.When it started to dry out I started looking for a barbers. I found one, they are almost everywhere in Japan. The old man seemed a bit angry. I didn’t mind. After he finished he asked me why I was there. I told him why and he seemed to visibly relax. He smiled broadly and wished me on my way. He tolerated the murdering of his language. I started to look for a hotel. I found one that looked a bit ‘Hoxton’. So I booked it. When I pulled up it looked ok from the outside. Once I stepped inside my positive mood had waned.

The step thing I understand. Take your cycling shoes off and the general, I don’t want to deal with his ishy Japanese, was the general vibe I got. Also I had to leave my cycling shoes in a locker which meant that they wouldn’t dry out by the morning. Then once I had told them that I had a tattoo things took a turn for the worse. I was not allowed to have a tattoo uncovered in any part of the hotel. Plus If I wanted to use the shower I had to be escorted both ways by a member of staff. Sounds prisonesque(i’ve watched Oz) I basically had to go from my room down to the reception to get an escort and the key then do it all in reverse. And before I was even allowed to go past reception I was sat down in the middle of the reception area whilst the receptionist stuck covering plaster on a small tattoo behind my ear. It seemed a tad dramatic. I could have done that by myself.  So after all this I headed to room until I realised where I left my bike. This is how I remember it. I had to put my cycling shoes in a locker then come back to reception where they gave me over the counter crocs to go outside move my bike and then come back in. Hand back the over the counter crocs then get another pair to go to my room. I go to the room and made a decision that I wasn’t going to leave the room until I had to check out. So I just put some fresh clean clothes on and listened to a podcast and checked the forecast. Then I realised something.  I couldn’t find the switch for the main light. There was no way I was going to sit there all night with only the main light for illumination. I searched high and low, outside the room and inside swiping with my hand over every plastic square I could find in the room. Poking about aimlessly. I even messaged the hotel on Instagram. Then as I passed out in a mix of frustrated dampness and exhaustion the mattresses split. And there on the headboard underneath the mattresses was the main light switch! What on earth is the deal with that? I’ve stayed in ryokan, workers hotels, salary man hotels, 5 star hotels and this has never happened. I think I stayed at 30 hotels during my stay and this has never happened before. It’s never happened any hotel in the world. In my lifetime. Until this place.
Needless to say as soon as the sun was up I was out of there and I put on my wet shoes. At least they were warm and wet!  Outatane cafe. Avoid. No other Japanese hotel covered my tattoos. And yes I always asked them if it was ok at reception. Avoid. Unless you like that type of thing.  Plus I do have a vague recollection of them charging me considerably more after I had already paid before hand. It wasn’t made clear because it was on the original receipt that you had to retain and then scan in order to check out. Bearing in mind I had used none of the facilities. Not even breakfast. I worked in the prison system briefly and to be honest it wasn’t that far off from this.  
Cycling alongside the shinkansen track you can actually see the walls trackside move.
Onto Odaiba. This would be my second to last day on the bike. I was heading to meet a friend who had come over from London and had setup via a friend, an extremely swanky apartment overlooking Odaiba bay. Think jacuzzi room with corner window overlooking the bay.
A blast through Minato and Taito city into Tokyo. I hit a real purple patch on the bike. I was absolutely sailing through the cities. I noticed that there were no speed bumps or potholes on my route, so I went as fast as I could. Four weeks of being on the bike for 6-9 hours almost everyday in rain or shine had put the wind up me and I was enjoying the last bit of cycling for a while. Plus I enjoy cycling in traffic. Also trusting Google maps was not a good choice so I went by eye and feel. Old school. All down hill from here. A couple of hours later I was in a small apartment in what looked like an area that was similar to Barbican in London.

Met my friend. Got rid of the bike and panniers and went to do the one thing alot of people actually go to Japan solely for. SHOPPING!
To the uninitiated the cities are extremely built up and crowded. To those in the know the crannies have all sorts of interesting things in them. Also remember to look up. There are shops inside what can appear to look like an office block.

