glueckspilz

Arriving after a hard night on the upper deck of the ferry with drinking Japanese spirits and beers with a cyclist that I just met, I arrived on Amami Oshima at 5 AM. On that very morning I found lovely Ohama beach and camping, however I decided to stay two days in Naze, just to wait for better weather, then headed south towards Setouchi and found a nice lonely remote beach with campground, Yadori. Stayed for two nights, and returned back to Naze with no idea what to do next. On the way, I almost bumped into my cycling friends from Kyushu in a 2.4 kilometer long tunnel. We decided to camp together for a couple of days on Ohama. For me, finally resting after more than 3600 kilometers of cycling. I found the warm beaches, ... read more

Facing the colder days I headed further south, taking a ferry from Osaka to Beppu on Kyushu island. Fascinating landsacpes on the way to Aso, the famous hugh ancient volcano crater (arround 15 miles in diameter) with Mnt. Aso, an active volcano in its middle. In one of the towns in the crater, I met my Japanese cycling friends again, and we spent a few days in a Low budget Raiderhouse together, cycling up the caldera, hiking the volcano itself, relaxed in the old style Onsen. We cycled together to Takachiho to visit the old great shrines and lovely ravines over there. Its said that Amaterasu Omikami, Japans highest ranked Shinto kami, sort of sun godess, has been hiding here in a cave which she closed with a hugh rock, therefore leaving the world in utter ... read more

Nara Two nights and one rainy day in Nara, final inspection of the wounds by a doctor. Wounds were getting much better he says. A Japanese backpacker tells me about some very very old shrines some 20, 30 kilomters away from Nara. Heartland... No tourists here, but spirits of ancient times. Wakayama After this daytrip tour, I felt well enough to cycle again bigger tours. I decided to skip Ise (1xx kilometres east of Nara) and take a route directly into the mountains. After a few hours cycling industrial areas and getting lost with inappropriate maps, I'm climbing mointains again with my bike. No traffic no more, but woods, bamboo grooves, a few palms here and there. A river winding in a stony bed below the narrow road, and the mountains climb steeply on both sides. ... read more

After a great night of camping at the riverside nearby Matsumoto, initially I wanted to cycle straight to Takayama (Gifu Prefecture). The road led me all the way up into the Northern Japanese Alps, with breathtaking views to the mountains, the forests and the river underneath. A couple of tunnels scared me at first with the bike, however after the 10th I sort of got used to the narrow roads and the noise in there. At least, there was only little traffic. Taking a break on the way there with a wonderfull free of charge foot onsen I came to talk to a Japanese couple coming from Kamikochi, wich is sort of on the way from Matsumoto to Takayama (Route 149). They were delighted by the nature up there and the hiking paths up to the ... read more

We are leaving Kawaguchiko station with the first bus going to Mt. Fuji 5th Station at 9:40AM. It's already quite late since the regular season is just over (ends on August 31st). For the same reason, the last bus leaves rather early too, so we cannot go up and return on the same day, which means we have to stay on the mountain. Weather and mood are good, so we start to climb up aby 11AM. The trail starts gently and there are many many mostly young Japanese people on the track. After about one hour we have a first rest, talking to some monks sitting in the morning sun and smoking cigarettes (funny, ain't it?). They have just returned from the summit, and tell me how to beath the best on the way up, proving ... read more

The day after the taifun, I reassembled my bicycle and drove off Tokyo, passing by the Imperial Palace and Shinjuku. A policeman tells me which road to take to Kawaguchiko from　Shinjuku. I can hear zikades everywhere where some garden is. Other then that, the city seems to be endless. Every once in a while, I stop by at some Convenience store to refill drinks and food and ask whether I am still on the right track. When I reach Takao, I am finally off the city and its suburbs. Nice steep mountains surround the place, and there is a hugh famous temple on top of Takao san. Wonderfull smell of the woods... Riding further towards Otsuki, still in lovely countryside. There is not much traffic on the roads, it feels comfortable safe to ride the bicycle ... read more