summer trip bicycling around awaji island

The main website for info is here: “bicycling around Awaji”

From my house to the ferry in Akashi is 70km, then 155 around the island, then 70 back, so altogether, i went around 300km (186 miles). I checked the map to Akashi, and wrote down some notes, but within 30 minutes i had already missed my first turn, so just kept going in the general direction i thot would take me there. Umeda was reached in 1:10, and Kobe in 3:30, and the ferry in Akashi in 5:45. I have no idea why coming back it only took 1:40 to Kobe, and then a long 5:30 from there back to the house. Of course the darkness did make me slow down quite a bit…

Some of the highlights as i remember them: There were lots of up-downs going next to the Dai-ni-Keihan Expressway, but the bicycle path is great. After that, it was just sidewalks with occasional sneaks onto the main road all the way to Akashi. Most pro-type cyclists just go with the traffic, as they go much faster than i do anyway, so they don’t have problems like i experienced several times where the sidewalk ends and you are left with the choice of trying to cross a big intersection with the traffic, or else pushing your bike up and over (or under) a bridge to get to the other side.

And it was hot; 35C (95F) in the shade, and of course i was out in the sunshine, but at least the breeze created helped keep the sweat from blinding me.

In Kobe i took my first break, at the Life supermarket i see every week when i go to teach at the Kobe church. I was overheating internally, so wet my shirt and then stood over the ice-cream section to chill out. I bot some water and sat and drank it, then headed out again. Being Sunday, traffic wasn’t bad at all. It was cool to see the ocean near Suma, but the sidewalk was closed down for repair, and the road was too narrow, so i had to lift my bike over the railing, and cross the road to get to the narrow sidewalk on the other side. The Genoba Line Ferry Terminal in Akashi is pretty easy to find, and i hit it just a few minutes before noon, so got a neat pic of the sun hitting the 135th meridian that goes straight thru the building at noon every day. Akashi is the place where the official line is in Japan, marking the next time zone, so Akashi is the place where the official Japanese time is kept.

The ferry was 450yen, and 200 for the bicycle, and in 13 minutes we were under the Akashi Kaikyo Ohashi bridge (the longest suspension bridge in the world), and in Awaji at Iwaya. Being blessed with a good sense of direction, i immediately headed clockwise around the island, stopping at the first Family Mart for some rice balls which i ate with some stuff i had brought while sitting among some tetrapods along the coast – nice! Reminded me a touch of when i did something very similar in Syracuse Italy 22 years previous, but that time with bread, cheese, olives, and tomatoes.

The road was mostly flat, and i headed down to Saty in Sumoto, near Awaji World Onokoro amusement park. It was around 3:10pm, and i was really overheating. Luckily, recently supermarkets sell frozen pet bottles of juice and sports drinks, so i got one and sat on a bench putting it on my forehead, cheeks, arms etc., trying to cool off. The high school baseball tournament (Koshien) was on the big screen TV, and many were watching it. An elderly lady sat down next to me, and within a short while we were having a nice conversation about Awaji and young people all leaving to go to the big cities etc. I should have told her about Jesus… Her husband showed me where to get free ice which i gladly put piece by piece into my bottle.

My plan had been to stay at that point for the nite, as there was a free fireworks show scheduled with 3000 fireworks, but as it was only 4:30, and i felt much better after having cooled down, i decided to continue down the coast. It was great watching the sea on the left side with the nice blue sky, and green mountains in front and to the right.

At Yura i bot some watermelon and more frozen juice at what would prove to be the last convenience store for the next 50km or so. I had read on the web site shown above where the road gets pretty steep here, so i was prepared to get off my bike and push. What i wasn’t prepared for, was that i would have to push for 40 minutes, then ride down at terrifying speeds for 40 seconds, then do it all again (a little exaggeration). Fortunately there were almost no cars, but being in “deep woods”, it made it a little spooky. There is little trash along the roads in Japan, but coming to these mountain areas lets one see the big trash like sofas, refrigerators, tvs etc. that cost money to dispose of properly. Once i thot i saw a figure among them which sent a nice, cool chill down my spine 😉

It was getting dark when i finally came to flat land near the coast again. Being past sunset, i looked for a place to eat. Up above was a little road, so decided to go there where i found a little elementary school – perfect!, until i heard the screeches of wild monkeys. I’m not sure which is worse, wild dogs (which i’ve almost never seen in Japan), or wild monkeys, but not wanting to take my chances, i moved down to the road by the coast where i ate facing the sea. Off to the left i could see a fireworks show with little matchhead-sized fireworks, and no sound. It was kind of cool to see the jets flying into Kansai Airport with their lights making a beam on the surface of the water. With my legs dangling over a 9foot drop to the rocks below, a sea-cockroach ran across my leg. I jumped up and ate the rest of my watermelon near the road. On the other side of the road is where i laid out my sleeping inner-bag on the concrete. Being concrete, it emitted heat most of the nite, and being concrete, it was hard. Glad i brought the bug spray, as only one braved it enough to taste my blood. Maybe once an hour or so a car would come by until midnite, when the 2 guys fishing called it a day and left. Just about when it was getting cool enough to be called “comfortable”, it started getting light again – a new day!

