September 25th to 27th: Tokyo to Fukushima

September 25th: Tokyo -> Saitama City -> Koga (65km + 20km detour to and from Saitama)

Sign along Route 4.

Route 4 which will take me all the way to the the northern tip of Honshu is 739km long (and the longest of the National Roads) according to Wikipedia. I've set myself a 10 day target to reach Aomori so that would equate to 73.9km a day. Thanks to the detour to Saitama Stadium 2002 (home of Urawa Reds) i fell a little short of target but the temperature has fallen to very cooling 24-26 degrees in the afternoon now, perfect for cycling. And the stadium was a ghost town because there was no game today. Not a soul in sight or shop open (apparently the Reds are on an away AFC game)

September 26th: Koga -> Shirakawa (125km)

Out of neccesity i had to cycle over a 100km today because there were no vacancies in the 2 towns i passed through. Riding at night was no fun and the temperature was very cold at 16 degrees so i finally had a chance to put on the jacket i brought. Finally found a place to spend the night in Shirakawa (the 5th hotel i tried, the others were full as well).

Shirakawa has the best tasting ramen i've had so far in Japan. Just found out that the local variation of Ramen here is considered (by some) to be the best in Japan. The cook (who was also waiter and cashier) was stir-frying some onions and then he poured the ramen broth into it. The smell, heavenly, and the taste, fantastic. The set including some tori karaage and a bowl of soy-sauce rice was 850JPY, which was quite reasonable.

September 27th: Shirakawa -> Fukushima (85km)

Told myself before i set off this morning i didn't want a repeat of yesterday's night cycling so i pushed myself to cycle a little faster and reached Fukushima in record time (2:30pm; i always start off at 10am every morning). I'm 272km from Tokyo now and above my average distance to cover a day (~222km) so maybe i can save a day on my way to Aomori.

Lunch today was ramen again and a new style that i haven't tried before. It's cold ramen noodles that is supposed to be dipped into the soup (a little sweet/sour tasting), and at first i wasnt't sure if that was how it was supposed to be eaten so i just observed the guy beside me. And that black patch on the plate is chili! Wow, never though i would get to have chili in Japan! Unfortunately, it's more sweet than spicy. But the dish was very good.

I'm in the capital city of Fukushima, in Fukushima Prefecture tonight and heading to Sendai tomorrow; that would be the most populated city in the north. I'm expecting temperatures to drop soon and already i'm riding with track pants on to keep warm, but im really enjoying this ride up north. I have not seen any real cyclists on the roads so far though.

September 21st to 23rd: Yokohama to Tokyo and the TOKYO GAME SHOW!

September 21st to 23rd: Yokohama to Tokyo and the TOKYO GAME SHOW! (all photos combined here)

It's when i really get to such a big city like Tokyo that i look back and truly appreciate the kindness and friendliness of the other smaller cities and towns i've been true. Someone told me that the closer you get towards Tokyo the more people are unwilling to stop and lend a hand or give directions. I guess that's generally true. Anyway on the way to my Hotel (which i am very glad is outside town) at Toyo, i saw 5 ambulances, 1 police car and 1 fire truck go wailing by. And that's just within my first hour of cycling in town! Which, by the way, is incredibly difficult with all the people and traffic. There are however, courier cyclists swerving in and out of traffic very skilfully.

Passed Tokyo Tower on the way through town.

Outside the Imperial Palace Garden Park, which is offlimits to cyclists, especially the sweaty ones like me

I'm glad the Hotel is much better than what i'm used to staying in nowadays. Conveniently, the Tokyo Metro entrance is just outside the hotel and i'm 3 subway stops from the station to get to the Tokyo Game Show and Akihabara.

Akihabara, well i don't have much to say about it except how disappointed i am that i couldn't find the 2 games i was looking for in any of the shops. The electronics portion is like a hyper version of Sim Lim Square, except most stores have salespersons with loudhailers advertising outside. If you are an anime/manga or toy (as in collectible figures and specialty toy) fan than you will enjoy it more. But seriously, 1 anime DVD (which contains like 2-3 episodes) cost 5000JPY upwards while a regular movie costs around 3990JPY. And those toys figures, which admittedly look fantastic aren't cheap as well. I don't know how the prices are justifiable. Personally, i prefer Osaka's Den-den town better. It seems much more organised and chocked with just as much things.

