We both slept fairly well on the ferry. The cabins are well soundproofed and despite the narrow, hard beds we did ok. It was exciting to wake up and see the magnificent lush hills of Kyushu. Breakfast in our room…coffee and granola.
Approaching the port of Shibushi…our first glimpse of the island of Kyushu.
After a few Km, we made a stop at a 7 Eleven and had a much needed second cup of coffee. Strangely, we weren’t tempted by the Spam sandwiches on offer.
This fellow stopped at the 7 Eleven as well and was very interested in us and our strange looking trikes. He asked to take our photo, so we took his as well. We had a good laugh with him.
We are excited to be cycling on Kyushu where the climate is far warmer than Osaka and the feeling is very friendly and mellow here. Being more southerly, palm trees are a common sight and the hills are lush with much growth and thick forests. There was a serious setback however, when after riding just a few Km, Barry’s bike motor stopped working. Nothing we tried helped. With his heavy load which includes camping gear, it is shaping up to be a long day with over 70 Km still to go.
The lush landscape here is beautiful. We watched this man working in the water.
We were intrigued by this sign. It is a very philosophical comment on the importance of laundry facilities in the lives of Japanese people. Perhaps this explains the presence of laundry facilities in every place we have stayed, including the ferry.
Due to the lush beautiful landscape of Kyushu, we have been having a great ride. Bamboo forests, hills with lush growth and as this picture shows, rice fields.
We are getting closer to our destination, and the hills just won’t stop. Many climbs are over a Km. But then so have the downhills. We had been watching this huge collection of hills coming up and were very relieved that there was a tunnel cutting through….660 metres long. Barry especially was relieved as the past 50 Km have been hard with relentless hills, no motor and heavy panniers.
And then, something wonderful happened. Barry decided to try holding the power button for about 15 seconds and miraculously the motor began working again. Thank goodness. Meanwhile we have had a very hard day so far of 50 Km many climbs and heat taking its toll. Just 25 Km to go.
We have almost made it to the Kagoshima area, the open sea and our bed for the night. Despite the frustrations and difficulties of Barry’s motor issues, it has been an amazing day. Most people in their cars waved and smiled at us making us feel very welcome.
Charmaine RuppoltThank goodness Barry was able to get the bike motor going again! I guess that's one problem in having an e-bike...but I'm sure the pros outweigh the cons... Reply to this comment 5 months ago
