Good morning!
My tent and bags packed up early for two reasons. First, that I camped next to an outside flower shop that, although smelled really good, I knew I had get up and away from because those gardeners sure like to start their day early. And in Japan where the day usually starts at 5am for people, that means I had to pay special mind. The other reason is that I am all set to leave Kyushu today and am kind of excited to do this tunnel that connects the two islands together. I have never done this nor any underwater tunnel before, exciting! Lets go!
This picture does not really show what I hoped would be seen. Up in the mountains there, right in the middle of the picture, there used to be a mountain peak. The reason I know this is because there are small bulldozers and machine diggers pulling away at the center plain there, making room for something or harvesting another. Anyways, I was impressed at human engineering in this moment, the ability to shave away a huge overshadowing mountain.
Land ho!! There is the southern tip of Honshu, the main and most popular island in Japan. On it we will see such famous cities as Hiroshima, Kobe, Osaka Kyoto, and of course Tokyo to the north east. But for now, we are looking at the southern prefecture of Yamaguchi, where I will cycle along the west and then northern coast line as the island shape turns. And, what's that way off into the distance?
Some kind of tower or something, not exactly sure what. But really, what could it be? Not just an obelisk, no way, no big for just that. This is really poking my curiosity, I cant imagine what company would want to design a building in such a malicious and evil looking building. Its probably a bank, I'm betting its a bank.
Why even bother with keeping a schedule with a wonderful spread like this for lunch, and an amazing view like this. A feast for the eyes and stomach.
After lunch, which by the way was so amazingly satisfying, I took a small nap and played with the idea of just staying here tonight. I certainly did not feeling like moving much at all, and I was so happy from the warmth of the sun.
You could not really see these cheese packs in the first lunch photo, so here it is again in better form. For those of you who can't read Japanese, this is wasabi flavored cheese and it is so good! Not overly spicy, this will not burn the inside your nose like a spoonful helping of wasabi paste on a small piece of sushi might, but there is enough kick there to get a healthy reaction.
This bridge is so cool. I can't cycle across it, sadly. Cars only. But, perhaps even cooler, and what i am really looking forward to, is going under. How many times have I ridden the BART in the Bay Area and wondered how the thing was built, what I would do if I was trapped inside, how cool it would be to walk through there in an extended glass tube like they have at those fancy aquariums...
Actually, if you take a look at a map, you can see that the distance between the islands is not so far. A mere 700 meters. The purple line that you see is not just a division of prefectures, but of the islands themselves. Remarkable to my ponderings, how even among the same nation, territorial lines are drawn.
As I was about to leave, one more ship took a little interest in passing under the bridge. A ship, actually, carrying another, dissembled, ship. I might say its ironic, though logistically viable, so maybe not.
A secret elevator, one that keep me scratching my head for a good while trying to find where to enter the tunnel, led me and not too many others down to the area where we could enter the next prefecture. Walking across to either the Fukuoka or Yamaguchi side is free. Pushing your bike or motorbike across is just 20 yen, or about 20 cents. You can read the Japanese on the floor of my front wheel. It reads 山 for yama, or mountain; and 口 for guchi, or mouth. Thus, I will be entering the mountain's mouth (the last symbol is the representation used for prefectures).
Just exactly where I like to be. Between the mountains and the ocean, between popular opinions and the secret agendas, and standing several meters underwater (under a bridge) between two prefectures and major Japanese islands.
I made it - yay! The view form the other side is weirdly like being in a mirror universe. I can already feel the effects...
Over yonder is where I had lunch and decided not to stay for the day. Time to push on!
More beautiful farming land in Yamaguchi prefecture. Looking forward to this leg of the tour really. There is no industry along the northern edge of Honshu because there is nothing north of here to trade with, nothing significant anyways. This strip of coast all the way up to Hokkaido is mostly forgotten except for the families who already live here. Its a shame really, I have a feeling I am going to see some really good, untouched sights along this way.
After crossing the bridge I took a good luck at this map. Turns out that the next rest stop is a good 60 or 70 kms away. Therefore the rest of the day was spend cycling to beet the night. For you see, tonight at around 9PM or so, a storm approaches. I mentioned this too you a while ago, when I said that storm is going to pass through Kumamoto where there big earthquakes are happening, and change things from bad to worse. Well, the storm is just around the corner and I needed a place to buckle down for the night.
This place is very much out of the way, there is no tourism around this area to necessitate anything more that what I had at my disposal for the night. A little food, a toilet, and some cover. A man did come by motor bike just as I was getting ready to enter my tent and call it a night. The rain is just starting. We said hello quickly and I told him that I was tired from cycling the day against the storm wind, and that tomorrow it looks like we'd be stuck together all day, we could talk more than. For now, I bid my goodnights to another fellow traveler and I shall do the same to you.
Rainy love, staying dry.
-A
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