Ride Coordinator: Albert Balingit
Report by: Robert Thompson
In reviewing my notes and other materials to write this report, it occurred to this writer that rather than simply summarizing our activities on this trip, a more instructive report would answer the question - why? That is, why did most of us travel half way around the world to ride bicycles in Japan? Based on this writer’s experiences and observations of the other travelers on this trip, I reached the following answer. Traveling to a foreign country widens our understanding of the world; teaches us how other people live their lives; allows us to see, smell, hear and touch the ways that other cultures have adapted to their physical surroundings; requires us to be immersed in another language; and causes us to shed, at least momentarily, our normal day to day lives. Based on these interests, I conclude this trip hit all of those marks. Let me explain.
On this trip, the organizers in coordination with CyclingJapan immersed us in city, small town, rural highway and trail riding. The routes were carefully selected to include challenging climbs with leisurely coasting, long stretches of scenic rugged coastline, wide open agricultural fields, forested hills, plains, and many small villages. We stopped to tour a Shinto Shrine with the chief priest, Buddhist Temples (0ne that practiced Soto Zen Buddhism begun in the 1300’s), a historical preserved shipping agency family home originally built in 1872, the store where a ceremonial sandal maker worked, the studio of a lacquer painter and an excursion on the Nagara River to watch fisherman engage in a centuries’ old technique of attracting fish with baskets of burning wood and using cormorants to actually catch the fish.
Our accommodations were chosen to include modern Japanese hotels, Ryokans (traditional Japanese Inns that feature tatami matted rooms, futons, Yukata robes, common bathing areas (ofuros) frequently fed by hot springs (onsens); and guest houses. They all gave us the opportunity to live the daily life of many Japanese, with rooms that included tables with very short legs, chairs with a seat, back and no legs, and pillows. The rooms typically did not include a traditional western bed, but rather during dinner, the staff rearranged the room to provide space for futons with down comforters to be laid out on the floor. These facilities followed the style of Japanese living that indoors all street shoes are removed and street clothes are exchanged for house sandals and yukatas. In addition, bathing was done at onsens, a sexually separate public bath that included a large pool of very hot water for soaking and relaxing.
The provided meals were either buffet style or set menus. In both cases, the food provided was typical Japanese fare, rice, cooked and uncooked fish, soups, salads, and many small dishes of various condiments, yogurt and fruit. Utensils were chopsticks. This allowed everyone to try many items not typically included in our western diets. Although this writer would have been unable to describe some of the food, eating it provided to be a most rewarding experience.
Staying at a guest house in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Shirakawago Village in the Japanese Alps was wonderful experience. We spent a day learning about the thickly thatched A frame houses designed to withstand ten foot accumulations of snow, originally built during the Edo Period to allow silk cultivation in the attics. The guest house provided both dinner and breakfast which were served in traditional Japanese style. Although prepared in a small kitchen, both meals were outstanding. Some of the rooms bordered the stream that ran through the village and provided a sound track of rushing water that lulled many to a deep and restful sleep.
By the end of this trip, one had a much deeper understanding and appreciation for the Japanese way of life along with many wonderful photos of this scenic portion of the Japanese Islands. A huge amount of information was presented in a very short period of time. We made great new friends and returned home energized both physically and emotionally. In closing this writer would like to again thank the trip organizers and guides who brought knowledge and enthusiasm to their work every day. Finally, this trip provided many opportunities to contemplate the quote from a Shinto Shrine: “Human beings live their entire lives to be somebody, but the goal is to become themselves.”
Bicycle Adventure Club
PO BOX 23998 San Diego, CA 92193
Telephone (858) 715-9510 office@bicycleadventureclub.org