The Plan
Take my bike up to the northern tip of Japan this August and pedal south and west 'till there's no more Japan left. Counting on about 2 or 3 months.
Read more about The Plan...
Sponsor Me
I'm hoping to use my cycling trip across Japan to raise some money for an organisation called LEPRA.You can help me by sponsoring my bike ride.
Find out more here...
Archives
May 2006June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
September 2006
October 2006
November 2006
Photos
Friday, May 12, 2006
The Plan
An old friend of mine used to say, "When we plan, the gods laugh." I'm going to take that advice to heart on this trip and leave my schedule as open and in their hands as possible.
As it stands, the plan is simply to take my trusty old bike up to remote Cape Soya - the northernmost tip of Japan's northernmost island - in early August, when my job here in Kitagawa wraps up. From there I'll just pedal south until there's no more Japan left, which should take me as far as the beautiful islands of Okinawa. I'm planning to keep a nice leisurely pace with lots of camping to keep the costs down, and I expect the whole trip should take about two or three months.I'm also going to be trying to raise a little bit of money with my trip for an organisation call LEPRA. More about that here.
I should stop and make a confession at this point though: I've never actually done a cycle tour before. Actually, I've never even ridden more than about 50km in a day before. Actually, I don't really even really especially like bikes... All of which should make the prospect of a 5 or 6 thousand km trip rather daunting. But hey, what's life without a bit of adventure (and no, it's nothing to do with my turning 30 next month, and the fact that the bike is red is a total coincidence...)
I'm willing to do the whole trip solo (sorry mum...), though some company would definitely be a plus. A couple of friends have expressed some interest, though no definites yet. If you're reading this and like the sound of it, drop me a note.
And finally, I'd like to throw the floor open to you, gentle reader, as any advice at this point would be most welcome: Must see places in Japan, places to avoid at all costs, tips for cycle touring in general, or an attempt to talk me out of the whole thing altogether... anything you can think of. Just follow the link below and leave a comment.
Cheers!
4 Comments:
Hey man, the trip looks awesome. Would love to join you. But alas the daily grind has gotten harder to slip out of these days.
It's almost 5 years since I was in Japan (very scary thought:[ ). I lived up in Shimane-ken, which is a very beautiful part of Japan, and I'd definitely recommend it if you get the chance. Matsue is nice, as is Izumi Taisha, and some of the islands off the coast around there are really spectacualr too.
Well, have a blast!
Paul
Hey Paul,
Good to hear from you!
Yeah, Shimane's really nice - I've been there a couple of times actually - got an old friend who's from Matsue. I'd really like to go back again on my trip, but will probably end up going through Shikoku instead - hard to make it to both.
If you change your mind and find a way out of the "daily grind", would be good to have you along.
Cheers,
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Marcus' friend, Alistair here. Someone else was asking for advice about cycling in Japan on Gaijin Pot, you can see the thread here: http://www.gaijinpot.com/bb/showthread.php?p=242150#post242150.
I live in the small village of Kasahata, (a dump), near Kawagoe in Saitama. If you are passing through here at any point after August 25th, give me a phone, we can put you up in our cramped spare room and my son can crawl all over you and annoy the s**t out of you, Haha. A shower/bath and a home cooked meal and a beer might be appreciated when you are half way through your odyssey. Give me a phone on 049-239-5659
Cheers,
Alistair
Hi Alastair,
Cheers for the link. Lots of advice to pour over there, and I'm sure I'll need all I can get before this trip is over.
Thanks also for the offer of a place to crash. The route is still up in the air, but if I can make it, I'll definitely take you up on your offer. A mate of mine will be doing the trip with me now too... Do you have space for 2?
Cheers,
Andrew
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Cycling Japan