Japan Honshu

Japan - Honshu        

17. 10. 2017 - 12. 11. 2017 1999 km

The cruise to Honshu was very pleasant. There were Japanese-style rooms (on the ground) and one could sleep there. There were also massage chair, televisions and chaos with tables. Three and a half hours passed very fast, and we were suddenly in Aomori. It was late afternoon and it was getting dark. We found a camp near the city on the map. We didn‘t know that it would uphill. It took us more time than we expected, and when we passed the cemetery, we looked at each other with horrified face hoping the situation wouldn‘t be repeated. Eventually we reached the camp, put up the tent and went sleep quickly. Full of expectation of what will be Honshu like, we got up early and set off to Lake Towada. The was there was quite demanding, it led through the mountains and there was a 20km long uphill. We didn’t take enough food and there was not many shops. The only thing you'll ever find in Japan is vending machines that are everywhere, so we took energy from cofee and lemonades. Rather than the lake itself, we wanted to see the Oiras Stream, which flows out of it and creates a beautiful scenery with many waterfalls and rapids. It was known that this place is very popular, there were many tourists with high-quality photo technique. We were really hungry, we didn’t find any shop in 70 km. Later in one village we were able to find one. It was overpriced but we didn’t care, we bought a big pile of food. A short walk from the shop found accommodation for backpackers, they wanted 9 USD for the tent and there was also a warm shower. After that day, we couldn‘t wish anything else.

In Hokkaido, everyone warned us not to sleep in the woods, because there are grizzly bears, although no one has ever seen anyone. We thought that this issue is out of topic in Honshu. But we were still wondering why people in Honshu also walk around the woods with rollers. Once we passed the sign on which were painted little black bear. We thought it was a advert for a zoo or park. A few miles later, Paja thought that she saw a black cat. When she was a little closer, she realized it wasn‘t a cat, it was big and it didn‘t have a tail. The animal stood by the road and looked at her. At that time, she understood, it was the bear from the sign. She didn‘t have a camera to take a picture and when I arrived, the bear was gone. Later we read on the Internet that it was a Asian black bear, who attacked four people last year. Since that time, we sang, rang the bells on the bikes, and slept no longer in the woods.

The landscape of Honshu is also slightly different from Hokkaido. The forests are predominantly mixed,it‘s not so colorful, bamboo grows abundantly and the land is farmed. Along the roads there are rice fields that are golden at the time of harvest, occasionally we saw kaki or citrus orchards.

We went to see the town of Kakunodate, home of Samurai houses. For the visit we chose the oldest one and a member of the fourth generation living in this house guided us.

Besides free camps and public parks, we also use michi-no-eki road rests, where is also usually an information center, a shop and better toilets, those with all kinds of functions. Travelers will appreciate this convenience especially when they are not able to have a shower, the toilet at least washes the intimate area. We tried to wash our feet, but unfortunately the washing nozzles only work when you are sitting on the toilet.

The weather in Japan was very changeable, for two days it was almost 30 ° C, although the nights were still very cold, and then two days of persistent rain  (up to 40mm). The typhoon was comming. We couldn’t sleep outside, we had to find some hotel. As there is cheap food and electronics, accommodation is among the most expensive. We were afraid if they accommodate us, because we were dirty and wet. Eventually we got the room, after half a year we had a hot bath full of foam and the next morning a royal breakfast waited for us.

A few kilometers from the hotel there are a number of smaller Buddhist monasteries and sacred places - the Yamadara temple. The whole complex is not visible from the road, and despite the fact that you have to climb 1000 stairs, there were hordes of visitors. After this visit, we set off to the coast of Fukushima, which was hit by tsunami in 2011. Six years after the disaster, you wouldn‘t even know that anything like that happened here. We noticed that a huge concrete structure has been built along the sea. First we didn‘t know what was going on, but now we know it's the breakwaters.