Went into a mall in Odaiba and there was a huge gundam shop/expo. It was called Gundam Base Tokyo. Proper otaku fest. All types of gundam. 8ft, gold out, painted, anodised look. Lots of detail. I would go out on a limb and say that there was a Gundam for everyone. There were alot of couples in there, but I presumed that the men had dragged their partners there.
I enjoyed the experience and bought a small zock 10? And what is quite unusual is that my friend knew exactly how it fit into the Gundam space. What it’s role and functions were. It did get a little tiring after a while.

We got some food from murakame? and continued shopping.  I was eating significantly less than when I left London. The Lacoste shop was interesting. They had certain items that were exclusive not to Japan but to only that particular shop, that with hindsight I should have bought (a two piece matching crocodile camo set) . It was very cheap.
Basically the next couple of days was meeting up with differing people who were all old friends of my friend from when she used to live in Japan. All very friendly and some of them with a devilish twinkle in their eyes. Had a lot of fun eating drinking clubbing.

And was introduced to a character called Mogra from the gatcha gatcha. Very odd. Even when I had  the character in my hand the lady at the neighbouring gatcha looked at it as if to say what in the world is that!?

On the first night in Tokyo we headed back to Swankville. Then caught the view from the balcony. Unreal! The city completely lit up and the sound of high end cars cruising on the highway at speed. This continued late into the night where I watched Tokyo swindler. Apparently very popular in Japan based on  real life events.

Went to a club within a club. I think it was called Plum in Shimbashi. I think I still have the drink tokens somewhere. Plus a very hazy memory of looking for a mobile phone in a club at 2am. No details to follow.

Had a few issues around bike storage but the concierge said it would be fine to keep it in the room, plus I didn’t want to scratch any of the very valuable looking cars in the carpark.
We moved on to a hotel and this was a very different experience. Firstly I asked if I could park my bicycle in the almost empty car park. No dice I had to park it way down the street. Plus the room was really tiny. They must have had fun playing Jenga Tetris getting the bed in there. It took up 90% of the floor space and then with my panniers about 1% was all that was left. At least the modular bathroom was clean. And it was near the shinkansen.
The next day was a pretty interesting experience and needless to say also eye opening.
My bike had to be put in a box apparently in order to be allowed on the train. So my friend and I walked around looking for a bike box at various bike shops to no avail. Then went to department stores to get bits of boxes and effectively tape them together and put the bike in it and drag it to the station. The guy at the gates was not impressed and was not going to let us on the train. Being a jobs worth. The bike had to be enclosed . So I put the bike back together put the panniers on and told my friend that if I didn’t appear before the train was due to arrive to go it alone and I will cycle back to Nagoya. It would take three days off my schedule. I don’t think I was allowed to bring my bike on the smaller trains. Plus we had already booked seats that had an allocated space for the bike. So it would be nice to get on the train.
Cue me with all my gear on riding around furiously to every bike shop in the vicinity looking for some sort of bike luggage. The last shop I could find had something, not before I had upset the manager/owner by bringing my bike into the shop! A big no no.
Luckily they had just the solution. A bike bag.  Turn the handlebars and put the bike upside down in the bag. Perfect. Now once the bike was in the bag it should be ok. Went to the barrier for the shinkansen and the previous security guard wasn’t there. The new one hasn’t a care in the world. Everything was looking good. The pressure was off! Phew! Although i was physically able, and up for the extended riding, I was releived when we got on the train

We got on the train and found the allotted space for the bike but our seats had someone in them. I was definitely not in the mood for conversation. Show him the ticket and off he went. Bike stored behind our seats. The train journey was good until the next station when another passenger waltzed on with a bike. No box nothing! A little bit upset was I! Well at least nothing else could go wrong…

Arrived in Nagoya a few hours later relatively refreshed and relaxed. The atmosphere was different and people were a lot more polite. Moving out of the way of the guy with the massive bag with a bike in it. Holding lift doors open, the polar opposite of Tokyo. Got out of the station and looked for a cab that was big enough to get the bike in. A guy in a Vito type vehicle rocked up and opened the rear door, bike goes in easily. Jump in put my seatbelt on and the guy drove about 16 metres and as i looked over my shoulder i could see another cab pulling out but he wasn’t slowing down, BUMP! The cab driver informed me that we would have to get out. But he was so pleasant because he told us that he wasn’t going to charge us! How kind! Charge us for what?! I never caused the accident. Decamp, now more than a little but pissed off, thinking to myself that one day i would laugh about this… Back on the kerb looking for another cab. An elderly cab driver pulled up took one look at the bike picked it up and jammed it into the cab no problem! All set for the second time of asking. Gave him the address and off we went. Half an hour later he pulled up an said, ‘this is it’….er..no! Google had us about a mile away from our actual destination! He pulled up at the wrong address. Not sure how…anyway, ten minutes later we arrived for the second time of asking!

