Fukuoka to Kitakyushu

Racing against the rain clouds, I made it to the outskirts of Fukuoka and 20 minutes short of Guest House Hokorobi, the heavens opened up. I stopped under an awning, pulled out my rain gear and continued on. In the morning, I went to see "Ghost in the Shell" with Scarlett Johansson as Maj. Kusunagi (make sure to ask when the english or subtitled version is showing) . It got bad reviews but I enjoyed it.  Maybe it was the impeccably clean Japanese movie theater and comfortable cushy seats. Maybe because I have the manga, DVDs of the Anime' films as well as some of the "Stand alone complex" series.😊

Some larger conbini have places to sit and eat or enjoy a coffee. During the week it can get quite busy and as a courtesy to locals, It's nice to vacate when you are done to let others sit and enjoy a few minutes to eat a meal.

It rained cats and dogs that day. (pssst, rain gear!)

Two days later, I rolled out a little late with my aim to get onto the main Island of Honshu

Jumanji Temple, I think..

Fukuoka

A more traditional bike/service shop

Want to enjoy a real, legal Cuban cigar?

Kitakyushu

Outside the entrance to the Kanmon Tunnel which lets you walk across from Kyushu onto the main Island of Honshu. The tunnel is a pedestrian tunnel and you are not allowed to ride your bicycle through it. There is a minimal fee of 20¥ collected at an unattended fee box.

My route through Kyushu


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Continuing North

Continuing north around Omura Bay, I passed Nagasaki Airport, got myself a Mocha at Starbucks nearby and sat down near a group of chatting housewives (They were pretty, I saw rings on their fingers) as I verified my way to get to Fukuoka. 

The sun was starting make it's way west and clouds started looming on the horizon. I was looking for a place here to stay but everything was booked. Except a small  'Love Hotel' with a few roaches but hey, the bed was firm and the sheets were clean and I was tired. In the AM, the weather still looked cloudy. I needed to get going so that I would not get caught in the rain. Luckily the road ahead was smooth, fairly new with only a few minor gradient climbs. I made really good time on this stretch.

Rt34 NE out of Higashisonogi

Rt24 N in Saga

Riding north through Kyushu.

Racing rain clouds West of Fukuoka

JR Kyush Karatsu line

Hakojima Shrine in Funokoshi Bay

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Nagasaki Outbound

I rode out of Nagasaki to the north. There seemed to be just as many hills going north as entering from the south or maybe it was the pleasant sunny days spent at leisure in Nagasaki. The sunny day, good roads and really wonderful views made it well worth while.

Rt 207 NE bound out of Nagasaki

Rt 207

Looking out towards Kashima Island

Rt 207        Mirror selfie

Karatsu City

Next time I feel agitated... or is that just a laundry cycle?
The sign seemed funny and almost like the word play in Rukugo comedy!


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Nagasaki Trolleys

After visiting the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum and Peace Park, I returned to my guest house and later visited a special bakery shop that makes 'Castella' to get as a gift.  It looks like a dense pound cake with Portuguese origins and is rather pricey.

I started riding on Trolleys in Nagasaki and have as of late been a fan. The distinctive clanking and view of the city from within the trolley is a wonderful experience and each city that has them, has a distinctive way of painting/decorating them.

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Tsunagi and Tamana

Bridge across Tsunagi

Tsunagi

I arrived at Koji's AirBnB place in Tamana north of Kumamoto. He had a cool Korean BBQ place below. I wanted to visit it to try the food but had a bit of a cold and was worried about spreading it to any of his patrons. It was a nice room with a comfortable bed a sink and a toilet and a nice supermarket right across the street. Here's food for about 2 days and with those delicious cherry tomatoes! The little envelope is a fairly popular coffee creamer which I thought was a little funny/weird or maybe a premonition of things to come in the US? 

My journal entry

Most every hostel has a journal where guests leave an entry or a pleasant salutation. Being an artist and having just bought a neat eraser with my food, I felt a need to be creative and did a little self portrait with notes of my trip to get there for other potential cyclist.

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Izumi Cherry Blossoms

After about one and a half days and a night of rain, I entered Izumi. Some small Japanese cities are fun to go through. Waterlogged, I booked a small room in a business hotel for a warm, dry room and a hot bath. 

