Day 22: Nara to Kobe: Traversing the endless city

October 29, 2007

Nara was our last rest day of the tour. The next morning we set out for Kobe, a major port city on the southern coast, for the first of the 14 straight days of cycling that lay ahead. I wasn't really looking forward to the ride to Kobe and would probably have taken the train if it were convenient (you must have bicycle bags covering bicycles to carry them on trains in Japan) because much of the day and the following one would consist of cycling through the major urban expanse from Osaka to Kobe and beyond. Over the two days, we biked roughly 60 miles on a secondary highway through the heart of a huge and teeming city.

Although we eventually wearied of it, biking through the city was a fascinating experience in its own way because it was so dynamic cycling on the sidewalk with and through a steady stream of pedestrian and bicycle traffic. I came out of it feeling like I'd been living inside of an arcade game all day, with moving objects constantly coming at us unexpectedly from all directions. In addition, we made very slow progress because every few blocks we had to slow a bit for curb cuts, and every half mile or so we would miss the light and wait for what came to seem like an excruciatingly long time before it at last changed in our favor. It was a great relief when we wheeled up to our hotel late in the day and washed up before setting out for supper.

Biking along the Yoda River, on the outskirts of Osaka.

Rachael is stymied by this curious barrier on the cycle path along the Yoda. The small gate to the side is designed for bicycles to wheel through, but not for ones with low-slung panniers. After a few miles of stopping and lifting them over she tried this alternative, to no avail.

Today's ride: 58 miles (93 km)
Total: 860 miles (1,384 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	0
Comment on this entry	Comment	0