Continue reading »]]> “Welcome to Hokkaido” greets me Gaku my host a 21 year young environmental science student. He waited extra for my arrival in the cold to pick me up. It’s a pity I have no time to explore Hakodate as it is a special town regarding history. I don’t even find time to take some photos of the historic church because already for early afternoon strong rain showers are forecast. My early departure was the right decision. Only one hour later this photos from the Onuma National Park would only have been half as beautiful and spoiled by rain.

Onuma Quasi National Park

Furthermore I’m having my second puncture on this trip. And I manage the change tire/tyre change just before it starts to rain. Now the last tube for my trailer tires is gone. If I should buy a spare one so short before reaching my final destination? My trailer tires/tyres already over a trip from Hamburg to Rome, South Korea and three quarters of Japan after all. But I chance it and don’t buy another tube.

From Mori to Toyoura I’m cycling alongside alongside the bay of the Oshima peninsula. The bay’s diameter is a bit more than 50 km but the leg I have to do is about 100 km. It’s kind of funny as you can see your destination on the other side of the bay and almost for the whole time while making your way to the other side.

Alongside the coast to the north

As my host in Oshamanbe obviously has forgotten about me Michitaka, my host in Toyoura offers me to host me a day earlier. Even though he’s already hosting two guys from France!

There is a good trick to reach people who agreed to host someone but then seem to forget about it and haven’t logged in for four weeks until the requested day and not yet sent me their address or phone number. In that case check if they are friends with other on the Couchsurfing platform or check their references. Write to those contacts who logged in recently, asking them if they have also other contact details of your host and if they could remind your host to check his mail. Most of the time hosts and guests also stay friends via other social networks or other media they use more frequently. However in this case my host is a complete newbie without any friends or references which is why this trick does not work this time.

Maiko (l.) ich und Michitaka

Michitaka and Maiko my hosts are a Japanese couple and work for the Waldorf school. Every day they cook for me. The first day I am being offered deer: “At the moment we have too many deers here on Hokkaido so the hunters are pretty busy now. One of my friends is a hunter and I received the meat for free!” When talking about my trip I mention that I timed almost everything pretty well on my trip, I saw the lantern festival in Seoul, was at the right time in Kyoto to see the Gion Matsuri festival, saw Matsumoto bon bon, now I’m here when the foliage of Hokkaido’s forests are changing their colours, I only missed the firework season this year. I only missed the firework season this year.

“You don’t know it?”, Michitaka wonders.

“Don’t know what?”, I’d like to know.

“Lake Toya is well known for its fireworks which take place every day from the end of April until end of October from 8:45 pm until 9:05.” explains Michitaka.

“Come on it’s 8:20 pm now and October the 31^st if we hurry we can make it in 20 minutes to Toyako!”

And indeed we make it. Well, obviously once again timed pretty well thanks to my marvellous organizing skills ;)

Firework at Lake Toya

The journey from Toyoura via Toyako to Kutchan shall be my last one on my trip with clear skies. The autumn/fall atmosphere here in Hokkaido is even more amazing compared to what I’ve seen in Aomori. Gold brown rice fields steppe tree-lined by red, green, yellow and orange dappled autumn/fall woods and lush field landscape. The scent of chestnuts, foliage and farmer fires fills the air. Even though it’s mainly flat after making it over the edge of the Toyako caldera it takes me about five more hours to cycle from there around Mt. Yotei, a 1,898 meter (6,227 ft) high strato volcano. For two hours I cycle below night skies and it’s awesome! As it is already comparably cold here in Hokkaido the air is pretty dry and a crystal clear starlit sky completed by a full moon makes my trip a very special experience. The black contrasts of volcanic mountains at the horizon against this bright night sky are amazing! It’s that bright that you can even see the whole landscape.

Mt. Yotei

Seiko, a 30 year young Urologist doctor lives in Kutchan and hosts me for two days. I’m calling her to let her know I might arrive two hours later. “I thought you were coming yesterday!”, she confuses me. Did I really confuse the arrival day? I did and she waited for two hours for my arrival. (Japanese mobile networks don’t sell SIMcards without phones and not having a gaijin card (Japanese green card) makes it even more complicated buying a cell phone.) In short: she could not call me. “Simon, I’m working at the hospital now doing a night shift so you have to come here to pick up the key!” Wow, after all this she still hosts me…

