Pete, Kristina and Ken left Osaka and travelled by train to Kyushu Japan. We had booked a 7-day cycling loop that started and ended in Izumi. The day before the tour started we visited several 200 year old Samurai houses. Here’s where tea would have been served to guests.
Ken checks out a samurai sword.
This is Thomas. He and his wife Yuko run Japan Biking company. Thomas planned the route we would follow, outfitted us with bikes and panniers, and booked our accommodations.
Here’s a map of the 285 mile loop. We rode counter clockwise around Kagoshima Bay then headed north through the Ebino highlands and back around to Izumi.
Ken’s architecture firm has tons of work, so it was hard for him to leave Oakland and come to Japan for two weeks. But we are so happy that he values work-life balance and he made it happen!
One reason we chose Kyushu for our cycling adventure was we wanted to see the volcanoes. This is Mount Sakurajima.
Like Mt Merapi that Pete and Kristina climbed in Indonesia, Sakurajima has been designated a “decade volcano” by the United Nations. Decade volcanoes are considered the most dangerous because they are located in populated areas and tend to have major eruptions every 10 years. Every day we saw smoke coming from the top.
Cycling in the land of volcanoes includes riding up mountains. When feeling frisky Pete and Ken would quickly climb.
Kristina is a slow climber, so she had lots of time to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
Pete is at the top if the final mountain pass before descending back into Izumi.
These photos were taken in the Ebino highlands where there is lots of geothermal activity.
This public wading pool has sulphur hot springs water. We didn’t want to put our cycling shoes back on after soaking our feet.
Behind Kristina are lava boulders and conifer trees.
This is the Maruonotaki waterfall. The water at the bottom looks very blue, due to minerals in the water.
At the southern tip of Kyushu we took a ferry from Ibusuki to the Osumi peninsula. This man is securing our bikes for the ride.
It was lovely riding along Kagoshima Bay.
We stopped to check out this shrine.
The steps to the top of the shrine were up a tree and were so steep that we used the rope to climb up.
One morning it rained a little, but it’s so warm in Kyushu this time of year that it was still comfortable to ride in the rain.
After a morning spent riding we would find a restaurant for lunch. Ken was first to spot this black pig restaurant.
We devoured this plate of katsudon, delicious pork cooked with eggs, onions and peppers.
Each day we spent between 3 and 7 hours riding. It was an incredible way to see the country, and we had so much fun.
It’s rice harvest time, and we saw the rice being harvested and drying in the fields.
We also saw a man bringing his rice to this place to have it polished. It costs about $1 for 22 pounds of rice. As the rice is polished, the rice bran is removed from the outside of the kernels, turning it from brown rice to white.
The valleys in-between the mountains often have rice growing, and the golden color of the fields was gorgeous.
We saw sweet potatoes, tea, persimmons and lots of flowers growing.
The Japanese have cypress tree plantations for lumber. We saw them clear cutting the mature trees.
The construction has incredible attention to detail. We saw different manhole covers in each city, and all of them were beautiful.
The end of this bridge had a lovely polished granite.
Thomas did a great job with picking our route. We rode on lots of little roads that were in excellent condition.
When there is road construction, the signage makes it clear. We noticed a cutesy aspect of Japanese culture in these signs.
We spent the night at hotels and ryokans, which are similar to American B&Bs. Each evening we would soak in the hot tubs then wear our yukatas to dinner.
On night we stayed at a hotel in a National Park, very close to Mt Sakurajima. These are the hotel owners.
The Hitoyoshi Ryokan was our favorite. Built 80 years ago and run by the third generation of the same family, it was recently named a Japanese National Treasure.
Located on the Kama River, we ate Ayu, sweet river fish, as sashimi for dinner.
Another National Treasure is the Aio shrine. Founded in 806, the current buildings date to the 17th century.
We celebrated Pete’s birthday by going to a jazz club in Kagoshima. The performance was outstanding!
The kaiseki dinner we had at the Kirishima Onsen was over-the-top excellent! Combined with drinking sake, we felt stuffed after eating so much.
After finishing our loop and arriving back in Izumi, we celebrated with these huge beers.
