Cycling the Seto Inland Sea

Here is a mirror of an article I researched and wrote for the Oita JETs website.

From Kadoma's photostream on Flickr

Japan offers breathtaking views and dramatic coastlines that equal those of any country. However, with Japan's size you can often miss out on nature's artistry, especially if there is a mountain between you and the sea. But not to worry, this can be remedied by a leisurely cycling trip crossing the Seto Inland Sea from Imabari, Ehime-ken (愛媛県今治) all the way to Omiti, Hiroshima-ken (広島県尾道).

In 1999, the Shimanami-Kaidou (しまなみ海道) was completed connecting Japan's largest island, Honshu, with the smallest of the main islands Shikoku. It connects six islands via seven bridges that span the Seto Inland Sea (瀬戸内海), and is about 80 km in length. The highway was constructed with all types of tourism in mind, and includes lanes to keep cyclist away from vehicular traffic and let them cruise along while soaking up the views. Now, the idea of cycling the Inland Sea may sound great, but getting to Ehime-ken or Hiroshima-ken with your bike may sound like hell. Fair enough, but luckily at each end of the highway and on each island in between, fourteen bike rental terminals have been set up that provide cheap rentals. An adult and child can get a one day rental for ￥500 and ￥300, respectively. A small ￥1000 deposit is required that you can recoup by returning your bike to the same rental terminal. If you are willing to lose the deposit, it gives you some flexibility allowing you to cycle only one way or even halfway and use local transportation if you get too fatigued. Other costs to be aware of are the nominal entrance fees for using the highway that are collected at each island. They run from ￥200 to ￥50. You can buy a booklet for ￥500 that covers all the tolls.

From Kamoda's photosream on Flickr

The best way to enjoy the trip is to take your time and investigate hidden temples, sample the local soft cream, and take a dip in the ocean after basking in the sun. Luckily, minshyuku and beach camping facilities exist on many of the islands. I suggest Setoda Sunset Beach on Ikuti-jima(生口島). It provides all the facilities you could wish for: beach camping, tent rental, showers, grill and charcoal rentals, etc. Ikuti-jima is the fourth island on the route from Ehime-ken or the third from Hiroshima-ken.

Due to the fact that the route is only 80 km (one-way), you can choose how much or how little time you would like to spend on the trip. For a true cyclist it can be completed in one day, however, I would recommend stopping for 2 nights to really enjoy the views and beaches, because without a doubt this is one of the top short cycling trips in Japan.

From yendo0206's photostream on Flickr

Odds and Ends

Getting to Ehime from Kyushu:

A ferry runs from the port in Usuki, Oita-ken (大分県臼杵市) to Yawahama City, Ehime-ken (愛媛県八幡浜市), ￥2250. There is also another ferry running from Beppu (別府), ￥3020. From there you can take a train to Imabari 今治駅 (the start of the course from Shikoku). A bus might be a cheaper option, but I don't have the details at the time of this writing.

Alternate Trip Idea

You could also drive the Shimanami-kaidou too. There are plenty of parking options and even rental cars available

Links

Read a write up about cycling the Seto Inland Sea route in the Japan Times.

Another write up by a fellow cyclist.

A guide that has more detailed information on the bridges connecting the islands along the Shimanami-kaido and cultural/sightseeing opportunities.

How to Make Umeshyu

The end of May is the perfect time to make Umeshyu (梅酒) before all the plums get ripe.

To complete this recipe you need:

• 4 liter container with a light fitting inner lid and an outter lid too ４リッター容器
• 1 kg of green (unripe ume) 青梅
• .5~1 kg of rock sugar 氷砂糖 (unsure of availability outside Japan) try honey of regular sugar as a substitute
• 1.8 liters of white liquor ホワイトリカー

Points to remember:

Take the stems off the ume, wash thoroughly, soak in water for 2~4 hours, and dry off an moisture. This will keep the umeshyu from being bitter and astringent.

Time:

• Prep and soaking - 2 1/2 ~ 4 1/2 hours
• Final steps - 10 minutes

TAO

The Premier Taiko Group in the World. Their show will be the best taiko you have seen and entertainment that will leave your body beating after the show.

Currently on a World Tour 2009-2010 that spans 4 continents and 11 countries: Canada, America, Scotland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, Greece, Spain, Japan, and Australia.

Check out there website: http://www.drum-tao.com/

This video contains the first song performed and the dance that followed. Though there were no signs or announcements saying that filming was prohibited, I was asked to stop filming. I complied out of good will, and I am glad I did because I could focus more on the show instead of my viewfinder. The show only got better from here and then hit steroids in the second act. Think of this as a taste. The real thing will make your blood race.

Dancer Meets Tredmill

Just laugh

Bonfire Festival

A recap of my recent trip to Dondo Yaki--aka "dangerous and you might catch on fire" festival in Kyushu, Japan. Oh and I cook mochi over a huge bonfire using a 10 meter pole too. Woot.

Spring Cleaning

The Japanese school year ends around the end of March and teachers get transferred and placed around the beginning of April. This time of year can either be sad or exciting for the ALT. In the worst case scenario, all your friends leave and in the best all the teachers that rubbed you the wrong way do. I am just a notch below the best case scenario.

