Rest of Japan

Light weight touring

7/05/2011: Osaka to Kyoto 53.19km

I was late getting up and wasn’t in the most positive mood, in fact i felt quite down. I also felt that the old saying two’s company and three’s a crowd was ever present in Russell and Jens tiny apartment. As they went to Japanese class i set about trying to work out what to do, i had decided to go to Kyoto for a couple of nights and i decided to do it as light as possible so i rearranged my bags so all i had was the dry sack on the back and handle bar bag.

I didn’t set off till 3pm such was my moping mood but when i did i was rather enjoying how light my bike felt and i raced to Kyoto. The ride was pretty dull and uninteresting except for the race i had with a guy on his carbon framed bicycle. He overtook me which i don’t like so i sat on his back wheel, he was going at a pace and tried to burn me off but i kept up with him showing that my steel framed tank can match any light weight bicycle. This was the only part of the ride i actually enjoyed and when i made it to Kyoto i headed for the railway station and wondered what the hell to do.

I had no desire to camp, i was to be honest over cycle touring, normally i would travel a few months then work and take a break from it but now i had cycled solid for almost 5 months and not even half way through was getting board with it all. I knew feeling like this would come up at some point but i had decided to just get on with it and make sure i finish what i set out to do else i know if i abandoned the trip I’d regret it massively. There is the option of maybe finding a job in Japan and working for a month but i have to meet mother in Beijing who has her flight booked, i reckon its the mental challenge i have to get through but right now i have no enthusiasm for it.

I digress, while sat outside Kyoto train station i pulled out the guide book Russell had leant me to see if there was any hostels, i wasn’t planning to stay at a hostel but it gave me something to do to check it out then i’d take it from there. I rode over to the hostel and was about to ride right past it when on the balcony i spotted a beautiful blonde girl. I stopped checked out what the hostel was like, it was clean and not massively expensive in Japanese terms so i check in.

I had a room all to myself and the reception people said that its been super quiet since the earthquake that killed so many and has left a nuclear power plant on the brink. I still felt a little down but checking out the common room and discovering there was free tea and coffee my mood lifted. It improved further still with a beer and the news that Middlesbrough had beaten Doncaster 3-0 in the football thus making a decent end to a shocking season.  I gave me old man a call for the first time in a lot of weeks and by the end was feeling much better, enjoying just to have people around in the hostel environment again.  I then decided i might stay an extra night and you never know the beautiful blonde might appear.

Kyoto

8/05/2011

I checked out of the hostel as not having much in the way of belongings with me i wanted to see how i felt before deciding what to do in regards to staying an extra night or not. I didn’t really know where to go so first i headed to a market which wasn’t the most impressive i have been to but did sell Japanese foods and smelt and felt like Japan. Next i wondered around aimlessly before going to the Palace Gardens, it was about as interesting as watching paint dry but it did offer a number of trees to hide out of the afternoon sun. When i felt motivated to move once again i rode towards the hills as Kyoto city centre had not impressed me yet, it was only now i discovered the real Kyoto and it was what my guide book had recommended.

 I was pleased to have found the old side where there were Geishas’ walking around, running rickshaws doing their thing. At last i had found traditional Japanese building, i was now in the Japan one would imagine it to be like. There was a temple nearby but a 500 Yen entrance fee was way above what i wanted to pay, it would be great to have a look round the temples but at 500 Yen i’d prefer a green tea ice cream than wonder round a temple which I’m sorry to say does not interest me massively. I’m a bad traveller.

As it was getting late i headed back to re check in at the hostel, i followed the river back and discovered yet more of Kyoto i found to be just delightful. Checking back into the hostel i was given the same room and once again i was the only occupant. As i have found it difficult to find English books i having been watching (mind numbingly) a lot of movies.  In the movie room a the hostel they had put a Japanese animation on, to be honest it was awful in just about every sense but it killed some time and if anyone ever asks if i’d like to see a Japanese animation, i know i do not.

I was glad i came to Kyoto and stopped in the hostel, its a great place and the countryside around it deserved some exploring to but i was satisfied with just looking round the city and had no enthusiasm to look further afield though i had been told its amazing. Next time.

Back to Osaka

9/05/2011:  Kyoto to Osaka 58.79km

I took my time yet again before setting off back to Osaka. I felt rested and felt like cycling back to Osaka flat out, it was a beautiful day for it. So i set off and once i had navigated my way out of Kyoto i pedalled like a man possessed.  My efforts were not appreciated by everyone however, i was doing 35/40kmph on a two lane road yet one raged anti cycling driver seemed rather irate with me. For a few minutes he seemed unable to overtake and instead angrily hooted his horn demanding i cycle on the pavement. Eventually he pulled alongside seemingly discovering the use of the empty 2^nd lane, as he glanced across i give him fingers with a cheery smile.

I made good time to Osaka but once there i got horribly lost, the signs to where i needed to go never turned up as i thought they would and i spent an hour riding around trying to work out where i was.  I figured it out eventually and headed back to Russell’s for a cup of tea and a shower.

The rest of the day was spent wondering round sitting a coffee shops watching people go about their daily lives, its much better than television. For dinner we went out to a Sushi train with some of Jen and Russell’s friends. The sushi train was great fun, there is the normal belt that goes round but to go with it there is a second train, a bit like an express where after you have ordered from the computer it will come around and stop at your table, ingenious stuff.

The evening was spent in the traditional way with me and Russell getting tanked up on beer.

Osaka part II

10/05/2011 to 12/05/2011

I didn’t do a whole lot while back in Osaka, myself and Russell spent days wandering around sitting at coffee shops and nights drinking beer. The most significant thing i did was get a haircut for the first time in 6 months and have a shave for the first time in 8weeks. Soon enough the time came to say goodbye and pack up but luckily the alcohol numbed any emotion.