We have so many wonderful memories of our time on Kyushu that we will always treasure! We really don’t want to leave Japan, but Ken will fly back to Oakland and Pete and Kristina will go to China for a month.
Ken checks out a samurai sword.
This is Thomas. He and his wife Yuko run Japan Biking company. Thomas planned the route we would follow, outfitted us with bikes and panniers, and booked our accommodations.
Here’s a map of the 285 mile loop. We rode counter clockwise around Kagoshima Bay then headed north through the Ebino highlands and back around to Izumi.
Ken’s architecture firm has tons of work, so it was hard for him to leave Oakland and come to Japan for two weeks. But we are so happy that he values work-life balance and he made it happen!
One reason we chose Kyushu for our cycling adventure was we wanted to see the volcanoes. This is Mount Sakurajima.
Like Mt Merapi that Pete and Kristina climbed in Indonesia, Sakurajima has been designated a “decade volcano” by the United Nations. Decade volcanoes are considered the most dangerous because they are located in populated areas and tend to have major eruptions every 10 years. Every day we saw smoke coming from the top.
Cycling in the land of volcanoes includes riding up mountains. When feeling frisky Pete and Ken would quickly climb.
Kristina is a slow climber, so she had lots of time to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
Pete is at the top if the final mountain pass before descending back into Izumi.
These photos were taken in the Ebino highlands where there is lots of geothermal activity.
This public wading pool has sulphur hot springs water. We didn’t want to put our cycling shoes back on after soaking our feet.
Behind Kristina are lava boulders and conifer trees.
This is the Maruonotaki waterfall. The water at the bottom looks very blue, due to minerals in the water.
At the southern tip of Kyushu we took a ferry from Ibusuki to the Osumi peninsula. This man is securing our bikes for the ride.
It was lovely riding along Kagoshima Bay.
We stopped to check out this shrine.
The steps to the top of the shrine were up a tree and were so steep that we used the rope to climb up.
One morning it rained a little, but it’s so warm in Kyushu this time of year that it was still comfortable to ride in the rain.
After a morning spent riding we would find a restaurant for lunch. Ken was first to spot this black pig restaurant.
We devoured this plate of katsudon, delicious pork cooked with eggs, onions and peppers.
Each day we spent between 3 and 7 hours riding. It was an incredible way to see the country, and we had so much fun.
It’s rice harvest time, and we saw the rice being harvested and drying in the fields.
We also saw a man bringing his rice to this place to have it polished. It costs about $1 for 22 pounds of rice. As the rice is polished, the rice bran is removed from the outside of the kernels, turning it from brown rice to white.
The valleys in-between the mountains often have rice growing, and the golden color of the fields was gorgeous.
We saw sweet potatoes, tea, persimmons and lots of flowers growing.
The Japanese have cypress tree plantations for lumber. We saw them clear cutting the mature trees.
The construction has incredible attention to detail. We saw different manhole covers in each city, and all of them were beautiful.
The end of this bridge had a lovely polished granite.
Thomas did a great job with picking our route. We rode on lots of little roads that were in excellent condition.
When there is road construction, the signage makes it clear. We noticed a cutesy aspect of Japanese culture in these signs.
We spent the night at hotels and ryokans, which are similar to American B&Bs. Each evening we would soak in the hot tubs then wear our yukatas to dinner.
On night we stayed at a hotel in a National Park, very close to Mt Sakurajima. These are the hotel owners.
The Hitoyoshi Ryokan was our favorite. Built 80 years ago and run by the third generation of the same family, it was recently named a Japanese National Treasure.
Located on the Kama River, we ate Ayu, sweet river fish, as sashimi for dinner.
Another National Treasure is the Aio shrine. Founded in 806, the current buildings date to the 17th century.
We celebrated Pete’s birthday by going to a jazz club in Kagoshima. The performance was outstanding!
The kaiseki dinner we had at the Kirishima Onsen was over-the-top excellent! Combined with drinking sake, we felt stuffed after eating so much.
After finishing our loop and arriving back in Izumi, we celebrated with these huge beers.
We have so many wonderful memories of our time on Kyushu that we will always treasure! We really don’t want to leave Japan, but Ken will fly back to Oakland and Pete and Kristina will go to China for a month.