I bicycled along in the early morning light, quickly passing the “Monkey Center” where people pay money to see the creatures. This is also the coast that is famous for daffodils, but since Spring is long past, there are no vestiges of them left. I see a weasel running along the road, with lots of crows and one other kind of big bird, and of course lots of sea-cockroaches scurrying across the road. I make it into Fukura around 7:00. The smell around the sea was mostly unpleasant, like a mix of diesel and decaying something.

Fukura is the port where many people come to get on a boat to go see the Naruto Whirlpools. They are trying to get them registered as World Heritage Sites. Japanese people are crazy about WHS, but i don’t see many benefits in it, oh well. As it was too early for that, and even the hot foot baths were not ready yet, i went to a convenience store and bot some cool yogurt and a can of sliced pineapple. Trying to find highway 25 again was a challenge, but finally asking a really genki old lady put me on the right track. It always amazes me how local people almost never know the number of the highway that is near them, but then, maybe i don’t know myself either – ha!

There were lots of up-downs – get off the bike, push for 10 minutes, get back on and go at terrifying speeds for 30 seconds, then do it all over again. Naruto Ohasi bridge was a welcome sight as it meant i could basically start going north. There were several stretches where i was away from the coast, in onion land. Actually, Awaji island is known best for its onions – lots of onions. Then long, straight stretches along the coast. Unlike the east coast with its high guardrails, the west side seemed to have lower ones. Several times i thot that if i hit a rock or twisted my handlebars suddenly, i would go flying over the rail down to the rocks (tetrapods) far below. But the view was great! Traffic wasn’t heavy, and the miles quickly went under the tires. Around noon a stop was made at another Family Mart, where i bot some popsicles (called “ice candy” in Japanese). I usually don’t like cold things, but these 12 sticks of frozen apple, orange, and grape juice really hit the spot. I saved half of them for the time when i should again come in sight of the Akashi Kaikyo Ohashi. And there it was! I got off my bike and ate the rest in the shade of a tree, reveling in the fact that i had gone all 155km around Awaji.

After dousing my shirt in water again, i make it to the ferry terminal again, where i, along with 2 others, put our bikes on the back of the boat. Coming off the boat was a group of young Chinese people. It was interesting how most of the Japanese riders were super professional in their sport, all of them with thousand dollar bikes, complete road-wear uniforms, helmets, and sunglasses that alone probably cost more than my entire bicycle did ($60). These Chinese riders all had baskets on the fronts of their bicycles too, dead giveaways that they were amateurs like me 🙂

Arriving hungry in Akashi, i ask a man on the street where a “shopping mall” is. He has trouble understanding, so wonder if it my pronounciation, but then quickly realize he is Chinese. I ask a young girl, and she says she isn’t from there so doesn’t know. Finally i find Aspia, and buy some soba noodles, potato chips, and a bottle of water, then find a bench to eat on. Several shops were closed in it, not a good sign. I try to make small talk with an old man sitting next to me eating ice-cream, but he isn’t interested. The sliced pineapple makes a strange accompaniment to the soba noodles, but the potato chips can solve all food difficulties. 😉

Somehow i felt great, and even tho my seat was sore and it was very hot, i made great time over to Kobe where i saw one green-grocer i know. I look for another supermarket, and finding it, buy some more ice-candy, for the same price as at Family Mart, but this time with 16 sticks, the added flavor being pineapple. So slowly eating them while wheeling along, and the syrup occasionaly dropping on my short pants, i slowly make my way to Osaka. There is a narrow path on the bridge to cross, and lots of bicyclists and pedestrians. In weaving between 2 pedestrians, one man is a bit alarmed, and when turns away gets hit by a bicyclist coming the other way. I probably should’ve stopped to see if he was OK, but kept going… It is amazing to see more people standing on one intersection waiting for a light to change than i saw in just about my whole travels in Awaji. I buy a front light for my bicycle, as the one i have is the kind that rubs against the tire to make light, thus making it harder to pedal, but the 100yen shop’s device fails me after about 2 minutes, so i get out a little flashlight i had and rig it up in the front of my basket to at least let oncoming people see me. It is interesting how Japanese people are so particular to do everything just right most of the time, but when it comes to bicycles, many of them don’t have any lights at all.

After hitting the bicycle path under the Dai-ni Keihan Expressway, the rest is pretty easy except for going up 4 steep hills. There are hardly any people out there, which made the lone cyclist going like lightning down the hill all that much more impressive. Arriving a bit after 10:30pm, i’ve covered the 186 miles in 2 days, with a bottom that seems to have had another hole worn in it by the springs in the seat – ouch!

All-in-all, it was a great trip, and yes, i did prove that i can “just go”. 🙂