Touring in Japan

Sometime shortly before Christmas, we were feeling lazy and in the mood for Japanese food. It’s a quick bus ride down to the International District and Maneki, Seattle’s oldest Japanese restaurant, but without reservations, we were out of luck. So we crossed the street to Fuji. While we were eating raw fish, Vic announced that he wanted to go Japan for vacation. That he wanted to go soon. And that he wanted to take our bikes.

I was fine with this on all accounts. I asked, “What about going to Argentina?”

“Later,” was all he had to say. Our tickets are bought and we’ve got almost the entire month of April in Japan. Besides my love of izakaya, Japanese maples, and a quarter of ancient Japanese art taken in college, I am surprisingly ignorant about it. For example, are we or are we not going to see snow monkeys sitting in hot springs? I thought we had to go to some place remote in Hokadio, which seems out of the question for bicyclist in the still cold April, but it seems that there are monkeys in Honshu! Lots of monkeys. I had no idea there were monkeys in the rest of the Japan.

I also had no idea that they drive on the other side of the road there, which ought to make cycling interesting. Until buying a map, I’d completely blanked that we’d be able to travel (and might have to) on many ferries. I still have no idea how we’re getting in and out of the world’s most populous city, Tokyo with our bicycles loaded with camping gear. Oh, right! We need to figure out camping.

Lucky for us in Seattle, we’ve got plenty of friends either from Japan or with deep experience there, so we’re in good hands as we start planning our trip. Thus far, the leading candidate is bicycling around the island of Shikoku, where there is an ancient pilgrimage route. And of course, I’ve got some inspiration from the Rapha site and their marketing efforts in Japan. Check out this ride around Koyo San, a mountainous district of many temples south of Kyoto and Osaka.

Speaking of mountains, Japan is pretty much a series of giant mountains. I think the opportunity for pure brutality is very high. While I’ve started riding more, including finally getting a ride in over fifty miles, I’ve got to spend more time on the bike. This is hard to do on a day like today with the snow blowing around. This weekend will install my full racks to start riding with gear and perhaps in that way, speed up my training. I am hoping that we can take advantage of Japan’s many hot springs (onsens) on most nights.

これは素晴らしいこととしている!!! (actually, I have no idea if I can “exclaim” so much in Japanese).