Continue reading »]]> I know, the last posts were a little long in the making. I guess I exaggerated it a little with the Torii Pass – the route which won the first vote. Because after passing the pass :) my right foot caused me some problems and swelling. I thought I’d have to abort the trip. Luckily Matsumoto is nearby Manza – where last year, I used to work – and I could stay at my friends for a month to convalesce again.

I simply didn’t want to post a note about a possible cancellation of the tour. It wouldn’t have been necessary after all.

Now I can go on with the posts from early August of the historic Nakasendo from Nagoya to Matsumoto that are over due:

Ceramics Museum in Tajimi

My route takes me from Nagoya to Tajimi, known for ceramic fine arts. There is one of the best – if not maybe the best – ceramics schools in the whole of Japan and even a ceramics museum. As luck would have it my host is a ceramics artist. I would like to take photos of her works, however they are packed for an exhibition at the museum and we will take them there the next day. However I have the fortune of accompanying her to the museum the next day and can present you photos of the building. A very appealing piece of architecture I think. Designed by Arata Isozaki.

For the next two days I can’t find a host for the first time on my trip through Japan. It’s hardly surprising as it is a very rural site of Japan. Still I’m lucky to find a very cheap but very new Youth hostel in Nakatsugawa and as cheap Onsen hotel nearby Kiso. The landscape is very hilly, however until Kiso I’m cycling in a valley alongside the Kiso river which is why the incline is very moderate. And finally it’s getting colder – at least a bit. From 36°C in Nagoya to 32°C in Nakatsugawa and ‘only” about 30°C in Kiso.

On the way to Kiso

This is where my first vote between a road fork happens and the Torii pass is the winner. But before reaching the pass I will meet these nice young folks in my lunch break.

Well I know the end of the video was a bit abrupt. I am so exhausted that I am not in mood to do the good bye moderation. However I make it to Matsumoto the same day (yes, before midnight).

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Special thanks to: Alex Laing, New Zealand (text revision), Seika Takahashi, Japan; Toru Momose, Japan; the whole Manza team, Hubertus Neidhart from Webspace Provider Network for excellent web page hosting services; Lilith Pendzich

Continue reading »]]> So I made it to Daegu, South Korea’s textile metropolis with only 2.5 Million inhabitants but five universities. The city is also known very well for its traditional Korean medicine. It has the oldest traditional medicine market of South Korea. My host Colombe from France takes me to a street with plenty of ceramic shops. We stroll through one of those shops. I really like the little tea pots but with 160.000 Won (140 AUD, 141 CAD, 88 GBP, 179 NZD, 135.68 USD) for one pot it’s simply not in my budget. Still the owner is very friendly, and explains to us everything about South Korean tea. He lets us know that he regularly organizes tea festivals and plays on his traditional Korean flute for us.

Colombe works as a French teacher for Alliance Française. She’s lived and worked in

too many countries already :) France of course, Canada, China and now in South Korea. She admits that she is a bit disappointed in South Korea. I find her accent very charming. “And you know what’s the worse thing about this country?“ she asks me, “They ate my cat!”

I am shocked. I thought they just do this in china.

After a while Colombe realizes that she should correct her typical French pronunciation.

“Non non, I mean they H-ate my cat!” Well, I’d say in such a situation only alcohol helps I guess:

Daegu from dusk till dawn von Daaaaaaaaaaaax

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Special thanks to: Colombe Laforet, Tanya Turner, Luke Langton, Hubertus Neidhart from Webspace Provider Network for excellent web page hosting services; Christoph Flossmann, Lilith Pendzich