I came with an empty bagpack and left with it full and 2 more (1 bag is in the white bag) on hand

On to the main event: The Tokyo Game Show! Seriously it does not pay to arrive just on time. Just look at the crowds! (another pic)! Either you come very early or come after lunch, like i did on the 2nd day, to avoid getting crowded out. Queue time was 1 hour+ just to enter the hall. To make it worse, it was a hot day and everyone was literally melting under the sun while waiting. They herded us in lanes of about 200 people and lane by lane we were allowed entry. At least i was wrong, Japanese do sweat (a lot) on closer inspection. Some people just squatted on the ground and played their PSP/DS while waiting.

Capcom girls saying farewell at the end of TGS 2007.

Snake look like he lost a lot of weight..

Once you make it through the TGS sign, you're free to wander around the 8 halls of events and booths. TGS was fun, well i say that because i'm estastic that i managed to get the autograph i was looking for. Caught and called out to Hideo Kojima as he was leaving the hall. His security guards told me to go away (politely of course) but Hideo-san came up to me and took my box and marker and signed. My hands were full so i didn't get to take a picture or shake his hand though.

Crowd leaving the building.

If you love games and don't mind wading through huge crowds then you'll love the show. If you want to try game demos, be prepared to wait, and wait, and wait. Queues range from 30 minutes to 4 hours (Metal Gear Solid 4) to try the games. That said, i queued 4 times to play Guitar Hero 3 on the PS3. I even went head to head with one of the members of Activision's GH3 production team. I lost though. The 8 halls are divided into 3 main lanes so i just spent my time walking back and forth each lane and catching whatever's on stage at the time. Stayed right till the end on the 2nd day, that's when every company's show girls go up on stage and take a bow before the show truly closes. Overall a really great experience for me and if i had the chance, i'll come back and do it again next year.

After i get away from Tokyo, i really have no other places (maybe Saitama and Takasaki City, maybe..) along the way that i am planning to stop over at all in Northern Honshu. The region is described as 'backwater' in Lonely Planet. LP also adds that the people are friendlier than people from Central Honshu, so i'm looking forward to that. A little kindness really goes a long way to brightening up someone's (ie, me) day.

September 19th to 20th: Numazu to Yokohama and Map of my Travel Route

Edit: Yokohama is not 50km away from Numazu as i was so wrongly misinformed by a guy on the street. It's actually ~80km away.

As suggested by Kenneth, here is a rough map of the places i've cycled through up till tomorrow. Please bear with the kindergarten-like scribbles, i just squiggled it out on in MSPAINT on the first map i could find. (Map taken from http://www.ease.com/~randyj/)

September 19th: Numazu -> Hakone -> Hiratsuka (pics here and here)

The name 'Hakone' has always been on the back of my mind since i met a fellow cycle-tourer back in Miharu. He told me he almost thought of giving up and going back home to Yokohama midway while pushing his bike up Hakone-pass. It took him 5 hours to go up Hakone (till nightfall no less) and down again (by my estimation that would be 30km total). I just laughed it off as a joke back then but after yesterday's trip, i have to conclude that pushing up this hill is no shame at all, especially if your bike is loaded with luggage.

Road snaking up to Hakone. That's Mt Fuji slope in the background, hiding again in the clouds.

Within the first kilometre of the climb i already passed a female cycle-tourer conceding defeat and pushing her bicycle up. I told myself that no matter what, i would not be doing the same. I passed a couple more cyclists going up and saw them struggling as well. Seriously, i felt their pain. Countless times while going up, my legs and heart kept telling me to stop and just surrender. Fortunately, pride won out in the end and it took me a grand total of 2 1/2 hours to go up and over Hakone...and i thought i was at the top when i saw this sign but after a 2km descend, i had to climb up somemore to the true highest point on Route 1....

The mist at the top felt like rain.

..and then from there it was a sweet descent to Odawara. And with a combination of late braking and just plain madness, i was surely the fastest idiot on wheels speeding down the mountain.