Seiko und ihr Freund im Yaki Niku grill restaurant

The next day she treats me for dinner at a yaki niku bbq restaurant, and takes me to another dinner with her friends. One of them even speaks a bit of German. Another one is a potato farmer. Even though rice is the big thing here in Japan this region called Niseko is known well for two things: potatoes and a winter sports. Niseko features the best powder snow in all Japan. Talking about snow… Once again there have been reports about snow on the Nakayama (Toge) pass. And when looking toward Mt. Yotei the next morning the mountain peak is covered in snow too. It reminds me of my first big bicycle trip when I passed the Brenner pass. That was also in November and they also already had snow there. Nakayama Toge is only 800 m high but Seiko warns me that there is a lot of traffic. Seiko and Nozomi (who I met on my ride from Fukushima to Sendai) recommend me to change my route. And I think it’s good advice. So instead of taking the Nakayama (Toge) pass I take route 5 which mainly runs in valleys, and from Yoichi, alongside the sea to Sapporo.

Seiko’s friends

In Otaru, 20 km before my final destination Sapporo, my rear break refuses to work. Does it really have to go on strike on my last travelling day? Well, regarding my none existing spare tire I didn’t worry and so far I was lucky and had no puncture. But when it comes to breaks it would be irresponsible to go on with only one break. So I get it fixed. Still I’m content with my breaks. On my first trip from Hamburg to Rome I had a skid break. Especially after mountain passes I had to change the skids constantly which I found pretty annoying. But it’s obvious that they fret pretty quickly especially when they have to break not only for my body weight but also a bicycle trailer packet with 40 kg. My disk brake however practically lasted for the whole trip, more than 3,000 km. Pretty cool hm?

The shore on the way to Sapporo

This is how I reach Sapporo my final destination. “As it is quite a young city – at least from a historical point of view – there is not a lot to explore”, tells me my host Bob, 60, from the U.S.A. who teaches English here and has lived in Sapporo for over 20 years already. One should try soup curry, a local speciality. Sapporo is mainly known best for food and the annual snow festival Yuki Matsuri which takes place here in February. They build whole temples or other buildings from snow then. No worries, it’s quite likely that I will return to Sapporo in February to present you pictures from the city and this festival. But now I’m busy with getting my flights and bicycle transport organised.

My bicycle and me on my host’s roof and Sapporo’s ski-jump in the background

And this is how my bicycle trip ends. But still I will go on with fund-raising for my projects. More info about that on this web page or my social network profiles. I’ll go on further trips which will be shown here and on my facebook page.

I’d like to thank all who helped me making this trip such a wonderful experience! So a big thank you to all my hosts – especially to to those who also helped me with the text revision for this blog! Thanks to all who donated for the aid projects. Thanks to all who commented on my blog for the nice notes or thoughtful questions! I’d like to thank SwissEye and Weber products for the support. Also a big thank you to my little sister Lilith who assisted me with my web page in Germany. Hubertus Neidhart my web page hoster, Daniel Göhr my programmer, Christoph Flosssman for minor graphic design and advice for the graphics programme, Gimp. Also Sumire Harayama and Fumi Ono who helped me with administrative work and PR for Japan and of course to you, the reader!

My next big travels in 2013/14 will take place in two countries south from here. If you’d like to know more you simply have to stay tuned :)

Thank you for accompanying me.

Until the next trip!

Yours truly Simon

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The castle of Hirosaki

I go on to Hirosaki, Japan’s apple capital. Already more than three weeks ago my mum sent a package from Germany to my hosts here. Medical supplies, my new credit card, most important however are German sweets/candy which I need urgently. On arriving at my host’s the package still hasn’t arrived. Yet I have three more days in Hirosaki before going on to Aomori, my last city located on Japan’s main island, Honshu. My hosts Tori and Kyle are U.S. Americans, both teach English. After spending three days in Hirosaki the package still hasn’t arrived. I can’t help it. I have to go on without the package as there already have been some first reports about snow in Hokkaido. So I don’t have a lot of time left to end my tour safely. But this really becomes an issue for me as I can’t survive log without the package. On one hand I have to reach Hokkaido before onset of winter. But that’s almost impossible – without German candy. I simply can’t do that!

On a warm sunny autumn/fall day I set forth for the harbour town, Aomori. The autumn foliage is true eye candy which eases my hunger for real candy – at least for a day.