Checked in at the more place which was more of a hostel than a hotel. They were really helpful and let me keep my bike in reception hanging on the wall! Perfect! I could now surely relax and enjoy the rest of my holiday without a care in the world! I think now that i would enjoy the rest of my holiday in relative peace…or so i thought! Just kidding….sort of. I’ll save it for the end. First stop Nagoya soul food. The next few days was eating and relaxing and shopping, just sucking up the Japanese culture . Taking a rest and realising what i had set out to do i had accomplished and within the time frame with a touch to spare.

The next weekend I was taken to a mate of a mates country house. So he drove us there and we picked up the obligatory beers and great quality meat. As we pulled up to the drive this house was the house that I had wondered who the owner was as i came back into Nagoya! Of all the houses in all the world I had to stay in his! Such a signpost moment! Needless to say I just relaxed and listened to the general chatter. Soaking up speech patterns and humour. Drinking and eating and onsening. For those who have never tried it is probably the best way to relax. Yes its warmer than the average bath but an official onsen comes from source. Its so rewarding and you feel completely revitalised after the event. A floating heat soak is the best way to describe it. If you get the chance do it. Cast aside your fears and inhibitions and live the culture. Its the only way. That way you become more accepted by the locals.

After eating and sleeping well for a couple of days we headed back to the city because I had been invited to a day punk rock rave in low level office block somewhere in north eastern Nagoya. It was really well organised with food and drink and an enthusiastic crowd. A few bands and a nice vibe.

We stayed at the event for a few hours and then moved on to Liberty Walk. For those that dont know or cant be bothered to google,its a next level car tuner and modifier based in Nagoya. They bend/break some of the purists car rules, Cutting up top marques and putting body kits on them and giving them stance.

Takeaways from my trip. I got absolutely no punctures. Yes i made sure that i had slightly tougher tyres than normal because me fixing punctures at the side of the road was not really part of the plan.

Everyone who i have mentioned my trip to has said the same thing that Japan is expensive. Yes the flight is expensive but i have seen flights for between £600-800. My friend booked a hotel on a different trip last minute for two weeks for £600. It was close to the centre of Nagoya. In the equivalent it was about 10 minutes walk from Oxford circus. Mayfair/ Marylebone/Soho. So not bad at all. Food cheap beer cheap quality very high across the board.

Its a rigid society but probably with good reason. They simply want to protect their culture and way of life. Stop people from defacing their religious buildings and such like according to the tinternets. In the UK it has become increasingly difficult to enjoy yourself because the disposable income for the masses has gone down by probably around 30%. But the products and services have stayed at the same level or have gotten exponentially worse after inflation. All the things that I used to do without thought in the 2000s I have to think twice before i do them. In Japan I just do them. So fun is still prevalent and widely available. Not to say the prices haven’t gone up there, they have but at a slower rate.

Did I have fun, yes! Would I do it again, yes! Would I do it the same, no. I would do my best to do it better

AI generated

Thanks and praise in no particular order go to Yukochan, Bon San, Maki San, Harue San, Taka San, Takayuki San, Hiroshi San, Yo San, Ryuto San, Irie San, Pancho San, Rodo San, Anna San, Lua Chan Takayuki San, Junto San, Lie San ,Yukio San, Michiko San and of course Taeko San! There maybe more but without these people it would have been a lot more difficult to complete my vision of the task at hand. Unexpected trips to Kusatsu, keeping hold of records whilst I gallivant around. Buying bar tape. Going to events, which there were many and all the Djs and associated gang who made my trip incredibly memorable. Shout out to Rude Boy Bar and Jamaican Taste Records. Also massive thanks to the people who helped me on my journey but i never knew who you were and the people who stopped and chatted to me randomly. My deepest thanks.

Arigato gozaimasu………..desu

PS JUST DO IT!