Across and Along the Inland Sea

May 21, 2023

Our day began with a group ride to the ferry dock and then a long wait for the ferry. Since we are traveling by bicycle, they wanted up to load first in order to bbe secured and out of the way before vehicles began to load. This gave us some time to work on our tans and generally goof off. Once aboard and bikes secured, we were free to go upstairs to the lounge area. We immediately commandeered the comfy seats for the two and a half ride rather than sit on the floor in the back as the ferry staff invited us to. Since there was a light load of people on this trip and no one who wanted to sit on something other than the floor was unable to do so, we declined the invitation to be uncomfortable. Some of us ventured up on the observation deck briefly to watch Beppu fade away behind us.

Off loaded on Shikoku at the fishing village and ferry landing of Yawatahama, we stopped to visit a beautiful Shinto Temple and admire the lovingly crafted architecture. A small building to the side of the temple was set up for a traditional Tea Ceremony that could have been right out of Shogun if not for the plastic water bottles.

Our route was fairly flat thanks to two tunnels one of which was over two kilometers long. In both cases there was a sidewalk that allowed some degree of safety from the fast moving traffic passing through alongside of us. Aside from two fairly small climbs, most of the route was a beautiful ride along the coast on a road with quite a bit of Sunday traffic but with good paved shoulders for the most part that allowed us to sight see as we rode along. Sweeping views with hazy mountains in the distance along with the smells of salt air and seaweed made it a most pleasurable journey.

The last few kilometers were busier and less scenic as we came into the City of Matsuyama where we have a day off to rest our muscles and get ready for the climbs and journey to Kyoto.

May 20, 2023

Our hotel was in the caldera of the inactive portion of Mount Aso. This is a resort and spa area that caters to primarily Japanese clients. Robes and kimonos are provided by the hotel and there are separate onsens for men and women. Nakedness is required as is bathing before getting in. Tattoos need to be covered up and no food or drink is allowed. Our dinner was also a traditional Japanese meal with many dishes and an abundance of everything. I tried a bit of everything even the uncooked and thinly sliced horse meat. The next day as I road past horses at a riding establishment, I stopped to offer an apology. They told me in the future if horse meat is offered, just say naaaay.

Our ride out of the volcano was blessed with sunny skies for a bit but as we began the first of nine climbs it clouded over denying us the classic shot of the peak of Mount Aso. However, there were still plenty of other photo worthy moments. Bike riding in Japan is not for those who want a flat land experience. Japan’s geography pretty much guarantees that. On today’s ride we climbed around 1,870 meters or 6,135 feet. To put this in perspective, the Foymount Hill outside of my hometown, Eganville has a climb of 232 meters (760 feet). Four of our climbs today were greater with steepness ranging a steady 5% to 14%.

Our evening destination is Beppu which advertises itself as the Onsen Capital of Japan. If your idea of fun is getting naked with some folks of your same gender and sitting around in hot water, than Beppu should be on your bucket list. Beppu is the place to become immersed in the onsen experience. Tomorrow we catch another ferry for a three and a half hour ride to begin cycling on another island, Shikoku.

May 19, 2023

We had a late start this stay to accommodate a visit to one of Japan’s “must see” attractions, the Kumamoto Castle. The castle was not far away and while not on our cycling route, we were told it was worth the visit. That may be a matter of opinion.

Google Maps does not like to show a cycling route here in Japan so if you are using it you need to select the pedestrian or vehicle option for it to give you guided directions. There are pitfalls with either option. Walking routes may involve stairs and driving routes may take you on very busy roads or roads where bicycles are not allowed. After a nice trip in circles, I abandoned the walking route and switched to vehicle routing. While still not intuitive, and at times busy with traffic, it got me to the castle. Once there I was directed to a very roundabout parking area where I was allowed to leave my bike and walk back to the entrance. Arigato, very much.