Fittingly, my Lonely Planet guide describes Hakone as a 'tourist mecca'. Truly a beautiful place. I also tried to spy Mt Fuji while cycling up, but it's more of the same ol' same ol'. The view from the top of Hakone pass of Lake Ashi would make a fabulous picture, if my camera could focus through the mist and capture the moment, which unfortunately it couldn't.

Found a bicycle shop on the way to Hiratsuka and changed my tyres and brake pads which were badly worn out. And on a personal note, i think my new tyres makes my bicycle look even better than it did before.

September 20th: Hiratsuka -> Yokohama

I'm spending the night with Robert Quek and family in Yokohama. Their house is fantastically luxurious and cosy and they were kind enough to invite me to base myself here for the next couple of days while i attend the Tokyo Game Show. But for fear of getting too comfortable (and already i'm reminded of home; they even have a Xbox360..) i think i will move on to Tokyo tomorrow.

Did a quick night sight-seeing trip around Yokohama bay, really pretty place even at night but it would be more ideal for romantic dates and such. So as the lone cyclist shining his LED headlight into the many embracing couples there, i didn't care to hang around too long.

Landmark Tower, tallest building in Japan.
Street performer who juggled fire sticks and extinguished them in his mouth.
Big ferris wheel at the bay.

Honestly, I'm just looking forward to the Tokyo Game Show. I bought the Metal Gear Solid 20th Anniversary collection in hopes that I can get Hideo Kojima to autograph it for me. Just so you know, the game that got me into gaming was Metal Gear Solid for the PS1, so besides being a big fan of Kojima and the series, there's a lot of 'sentimental' value for me. I just pray that i will be able to get a ticket to the biggest game show on Earth (Sat/Sun 10am-5pm; open to public).

September 17th - 18th: Toyohashi to Numazu

September 17th: Toyohashi -> Shimada (~80km)

The highlight of today was me getting my first puncture of my journey! And contary to popular (family) belief, i do know how to fix a puncture, even though this is probably only the 2nd time in my life i had to do so. Quite quickly too, by my low standards, it only took 15 minutes inclusive of unloading and reloading my bags. Well anyway, this is a load of my mind. Now at least i know i can handle flats.

If you like quiet towns, then Shimada is probably a good choice. The streets were so quiet and deserted at 8pm it felt like a ghost town. And dark too; without my front light on my bike i couldn't make out the pavements. Anyway i had Japanese curry rice for the first time. Better than i expected, and compared to regular curry back in Singapore, more my taste cause its less spicy.

September 18th: Shimada -> Numazu (~80km)

3 days after leaving Nagoya, i found myself once again in the Fuji region. And once again Mt Fuji is hiding amidst the clouds:

Mt Fuji from Kawaguchiko city, Sept 14th. At least i can make out its shape.

Mt Fuji from Fuji city, today. I can just make out its slope before it disappears into the clouds.

Frankly i don't think i want to hang around and wait for Fuji-san to show itself. So instead of going up to Fujinomiya as i planned yesterday, i went ahead and am staying Numazu for today. Had a delicious meal in Fuji for 1050JPY. And the shop lady was kind enough to give me 2 photographs (not postcards) taken off her shop wall of Mt Fuji in all its glory. And as has been the case for my entire trip, whenever i mention Singapore, the first thing that comes to everyone's mind is 'Ah, Merlion!' I never knew the Merlion was so famous.

Tomorrow: Should be a short trip to Yokohama and i'm going to look up a friend of my Uncle.

September 16th: Nagoya to Toyohashi

Thanks to fickle, soggy weather, today i'm spending the night in Toyohashi, which is about 45km from where i had intended to arrive at (Hamamatsu). Not the best of restarts to my cycling journey but it feels great to be back cycling.

I might be behind schedule to arrive in Tokyo (was expecting to arrive in 3-4 days), but thankfully the silver lining is that if i delay my arrival till about Friday, i can be in Tokyo in time for the Tokyo Game Show 2007 (Sept 22-23)!

This is a once in a lifetime chance to catch arguably the biggest game show on Earth without really seriously hindering any of my plans and i'm not going to waste it. So barring a natural disaster, i will be taking it slow for the next 5 days to reach Tokyo on Friday and spend 3 nights there to catch TGS 2007.