On my way to Aomori

Ted in Aomori is my first host who speaks Mandarin and Japanese as second languages but comes from the U.S.A. He had lived for some years in China. Of course he’s an English teacher here. He takes me to a small restaurant, introduces me to his friends: “He comes from Otsuchi.” “Otsuchi?”, I’m asking, “that Otsuchi located on the east cost in the Tsunami area?” “You know it? Yes!”, the man responds surprised. I tell him that I raise donations for the Midori Kindergarten there and it turns out that my conversation partner and the kindergarten manager were classmates. A Japanese couple eavesdrops our conversation becomes curious and asks questions. Just before they set off they thrust a donation for the kindergarten into my hands.

Aomori Prefecture Tourist Center and Aomori bay bridge

Poster in the ferry to Hokkaido

It is my last day in Aomori and tomorrow my journey goes on via ferry to Hakodate, Hokkaido’s southern most port town. Even though I will travel over 100 km on the sea I could also take the train. Honshu and Hokkaido are connected by the world’s longest operating train tunnel, the 53 km long Seikan Tunnel. However this tunnel will have lost it’s status in 2017 as the longest to the 57 km long Gotthard Base Tunnel in Switzerland. And will be placed on rank three when the 55 km long Brenner Base Tunnel will be completed around 2025 connecting Austria and Italy.

A mail from Tori reaches me – the package has arrived. Four hours to departure of the ferry. Now I could take the train back to Hirosaki only 50 km away from here. But I learn the package is no longer in Hirosaki. As Tori’s husband Kyle teaches here in Aomori he already took the package with him and I pick it up at his school near the docks. Extremely exhausted, already trembling and using the last of my strength I reach Kyle, rip the package out of his hands, rupture it and insert the candy into my mouth. Rescued! Thank you mum you saved my life!

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Special thanks to: Bob Gettings (text revision), Tori & Kyle Sharpe, Ted Lackman, all Japan; (all U.S.A.) Hubertus Neidhart from Webspace Provider Network for excellent web page hosting services; Lilith Pendzich

Continue reading »]]> Even though my next town Kamaishi has plenty of hotels which have already been restored, I’m still having a hard time finding a room. There is a huge steel plant in Kamaishi which is fully functional again. A major part of the city is located in a long, narrow valley which reaches far into the countryside with a steady incline towards it, which is why this part of town survived the tsunami. The thriving economy here results in fully booked hotels. After hustling to the fifth hotel, I finally find a room. I’m stressed out, and I just want to leave the coast behind me already.

The next day, I finally reach my destination, the reason for my journey through this disaster region: the Kindergarten Midori for which I collect donations.

When leaving Otsuchi for Miyako another typhoon passes through. However the eye of the storm lies over the sea. Still it causes such strong winds and heavy rain that its impossible for me to film Otsuchi. This town tops everything I’ve seen so far in terms of destruction. It could also be Hiroshima one week after the detonation of the A-bomb. It’s horrible! Grey rain beats over the sulky wasteland of rubble and foundations. The horizon disappears in eternal mist. I’m just here for a few days but the people here face this scene of devastation every day!

To a great extent my next city of Miyako was mainly spared because it was fortunately protected by a peninsula which blocked most of the tsunami. Still here I cycle through a small part of the city completely wiped out as well.

The cliff shore from Miyako on towards Kuji

From Miyako towards the north the seashore turns into a – at some points 200 m high – cliff coast. It would be 90 km from Miyako to the next biggest town Kuji. Too far for me to make it in one day with my heavy trailer and several mountains and valleys in between. So I search for a hostel in Tanohata, a little town in between. When reaching it in the evening it turns out it is closed. My fault. I didn’t call them to place a reservation. Of course it’s the only hostel in this little town. I ask at the Koban (local police station) if they had some advice. They call several guest houses for me – yes I know something like that would never happen in Germany but seems to be a matter of course for them – but all are full. There is a small hotel near the shore about eight km away from here they tell me. Meanwhile it’s dark outside. Shortly before I hit the road again my back light won’t turn on. Somehow the strong rain of the last typhoon must have damaged the internal electronics. Of course worse always comes to worst. As if this wouldn’t be bad enough already the police guys warn me that it’s a very dangerous course through a very deep and narrow canyon. I better not tell them my back light does not work as I’m pushing my bicycle around the corner while saying good bye to them.

The cliff shore from Miyako on towards Kuji

I’m slowly approaching the canyon. And it is deep indeed. The street has no continuous crash barrier. What also makes me anxious is the fact that it is in the middle of nowhere and there are no cars passing. So should something happen to me here it might take some time until somebody would discover me. At least it’s a clear bright starlit night and not too cold. On one hand the contrast of the steep canyon walls against the jewelled sky looks somehow threatening but on the other hand it has something romantic. Nonetheless. Both are pretty distracting and it happens that I almost plummet into the chasm. It is so dark that I barely see anything despite my front light.

