Day 16: Tokushima (Shikoku) -Wakayama (Honshuu)
Decided the night before we'd try and take the 5:20am (yes, am) ferry. Discussed wake up time, agreed on 4:30 am.
Wake up 4:30 am. Somehow tried biking 10km in 30 minutes half asleep. Major failure. After a few wrong turns, arrived at 5:20:01 am as the ferry was literally backing out of the port. My peoples, why so punctual, WHY?
Yelling match in front of poor non-English-speaking port guy about waking up too late/making wrong turns. Got tired of yelling, decided to hang around port and dry our wet tent/camping material whilst waiting for the 8:40am ferry (I may have my times wrong here slightly).
Arrive at Wakayama about 3 hours later.
Our goals are:
1) Find a bike store where they sell our freakish sized bike tires so I can get a pair of new ones since mine are bust
2) Try and find an internet cafe to wish our mothers a happy Mother's Day
3) Attempt to climb up to the top of Koyasan, which is our next destination.
1) Locate bike store that sells our freakish sized bike tires.
Okay one more Japanese: what is with your ability (let me correct--inability) to read maps? As in, I show you a map, you stare blankly as I point at the intersection we are standing on and scratch your head. Oh wait, that's right, you don't have street names.
Find a bike shop ("turn left at this light, go three streets, turn right, then make a turn at this ally next to the blue store, and then go a few meters and it will be on your left behind a green post"). Don't sell freakish tires. But manage to replace spokes and pump up.
Go to another bigger bike shop. This place was amazing. They did NOT have tires, but spent like 30 minutes calling every bike shop they knew in town and finally found a shop selling our freakish tires. Japanese, I love you. Thank you, 町のじてんしゃ修理屋さん！
Got to shop selling our freakish tires.
Jason replaces my tires. Gives himself a bloody nose by punching himself with the tire wrench trying to replace freakish tire. oops. Love you, man.
2) Finding internet cafe:
Negative. Okay folks, what is up with you and your smart phone craze obliterating internet cafes?? We couldn't find one. Not even a Manga cafe. eeerrrrggghh!
So instead, Jason found a river, stripped down, and took a dip. I guess he deserved it after the wrench assault.
While eating lunch, I happened to look up to see that we were sitting right in front of the Wakayama Keirin-jo, or the Wakayama Bicycle racing rink! Of course, Jason insisted we check it out, so we did.
For some reason, it was FREE to enter. When I asked if races were going on, I got a "yes, but it's on TV," from the security guard manning the parking. We should have known better, but we were a bit confused, so ventured in, expecting this amazing show of be-buffed men in spandex whirling around in their hipster cycles around a rink.
...Instead, we found the population of Japan we had never encountered. Deadbeats, mafia-retirees, used car salesmen, what have you. OMG. wow. Photos do not give justice. Euro-trash? I give you Asia-trash. Holy hell. In our entire trip around Japan, we never felt so scared. Really.
The rink was pretty cool though...even though the "real" race was just on TV (everyone was just there placing bets).
Looked at watch and decided we needed to skedaddle to Koyasan so we could get there before the sun went down.
Decided the night before we'd try and take the 5:20am (yes, am) ferry. Discussed wake up time, agreed on 4:30 am.
Wake up 4:30 am. Somehow tried biking 10km in 30 minutes half asleep. Major failure. After a few wrong turns, arrived at 5:20:01 am as the ferry was literally backing out of the port. My peoples, why so punctual, WHY?
Yelling match in front of poor non-English-speaking port guy about waking up too late/making wrong turns. Got tired of yelling, decided to hang around port and dry our wet tent/camping material whilst waiting for the 8:40am ferry (I may have my times wrong here slightly).
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| Napping/drying camping gear at port |
 |
| made it! |
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| Inside ferry parking area. |
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| Section of ferry. We passed out on the right side there. |
Our goals are:
1) Find a bike store where they sell our freakish sized bike tires so I can get a pair of new ones since mine are bust
2) Try and find an internet cafe to wish our mothers a happy Mother's Day
3) Attempt to climb up to the top of Koyasan, which is our next destination.
1) Locate bike store that sells our freakish sized bike tires.
Okay one more Japanese: what is with your ability (let me correct--inability) to read maps? As in, I show you a map, you stare blankly as I point at the intersection we are standing on and scratch your head. Oh wait, that's right, you don't have street names.
Find a bike shop ("turn left at this light, go three streets, turn right, then make a turn at this ally next to the blue store, and then go a few meters and it will be on your left behind a green post"). Don't sell freakish tires. But manage to replace spokes and pump up.
Go to another bigger bike shop. This place was amazing. They did NOT have tires, but spent like 30 minutes calling every bike shop they knew in town and finally found a shop selling our freakish tires. Japanese, I love you. Thank you, 町のじてんしゃ修理屋さん！
Got to shop selling our freakish tires.
 |
| Bike shop that sold our freakish sized bike tires! |
 |
| The warped tire that basically ruined two days of our life. |
Jason replaces my tires. Gives himself a bloody nose by punching himself with the tire wrench trying to replace freakish tire. oops. Love you, man.
 |
| Jason fixing my tire. |
 |
| ...and giving himself a bloody nose. |
Negative. Okay folks, what is up with you and your smart phone craze obliterating internet cafes?? We couldn't find one. Not even a Manga cafe. eeerrrrggghh!
So instead, Jason found a river, stripped down, and took a dip. I guess he deserved it after the wrench assault.
While eating lunch, I happened to look up to see that we were sitting right in front of the Wakayama Keirin-jo, or the Wakayama Bicycle racing rink! Of course, Jason insisted we check it out, so we did.
For some reason, it was FREE to enter. When I asked if races were going on, I got a "yes, but it's on TV," from the security guard manning the parking. We should have known better, but we were a bit confused, so ventured in, expecting this amazing show of be-buffed men in spandex whirling around in their hipster cycles around a rink.
...Instead, we found the population of Japan we had never encountered. Deadbeats, mafia-retirees, used car salesmen, what have you. OMG. wow. Photos do not give justice. Euro-trash? I give you Asia-trash. Holy hell. In our entire trip around Japan, we never felt so scared. Really.
The rink was pretty cool though...even though the "real" race was just on TV (everyone was just there placing bets).
 |
| Don't let their seemingly normal demeanor fool you. Up close and personal, it's scary. |
What, no up-close pictures of dottering old ex-yakuza?
ReplyDeletehaaaa, sadly no, I think they would have followed me and cut my throat whilst I slept under the bridge....
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