September 9th to 14th: The Route this past week

This is the route around Chubu that the 3 of us have been driving around in our rented Tokyota Probox up to today:
(map image taken from http://www.japan-zone.com/omnibus/chubu.shtml)

September 9th: Nagoya

September 10th: Nagoya -> Takayama

September 11th: Takayama -> Toyama

September 12th: Toyama -> Tokyo

September 13th: Tokyo

September 14th: Tokyo -> Mt Fuji

(Tomorrow) September 15th: Mt Fuji -> Nagoya

At least driving around Japan in the car is a different experience from what i'm used to so far. I got to see the Japanese expressways which are off-limit to bicycles and towns that were not on my itinerary so i'm satisfied at least despite losing a week of my own travelling time. Probably by Wednesday i'll reach Tokyo(again) on my own. But it's going to be a real challenge cycling through Tokyo from my preview of it. I'm really looking forward to hitting the saddle again this Sunday!

Appendix to Previous Post; Pictures for September 5th to 8th

Sorry for the lack of updates this week but if you had read the previous post i've been forced to take a 1-week detour off my plan because my dad and younger brother Brandon are here to tour Japan. It (unfortunately) feels like i've been unofficially appointed as tour guide and program planner for their holiday so i've still been busy (and quite tired frankly) despite the fact that most of the travelling has been in a rented car. As for photos from the 9th to this point, well both of them don't want me putting their pictures online but i'll sort through the photo pile (and there are alot of pics because Brandon is real shutter-happy) eventually and pull out the nice ones that do not feature either of them.

September 5 pictures: Osaka -> Kyoto


Tourists flocking to the top of Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto.


Kiyomizu temple steps and gate.

September 6th pictures: Kyoto -> Suzuka


Behind me is Lake Biwako, biggest lake in Japan. Unfortunately the area i chose to detour to the lake was decidedly un-scenic.

Instead of room numbers, the rooms in Suzuka are named. Very comfortable tatami rooms w/ futons and a very accomodating host made Suzuka one of my favourite stops so far.

September 7th and 8th pictures: Suzuka -> Nagoya


Sharing a dorm room with 2 others in a Youth Hostel.

Japanese metal band playing at Sakae street; unexpectedly entertaining!

Top left is a no-bicycle parking sign but... This seems to be the situation all over Japan (i myself have blatantly ignored it) and thankfully i have not encountered any enforcement of this no-parking law.

Oasis 21 shopping complex and Nagoya TV Tower in the background.

September 9th - 12th: Nagoya -> Takayama -> Toyama -> Nagano -> Tokyo

TO BE UPDATED IN THE NEXT POST. I think it's really true that a picture paints a thousand words so i'll let the pictures of these places do the talking. Thanks to Brandon for taking most of the pictures for these past few days and some of the scenery up in the mountains was simply spectacular!

September 5th to 8th: Osaka to Nagoya

Once again i find myself with an internet terminal to use, but no ability to upload pictures. Besides the usual summary here is my guide to eating on a budget in Japan. In my case its usually a matter of filling myself for cycling than eating good stuff. And apologies to my Muslim friends, but i dont think any of this is Halal.

Yoshinoya: Beef Bowl 380JPY/ Pork Bowl 330JPY (both Regular): good for breakfast and for something more filling consider adding a half-boiled egg (60JPY) or just ordering 2 bowls (660JPY). The Large bowls (480JPY) are not good value. Free flow green tea. 24 hours.
Sukiya: Beef bowl 390JPY/ Beef+Unagi bowls 640JPY: The beef isnt as good as Yoshinoya but theres more variety overall. Set meals go for 400-500JPY (usually rice+miso soup+main dish). Free flow iced coffee. 24 hours.
Matsuya: Beef Bowl 350JPY/ Pork Bowl 320JPY (Regular): Better value than Yoshinoya and there's a bowl of Miso Soup with every order. Free flow water and sometimes green tea. The yakiniku set for 640JPY is yummy.
KFC: If you have a 1000JPY budget than the current promotion is good. 5 piece chicken and 2 packs of fries for 990JPY. Very filling. No drinks though.
Mr Donut: A good place for breakfast meals. Lots of donuts going for between 100-200JPY each. 3 or 4 would be sufficient. Free iced water. If you go midday-evening there's sometimes a 100JPY sale for some of their more expensive donuts.
Royal Host: A bit expensive overall but try them for breakfast. A 3 pan-cake, hotdog and egg set goes for 500JPY. Softdrinks, coffee, orange juice etc are free-flow so it makes up for the cost. 24 hours
Joyfun: My personal favourite. Assorted sets go for 399-499JPY and there's free flow of many beverages. Add a side for 199 (Yakitoris, fries, cheesecake) to eat your fill. 24 hours.
Convenience stores: You can find one at almost every corner. Bentos go for 430JPY and sandwiches for 210JPY. No drinks. 24 hours.
100-YEN Shops: You can buy cup noodles for 105JPY (w/tax) and a 1-litre drink for the same price as well. Only good if you have hot water.
SPECIAL MENTION: The 250JPY store in Kyoto. All bentos go for 250JPY and i had 2 big chicken drumsticks for 180JPY. Best value meal i had so far.

