@8:15 PM
60km
In the morning, I went to Tsukiji Fish Market, but only toured the touristy places. I am more interested in eating fish, not seeing them auctioned! The sushi, however, is not cheap. Being a typical Singaporean, I went to a shop with quite a bit of queue, ordering a sushi set costing 3500 yen. That is $50. The premium sushi I ate, however, was quite worth the price: sea urchin, two kinds of tuna (one appears to be tuna belly), a freshly killed prawn sushi, tamago, and a white fleshly fish.
This prawn is still moving when I took the picture.
See the long queue at the far end?
Outskirts of the fish market
(Kiasu-ness is not a uniquely Singaporean trait. At Fuji-yoshida, I saw a long queue for ramen at the store opening, with dirt cheap prices. It was raining, and half the queue had no form of shelter.)I left Tokyo late, starting off at 12 noon. It was a judgemental mistake as I had overestimated my ability to navigate and cover distances. Navigation today was especially terrible as I spent 2.5 hours of cycling, only to cover 15km. I got lost 5 times, and had to navigate my way out of mazes of housing estates by cycling in the direction of the sun. The original plan was to reach Doushi; forget that, I could barely even make it to Mt Takao! I was wondering where and how I should stay, but in the deepening twilight, I found an abandoned car park on the slope of the mountain. Why not? Says I, and promptly pitched my tent on the rock hard ground.
I made a second mistake in underestimating the weather. It was COLD. I couldn’t believe that I was only 60km away from Tokyo downtown. I cooked, but it was so cold that I did not even feel like slipping out of my sleeping bag to eat. I spent the night shivering. It did not help that the river was next to the tent, so cold air kept gushing down, following the flow of the river. Including the windchill factor, I estimate that it was maybe 8 degrees Celsius in the morning.
Some pictures taken when I was riding:
Officially, you cannot ride a bike on the pavements without these signs. Unofficially, it doesn't matter, because they are everywhere.
A lovely path sheltered by sakura trees in a housing district.
A random shrine in the middle of nowhere.
This river goes along the perimeter of the entire housing district of Nishitokyo. The houses and walkways are to the left, and the road is to the right.
Carparks in Japan look like this, with ticketing machines at the side. There seems to be nothing stopping the cars from just driving off without paying though.
@8:03 PM
So it was that I started out to Japan, somewhat apprehensively, despite my unconcerned facade. Let’s face it, who will not be at least a little frightened at the prospect? Going there alone, with only two weeks of mental and material preparation, a pitiful smattering of Japanese linguistics, with only a vague idea of where to go...
My parents will like to argue that I could have done more preparation. At least I could have booked my accommodation! However, the “on the move” planning style is very much a necessity, especially for bicycle touring. There are so many factors you have to consider as circumstances surface: rain, road conditions, terrain, personal fatigue, seasonal conditions... The very first day is already a proof of this, as I fundamentally changed the plan. Originally I was to take the train to Tokyo to store the bike box at Junying’s place, because I planned to use the bike box to transport the bike back to Singapore. However, I also knew that SIA might accept boxless bikes (which I confirmed at Changi Airport), so the box suddenly became a liability. I decided to abandon it at Narita, set the bicycle up at Narita, and cycle into Tokyo instead.
My first look at Japan
Setting up the bicycle
As I was about to discover, Japanese roads tend to have very narrow shoulders, and since most of the provincial roads have only two lanes, it became highly recommended to cycle on the pedestrian whenever possible to avoid the monster trucks that seem to be everywhere.
Narrow roads
My first meal! Miso Ramen at 420 yen!
En route to Tokyo
One of the primary problems of “on the go” planning eventually surfaced: I arrived in Tokyo late, very late, at about 5.30pm in Shinjyuku. There were no reservations made as I had planned to arrive early for a hostel spot (remember, I was supposed to take the train!). Since check-ins was only till 6pm, it essentially limited my accommodation options.
Junying’s room is a fantastic example of what not to do to your room. Dust was everywhere on the floor! Clumps of dust were gathered in the corners, under the bed, even on the door sill of the bathroom! Even now, I’m still quite stunned at the room’s conditions. No wonder she had been sick for two weeks.
I left my bike and luggage at her place, and packed up to find some accommodation elsewhere because I obviously couldn’t sleep in the same room as her. I eventually ended up in an internet cafe for 1780 yen for the night, sleeping in the reclining chair after rushing out an LPP application essay for NUS.
Bicycles parked for the night. The bike models are all the same city bikes.
