I woke up and found out that I wasn't the only one sleeping in the park this morning. I had taken the best place, of course. Actually, last night a couple came close to the small bench where I was about to go to sleep and I don't know if they wanted to use it or if they were just curious, but in the end I slept there and I slept well.
The rain didn't come during the night so I kind of felt like I need to prepare myself for an all day shower. I strapped everything, wrapped my raincoat around my bag and ventured out! The roads where plentiful and getting the right one was a problem once again. Signs are not good enough, the bike roads are a mess and if you have to cross a river, another road or the tracks then you have to do it in a car because bikes are not allowed on many of the bridges. It's like they were too lazy to add the extra space for pedestrians and bikes..
But when that is all said and done I managed to make good time. The people I was to stay with asked if I could be there at 15:00. It's not impossible, but adding eating breaks and getting lost once in a while makes it less manageable. I arrive at around 17:30 which is okay, I guess.
I was really excited for this part, going through Hakone, a really cool place with lots of mountains and of course the favorite of them all: Mt. Fuji. But today's weather had other plans and all though I had sun it was from the wrong side and all the clouds gathered around Fujisan.. I got to see some of the peak, but that was it. Most of the time it just looked like a wall of clouds..
The climb wasn't as tough and luckily I hadn't forgotten how to ride the bike. But it is so heavy with the bags on, it is unbelievable.. I will fix this in Nagoya, I have to!
I saw many interesting things today, raced with some school kids and thought about the things I had missed while staying in Tokyo. More things I didn't miss were present than things I missed though, haha.
As I came closer to the address I ran into the guy on the street 300 m from their house. I thought it was very nice that he came to greet me, but I wondered for how long he had been standing there waiting. Turned out he just arrived and I didn't feel so bad about arriving kind of late compared to what I wanted to do.
The people I'm staying with are so nice. They have a small restaurant and the food was delicious and there was a lot. Like too much. But that's how it is here. If you keep eating they keep making more. But my Danish upbringing is telling me to finish what is put in front of me. Talk about culture crash alright.
Sushi, crab, tempura, yakionigiri and some other things I didn't get the name on was consumed in a fashionable manner. I ate until there was nothing on the table and told them that I couldn't possibly eat anymore and not an hour later I was presented with a midnight snack, green tea and club soda. I will get too used to eating a lot if I stayed here for too long, haha.
Oh, and we went to onsen, hot spa, and of course it was amazing as always. I can't describe how grateful I am that they wanted me to stay at their place. We talked, played board games and watched television until it was 00:00.
Tomorrow I'll go 160 km. Nagoya is the destination and there, Samar, my friend from my exchange time in Fukuoka, is waiting for me. We'll be sightseeing the next day after staying at a manga cafe downtown. If it is going to rain then please do it in 3 days time, I don't have time to deal with rain tomorrow.
Distance: 160 km.
Time: 8:30 hours
Total distance: 2061!!! I reached 2000 km. This is more than half way done. Unless I get lost. Everyday.
Condition: That good kind of sleepy where you know you'll fall asleep right away.
Quote: Fujisan, please....!
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