I survive the canyon and finally reach the hotel. Of course it’s full. After the chase for free rooms and escaping two typhoons and seeing so much destruction within the last few days and the struggle through the canyon and therefore being absolutely exhausted it drives me to total desperation. I really can’t go on any longer! Apparently the hotel owner sees how desperate I am. He knows there is really nothing around here where I could stay. He also knows it would be quite cruel to send me away so he decides to convert the common room to a room for me. I want to get out of this area! I really want to get out of here!

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Special thanks to: Mattew Hahn, Travis Haby (text revision), Tori & Kyle Sharpe (all U.S.A.) Hubertus Neidhart from Webspace Provider Network for excellent web page hosting services; Lilith Pendzich

Continue reading »]]> Who resumes a bicycle trip with an 80 km long leg after a one month long lasting recovering break will be punished. Which is the case with me. But it’s my own body which punishes me.

After the first pass coming from Matsumoto

From Matsumoto I’m making my way via two smaller mountain pass to Nagano. However with one pass you wouldn’t want to mess with. After the tour I’m so exhausted that I’m simply too weak for the next two days to have a look at the city. For those who were hoping to see some photos of the former winter Olympics city may be becalmed. After the end of the cyclonara tour I will pay my friends in Manza (nearby Nagano) a visit again and there might be some time to see the city as well.

My host Alex, 24, from New Zealand teaches English in Nagano. As a topping on the ice cake of my two day recover phase I’d like to indulge my body a very special Onsen. I heard from an Onsen (hot spring) in which also Monkeys have a bath. Alex have heard from it too and so we take his car to get to the Onsen about 40 km north of Nagano (City). As we know this Onsen is one of Nagano’s (prefecture) main tourist attractions we are surprised by the low entrance fee. Only 500 Yen!

And there are really Monkeys jumping towards us after entering the Onsen area. But lockers are nowhere to be found. When approaching the Onsen we quickly realize that it’s an Onsen exclusively for Monkeys. And well… contrary to my expectations these monkeys are not trained and also use the Onsen as a toilet. Intelligible that it’s of little interest for the hygiene-conscious Japanese people to share this Onsen with the monkeys. But since Alex and I skipped the shower this morning we are – at least regarding the smell – in good company.

Snowmonkeys

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

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 »]]> The heat won’t stop. Once again I have to cycle for a whole day at 36°C. It’s one of those days on which one can drink six litres of liquid by going only once to the toilet. As if the heat wouldn’t already be enough it gets even hotter at a certain spot of my route. But this is because of a house fire on which fortunately, as far as I can tell, no one was injured. As you can see on the video the Japanese fire brigade is at least as well equipped and organised as we know it as well.

Hausbrand von Daaaaaaaaaaaax

Nagoya, inhabited by 2.27 million people (8.74 million in city centre and metropolitan area) is mainly an industrial and harbour city. The headquarters of Toyota‘s luxury brand Lexus are located here, as well as Mitsubishi‘s Research and Development Department. Plenty of national or international automotive suppliers maintain their headquarters or subsidiaries here: The automotive supplier and QR-Code inventor DENSO (a fully owned subsidiary of Toyota), the Austrian-Canadian automotive supplier MAGNA which was once fancied as an acquisition candidate for the German General Motors Brand Opel…

Like Tokyo, Nagoya was also severely damaged in World War II. Thus the city offers little for tourists. Nagoya has a castle, however it’s a replica. Not that I wouldn’t honour it with a visit but I’ve seen quite a few castles on my journey – and even originals. They are all very beautiful, but in terms of architecture and style they seem kind of similar.

My host is a Mexican who has lived in Japan for years. He owns a second hand bookstore for English books. Which makes him fluent in Spanish, Japanese and English. But the digital age does also not spare his business of course. So him and his employees also offer Web 2.0 services which works much better compared to paper books.

Nagoya’s city centre is more famous for a huge shopping arcade. Not to be compared with the luxury shopping area of Ginza in Tokyo, but more for ordinary mortals, and suits me perfectly. Countless clothing boutiques, plenty of sports gear shops, various restaurants, creative art dealers, and even well equipped HiFi-, IT- and video game shops can be found here. Today I drop culture and enjoy strolling. Although, this also is a culture, a shopping culture! :)

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Special thanks to: Akira Yasuda (Japan/Canada), text revision; Sonya Bleakley (U.S.A.) Jose Escobar (Mexico), Hubertus Neidhart from Webspace Provider Network for excellent web page hosting services; Lilith Pendzich

Continue reading »]]> Once again I’m lucky to have a sunny day in Kurashiki and therefore can present you fantastic photos of the Bikan Historic Area. Kurashiki is one of those cities which escaped World War II mostly unharmed and thus, plenty of original, homes, storehouses (倉 Kura), shops and mills are preserved today alongside the beautiful historic canal.

