Shirakawa

Met a bunch of cyclists today at the end of the day. They had just done a grueling mountain climb, and also had suggestions for us. im a little apprehensive about changing our route, but it might be worthwhile.
highlights of today: steep climbs, a waterfall where Bhuddist saint Kobo Daishi meditated, riding around a lake up to the hydroelectric plant and dam, eating peanut butter and dark chocolate, the continental divide park, eatingとろろ tororo ground mountain potato goo on a skillet.
Tomorrow famous old huts and arriving in Takayama.

First day with Gray a success. as expected, he is bringing new enthusiasm to the trip, which i needed.
made it to Gujo Hachiman, not extremely far but good. saw the 日本まん真ん中 very center of Japan (details later), had an electrified bath, and ate local river fish. camping by the river tonight (in the middle of town).

Donutsburger

Didnt make it on a bus before Gray got to the station, but he made it to my stop just fine. today we assemble his bike, but now that hes here, i feel optimistic.

Staying in a desolate part of Gifu, although in japan even the crappiest of suburbs have rice paddies next to the parking lots.
going to meet Gray at Gifu station. maybe downtown gifu isnt so bad？

rough day

Im not sure if its the weather, or the pollution, or the traffic, or the lack of sleep last night, but im taking the train the rest of the way in to Gifu. my legs just dont want to pedal hard any more. Made it as far as Tarui 垂井, a little past Sekigahara. For being a historic battleground, it was pretty lame.
Hoping to hear from Gray soon, when he lands, and also from our couchsurfing host.

Im a little late, but congratulations 卒業おめでとう to all my friends who graduated from Oberlin recently. Now go do awesome things with your life！

Mosburger

Mosburger is my number one favorite fast food joint in Japan, for many reason, primarily to do with their unique sandwiches. They also have various limited time specials, and this month theyre teaming up with Mr. Donut. Mr. Donut is offering a confectionary that resembles a burger, and Mosburger is offering what is pictured below: a burger with a donut-shaped patty, with wasabi mayo sauce filling the hole. Genius, and delicious.

ITS OVER 3000！！

its not totally accurate, but my odometer is now over 3000km, roughly 1800 miles. v(^o^)

Im not sure what the difference is between what the Japanese call ピラフpilaf and what the call チャンポンstir-fried rice. They look the same to me.

back on the road

Two days in Osaka, having fun with Siena. The first day we spent all afternoon doing Karaoke with some of her Japanese friends and then had awesome, very authentic Mexican food. Then the next day we went to Universal Studios Japan for real, where they still have Back to the Future. The absolute best ride was Spiderman, though, because it was a 3D (plus little water sprays) movie combined with a roller coaster. And I do love Spiderman, even in Japanese.

Today I biked from Osaka to Kyoto, then immediately got on a train halfway back to Osaka to see Siena. Tomorrow she's flying back to the land of the free and the home of the brave. Meanwhile I'll be heading back to Lake Biwa, this time going around the other side to Hikone.

I like the Kansai area, but I'm definitely more into the countryside than the deep urban jungles.

Found the Bike Friday dealer in Osaka, but theyre closed on mondays. (-_-)

Softbank

Recently there have been ads in the subway for Softbank, the cell phone company that makes the prepaid phone I'm using.

Obama, and Amanohashidate

So after I camped on the shore of Lake Biwa, I biked along the coast for a while, and then headed across to the small resort town of Obama.
They are excited to suddenly have the same name as the American President. I stopped in the Tourist Information desk at the train station and they asked me to fill out a survey, and then gave me free chopsticks (every town in Japan has a local product).
This was on her desk.
These were actually in a rest stop before I got into the city. I think the pictured guy there is actually someone else who vaguely resembles Obama. The words are confusing - right now I'm not sure if it's saying to cheer on the town of Obama, or that the town is cheering on the president. I mean it makes more sense if the town is cheering for the president, but anyways.

After that I biked along the coast, with some nice bike paths that got seriously close to the coast (there's some sort of long distance nature trail that was going my way). I learned from my map that there are two nuclear power plants on peninsulas around there. Creepy.

That night I ran into two Australians who had found the same abandoned campground. Their names are Peter and Ruth, and they were very nice. I invited them along to the Italian restaurant my map recommended, with a counter that overlooks the sea, and they were delighted to have someone who could read the menu. I want to be them someday, taking vacations to bike through India and Southeast Asia and Japan. They were so easygoing, happily meandering along the coast. Sadly I didn't take their pictures, but they are awesome folks.

Next day we set off to Amanohashidate, another one of the three most beautiful views in Japan. Parted ways with the Aussies in Maizuru, though they caught up with me by the time I got to the Youth Hostel.
Which was mostly because Siena and I walked across the land bridge instead of cycling. Apparently inside of the land bridge wasn't that picturesque, but the view the next day from the mountaintop was pretty great.


You're supposed to look at it between your legs, because upside-down it looks like a bridge to heaven. (That's what the name means, by the way, bridge to heaven.)
I'll leave it to you to decide. I think it's awesome.
Also we are happy, even if our heads are in the way.