After paying the 8,000 Yen fee to get in, I was treated to a long walk up stairs to a beautiful view of the reconstructed castle. What I saw was a faithfully recreated facade of the castle exterior over a concrete superstructure created in 1960 and rebuilt a few times since then.

The original castle was begun as a series of fortifications in 1467 by Ideta Hiedenobu, a local warlord. In 1588 and more important regional warlord, Kato Kiyomasa took up residence and between 1601 and 1607 went on a building spree to create the castle of which we see a reasonable facsimile of today. In 1877 it was subjected to a 50 day siege where a garrison of 3,500 held off an attacking army of 13,000 during the Satsuma Rebellion. Earthquakes have knocked the castle down a number of times and what the did not wreck, World War Two bombed into dust. All of this history was really great to learn but unfortunately, not at the castle. While there are signs at the entrance and ticket booth in English, there is almost zero English once you get in. Everything is in Japanese and if there is a translation available other than using Google Translate for each and every exhibit, it was a guarded secret. Basically you view of the outside of the castle is what you get for your 8,000 Yen if you do not speak Japanese. Inside there are few artifacts and absolutely nothing remaining of the ancient castle. Basically it is a modern concrete museum with ancient looking lipstick outside. A coffee and donuts would have been a better use of my Yen.

From the castle it was a ride out of town and into the countryside where we climbed to the top of Mount Aso, an extremely large and still active volcano. Had it not been foggy and raining the views would have been worth the 550 meter (1800 foot) uphill climb. We ate lunch in a driving wind and rain overlooking one of the largest caldears in the world. It is 17 kilometers across. This evening we slept in a hotel built in that caldear.

May 18, 2023

Nagasaki lies in a valley surrounded by tall hills. Unless you plan to swim, every way out is up. It was a day with nine climbs some over 300 meters. The day started out cloudy but not tool cold but with the rains and elevations that changed. Soaked from the inside out with sweat and from the outside in with condensation, it did not take long for a chill to set in on the downhill portions. By the time I hit the lunch stop I was shivering and needed to add some layers knowing that they too would become wet before too long. Better wet and warm than wet an cold.

Our route took us through some lovely mountains with bamboo and cedar forests. It also skirted Mount Unzen and active and dangerous volcano. In 1991 a pyroclastic flow from a large eruption killed 43 people. Back in 1792 a collapsed portion of the caldera created a megatsunami that killed 14, 500. Even today with sensors monitoring its activity and issuing warning people who live in its shadow know to be ready to leave in an instant.

Tomorrow’s route will take around and partially up Mount Aso another of Japan’s many active volcanoes but one with a less deadly recent history. It last erupted in 2021 but with less force. It is considered safe enough to be a tourist attraction.

May 17, 2023

When your hear the name Nagasaki one thing leaps to mind. Only two places in the world with civilian populations have ever felt the horror of an atomic bomb and Nagasaki is the second of those places. Let’s pray that there is never a third. At exactly 11:02 am on August 9th, 1945 a United States B-29 named Bockscar, dropped a plutonium fusion bomb named Fat Man that exploded 500 meters (app. 1500 feet) above the ground near the center of Nagasaki. Within moments thousands of lives were ended or forever changed as a miniature sun was created unleashing the most powerful explosion yet known to man.

Nagasaki has created a stirring museum and memorial park to ensure that their people and the world never forget what happened here and maybe understand why such a weapon should never again be used anywhere. Learning the story from the perspective of the city that experienced the bomb was a strongly emotional moment for me. I would need a heart as hard as the uranium used to build the bombs to not feel tears well up. I will not judge in hindsight the decision by Presidents Roosevelt, Truman and Prime Minister Churchill to use the bombs. They had their reasons and they were not evil men determined to kill with reckless disregard for life. Still, it is important to recognize and feel empathy for the people who suffered and lived through that event and the horrible days that followed. Some say that the lucky ones died in the blast.

