Welcome back to Fukuoka! Where the number of traffic lights outnumber motorbikes! I think it's fitting that i'm back to where i started exactly 1 week from when i landed in Japan. I'll take the first week as a prologue before i really make my way up north. Journey back here was largely uneventful except for my night camping up Mt Hirokouka. It was all nice and good until 3am when there was a downpour all the way to 7am. Was wet and soggy all the way till the afternoon sun came and dried me out.
August 22nd: Nagasaki -> Isahaya -> Omura -> Ureshino (Mt Hirokouka) (photos from this day here)
A beautiful lake up Mt Hirokouka in Ureshino.
Some extremely nice guy named Nakamura (PHOTO) from the Ureshino city office drove me up 10km up Mt Hirokouka when i asked for a camping site (and because it was getting dark). Beautiful scenery all around and a lake smack in the middle of the mountain. Unfortunately, there wasn't any reception in the area so i couldn't SMS home to tell them i was safe (something which kept me up all night worrying..)
The 'happy' camper.. and this was before the downpour! (Check out the tan-lines on my hands!)
After setting up tent and trying my best to fall asleep, suddenly a torchlight came shining into my tent. It seemed that i had dropped my bicycle glove in his car and he drove all the way up from town again to return it. You can't imagine how bad i felt. My hats goes off to him for all the trouble he went through in helping me. If i was in his situation, would i have done the same i wonder?
August 23rd: Ureshino -> Takeo -> Saga -> Tosu -> Fukuoka (photos from this day here, only 3!)
After the Takeo, the rest of the road back to Fukuoka was flatlands all the way. Which was good. Covered over 110km today because i started extremely early (thanks to the morning rain). Just a long ride with nothing interesting at all happening.
Leaving the coast and heading inland to flatter (whew!) roads.
Back in Fukuoka, it was extremely difficult to find a hotel to stay. Most were fully booked or priced out of my budget. Eventually, after 2 hours of hotel-hunting, found a twin room for 5,900JPY. Like i said, most rooms (single rooms especially) were full everywhere. Very nice having such a big room and 2 beds to myself (the 2nd bed being for me to throw my clothes all over). Had Ramen for dinner (the shop owner gave me a 2nd bowl free!) and then a well-deserved night's rest. I also called Mom before sleeping to tell her how i was.
August 24th: Fukuoka (photos here)
Today is R&R (Rest and Research) day! Basically an excuse foï½’ me to find an Internet cafe and update and to find out more on how to get to my next checkpoint (Hiroshima). Also did my laundry this morning.
I've been craving for regular fast food for the past few days and today i went all out on KFC! Taste as good here as it does back home. I walloped 4-piece chicken, 2 pastas and a drink. I'm glad my appetite is back. Haven't been eating much for the past few days.
Some interesting things i've observed in Japan the past few weeks:
Dust bins (or dust-box as they call it): Japanese are very into recycling (bottles and cans esp). Which is a good thing, except that it's nearly impossible to find a regular rubbish bin on the street! Most of the time i just chuck tissues and plastic wrappers into my bag and empty it when i get to a hotel.
Toilets: Even the most desolate and run-down petrol stations out in the rural areas have fabulously clean toilets! Some even have air-conditioning in them, even when the main station shop doesn't have it. Truly incredible.
Public transport: As i learned the embarassing way, trams and buses in Japan are all ride-first, pay-later. Also, the entrance to public transport are the rear doors, and you leave and pay your fare from the front door. Most fares for inter-city transport are 100JPY ($1.30~)
Service: It amazes me how people in the service industries are so courteous and enthusiastic. From the people on the street giving out flyers to just about any waiters in restaurants to the gas-station attendants, everything is done with a big smile, a loud voice and plenty of gusto. Just how much are they paying these people an hour to give such good service i wonder? What a stark contrast compared to the people working in Singapore.
11 comments:
Hey man been checking out your updates since day 1, seems like you've been meeting alot of nice people all around since the start ehh? haha not bad for a good start, take care ya.
oh wow. you're getting a tan! how cool is that.
that guy is simply godsend. somebody who can fit your tonner in his car! sorry for my obsession with that fact about fitting your bike into somebody's car.
your two hours of hotel hunting did pay off. 5900 yen is like 77 sing??? i went to xe.com to do the conversion. 77 bucks for a twin room. that's own.
you look sibei tulan at the laundry shop leh.
i wonder what you did to embarrass yourself silly in a bus. and when people serve you with gusto, do you know what they are saying to you? i sure won't!
lol gab my man.....with all due respect! here i go again.....ARG I REGRETTED SO MUCH tat i didnt joined u! arg....u must be enjoying urself there...dun forget tat u r still a singaporean yeah? rem to come back. lol~! i think by the time u hit Tokyo, i will be coming to the end of september or october already. GAb rem to save and go for a second trip with me again~!. i am gonna buy a bike! =) ohh any take care of urself~!
Its really great to know that even when u are overseas people actually care and do little things which mean alot! Carry on man! keep up with the pics, what camera are u using btw?
hey..
somehow i managed to spare some time in my busy schedule juggling between watching r rated shows and pretending to look busy at work to visit your blog again and it happend that u had a new post; which was really exciting until i looked at the pictures.
Man, was i seriously disappointed.. Theres really nothing much to note except for G8242835 which appeared to show 2 pretty gers till i zoomed in and found that i was tricked!
Anw, pls remember your role as a spy. Just take care of yourself (ie. rmb to use your anti-brainwashing techniques and perform cleansing rites regularly.)
Hey dude..A good one week there already..How come still so little pictures of the girls there? I thought Japan very famous for pretty girls? haha.. Your blog is really interesting keep it up. Have fun take care!
Opps..forgot to put in my name
Hey, Japan sounds great. The pple like all so helpful. Well hows the food there? it is nice??? And yes!! post more pics of the pretty girls u see!!
i'm really surprised by the kind of people you have been meeting.. it seems almost everyone there is nice and friendly. anyways still inspired by your updates, keep at it ;)
ps. maybe u could respond to our comments too!
sorry apparently i didnt read your other comments haha. anyways its hard for me to give u a shoutbox code cos its alot of css and whatnot..
if u dont mind giving me ur acct for this blog i can help u set it up. email: thisiskennethk@gmail.com
meanwhile i'll keep looking...
hi guys..sorry ive not been replying to comments or updating. its just that for such a technologically advanced country like japan, free wireless hotspots are extremely rare and internet cafes where i can sit, relax, upload and update are only available in the big cities. anyway today im in Hiroshima!
to answer some of your qns:
bert: i entered the bus through the front(the exit), put my 100yen fare into the coin changer(it splits it into 10yen change) and exited through the back, which was when i noticed the ENTRY sign there.
mark: im using an Olympus E-500 and my phone camera (Sony K610) when its convenient. The pics are on HQ (not SHQ) settings and usually 640 ISO because im lazy to steady my shot..
eeWei: i have no idea what you are talking about (as usual)...and who died and made you master spy??
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