Though still cloudy and occasionally rainy, Izumi had Cherry Blossoms!

...did I mention rain gear?

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Izumi Station and Trains

The train station was right there. Very tempting to take considering the lousy weather. Besides the train station, there was a preserved steam locomotive on display right outside the station.

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Kumamoto train

Japan loves trains and loves mascots. I spotted this train with the Kumamoto mascot "Kumamon" emblazoned on its sides. In April 16, 2016 Kumamoto suffered a 7.1 magnitude earthquake which severely damaged Kumamoto Castle, the cities infrastructure and killed 50 people.   

Family Mart Train

Family Mart is one of the major chains of 'Conbini' (convenient stores) throughout Japan. These conbini are cycle tourist 'go to' place for sustenance, food, snacks and replenishing fluids. This is just a regular passenger car but painted in the Family Mart colors.

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Rain comes with the territory

At the top of a pass on route 43, there were long stairs leading to a Tori gate. I stopped and carefully lay my bicycle off the road and climbed up. It was my first view of cherry blossoms. There were more stairs going up to a shrine and a cleaned, covered, wooden shelter with benches. With hindsight of the weather ahead, I should have stayed under the rather pleasant shelter for the evening. I left an offering, said a prayer and pedaled on.

Good rain gear is essential.

There is tasty ice cream at this rest stop. Ideal as it's at the apex of another climb. 

(tastier when the sun's out)

Good rain gear is essential.

Same rest stop a little further down. 

Tables and benches and a real nice view to the sea when it's sunny.

Did I mention that good rain gear is essential?

This was in Satsumasendai. It was evening and the rain got heavier. It was a clean rest stop with very little traffic. I setup my tent under the awning at sunset and in the early AM  made about three relays trying to get across the bridge over the Sendai river. Each time, it would start raining at the entrance to the bridge. I finally just donned my full rain gear and rode across in the rain. I found there was a Koban right around the corner on the entrance to the bridge and am thankful they allowed me to stay under cover that night.

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Southern Kyushu

Rice fields, Southern Kyushu

Kagoshima City

Crows Bikes

One of the many newer small bike shops in Japan. My trusty bicycle needed chain lube and the owner operator recommended 'Wakos'. I still prefer this chain lube only available overseas. Japanese Bike shops also have manufactured products (inluding unique bikes and frames) unavailable anywhere else.

Kagoshima City Tram

Samurai on horseback - Ijuin city off route 24

I cut across the peninsula going on route 24. It has it's fair share of hills but is shorter than going around the southern peninsula. If you take route 225 or route 23 you will come to the impeccably neat town of Minamikyushu whose sidewalk drains are populated with clear water and beautiful koi.  Going south on route 27 will bring you to the entrance road to the Chiran Peace memorial for Kamikaze Pilots.  The road has lantern shrines on either sides which have a stone relief carving of a pilot/naval aviator. Each and every pilot is different. The museum itself houses an amazing collection of photographs, memorabilia, artifacts and final letters. The displays are in Japanese only.  To preserve the colors of the artifacts on display they are in a low light and no photographs are allowed.

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Kagoshima

Sakurajima from my hostel

Green Guest House is a cool convenient place, but seemed to be a little late in having beds in the dorms ready seemingly shorthanded. Narrow and vertical with a roof lounge area to sit and watch the street port and the active volcano of Mt Sakurajima, there was a Spanish guest touring some of Japan via train with his mother, an older Japanese guest who said he was a retired professor and I think another Asian cycle tourist. I spoke some Spanish to the Spaniard and his mother to try and put them at ease with their mother tongue and so did the Japanese Professor (who also spoke some German!) but both seemed a little uncomfortable and nervous. They told me they had visited some popular places using a tourists JR Rail Pass.

Statue Garden outside Kagoshima City Museum of Art.

Oculus in Kagoshima Museum of Art.

Kagoshima Museum of Art had a very popular new exhibition on woodblock prints. They also had a surprisingly good collection of western classical and post industrial art. The museum was small by Western, big city standards but when you left, your mind wasn't a jumbled mosaic of art memories. You remembered and retained what you saw. A good example of  where being biggest is not always the best.

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