September 5th: Osaka -> Kyoto (35km)

My lonely planet guide lists Kyoto and Tokyo as the only 2 MUST visit cities in Japan. Frankly i didn't enjoy my pass through of Kyoto. The exact reasons i do not know but i couldnt wait to leave (spent my night in a net cafe again) the next morning at 7am.

September 6th: Kyoto -> Suzuka (75km)

Today's ride was simply the best i had so far in Japan. Beautiful roads and mountain once i left Kyoto. Weather was 24 degrees at some point and it was fantastic day for cycling. Suzuka is a lovely town as well. Probably if you ask me which place i would want to settle down in Japan i would say (so far) either here or Moji. The ryokan i stayed in was a great experience too. Big clean tatami room and shower areas. The hot bathtub was simply heavenly after the shower! And i forgot to mention but right across the street are 2 gigantic shopping malls so yeah..it was really GOOD.

The lady-owner of the ryokan did not speak English but was extremely accomodating. She gave me a free Onigiri breakfast (even though i did the breakfast rates the day before), gave me a litre of Green tea and a towel and ice pack to wrap around my neck to protect from the sun. I have to give top marks for the entire experience in Suzuka.

September 7th: Suzuka -> Nagoya (55km)

Nagoya is the 3rd largest city in Japan behind Osaka and Tokyo. The streets running from the station has some impressive buildings: JR Central Towers, the largest train station (by floor area) in the world and HQ of Japan Railway Central; Nagoya TV Tower, oldest TV tower in Japan; Midland Square, 5th tallest building in Japan and HQ of Toyata International etc. Good 'sightseeing' if you're a big-city fan.

I'm staying in a dorm with 2 other guys and guess what? One of them is a cyclist touring Japan as well. He's also from Yokohama, which makes him the 3rd person from that area i've met and talked to on the road. Either Yokohama is some cycle touring central or people just can't wait to leave that city. Guess i'll know when i reach there.

September 8th: Nagoya

My dad and younger brother are flying over to Nagoya tomorrow for a 1 week holiday. So i'll be taking an extended break from my cycling trip and touring with them (by train or rented car) around the area to Mt Fuji and maybe Nagano/Tokyo. I'm not really sure how to plan this because of my bicycle but things will work out somehow i guess.

September 2nd - 4th: Kobe to Osaka

I had my longest ever stop-over in Osaka, which is perfect because i can finally take a long rest and recuperate; i figure its time for me to take a break from just cycling through cities and to start sight-seeing like a tourist. And unexpectedly, after squeezing around Osaka on foot and train for 2 days, i had a rekindling of my desire to get back on the saddle and hit the roads.

September 2-4th: Kobe -> Osaka (pics for Sept 2nd, Sept 3rd, Sept 4th)

A somewhat famous place that i did not expect to pass leaving Kobe for Osaka was Koshien, which is 'hallowed' ground for Japanese high school baseball players hoping to make it pro and has been featured prominently in many Japanese baseball movies, dramas, anime, manga etc. I just saw the sign while cycling and took a detour.

Osaka, Osaka..where do i begin? I'm going to try just give an all-in-one picture of my stay there. First thing, the hotel i booked online turned out to be superbly high-end (high end considering what i've stayed in so far perhaps?). All the front-desk staff speak English and there were athletes for the IAAF Osaka 2007 meet staying there as well. Service is top-notch and there's even a hotel shuttle bus every 20minutes to and from Shin-Osaka station.

