Visiting a japanese family


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1. CPH 12.08.13

2. Narita - Tone 13.08.13

3. Tone 14.08.13

4. Tone 15.08.13

5. Tone - Oarai 16.08.13

6. Oarai - Tomakomai 17.08.13

7. Tomakomai - Iwamizawa 18.08.13

8. Iwamizawa - Azahikawa 19.08.13

9. Azahikawa - Kamikawa 20.08.13

10.Kamikawa - Nukabira Onsen 21.08.13

11.Nukabira Onsen - Tokachigawa 22.08.13

12.Tokachigawa - Kushiro 23.08.13

13.Kushiro - Shibesha 24.08.13

14.Shibesha - Lake Kussharo 25.08.13

15.Lake Kussharo - Lake Akan 26.08.13

16.Lake Akan - Abashiri 27.08.13

17.Abashiri 28.08.13

18.Abashiri - Sapporo (tog) 29.08.13

19.Sapporo - Otaru 30.08.13

20.Otaru - Kamoenai 31.08.13

21.Kamoenai - Makkari 01.09.13

22.Makkari - Yakumo 02.09.13

23.Yakumo - Hakodate 03.09.13

24.Hakodate - Aomori 04.09.13

25.Aomori - Lake Towada 05.09.13

26.Lake Towada - Lake Tazawa 06.09.13

27.Lake Tazawa - Hanamaki 07.09.13

28.Hanamaki - Tsukidate 08.09.13

29.Tsukidate - Sendai 09.09.13

30.Sendai - Tone 10.09.13

31.Tone 11.09.13

32.Tone 12.09.13

33.Tone - Kurihama 13.09.13

34.Kurihama - Hakone 14.09.13

35.Hakone - Gotemba 15.09.13

36.Gotemba 16.09.13

37.Gotemba - Fujinomiya 17.09.13

38.Fujinomiya - Shizuoka (Kyoto) 18.09.13

39.Kyoto 19.09.13

40.Kyoto 20.09.13

41.Kyoto 21.09.13

42.Kyoto - Nara 22.09.13

43.Nara - Wakayama 23.09.13

44.Wakayama - Higashikagawa 24.09.13

45.Higashikagawa - Takamatsu 25.09.13

46.Takamatsu - Iya Valley 26.09.13

47.Iya Valley 27.09.13

48.Iya Valley - Imabari 28.09.13

49.Imabari - Onomichi 29.09.13

50.Onomichi - Hiroshima 30.09.13

51.Hiroshima 01.10.13

52.Hiroshima - Takayama (tog) 02.10.13

53.Takayama 03.10.13

54.Takayama - Matsumoto 04.10.13

55.Matsumoto - Hakuba 05.10.13

56.Hakuba - Nagano 06.10.13

57.Nagano - Tone 07.10.13

58.Tone 08.10.13

59.Tone - Narita 09.10.13

60. Narita - CPH 10.10.13

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Letter 2

 

Tuesday 13.08.13


I've set the watch. 7 hours I think it was - backwards. In other words, it was a short night. I have a feeling of not having slept at all the the last couple of hours until they switched on the lights passed rather quick. We'll soon have covered almost 9000 km.

We land - half an hour early. The airport looks like - an airport. It takes some time to get pass  immigration. They take a photo of you and your fingerprints like a criminal. I ask someone where big luggage is, then I see somebody arriving with the bike on a luggage cart and in the same moment I see my box on the band. In costums I borrow a knife to cut the boxes open and step out into arrival, where no well-known face is to be seen.

I find a place to pack the bike. A moment later Nori arrives. (I met Nori in Bremen in Germany and we've stayed in contact since). I've actually brought a photo of him - just in case - but he sees me at once and I recognize him with no problem. A happy reunion.

I'm soon ready. He carries my two rear panniers and then we move into the labyrinth, as he calls the airport. I feel special with my own guide and what should I have done without him. The airport is a real puzzle. Once the road is just being closed by a gate, but we're allowed to pass a minor gate on the sidewalk.

Heavy traffic and not much space left for bikes. You bike on the sidewalk whenever you can. The heat is overwhelming. Maybe only 34 degr. or so but SO humid... A humid variation of the south of France - the noisy insects (hope you know them - don't know the english word).

It resembles a more civilized version of China. Up and down it goes over small bridges with ricefields underneath. We stop at a bicycle shop, where he's going to check something. It looks like danish prices.

We eat some rice packages with fish in a kiosk, the last before we're going along the river the last 10 km to Tone. The road to here I hadn't found without a guide - or an accurate map, which I don't have.


Bicycle ready for japanese traffic - rewiev mirror to the right


 

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