Greetings from Hiroshima! Took me 3 days of cycling covering over 300km from Fukuoka to get here. Weather has been topsy turvy for the past few days. It can be blistering hot one moment and raining heavily with no dark clouds in the sky the next, and then faster than i can find shelter, the rain stops and i'm in the sun again. I have to thank God that so far, i've not fallen sick from frequent temperature changes. Once again, a summary of the last few days:
August 25th: Fukuoka -> Kitakyushu -> Moji (pics here)
I have officially given up trying to recall the names of all the little towns and cities i've been cycling through. I just know that i started from A and ended at B. Today i rode Route 3 all the way through Kitakyushu prefecture (literally, North Kyushu), which is also a very modern string of towns and cities.
Taken at the clean breezy sea port of Moji.
The highlight was my ending point at Moji, or Mojiko (PHOTO, Moji Port) which is a delightful seaside town and the last stop on Kyushu before crossing the Kanmon straits to the main Japanese island of Honshu. I took a slow ride along the sea soaking in the breeze and sights and then just when i thought that maybe i had to cross to Shimonoseki to find a place to stay tonight, i found this cheap Hotel (PHOTO) just before the Kanmon tunnel road (PHOTO).
Nice big room but toilets and showers would have to be shared. My first time taking a traditional bath in Japan, where you have to sit on a stool and bathe. When i first got in there was this man with a lot of tattoos all over, who i thought would probably be unhappy since i was bathing standing up. However, looks were deceiving, and he graciously showed me the proper way to operate the bath. He even drew the stool and wash basin and laid it out for me. I opted not to go into the small hot spring bath at the end though, mainly because it felt steaming hot and i was already sunburnt all over.
August 26th: Moji -> Shimonoseki -> Ogori (pics here)
The day of the great crossing! I'm leaving Kyushu and arriving on Honshu via the Kanmon tunnel (PHOTO) which is about 1KM long and goes right under the straits. I was just imagining all the tons of sea water above me as i pushed my bike through (no cycling allowed in the tunnel)!
Its hard to smile for a picture when the sun is so bright...
Nothing much interesting today to report. Was feeling unusually tired so i only rode 50+km and stopped at Ogori, which is a town in the Yamaguchi prefecture. Oh yeah, the weather was again scorching, road signs said it was 36 degrees!
August 27th: Ogori -> Iwakumi -> Hiroshima (pics here)
My longest 1 day ride yet! 150km from Ogori all the way into the night to reach Hiroshima and a good 2 nights rest. Its funny, i was so tired the day before and almost decided to extend my stay in Ogori to recuperate more. And i ended up covering so much ground, amidst 2 sudden downpours and 34+degrees sun. Its really a case of mind over matter i guess.
Didn't make me go 'WOW!' but a pretty place overall.
Had a 15 minutes detour in Iwakuni to see the famous Iwankuni Kintai Bridge (the orginal bridge was made entirely of wood, no nails whatsoever). Scenic town but nothing really mind-boggling.
Hiroshima is a funny place. Unlike Fukuoka or Nagasaki where i had to search for Hotels with vacancies or within my budget, the problem in Hiroshima is locating a hotel! I arrived at 730pm and managed to find a place at 1030pm! That's because the only visible hotels are the Love Hotels (big neon lights) or the really grand ones (cos they're big). The normal small business hotels are extremely well hidden.
Anyway found a moderate price place (4700JPY) which had authentic tatami rooms and futons. The owner's daughter speaks almost perfect English. It's also a coincidence because she's going to be working in Singapore from next month onwards at DHL. Anyway the futon was suprisingly comfortable. Actually i wouldn't know. I was so tired from cycling and hotel-finding i just knocked out after my bath.
August 28th: Hiroshima (pics here, no desc. though, will be added next time)
Hiroshima is a big modern city. Big streets, easy to navigate and the airport is just a couple of KM on the outskirts. It's served by train lines, a subway, street trams and buses. However the buses are pretty expensive even for short distances. I'm used to paying 100JPY flat for rides but a short ride today to the Peace Memorial Park cost me 210JPY which is nearly $3SGD! That's the price of a night-rider service in Singapore for a short trip!
10CC - Bloody Tourist; that's the only thing i had in mind.
Like Nagasaki, the main aim of my stop in Hiroshima is again to visit the A-bomb memorial. However, because of the sheer amount of tourists (most had come from the IAAF meet in Osaka, 1 1/2 hrs by Bullet Train) and school children in the area, the 'mood' wasn't really there for me. And the A-bomb Dome was fenced up all around so the closest i could get was 10metres away from it. On the plus side, with so many foreigners around, i got to speak to alot of people today.
'Peace' in the Southeast!
That's a shadow across my face, not my latest tan line.
The other main attraction nearby was Hiroshima Castle (PHOTO). Which wasn't really interesting. I also checked out Hondori (PHOTO) which is supposed to be one of the hottest areas in the city which is where i found this internet cafe to update.
One thing i seem to notice: I think i might be the sweatiest person in Japan! At least from a couple of feet away, i don't seem to notice anyone sweating their guts out like me while walking in the sun. Is it possible to grow immune to this kind of weather? I've been staying in climate like this for 20 odd years and i still break a sweat everytime. How on earth do they do it?
Whats on the cards for the next few days: I'm just thinking whether or not to stay here a couple more days till its September and then cycle to the Kansai region (Osaka, Kyoto, Nara etc). Because i remember that the forecasts for the next few days are rainy. And getting drenched is no fun at all. If i do decide to hang around i will probably visit Miyajima tomorrow which is a 40min train ride away. Otherwise, it will be onwards to Osaka!