Then we took the bus back, and here I am back in Osaka. I've got a few more days here before I head off on my bike again. I'm definitely glad I did these side trips.

Sometimes I miss having a home, not having the stress of finding a place to sleep for the night. But there is something nice about being out in the countryside, a rhythm to pedaling and finding food and setting up the tent.

Slept on the shore of Lake Biwa last night.

This was my approach to the Youth Hostel in Ise (actually Futami-no-Ura, the neighboring town, but whatever). I knew that the hostel had the same name as a local temple, but the taxi driver dropped me off right here (actually down the hill a little, but those pictures aren't as good). It was raining, and quite magical. Just inside the gate are your standard angry guardian statues and everything. Then after I checked in, the monk (who looked middle-aged and had hair) showed me the Boddhisatva inside the temple. It was beautiful, really a once in a lifetime experience. He told me that it's been designated a National Treasure, and was from the Kamakura era.

Next day I went to see the "wedded rocks," which I posted about yesterday. They were smaller than i had imagined, but still pretty cool.

Ise proper has two shrine complexes, the 外宮　Geku , outer shrine, and the 内宮, Naigu inner shrine. The outer shrine is devoted to the goddess of the harvest, who really just guards the offerings to the Amaterasu Omikami, the sun goddess and most important god in Japan. You can't take pictures of the real things, but here's an example of an auxiliary shrine to get a sense of the architecture.
Passed a catholic church between shrines, lol.

During the Edo period, people would say "at least once in my life I want to go to Ise." Here I am, as close as you're allowed to photograph to the main shrine.


All in all, it wasn't as moving as anything in Italy, but still a wonderful side trip.

More about Ise tonight.

Okay, so tonight I am renting a computer for 1000 yen, and staying in a business hotel, in Iga-Ueno 伊賀上野. It is the hometown of Matsu Basho, the great haiku poet, and ninjas (according to wikipedia, that includes Hattori Hanzo, of Kill Bill sword-making fame, and I think i remember seeing something about that). I'm a little bummed not to be camping, but I'm making the best of it. But let's rewind (bwip bwip bwip bwip) -

Last time I posted I was talking about the river in Kyoto. By the way, this is the Kamogawa River. But I've been meaning to write about my haircut experience, which was awesome. I always get nervous when I go to get a haircut, about whether I can retain the look I want while having less hair. I have enough concerns conveying what I want in English, let alone Japanese. But I needed a haircut, so I asked the friendly staff at K's House where I should go for a cheap haircut. They directed me to a mall south of the station, and it turned out to cost 1000 yen. You pay at a machine, then wait in line with your ticket. They call you up, saying various keigo (very polite speech) phrases. There's a closet at each booth for your stuff, a little TV with the weather and headlines. The hairdressers all wear surgical masks and uniforms, and I saw them sweep all the hair from the previous guest into a vacuum suctioned hole along the wall. Then I sat down and he asked me basically the same questions I get in English. Do I want the ears exposed? 耳は、出せる感じ？Do I want the back up the the hairline? 後ろはぎりぎり？ I stuttered in Japanese, and then we got to work, although not until after I placed my glasses in a special box.

He worked quickly, and then proceeded to vacuum my hair. This was prefaced by a polite "I will now (humbly) vacuum your hair." In case you didn't know, hair that is not connected to your head is considered unclean in Japan. But you know, I didn't feel itchy afterwards. And my hair looks great.





Now I just need to shave, but I don't really want to.

Then I swung by the Historical Site of Rashoman Gate, which is now a playground. I guess it burned down a long time ago, but it's still ironic.



The next day I went to Kinkakuji, aka the Golden Pavillion. I know it's probably cliche or something, but honestly I think this is the coolest thing in Kyoto. There were a million schoolkids, and I got interviewed by some middle schoolers practicing their English.

Apparently each floor is done in a different style. And it was burned down by a crazy monk in 1950. I'm glad they rebuilt it. Actually, most of the temples in Kyoto were burned down at some point and rebuilt, although usually in the 1200s.
Then I went to an amusement park with Siena, but I didn't bring my camera. Bug her for pictures of the whole day. The rides were fun - there was a wooden coaster and a knock-off of the wild mouse, and I did a free fall for the first time. Hardly anyone was there, so we did all the cool rides twice.

Then yesterday I biked to Nara! I like Nara a lot. It's much quieter than Kyoto, and more laid back. Of course, I didn't spend that much time downtown, except to eat at a super fancy bar, the kind with tiny entrees for 8 bucks, but at least it was unique. (I went to マク McD afterwards for something to actually fill me.) That evening I did see Kusaga Taisha 春日大社, the grand shrine there, and the front of Todaiji 東大寺.

The first one is all about Lanterns,

and the second one is just totally sweet.

I went back the next day because there's a giant Buddha in Todaiji. Hey, that's today!