By leaving the Fukushima Prefecture, we entered central Honshu, where are lot of sights. With eager expectation we cycled to Nikkó, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. When we arrived at complex and saw the unreal queues before the cashier entrance, the enthusiasm was gone. Spend half a day waiting to buy tickets did’t worth, we took a picture of pagoda and run away. The 50 km long uphill with an elevation of 1600m was eaiting for us. This part was very exhausting; Kata wasn‘t even interested in the free-running Japanese macaque, who sometimes crossed our path. Before the downhill, the darkness fell and it got cold. But the area was full of onsen, just choose, sweating and warming the body. We put up the tent in a little further the park and fell asleep in the second. In the morning, when we got out of the tent we saw a hole number 8, we slept on the croquet playground.

Originally, we wanted to visit Nagano, take a picture of the stadium, where we have won gold in ice hockey almost 20 years ago at the Olympic games. However the weather decided to change our plan. The typhoon came again. After this we headed to Mt. Fuji. Kata was looking forward to see it. We went to the pagoda on the hill, where the most beautiful photos of the volcano are taking. We were passing a huge mountain, and Kata said with amazement "Hey dude, that‘s giant, how big is Fuji?" At the pagoda we realized that the giant mountain was actually Fuji, just without the snow cap. We were slightly disappointed, we didn‘t see any pictures like this, without the snow, and just three days ago, another traveler took a picture of Fuji with a snow. Well, it was beautiful, and we will not come back again.

Then Japan showed us another face. We were cycling through the cities. We don‘t even know how many cities we passed, we didn’t know where it begins or ends. Every 100 meters was a traffic lights. Through the concrete jungle, we came to the Nagoya Castle. We were hoping to learn something from Japanese history, unfortunately an English tour takes place only once a day and we missed this opportunity. The labels on exposed exhibits were only in Japanese, so we didn’t learn much. After this experience, we didn’t visit castle in Kyoto. We rather visited the Golden Pavilion (Buddhist Temple), the bamboo forest and the sacred place of Fushimi Inari-taisha. There are certainly more places that are worth seeing, but we were exhausted in crowds of tourists. Cities are not for us. We found a free camp in the Furubokke Nature Park and were immediately cycling there. Our desire for peace was heard. As soon as we got into the park, the rush of cities disappeared, and we found ourselves among the beautifully colored trees, and the only thing we heard were the birds and the cicadas. With combination of open beer, it was the perfect balm for the soul.

In the camp we finally stayed one more night, our legs could have a rest and we could enjoy the magic of nature longer. Full of new energy we could go on cycling in the cities. The first was Himeji, where we saw a beautiful castle and we also went to the Japanese garden of Koko-en garde. After that, we continued to crawl through the cities. We stopped at michi-no-eki close to the Fukuyama, it was an exceptionally warm evening, and the benches under the roof seemed to be a perfect to sleep. For the first time for our trip we slept outside without a tent. But in the middle of the night, the rain woke us. The roof was probably not as wooden as it seemed, it was cloth, and the raindrops were falling on our faces. We packed our wet sleeping bags and moved to a brick building with information and a shop where there were also benches, but under a real, waterproof roof.

Since we arrived in Japan, we wanted to try a shinkansen. The Fukuyama - Hiroshima - Fukuyama route looked like the ideal solution because we wanted to leave Honshu before Hiroshima. The only thing we worried about was where to store the bikes and panniers. In this country, strict rules apply for the transport of bikes by train, they must be properly packed and we did’t have any case for them. But at the train station, we found luggage lockers. We put our panniers there and locked the bikes in a bike park.

Shinkansen is really pretty fast bullet train. In 20 minutes we were in hundred kilometers distant Hiroshima. We headed straight to the Memorial Park to the Atomic Dome. Originally this building of the Czech architect Jan Letzl served as an exhibition hall, but after the nuclear bomb exposion in 1945, it was only a reminder of the destructive power of nuclear weapons and a symbol of world peace. In the park, you can also see the hours that every morning at 8:15 when the disaster happened plays a melody. Despite this sad event, Hiroshima is a thriving city full of life. For the way back, we chose to ride a regular train and instead of 20 minutes we spent almost two hours. We did not mind at all because we had a Japanese travel box with food and desserts.

From Fukuyama it was really little to Onomichi, where we left Honshu by ferry.