Day 49: Hagi to Mine

November 13, 2024

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Fukuoka looks so far away, yet there is a very real sense that we're almost done. I think my journaling is becoming stale and formulaic. I try not to care. I don't pretend to be a good writer, but I still want what I write to be interesting. I mean, who doesn't want to be interesting?

I've mentioned some of the videos we watched before flying to Japan. There were tense moments when the protagonists accidentally rode onto expressways, or were chased by wild boars, or were totally freaked out by tunnels. This made their content interesting. I now think that some of it was faked, or at least exaggerated. But at the time, I was taking mental notes about how to handle these situations.

Whatever I originally found interesting about Japanese food or culture or cycling now seems routine. That's awesome. It means I can tour like I'd tour in my own country, without worry that I'm going to screw things up in a major way. But it definitely makes for less compelling reading. For those few who have stuck it out until this point, thank you. You've motivated me to be more diligent with journaling every day, even when I find myself dozing off in the middle of writing. That's got to count for something, right?

I now have plenty of time and energy to write each day, since our days are shorter, our baggage lighter, and our camping done and over with. I really have no excuse not to be creative, other than lack of inspiration. Suddenly that seems like a great excuse.

It wasn't easy to wait around until checkout this morning, because we'd already seen everything within walking distance yesterday. We just stayed in the room, resting, I guess? We haven't had a zero day since November 2. We probably need one, but I'm too fidgety. If we stop, I want it to be somewhere where there's a lot to do. Hagi isn't the place.

So yeah, out the door slightly after 9am. We left town, climbed a hill, and parked ourselves at the michi no eki at its summit. Look how high the sun is already!

A lot of ups and downs today. I think this was the high point. Are turtles known for climbing hills?

One thing you don't see a lot of in Japan is power washers. This sign could use a good scrub, if it would survive the attempt

We fretted over the lack of konbini and restaurants on our route. Google says there's a restaurant in the safari park, but I can't imagine having to fend off wild animals just for a bowl of ramen. We did, however, find a small shop nearby, and bought a couple of pastries as emergency snacks.

We soon forgot all about our appetites as we alternately climbed and glided through some beautiful terrain.

Many road signs around here included the word karst, which i had never heard of before. It seems that the peculiar rock formations above ground, and the lack of trees, are indicators that there are caves below. Anyway, this is what karst looks like.

Ok, great, we have the karst, so where are the caves? We're getting there, but first we have to find our lunch spot. There's a souvenir shop with a restaurant that features udon with gobo root. Gobo is one of my favorites, so I had to try it. They dried it, and maybe roasted it, too. It was so flavorful! Sorry, no photo. It doesn't look like much, anyway.

Rolling through the gauntlet of souvenir and ice cream shops

But wait, what's the big attraction here? Why, it's Akiyoshido Cave, a very long cave system with a river running through it. About one kilometer of it is open to the public.

A Sanrio character teams up with the Mine City mascot. A crossover episode?

The entrance is the most breathtaking part of the cave, in my opinion. Imagine the sight and sound of water rushing as you walk towards it.

Audio guides are posted at various points along the way, in several languages. Each recording is a couple minutes long, and it's spoken veerrry slowwlly. We'd get to a station and wait for the Japanese recording to stop so we can hit the English button. But it would just go on and on and on. And of course the English version also rambles on, so we'd feel like we were hogging the device when surrounded by Japanese tourists. We eventually decided to ignore the guides and try to hit them on the way back. This worked out remarkably well, as the cave seemed to empty out after we'd reached the end.

We both agreed that it was well worth the 1300 yen entrance fee, and the 30km ride from Hagi.

We were left with the small problem of dinner, and our late 5pm checkin at our guesthouse on the outskirts of Mine. There were no open restaurants on our route. The nearby Lawson didn't have seating, but the supermarket across the street from it had a couple of benches out front, so we ate in full view of all the shoppers. I guess we've become pretty brazen about stuff like that.

Once we reached the guesthouse, we met our host, then we met a Brazilian guest who has been here for the past four months installing solar panels somewhere. I think his Japanese is better than his English. So here we are, in our own room with two bunk beds. It's as close to the dorm life as a middle-aged couple is likely to get.

It's a cute house with a good view of the nearby hills. It's cozy.

Thank gods for these little signs. I don't think we would've found the place otherwise.

Arriving just before dark, exactly as planned

Today's ride: 47 km (29 miles)
Total: 2,822 km (1,752 miles)

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Mark M.I'm still enjoying reading about your travels: thanks for persevering with the diary! And the hills, of course... 😉
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1 month ago

Kevin StevensTo Mark M.I appreciate the encouragement! Thinking about doing LEJOG next year. Mind if I ask your advice when the time comes around?
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1 month ago

Mark M.To Kevin StevensOf course, would be delighted to help however I can! Please don't hesitate. It was a fabulous adventure, although you probably shouldn't expect a sun tan 😉
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1 month ago