South to Okinawa on two wheels
After reading Alan Booth`s book, Roads to Sata of his walk the length of Japan and all the lovely and quirky daily happenings, howcould we not visit there as part of a cycle trip incorporating manyislands en-route to Okinawa, 700km to the south?
Two days afterleaving Essex, we had our bicycles re-assembled and cycling around theactive Sakurajima Volcano, its blown-off peak and constant plume of
ash settling around us. Natural History in its rawness!
Cape Sata was a day and a half `s hilly ride, on the way we met quite a few `end-to-enders`, all were cycle campers. Our second ferry brought us to Ibusuki, where for little money, folks buried themselves up to their necks in hot sand, produced by steam rising from the bowels of the earth. At the terminal, there was a village show,
unusual slow dancers and wailing male singers bringing back memories of decades ago. Marvellous. Rather than the `big ticket` items, these events we just come across are far more rewarding.
By now we had decided to shorten our original plan which had incorporated the very wet Takushima Is.. In the nearby hills, we cycled through tea plantations on the way to Kagoshima and an overnight ferry with a large communal sleeping cabin and typical `shoe box` pillows. Hardy the Japanese! From Naze port, heading up the flat west coast of Amami Island, the small road passed through tiny windswept and isolated fishing communities living in low, wooden houses. Photos of villages part submerged in a metre of sand from previous typhoons amazed us.
The island is known for its many centenarians who put their longevity to eating from their own gardens and having many friends who visit. An English speaking cultural volunteer gave us a tour of the night-life. It was a half - hour sail to Kakeroma Island and on board were hotel receptionists bound for a beach to collect small coral pieces for their hotel guests. It did not seem to be illegal although they thought exporting out of Japan probably was. Our two-roomed guest
house was literally on the coral beach, so the delicious crab and lobster dinner was no surprise. On the way there, two wild hogs had jumped out of roadside bushes almost bringing us off. Mangroves edged the steep wooded hillsides, the steep roads slowing us right down. Traffic was sparse, how about typically 6 vehicles in 6 hours? A broken brake cable necessitated an early morning return ferry trip back to lively Koniya port and we loved how foot passengers used wheelbarrows to take their small-holding garden produce and shopping to and from the ferry. How practical. As opposed to the four flattish other islands we visited, this island had plenty of steep hills.
At Osai, our happy landlady Harimee, filled our hot spa bath and kept a friendly eye on our chop-stick fumbling! Typical island dinners were egg and mushroom soup, octopus, lobster, breaded pork chops, fish with mushrooms, stewed fruit, rice and cod roe all washed down with plum wine. Later, in the dark, when I was going outside to lock our bikes, she warned us about the very deadly Abu snakes. We lived to tell the tale. Spiders were huge, and colourful. There were hot spas in many guest houses, relaxing afterwards in the different temperature baths was a challenge, especially the ice cold ones but if the Japanese can
suffer it, so could we.
On Tokunashima and Okinoerabu Islands, reached by ferries travelling between rocky shores, recent typhoons had badly damaged many houses so finding places to stay needed some reserving ahead at the ferry arrival ports` small tourist offices which also had maps with places of interest in English. Later we entered a 2km cave,
wondered if we were OK, as the magical stalactites were lit up automatically as we walked through but we realised that we had entered by the back door. Around the coastline, volcanic rocks hosted tiny crabs in small erosion holes. Black sea urchins were dropped onto sea walls to be crushed and eaten by birds.
Finally, our last of the trip`s 9 ferry rides, to Okinawa Is. where we saw Japan`s oldest Banyan tree and with the help of a well-placed notice board, noted down the names of butterflies and birds - are we becoming twitchers? On the north part of the island, there were quite hilly roads in sparse countryside. Going south towards the airport, urbanisation crept up on us. One morning whilst searching for breakfast, I spotted a dozen absolute top-class lightweight bicycles so enquired what they were doing? They were immaculately attired Chinese leasure riders escaping for a week`s training away from heavy pollution. Chairman Mao times well in the distant past!
To summarise, although Japan`s southern islands may not be at the top of every cyclists` destinations, the quiet roads, geothermal activity and the spectacular marine environment made for an interesting and warm few weeks at the end of November. Not more expensive than cycling in UK.
Steve Gregson.
Blackburn.