Castle of Himeji

It is 105 km from Kurashiki to Himeji but I make it in one day. Unfortunately the sight I’m looking most forward to see there is covered in a scaffolding for refurbishment. And it has already been this for way for several years! It’s Himeji’s UNESCO world cultural heritage castle.

Frustrated, I set forth for Kobe. It seems to be the peak of the rainy season as it rains for the whole day. I’m cycling for several hours now and I think I just passed Akashi. As I’m letting my bicycle with my trailer roll downhill on a street with regular traffic volume, I suddenly hear something crashing behind me followed by a constantly scratching noise. Suddenly, I see my trailer overtake me to my right. An approaching car is on the verge of hitting my trailer but is just breaking in the nick of time. Finally, the hill ends and my trailer stops almost in the middle of the road. Luckily, no one was injured nor did my trailer cause any damage. What happened? A nut which attaches my trailer to my bicycle became loose. The driver in the car is looking at me to see if I need help. I apologize for all this and gesture to her that it’s okay if she goes on. The traffic starts to flow again and I search for the lost nut when suddenly – not even five minutes later – a pick-up stops near me.

A middle aged man gets out of the car asking if I need help. It’s slowly getting dark and going on with my search wouldn’t make any sense. He comes towards me, examines my bicycle with a quick glimpse, instantly detects the missing nut and as a conclusion he says: “Ah I see what you need. Just a moment”. He goes to his pick-up, grabs one toolbox with pliers and another one with several screws and nuts, tries several and finally says: “Hmm, I don’t have one with me that fits. But just a moment. Wait here!” He quickly hops into his pick-up and comes back after less than ten minutes with the right nut. The all inclusive service comes, of course, with free mounting and, of course, he refuses to take any tip after all is said and done. He leaves so quickly that I almost don’t have a chance to thank him. Well, almost :)

My nut is nuts

With a big delay, I reach my host’s home in Kobe: Jessy and Brandon, both from the States, who teach English here. The next three days the weather changes dramatically. On one hand, it’s good that I planned a three days stay for Kobe so I won’t be cycling. On the other hand, it’s raining so heavily that it’s absolutely impossible for me to do any outdoor filming or to take any photos.  :(  Later on, Brandon checks if it was a raining record. Close. They had a few days since the beginning of the weather records in which they had more rain. Still, in Kyushu, it leads to flooding. But, indoor filming is possible of course. And so, I’d like to present you a short film about a pretty awesome Kobe beef restaurant. Kobe beef is the most expensive beef in the world. To make the meat soft and juicy the cows are massaged! And you can only purchase Kobe beef here in Kobe. It is not exported! Enjoy!

Kobe beef

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Special thanks to: Aki Sato (Japan), Kunihito Furuichi (Japan), Jessica Dovey, Brandon Daiker (both U.S.A.),

Continue reading »]]> It is dreamlike! My host in Onomichi does not life in Onomichi but on a wonderful island located in the Seto Inland Sea. I don’t want to withhold those beautiful pictures of course!

After a short, rainy stop in Fukuyama I set forth to Yakage. Finally rain :) My host’s girlfriend is going to show us to what extend a Japanese driver’s license is different from ours. Have fun!

Japanese driver’s license / Japanischer… von Daaaaaaaaaaaax

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Here you’ll find Melody’s blog.

Special thanks to: Thomas Kloepfer (U.S.A), Kazumasa Hosokawa (Japan), Gavin Brown and Melody Wong (both U.S.A.), Hubertus Neidhart from Webspace Provider Network for excellent web page hosting services; Christoph Flossmann, Lilith Pendzich

Continue reading »]]> For all who already checked out my last post… Recently I added a video of Iwakuni.

Photos of my stay in Hiroshima. The Atomic Bomb Dome, the peace park, the cenotaph and the peace museum designed by Kenzō Tange. Also I discovered a beautiful japanese Garden and a documentary about the A-bomb attack.

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Special thanks to: Ryo Shimizu (Japan), Hubertus Neidhart from Webspace Provider Network for excellent web page hosting services; Christoph Flossmann, Lilith Pendzich