Japan Day 26: You Cant Out-Cycle Needs

Tonight was the first night that I slept well in a long time. There were no aftershocks to disturb the light sleepers, no rain in the forecast, and although I had camped next to the road, few cars gave the chance to wake me up.

The biggest difference between the first time I came to tour Japan with my sister and this final trip is the camp site planning. I scratch my head in figuring how big sister and I found adequate places to camp that first round. I remember checking maps, probing public bathrooms, and sacrificing portions of the day with the logic that we might not find anything better down the road, and that what was in front of us was good enough not to risk.

This time around, I am not only equipped with a  better working of the land and directions (and ability to speak the language in interpret the culture), I can also read Japanese maps without frustration. I know now where all the rest areas, public campsites, bath-houses, and trucker stops are. And that knowledge alone I would have paid for back then with sis, because this resource has proven its invaluable worth time and time again. I can pick a spot that will invariably have everything I need and cycle to it. If I want a short day, there is a rest area for that. If I need to cover a lot of ground, I can aim further and not need to worry if the sun starts to set, I know from a map that there is a campsite just around the corner.

It seems that even though I cycled all day for the last three days, I can not out-cycle the need for relief from this earthquake. The are that I camped last night came equipped with an onsen, a public bath house. How perfect, I thought. I could take a bath and fall asleep clean. I should have waited in line, but I figured that the line would die off around 8pm when people stopped getting off work. However, the onsen eventually closed. Not early, the onsen closed because there where too many people in line, and people began being turned away.

Indeed I had not out-cycle the need for shelter or baths. Another homeless Japanese camped across the road from me. I assume homeless, I should not say definitely. He could just be scared to sleep inside for fear of collapse. Thats totally understandable, I have that same hesitation. 

The field across the other side of my tent. See, nothing to fear from falling on my head less it be a small branch or birds nest. Across the open field there you can see the onsen and restaurant. 

Later on that day, I wish that I had waited in that line last night and taken a bath. Today I was to meet an old friend that I had not seen in years from back in the states! Well, thats what I get for keeping a traveler's mentality and only thinking about today. No big deal. 

After meeting up, getting over the shock of impressions after years of absence, and talking about the news of natural disasters, we hiked up a hill to eat some lunch. My fiend was busy with work and soon had to return, but I was glad that we could spend lunch together outside for a few hours and catch up. Communication through smart phone applications is one way to keep in contact, somehow up here a the top of the hill, further up than this giant portrait of the Buddha, a different sort of conversation can be had.  

The view from the top. As you can see, I am back in the country side and away from the city and its destruction. Still, there is a feeling of unease when you see something knocked down that shouldn't be, or even a newly formed crack in cement that looks so sturdy. A healthy reminder, I think. 

Another colorful dinner wrapped up the end of my day. A good day, considering that I took a three hour lunch, and then a well needed bath in the hotel where my friend was working. I had to cycle a good distance after taking a bath, which I didn't want to do. You feel so relaxed after soaking in a hot body or water, or the dry saunas that you can find in almost every onsen. When I get out, I don't even want to move. Move I must, and glad I took a warm bath. Not because I am now cleaner than I was, though that is something to give thanks for too. No, I am glad that a warm bath is what I took because tonight I am sleeping in the mountains again, and the low temperature for the night looks to be just above freezing. At least, this colorful dinner set me straight again, and I can fall asleep with a full stomach. 

What I still managed to cycle despite taking some major breaks. Not bad I say. And now, I am really ready to fall asleep. Can you believe it, I am even indoors at the moment. There is a rest area here that I hope does not close its doors, I don't see any times posted on the automatic doors and tatami mats along the side of the room. So, I am hopping to sleep inside tonight, which would be a god send. 


The worst seems to be over for me. There have been no aftershocks today, or at least I have not felt any. The bike might have something to do about that. There are still many people displaced from what the Japanese media tells its people. And there is still this storm coming from the south-west that is gaining strength. Things might go from bad to worse when that thing hits, so watch out. For me, I am on my way out. Tomorrow will be the day that I move from the shaking island of Kyushu to the main island of Honshu, where there are no reports of natural disasters, yet. It is Japan after all. Who really knows? Perhaps Godzilla will pay us all a visit.

Monster love,
-A