Japan - Kyushu Day 7, Half a Day

Let the good times roll. The day of fun with old bud Yoshi and new friend Kanosuke in Amakusa was over, and even though Konosuke's mother asked us to stay another day and rest while she practiced her English, she agreed that it was best to keep moving after we saw that another typhoon was coming that I needed to stay ahead of. All for the better I suppose, although with different circumstances I would have loved to stayed longer with such nice people, practicing my Japanese, and eating home cooked tempura and all. Mmmmm!

My next destination point will be my last, it is the great mount Asō. The trip should drop me in a beautiful mountain range in the middle of Kyushu, a famous attraction for nature lovers. What's more, this volcanic beast is still active! Like some treks I did in Indonesia, Id have to be careful with the toxic sulphur and other deadly fumes steaming out from its center. 

But as you can see, the forecast, surprise, is not promising. "Brief rain," well, I can deal with that.

Unfortunately, my friends back home in Tosa city are not so lucky to have a "brief" spurt of anything. It's the heaviest rain they've seen in years, and already has the government issuing early evacuation warnings. You can tell where Tosa is, it's the highlighted region marked by the deepest purple. From what I've read and heard, the streets are flooded and things arnt looking good.

Kyushu is not without it's sudden flash falls of water. The weather varys from light sprinkles to panics in search for cover. Here, under this cement bridge, I stop for breakfast. That is, I had just left Nosuke's home and already had to break.

Thank a god that his mother packed me something special for the trip. Home made onigiri goes a long way; they seem to be the travelers snack of choice, both to be given and chosen by all the cyclists I've come across in Japan. Hey, I'm not complaining. These were still warm to the touch as I enjoyed them. 

A lonely island, at least the weather picked up for a few hours, not bad.

One of my favorite stretches of road on the way to mount Asō. When the rain isint falling, it's too bad the weather isint cooler. The dampness of everything you carry is a bummer after a while. The strong winds really are a mixed blessing. It's nice to have a breeze cool you down, if at the cost of it also sometimes slowing you down.

Out of Amakusa to Asō would not have been long, not more three quarters of a good days ride. But, it was laundry day and we had such a good time last night that I forgot to ask for some help. 

If there's one thing Japan has in every city and town besides convenience stores, it's laundromats. Good thing too, I was beyond my last pair of good cycling shorts.

What was a few on and off again bouts with unridable rain turned out to be a prety nice day. Lots of green fields and blue mountains to go along with the roads. I'm praying that the sky won't show any too dark clouds in anticipation of the imminent typhoon storm following me.

Giant soy sauce fish monster spotted off the coast of Nagadaki! 

The wooden table I camped out near. Nice and broken in, I love this look.

With relitively little rain and current blue skies, I risked it; I was going to hold off looking for shelter and camp out underneath the starts. After all, my tent has a cover for a reason, right? 

Also, side note, I found a cheap Sento today by the park. Ahh! What a good feeling to scrub down with hot water after all this time. The steam room, jacuzzi, and ice cold water baths were great too =)

My goodnight view. The palm trees in this prefecture trigger lonely thoughts of the California coast line back home, especially my aunts in San Diego. 

Before I wrapped things up, a man came up to me and asked if he could take my photo. He was taking pictures around the park of the sunset and what not. We got to talking a bit, turns out that he's been traveling also, by car, from Tokyo! Blessed with the space for a cooler in his vehicle, he tossed be a large water, some snacks, and an energy drink cola - all of which I took down as we chatted and looked at maps together. 

Well the long grass makes for great padding, the wind is cool, and I've set up everything for an early nights rest. I have a feeling I'm going to have some really relaxing sleep tonight.

All the best, Love

-A