I got to Takamatsu in the early afternoon and booked a ticket for the midnight ferry to Kobe. I found a fast food place that had outlets to charge my electronics, purchased a value meal and later nursed a coffee till a few hours from departure. I really like Takamatsu for a few reasons. Mainly because it was the main city of focus in the wonderfully strange and weird novel from author Murakami, Haruki called "Kafka on the Shore" (translated) which I read in 2016. And as you can see in the previous vid, it is a very picturesque city to enter.
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| Rt377 on Nishiue |
Spotted what looks like a custom made motorbike while at a conbini stop after a downhill and dodging a rain front en-route to Takamatsu then saw some roadies (here behind the white fence) stopping to rally before continuing. I saw quite a few private motorcycle chop shops that specialize in customizing while going through Japan.
I found out there is an actual anime for the employees of Mickey Dee's in Japan. Pretty good incentive and raises the bar for fast food workers there. I do have to admit, they go to extents to make sure your food is freshly cooked.
Arriving at Takamatsu Port after a short stop at a conbini for supplies I sat down in the waiting area watching the wide screen TV to relax till boarding. I was hoping to be able to sleep in the 6 hour transit from Takamatsu to Kobe.
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| Fishing pier Takamatsu Port. |
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| Waiting Takamtsu Port |
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| Stairway Lobby on Konpira II |
Though the interior decoration design on board the ferry from Takamatsu to Kobe seemed older in style, it was nonetheless sparkling and looked like cruise line quality. To me, transit on transportation especially in a foreign country is in itself an adventure. There is a novelty to everything that heightens my senses and implores me to explore and seek details and differences. Unfortunately, it tends to push away the need to sleep sometimes so, I think I got about 4 hours of sleep that evening!
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| My route Mihara to Higashiosaka |
Arriving at 0500 at Kobe Port, I rolled off and stopped into the first conbini as the employee was cleaning up for his shift. Kobe looked like a ghost town with nary a soul around as I took advantage of riding through empty streets. The streets on route 2 towards Osaka felt very new and fast as automobiles started to reclaim the road. I eventually stopped in a fortunately inexpensive but slightly tight hostel in Higashiosaka and had a prolonged stay awaiting for a needed parcel.
Bicycle Museum Cycle Center
I went to visit the Shimano funded Bicycle Museum in Sakai City in Osaka, on my bicycle of course! Any cycling aficionado worth their salt needs to visit this compact museum with some fascinating treasures of cycling. There was one large room where they had a historical collection of bicycles hanging wall to wall from the ceiling and suspended on stands on the floor (to preserve the rubber tires better). The bottom of three floors was wallpapered with children's drawings submitted on the theme of the advantage and benefits of bicycles. And there is, as in most Japanese museums, a section on explaining the simple scientific mechanics of bicycles in 'hands on' displays. There is a very modest entrance fee. Well worth the visit.
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| Active Sculpture at the entrance of Shimano Bicycle Museum |
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| First designed mountain bike: "Breezer" by Joe Breeze Marin County, California. |
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| 'Companion cycle' |
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