September 2nd happened to be the last day of the Osaka 2007 (PHOTO) meet so i thought i would head down to Nagai stadium to catch the night's events. Change of plans went i saw the ticket prices: 10,500JPY for the cheapest available seats! That's like $150 SGD to catch a few hours of running! Cheapskates like myself unfortunately, can't get close to the stadium so i just wandered around the fair grounds (PHOTO), had dinner and some Takoyaki (8 octopus balls for 200JPY, that's the most reasonable price for food i've paid in Japan so far!) and went back to the hotel.

I bought a 2-day subway/bus pass for 2700JPY which comes with free tickets to 24 attractions in Osaka. The pass is real good value since the subway costs a mini-fortune to ride on. 3 stops from Shin-Osaka to Umeda costs 210JPY (~3SGD) and the ticket to the stadium the previous day was 310JPY. I had a little merry-go-round in the train lines in the maze that is Umeda station before i finally got orientated with the rail system. First stop:

Shin-Umeda City and its Floating Observatory (normal ticket 700JPY, free with the pass!) 170m up that offers a 360 degree panoramic view of Osaka City (PHOTO). Spectacular! And the building design really looks unique. I met Yannick who's from France (Paris) up on the roof of the Observatory and since both our next stop was Osaka castle we decided to go together.

Osaka castle looks fantastic from the outside but inside (my first visit inside a castle since its free with the pass) is really really disappointing, in the sense that it's been so renovated that i hardly felt any shred of the past remaining. More like going back to the future.

I had dinner with Yannick (PHOTO) and we exchanged e-mails and said goodbye. Next day was a visit to the other places on the pass, including Shintennoji temple (oldest temple in Japan), Tennoji Zoo (been so long since i visited a zoo, never thought i would enjoy myself) and WTC Tower Osaka at night, among others.

Quite frankly, the place i enjoyed the most was Den-den town, Osaka's version of Akihabara. Best find was Metal Gear Solid for the PS1 for 1000JPY. Been looking all over for that to complete my MGS collection. The best place to look were the 2nd hand shops. Wish i had more put aside more for shopping, but i would never be able to carry it on my bicycle anyway.

It's getting late (0014) so i think that's all i can write for tonight. Tomorrow i'm on my way to Nagoya which is around 150km from here. Should be a 2 day ride if my mood doesn't swing. Good night from Kyoto!

August 30th - September 1st: Miharu to Kobe

This is the cyclist i met in Miharu while writing the previous post. We went for an Okonomiyaki dinner together (a specialty of the Hiroshima prefecture) and had a nice chat. He used to stay in Singapore when he was small. He made me laugh when he said he missed bak ku teh. In the midst of everything i forgot to catch his name (i do know he's 20 though, and from Kanegawa). And he starts riding at 6am everyday so we shook hands and said goodbye before i went to sleep.

August 30th: Miharu -> Fukuyama -> Okayama (90+km, pics here)

Despite the "-yama" (yama=mountain) in the 2 cities name, today's journey was relatively flat. No real climbs and overall the weather has really gotten cooler so it's much easier cycling. It's also a good sign that i'm cycling lesser hours and covering more ground since the first day i started.

Okayama JR station just before sunset.

Nothing particularly special about Okayama (modern, big blah blah) but there's alot of Karaoke joints around the station. Unlike Singapore, Karaoke establishments here take up entire buildings and blocks and you really cant miss it cause there's lots of lights and neon signs around each.

August 31st: Okayama -> Himeji (90+km, pics here)

Before leaving town, i had a little sight-seeing detour in the morning to Okayama castle.

Okayama-jo, also known as Crow's Castle because it's painted black.

I appreciated this castle much more than the one in Hiroshima because the surroundings are more 'natural'. In Hiroshima, everywhere you look in the background you can see modern buildings which kinds of spoil the magic. In Okayama, the castle is flanked by a lake (PHOTO) and Koraku-en Garden , which according to the pamphlet is one of the 3 'great' parks in Japan. The park was too big to explore (there's a hill and even a tea plantation on its grounds) and it was getting late so i left for Himeji.

