August 22nd - 24th: Nagasaki, back to Fukuoka

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 foｒ 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.

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!