Kyushu I Hardly Knew You

Four days in and I have already finished riding the first of the four islands of Japan, Kyushu. Since I arrived on Saturday to Nagasaki, my time has been spent on the southernmost main island. The four days of riding were filled with exploration, humidity and rain; so much rain. And yet my experience there was simply magical. The island featured such stunning natural beauty that the driving rain only added to the atmosphere rather than detracting from the experience. This trip was my first time to this island, but I hope it will not be my last.

The island reminded me of so many other places that I’ve been. While climbing, I was reminded of New England in the Adirondacks that we visited growing up, the rushing water right alongside the roads as we drove through the mountains. Nagasaki reminded me of San Francisco, a city built in the hills, but connected to the ocean. But despite the similarities, the island really is a place to itself.

In my last post, I wrote about my Grandpa J, and my time in Kyushu was book ended by encounters with two older women who I assume to be grandmothers. On the train from Kyoto to Nagasaki, I had a conversation with a woman who is clearly proud of her home. She was excited to see that I was traveling with a bicycle and in a mix of Japanese and English, she described the island of Kyushu. Her description featured the hand sign for hills (think up and down motion) but also descriptions of beauty. This matched my experience exactly. There were lots of hills, but around every corner, and at every summit, there was a new vista. In addition to her description of the island, she left me with a request to try salad while in Nagasaki, which I did, but unlike her description of the beauty of the island, the salad I had was nothing special.

My last day on the island, in the middle of yet another rain storm I was passed by the Japanese equivalent of a pick up truck, a squat flatbed vehicle that is ubiquitous in the countryside of Japan. After passing me with plenty of space to ensure my safety, I looked up to see the vehicle hitting the brakes and coming to a stop a few hundred meters up the road. As I caught up, the woman driving the truck waved me down and asked me to stop. I think she was shocked to see someone who is not Japanese and who didn’t speak the language either. It was too wet to get out my phone to use Google translate but we did engage in conversation through gestures and language, or rather each of us communicated in our own language, which I think led to understanding. My understanding was that she was concerned that I was riding in the rain and wondered if she could help, if I would be interested in a ride. I assured her I was just fine riding, which was the absolute truth. Despite the rain, I didn’t want to miss out on one minute of exploring and riding through Kyushu. Behind each turn there was something new, something beautiful, something to be appreciated.

The rain meant that the vistas I saw were not as expansive as I had hoped, but it added an atmospheric element to the ride. The forest were bathed in mist, and the rain which in normal daily life would have bothered me and caused me to cancel a ride, just added to the experience. I really have no idea if I will ever be back, but if all I am left with is the memory of these four days riding through this magnificent island, I will be lucky.

Thank you Kyushu!

Distance (day) - 104 km

Distance (total) - 301 km

Climbing (day) - 980 m

Climbing (total) - 2927 m

Convenience Stores - 1

Tunnels - 9