Then a bunch of stupid things happened involving me leaving my helmet in the bathroom and forgetting that I left it there. Finally I set out and had some glorious riding, with lots of hills and nature and not that many cars. Eventually I got to the suburbs, greeted by this:

Also I saw this on my way to the hotel.


And now I can go to bed.

My favorite part of Kyoto is the Kamogawa River. When you go down to the bank, all the city noise fades away. There are ducks and crane-type birds and grass growing in the shallow parts. There are shanties under nearly every bridge, and i can see why. Its the most peaceful part of the city.

Went to the Kyoto International Manga Museum yesterday. They had an exhibit on Moebius, a French creator who has had a very big influence on manga. I loved his surrealism. But the exhibit on La Bande Dessinees (French language comics) was the most exciting. So many gorgeous and fascinating titles id never heard of! I might have to relearn french - Im sad to say i can understand written french better than japanese.

I kind of appreciate the wide variety of tourists and foreigners in Kyoto.

More Osaka, and some Kyoto

So what else did we do in Osaka? We went to the castle park one day, and had a picnic.

We also went to the ultra-modern waterfront, and rode the ferris wheel.
It was too rainy and crowded to actually go to the aquarium, but we did wander around the Universal Studios shopping center. Hopefully we'll get to go back soon.

By the way, these pictures are all on Siena's facebook page. I think you need to be her friend to see all of them, so I'll still upload a bunch, but there are more (really cute ones) over there.

Now I'm in Kyoto, where I've already gone to a ton of cultural things.

Like Arashiyama (super popular bridge and garden),

Ryoanji (zen rock garden),

Kiyomizudera (drank from the holy spring, forgot to do the womb tunnel),

and the National Museum exhibit on Zen treasures.
I like how this museum, built in the late 1800s, looks very European.
Except they used Eastern gods of art and culture for their relief.
By the way, my favorite artist was Hakuin, from the Edo period. This is a portrait of Bodhidharmu, known as Daruma in Japan. This portrait is huge, and I saw it in real life.

Oh, and Kyoto Station, which is not ancient at all but still really awesome.

--
I feel weird sending postcards from places I haven't actually seen, but I feel weirder sending multiple copies of the same postcard. I understand that this is silly.

Yesterday, I was eating a ビビンバーガー bibimburger (bibimba is a Korean dish, and this bakery decided to put it in a bun) by the side of the river in Shijo (between the Geisha district and the shopping district), and a HAWK FLEW DOWN AND SNATCHED MY LAST BITE. I think that is my craziest experience in Japan so far.

Also yesterday I located an outdoor supply store (in that shopping district), right underneath an anime store I'd been to twice. Anyways, now I have a new bag for my tent, and padded biking gloves. Hurray!

Kyoto

central Kyoto has a classic feel to it, a beige and mahogany tone to the streets. i like that, even if im not that taken by Kyotos attitude as the arbiter of japanese high culture.

I have officially given up on japanese beer.

Days in Kyushu with Mom

The best thing about Kyushu was the food. This is what we ate for lunch on our first full day. It was all delicious.

We only stayed in Fukuoka for one night (although it was a really cool city). The tonkotsu ramen was pretty awesome, too. I found a good route to take up the next few days onbikely.com. Then we dashed off south to Kurume 久留米, a town that has a bike path, and headed northwest. The bike path stopped at Harazuru　原鶴, a little onsen (hot spring) resort town, where we stayed at a real hotel. My mom was excited to wear the yukata robes.


The next day we backtracked a bit to see the 8th biggest tree in Japan. It's supposed to be 1500 years old. My mom also took pictures of three little old ladies who were tending their gardens right next door.

Next we passed through a cute Meiji era historical town, crossed a mountain path, and headed to the Yamakuni 山国bike path.
Here's a torii gate with a tunnel dug by monks in the background. The actual shrine is behind us, but you have to pass between a gas station and a convenience store to go there, and we didn't want to photograph them.

At the end of the bike path was Nakatsu 中津, with a lovely castle and shrine. There was a cute high school couple eating lunch in their uniforms to the left that I really wanted to photograph.

And those are my Kyushu pictures. The main thing that's missing is the landscape, which is much more spacious than Shikoku or western Honshu, and the wheat fields. Also the Shinkansen, which I was very excited to take back to Hiroshima. Also, it's funny how no one outside the area knew of any of the towns except maybe Kurume.

So, I'm in glamorous Osaka, after a short stay in Kobe. Here's a picture of the Kobe waterfront, from a hip new shopping area called Mosaic (pronounced Mozaiku).


Osaka is great, although I kinda miss the countryside. Yesterday we took the train to Takarazuka, home of the all-female revue (which is famous for its actresses who play male roles),

and hometown of Osamu Tezuka, the "God of Manga."
This is the Phoenix, from his epic life's work. (Oh, and I bought a new shirt!)

Then we went to Namba, Osaka's equivalent of Time Square. Siena will probably post better self-portraits on her Facebook.
Now I'm gonna post some pictures from Kyushu.

水虫

It kind of disturbs me that athletes foot is called みずむし "water bugs" in Japanese.