When you walk into the museum’s exhibit area you immediately feel the gloom of the moments after the blast. The environment is dark and relics of the destruction are all around you. A partially melted clock greets you. Its hand forever frozen at two minutes past eleven. To your front is the remaining portion of a Catholic church wall. To your right, melted steel and blast scared steps of a primary school. Photos, film footage and artifacts recovered from the debris tell the stories of the city, of lives lost and the suffering aftermath. The image of a man’s body and the ladder he was using are burned into a concrete wall, a shadow of a life lost in a flash. Bones of a human hand fused into a glob of melted glass speak of the intensity of the heat. Photos of survivors burned and blistered stay etched into your consciousness. Photos too horrible for me to post.

Outside the museum in the area below ground zero is a park dedicated to peace. Here are memorials built by the city and others from around the world to the victims of the atomic bomb. The memorials are decorated with colorful offering left by those touched by what happened here. At a memorial to the ten thousand Korean forced laborers who died in blast there is a collection of plastic water bottles. These are left by people commemorating those who survived the initial blast but burned by the heat, radiation and fires that followed it. Many of these victims spent their final moments dazed and longing for something to cool their burned bodies and wet their dry lips. At the center of all of this is a statue dedicated to peace and an unspoken hope that a lesson was learned here.

May 15 and 16, 2023

So far our adventures have been mostly outdoors. This time we opted for something different. Busan is the second largest city in South Korea. It is actually a sprawling collection of industrial centers that have morphed together into one large metropolis. Three and one half million people call it home and most work in some sort of industry or services to support industry. This is not to say that there is not a strong tourism and recreational economy as well but everything seems secondary to the mighty builders of things. With this theme in mind one of our group set up a tour of the world’s largest automobile manufacturing complexes, Hyundai. Our ride was in one of the many private motor coaches seen in Korea. You may notice in the above photo that these coaches are quite fancy.

Hyundai’s facility in the Ulsan section of greater Busan is truly a behemoth. Covering an area larger than 600 football stadiums and rolling out 6,000 cars per day, it is hard to not be impressed.(That’s one every 10 seconds!) They even have their own port facilities where the vehicles are loaded onto ships almost as fast as they are produced. You might think that such a facility would be robot city but this is not so. Strong unions here have resisted automation to a large degree and the cars are produced on a fairly traditional but efficient assembly line. Over 32,000 workers (mostly male) work here and earn the equivalent of around $100,000 (Canadian) dollars a year or about $70,000 US.

The factory was originally established by Ford Motor Company back in the 1960s and used to produce Ford designed cars for markets outside the USA. Beginning in 1974 they began engineering their ownn made in Korea designs and using what they learned from Ford produce the first 100% Korean model, the Pony. Hyundai is now the third largest producer of cars in the world, two places ahead of Ford at number 5.

While Busan is quite industrial, like the larger City of Seoul it has ample recreational spaces. The waterfront in the area of our hotel was preserved a a wide and very clean beach fronting on the East Sea or Sea of Japan as it is known by the rest of the world. While we were here there was a competition featuring large and elaborate sand sculptures. One hopes that very high tides and typhoons are rare here or all is lost.

Our next day will be spent in planes and at airports. My next post will be from Japan.

May 14, 2023

There was too little time to stop and smell the roses today let alone take photos. Our journey was 125 kilometers with over 1,700 meters of climbing. The hidden worm in the apple was one particular climb of over 500 meters (1600 feet) with a long section of between 15 and 19 percent grade near the top. My bike has the lowest gearing that is available for it and over the past five years I have never had to walk up any section of any hill that I encountered. This covers rides on three continents and going up some pretty big hills. However, this particular hill was more than a match for me. About 800 meters from the top by body was protesting and I was moving forward on will power alone. My front wheel was wobbly and my pace not much more than a walk. Busses and cars were passing by close on the narrow roadway and there was little or no shoulder to allow for any errors on my part. My body was drained and my determination weakened by each passing vehicle and the need to try to watch both my mirror and the road. I dismounted and walked the last 800 meters. As compensation there was a very pretty waterfall on the downhill side.