Route 2, which i have been on since i came on Honshu, can be a real pain sometimes. Like the road leading to Hiroshima, there are certain portions where, despite it being a national road, cyclists and pedestrians are not allowed on and i have to make a longer detour below the flyovers or by-passes. Well, just look where today's detour led me to:

I've been tricked!

No kidding.. that small fence on the top right is where Route 2 leads into a by-pass, and this is the 'road' that the cyclists and pedestrians get to take. Its understandable if you're walking but this is ridiculous! (by the way, this is 15km from Himeji) Sometimes when i'm tired, i even have difficulty pushing my bike up a single kerb to rest.

It took a Herculean effort to drag my bike up and around the by-pass into a small village, where i followed Route 179 into Himeji. Of course, this added an additional 5km into my trip. Note to others who might be taking the same path; at the previous town of Aioi, hit #179 straightaway and save yourself a lot of trouble.

No entry to latecomers!

Himeji is also famous for its castle, Himeji-jo, which has been voted as the most splendid castle in Japan. It was 5 mins to closing time when i reached Himeji so i couldnt enter the castle (stupid detour earlier). The grounds and park however, are really grand and well maintained. Very nice.

This is the only place so far in Japan where some people actually smile and say 'Konnichiwa' when they see me cycling on the pavements. And while in the castle grounds, instead of me asking people for help, this nice lady approached and volunteered to take a picture for me. Lastly, when i was asking a man for directions on the street, some passerbys actually noticed and joined in to offer assistance as well. We will call that being kaypoh in Singapore, but that's really fantastic service for a tourist like me.

Interesting bit of news i got on TV. The blue line indicates the normal temperature for Kobe (about 60km from Himeji) in August (it gets coolers) and the red line indicates what they're experiencing this summer, which is just crazy erratic.

September 1st: Himeji -> Kobe (65km, pics here)

Toydeath and me in my sexy riding tights.

Had a great chat with some Australians staying in the same Hotel (they saw me the previous day wandering in the castle grounds). They're performing tonight in Himeji and asked whether i would like to come along. I had to decline but their band is really 'wacky' from what i read on the Internet. They're called Toydeath and they dress up in outrageous costumes and play on stage with sounds from hand-modified toys (they call it 'circuit bending') they collect from all over the world. I didnt hear any of their music but i got to look and touch their 'instruments' which are really cool in a weird sort of way. Of course, i had to ask: have they got around to modifying a Guitar Hero controller? Answer: Not yet, but he's planning to.

What was planned to be a short 3 hour ride turned into one of the longest days i ever had so far. Firstly, bike trouble: my headset suddenly became much looser than it already was; my bicycle stand finally gave way to my bike's weight and for some reason, after lunch, my brakes just drastically faded. Fortunately, 13km from Kobe i found this huge bicycle store (Trek Concept Store), the biggest i've seen in Japan so far, which has great service akin to a car showroom (they have this waiting area (PHOTO) on the 2nd floor with drinks/food and Tour De France DVDs playing) while they service your bike. I burned about 3 hours watching a Lance Armstrong documentary there because it seems alot of people were having their bike serviced.

Sannomiya, next to the station and next to Motomachi (Chinatown). The amount of people on the street is overwhelming.

Secondly, i just remembered its Sunday and nearly impossible to get a Hotel unless you're willing to splash alot of cash. Also the Sannomiya area is jam-packed crowded! I couldn't ride on the pavements or on the roads cause people were just crossing at will. I had to push my way through the whole strecth. So i decided to camp in a park at first, which i gave up after an hour after feeling itchy and sweaty in my tent (no shower).

By then it was already 11pm so i just decided to crash in at a Net Cafe in town. 10 hours for 2080JPY is very reasonable, considering i can sleep, surf the net, eat free ice-cream and drinks and most importantly, BATHE for a mere 100JPY (which is actually the cost for the towel). I might just decide to do this more often whenever i can find a net cafe.

2 very fantastic sight around Kobe, the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge (the longest suspension bridge in the world) and the Port of Kobe Tower:

Longest suspension bridge in the world! Wow!


Looks better at night with the lightings than in the day.

Tomorrow: 35km to Osaka! I booked a Hotel already online to play safe, Osaka Garden Palace, which looks very good for 4900JPY/night. And now it's time to try to sleep in the Internet Cafe! "Checkout" is at 0930 tomorrow.