Day 3-5: August 19th-21st, Fukuoka to Nagasaki

I actually reached Nagasaki yesterday evening at around 1815 and checked into a youth hostel for 2 nights. Which means i'm due to hit the roads again tomorrow morning, a very boring trip back up to Fukuoka on mostly the same roads to really start my cycling journey. Nagasaki is a just a (very long, 320km+ to and fro) detour because i wanted to visit ground zero of the A-Bomb attack (coincidentally, it was on 9th August (1945) as well, same as our National Day). Before i write my impressions of this city, a recap of my last 2 days journeys:

August 19th: Fukuoka -> Karatsu City -> Imari (pictures from the 19th here)

So much for my intention to get up early. Alarm set for 0645 but by the time i was downstairs loading my bike it was already 0930. Said goodbye to Fukuoka and finally mustered the courage to ride on the roads. Took route 202 which arched along the coast to Karatsu (PHOTO, Karatsu City in the BG) before cutting back inland to Imari (PHOTO). Terrain is generally hilly, full of valleys going up and down (i felt they were mostly going up..) but once in the areas out of Fukuoka traffic is relatively low. Moderate head winds which made cycling all the more difficult, not to mention the weather was HOT (as usual).

UMI!

HOWEVER, despite tough conditions, the best thing that made cycling in Japan feel good is that motorists are super mindful and respectful of cyclists. Despite most of the road being single laned, i never once felt squeezed to the curb because every car/truck/lorry would swerve around me (some quite dramtically, right into the oncoming lane!) so that i would have space to cycle. It's funny how i have some sort of invisible barrier around me that no cars will go near. Again, roads are very safe to cycle. Road sides are also relatively clean from sand, glass, gravel etc.

One thing you should know is that the hardest part of cycling with heavy loads is having to stop and then accelerate again. This made me think twice before stopping everytime i wanted to take a picture, so i suppose unless i stop for a break or there's something really eyecatching there wont be many pictures on cycling days.

All in all, covered quite a lot of distance for my 1st day. The only thing of note is how some pigeon 'bombed' my helmet (PHOTO) while i was riding under a bridge. Didn't even notice till i took off my helmet.

August 20th: Imari-> Hasami -> Omura-> Nagasaki (pictures from the 20th here)

Again, a late start at 1000. Had lunch in Kawatana, yummy Yakiniku (PHOTO) (the sauce mainly, which even made veggies taste superb). There was this really helpful old man in Hasami who insisted that he escort me all the way through town in his car (i just asked whether i was going the right way) and even offered to give me money to buy a drink when we parted. I think i will have fond memories of this small town because of this experience.

Hasami +1! Nice country-side town.

Omura is a nice city as well. Modern and uncluttered. The main street has basically every kind of shops on the side and the streets are wide as well so even with so many cars it didn't feel messy. Was very tired by then (and about 20km to Nagasaki) so seeing a Mr Donut shop (PHOTO) was a GOD-SENT... I ate 3+2 donuts. Thank goodness for sugar! Asked some school girls for direction out of town. Very helpful.

This road was so steep i had to rest halfway...

It may seem like all i do is complain about how hard the ridings conditions are, but so far, the climb up from Isahaya to Nagasaki City is the worst! Talk about shooting a guy when he's down. Anyway i'm glad i managed to finish this 160km+ trip in 2 days, way over my 50km/day plan but at least i saved 1 day journey.

August 21st: Nagasaki City (pictures from the 21st here)

This is just my general impression, but so far i feel that Nagasaki is the least friendly city i've passed through. Some people actually avoided and me walked away when i approached for help (maybe i look like some kind of wacko?) . Sort of like Singaporeans standard in terms of helpfulness. Maybe because i'm already conditioned to believe that everyone in Japan will go out of his/her way to help tourists.

I still need more practice with my phone camera..Missed out her friend completely..

But enough about the people, the main reason i came to Nagasaki was to see the A-Bomb site. I truly felt quite emotional when i walked into the Ground Zero memorial. And Nagasaki Peace Park was beautiful as well (i didn't expect the Peace Statue to be so big!). Was worth the journey to see this place.

Ground zero, hypocentre of the A-Bomb explosion


Peace Statue, i was tempted to pose like the statue but thought better of it..

That's all for this update. Like i said, at least another 2 days of cycling to reach Fukuoka again, and then on to Hiroshima!