Fortunately, from the summit it was downhill all the way to the lunch stop and my rubbery legs had time to regain some strength. Lunch was a refreshing and well need break before one last climb and the push to catch the 3:00 pm bus that would take me to our hotel in Busan. There would be another bus at 4:30 but I was hoping to make the 3:00 pm one in order to have more time to get a shower and maybe a beer before having to break my bike down and box it for the flight to Japan. While the remaining route was mostly downhill and flat, there was a head wind and plenty of bike and pedestrian traffic on the bike path as I neared Busan. I had to watch my speed and exercise caution while respecting the rights of other pathway users. I was just over 5 minutes late getting to and finding the bus but good fortune smiled and the bus was still there. I was the last person aboard and filled the last seat before a long but restful ride into Busan where a warm shower and a cold beer awaited me. Finish Line One achieved and now on to Japan.

May 13, 2023

Today was an exploration day in what can best be described as a tourist town or at least the tourist area of Gyeongju. We arrived on a Friday afternoon and the families were out in full force. The same was true on Saturday when the above photo was taken. The area is historically significant featuring a UNESCO World Heritage Site but most folks seem to be here for the food, shopping and tourist experience. Some even rent period costumes and stroll the sites in ancient style.

Our evening began with another traditional Korean feast, this time hosted the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism. I lost count of how many different dishes and the food just kept coming. Surprising to those who know me, I tried most dishes, even the spicy one and survived the experience.

The following day I was off to explore. Near to where we are staying is a UNESCO World Heritage Site containing ancient burial mounds containing the tombs of past note-worthies from centuries ago. There are dozens of these mounds of various sizes that may indicate the importance of the potentate or maybe the availability of dirt at that particular moment in history.

My next stop was at the Cheomseongdae Observatory, the oldest surviving observatory in Asia and possible the world. It was constructed during the 7^th century kingdom of Silla and modeled on an even older observatory that is only know through historical records. Like many observatories before the invention of telescopes it was used to define and map the night sky by providing a fixed reference point on the ground to plot the movement of objects in the sky.

Nearby is the archaeological excavation of the palace and fortress of King Pasa of the Silla dynasty. Sited on the high ground above the city it commanded a large area. The excavation is still in its early stages with most of its secrets still to be uncovered.

A much later palace has been excavated and reconstructed within sight of it more ancient cousin. The Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond have been beautifully recreated near the exact site where they originally stood. This palace was also part of the Silla era but much later than the one above. It was constructed during the reign of King Munmu in 674 CE. The palace featured an ornate roof, carefully carved and painted in much the same way as the photo shows. It is sited at the edge of an artificial pond designed to reflect its beauty.

I finished my adventure with a walk down the tourist gauntlet. It reminded me of just about every other tourist mecca that I have visited with the usual assortment of shops designed to get between the visitor and their wallet as quickly as possible. I am immune to such influences, especially as I have absolutely no room for so much as a flat calendar in my luggage. However, I did decide to try some street food. It looked like a pastry on a stick and is appeared to have a delicious looking chocolate swirl. My mouth was thinking Beaver Tail, a Canadian deep fried confection so I ponied up the 4,000 WON price (about $4.00) and waited. My first clue that I had misjudged my meal was when the vendor put the concoction on a grill. He then sprayed it with cooking oil and basted it with various sauces, none of which were chocolate. It was handed to be steaming hot of a cardboard plate and it tasted like chicken. Another of life’s adventures.

Yeongdeok to Gyeongju

May 12, 2023

A traditional breakfast started us off with dishes that most North American would not associate with their morning meal. Rice and a crab based soup rounded out with various side dishes such as dried seaweed and cam chi took a bit to get used to but were mostly enjoyable. Once on our bikes we were away along the coast with salt spray and fishy odors in the air.

