Bicycling Japan: D1 - D2

I am temporarily using my failure of a food blog as an adventure update! Given time limitations, it will only be written in EngRish.

Day 0-0.3
We made it! Landed in Narita on April 23, lugged folding bikes + gear onto a bus, took the mono-rail and arrived in Tama New Town, a suburb of Tokyo to stay with my Mom's cousin Yoshiko and her husband Tetsuro. Hung around for a few days, met up with cousins Taro and Junko, and ate some awesome Japanese food.

Mono rail to our first stay in Tama Center. Japanese public transport ROCKS!

Taro and Jason eating "monjya yaki" delicious, despite the visuals.

That ain't salt folks. mmmmm MSG! yummly.

Day 1-Tokyo to Gotemba (~48 miles)

Oh man folks. Davis California is not only a social bubble, it`s a bike terrain bubble. I just about died this first day plowing up "hills" that I thought would never end. My left index finger is still wonky from gripping the handle bar for hours, attempting to add more weight to my legs so they could push down on the pedals ascending 6% and 10% grade slopes. Parts of my body I thought couldn't went numb.

Then, I looked up and saw Fuji. And for a split second, I forgot about the searing pain in my neck from my helmet and the pins and needles in my shoulders. But then I looked down at the road and it all came rushing back to me.

Somehow, we made it to Gotemba. Upon speaking to the cool hipster Japanese dudes working at the cafe we had dinner at, we learned it is indeed totally okay to camp in public places. They even let us know where the main park was, where there was plenty of water and bathrooms.

Jason pushing bike up a pedestrian overpass (equipped with bike ramps).

Day 2- Gotemba to Shimada (~61 miles)

Bum-camp spot #1.

We ate breakfast at a picnic table the next morning, where every person that walked by greeted us with a smile--totally unperturbed with the fact that we were foreigners that camped in their city park. The only comments we received were "where are you travelling" and suggestions on activities that we might come across on the way.

Good ol' Mt. Fuji.

Managed to climb several more steep slopes through the Fuji area. I am so glad I bought the most cushy pair of biking shorts I could find because I'm not sure how my behind would be faring had I decided to be cheap and wear the 10 year old hand-me-downs with padding the thickness of one-ply toilet tissue.

Day 2 and we already got a bit of celebrity status! While eating lunch, we were surrounded by a television crew of four who began interviewing us on our travels. They were very amused I was biking "barefoot" with just Chacos (and to my embarrassment, proceeded to zoom in on my unwashed unkempt toes), fascinated with Jason's height (6 ft is apparently still pretty tall here), and probably just thought we were crazy biking around Japan on folding bikes.

The news crew that interviewed us somewhere in Shizuoka.

Made it to Shimada. It`s not the largest or most interesting of cities, but we camped in a park with an old SL steam locomotive...and got to sleep in it!! So definitely a fun ending to our day...although in the middle of the night we foiled the plans of a couple high school kids who came into our sleeping area probably to drink a beer. Sorry guys!

Bum-camp #2--the SL locomotive.

The so far one and only damage we left...sorry Shimada City! We didn't know the ground was green rubber and started our stove...and the gas leaked...resulting in the rubber melting. Oops.