We were just coasting today in two ways. With less than 90 kilometers to ride and a fairly flat course along Korea’s East Sea coast it was a day to take it easy and to take pictures. These coastal towns seem to really enjoy making an artistic statement. As if the sea view were not enough, they indulge in creating beautiful floral displays and original works of art.

As we moved along the coast the towns seemed to move from recreational oriented to a more industrial economic model. However, even in the most industrial of towns a large portion of the waterfront was preserved for recreational use. It was in one of these towns that we experienced the best displays of artistic works.

One was a large sculpture garden on the beach with concrete creations made to look like elaborate sand sculptures. Each one was a unique work of art. Floral displays were also an important part of this town’s identity with frequent elaborate displays.

Our day ended after a pleasant 90 kilometers at a hotel designed as a traditional Korean guest house. Shoes are left outside and your sleeping pad is on the floor. Chairs? Were we are we don’t need chairs.

It’s not as bad as it sounds

May 11, 2023

Riders enjoying a gentler portion of the the route[/caption]

Leaving a city is always problematic. Many people can equal many cars. Oddly enough, if the city is large enough this is not a problem. Big cities often have bike paths or at least bike lanes. Andong did as well but they did not go far enough. Just outside of the city the bike path ended and we were forced onto a road with narrow shoulders that we shared with large trucks and commuter traffic. The shoulder itself was less than great with frequent piles of dirt, overgrowing vegetation, glass and other roadside debris. Add to this construction and a system of center line dividers that prevented impatient truck drivers from allowing a safe distance between their many tons and my far lesser mass. I took one tree branch in my face while staying as far over as I could and watching the close pass of a dump truck in my rear view mirror. At times we were sandwiched between a narrow road with a center line barrier and guard rails or walls that made the edge of the shoulder the end of the world as far as we were concerned. I was almost giddy with joy to get off that road and into the hills and the eleven big climbs on today’s route.

There were eleven climbs today totaling just over 2300 meters according to Ride With GPS and around around 1600 meters according to Garmin. The route guide said they totaled 1751 meters so who knows why the wide discrepancy? My legs say go with the higher number. There was also a headwind much of the way but it was a plus on those long climbs keeping us cool. Regardless of the elevations climbed the ride was spectacular once we were free of Satan’s Speedway. Our first point of interest was the Turtle Temple. The turtle is a common image in the Buddhist faith. The turtle stands as a prayer, wish, and hope that life’s meaning will endure. It also may means that life finds expression in what a monk gives to others. Turtle monuments often commemorate a monk’s life.

We are still in farming country with the primary crop being apples. There is also the inevitable rice, beans and and other crops suited to smaller acreage. I have yet to see any livestock though I assume there are such operations just in other areas. While some farm homes are of current design I occasionally came across one that was from a past century, although still being actively used.

It is also common to see shrines and memorials along our routes. Sometimes they form a place of worship, particularly for the Buddhist faith or commemorate the life of a departed loved one. These latter memorials usually have some connection with an environment or location special to the deceased. Of course any ride seems to bring the unexpected into view such as a dinosaur themed park that I passed just after lunch.

The next to the last climb was followed by a long swooping descent through the Ice Valley, home to rock climbing schools and a host site for the World Ice Climbing Championships. Rugged rock canyon walls bracket a cold, clear mountain stream that our road followed for many kilometers. It was a sometimes swift, sometimes gentle glide through a slice of heaven.

The Ice Valley is the gateway to Yeongdeok a coastal city on what most maps call the Sea of Japan but which the Koreans insist is the East Sea. Yeongdeok has branded itself as the King Crab Capital of Korea. Let me emphasize this: They have branded themselves King Crab Capital and made a point of it in as strong a way imaginable. They own it, have nailed it to the wall, set it in stone and challenge anyone to out do them. Baltimore take note, you slackers. Of course, our dinner this evening was a crab feast, South Korean style. We were stuffed.