There wasn't much for me to complain about before the transfer season came up. The biggest gripes would be that my fellow teachers were advanced in age and that besides very occasional small talk I had little communication with about half the teachers. On the issue of age, the only quip I have is that the older teachers already have kids and are less likely to have time/want to hang out outside of school. On the other hand, one of the things I enjoy must are socializing with some of the older teachers. I have found that having friends that span a wide age range is something that is sorely lacking in American society. As for communication,to be honest I was a little disappointed that those teachers had no interest in talking with me. This can be attributed to a couple of factors: being busy, afraid I would not understand, not wanting to repeat themselves when I didn't understand, personalities didn't click, etc... Everyone in America isn't friends so why should everyone in Japan? I did feel they should at least talk with me because I am the only link to the outside world (not Japan) in these parts and I was hoping they might be interested in what life is like outside of Japan (I've been to Europe, dated a girl from Lesotho, grew-up in America). But maybe that is just me being conceited. I also realize that talking goes both ways and I cannot only chalk this complaint up on their side of the board.

Of all the teachers at my school, 6 were transferred 5 of which were basically non exist for all intents and purposes. The one that was transferred was the youngest one in the office (30) besides me and we actually talked a lot and got together outside of work. Even so, I was excited at the prospects.

After two days, I think I can say that nearly all the incoming teachers look like they will be upgrades! Not only are they for the most part younger, they are also a livelier bunch. Yesterday we switched up the desk arrangement and I scored the 2 youngest teachers of the bunch at my desk grouping. Woot. Not only that, I have had more "actual" conversations with this group than the total 7 months with 5 of the transferred teachers combined. The 2 younger teachers sit across from me and both are talkative and friendly. The new music teacher is funky and interesting. The new vice-principal is "the man" and reminds me of a cowboy. I swear you could put a 10-gallon hat on him and he could be in a John Wayne movie. He also has a sense of humor and a gruff (if I were a women I would say sexy) voice that has no doubt been honed by many years of cigarette smoking. The office lady also seems sweet too.

I noticed a couple things so far. These teachers engage me in 1-on-1 conversation, include me in group conversations, and are interested in what I have to say. That sounds a bit sad, but I have come to learn that when you are in a country where you are not fluent in the language, even though you speak the language to a good degree and are actively studying it, there are people who ignore you or discount you for that simple fact. Perhaps they don't want to spend the time to help you when you don't understand, perhaps they think you are stupid, or maybe they simple don't realize that they are doing it. I think because we often measure intelligence by literacy, vocabulary, comprehension, and general command of language people assume you are unintelligent if you can't seamlessly communicate with them. Even though you obviously have a command of another language (i.e. English) it is not their language. These new teachers and most of the remaining ones treat me like an equal and include me in discussions, ask my opinion, and even explain things without my asking. One even likes to give me little recaps periodically throughout group conversations. He's awesome.

A situation that highlights the difference between these two groups occurred today. Throughout the day, I had had various conversations in the staff room, all in Japanese, mostly with the newly arrived teachers. At the end of the day, one of the remaining teachers that I rarely talk with came over to give me info on an upcoming enkai (party) for the newly arrived teachers. The interaction consisted mostly of pointing at a sheet of paper with said info and her throwing out random words of English. When she got to the time of the party, 18:30, and started to attempt the numbers in English, I said, "I can read numbers" to her in Japanese. She then ran to the Japanese English teacher and said, "help me. Please explain it to XXXXXX." While this whole event was going on I was a little bit puzzled. She obviously heard me speaking with the other teachers in Japanese. Those teachers obviously understood my Japanese because A) we were having a conversation B) they answered the question I asked them C) I answered the questions they asked my accurately and in Japanese. I actually thought to my self this is a funny situation while she was attempting to communicate with me when I had already read the sheet of paper within the first 15 seconds of her coming up to me.

I'm not sure how to deal with this situation. It seems a little preposterous. The only thing I can think of is that she is flustered by non-Japanese people. But really, its the 21st century, she lives in a 1st world country with the 2nd largest economy (China right on its heels), and is working for a school board that has been employing ALTs for the past 20 something years.

Anyways, I am excited about all the new teachers and I am hopefully for the coming year.

Japan's Longest Slide

The slide comes in at an incredible 82 meters in length and is on the top of a mountain with a commanding view of western Kyushu's coastal plain. Watch me scream like a little girl, and have the best slide ride of my life. I haven't had this much fun since my first trip to 6-flags in Illinois. The journey to the end of the slide was not with out its dangers. I dodge trees, try not to smash into the sides, and deal with severe vibration that caused me to lose feeling in my rump.

If you are up to the task, I challenge you to respond with a video of your longest slide ride.

Radwimps New Album

The Radwimps are releasing a new album this week entitled,アルトコロニーの定理. I can't say that I listen to a lot of Jpop or Japanese music in general, but I am slowly finding out about new groups. The main source being the requests played over the school intercom during lunch and cleaning time. I can't believe we didn't do this when I was in Jr. high and high school. On second thought, it was probably better that we didn't because as soon as people started playing rap songs teachers would preemptively put a halt to it. They don't need to give parents another reason to complain.

とにかく, the Radwimps are really talented and not what I was expecting from a mainstream Japanese music group counsidering the standard sappy Jpop songs that sound likes variations of the same master track. The lead singer actually sings in English quite frequently on the tracks. Normally, this might give a native English speaker reason to pause or listen and laugh, but this is not the case. Yōjirō Noda (野田洋次郎) lived in America for 4 years and has a pretty good grasp of the English language in his lyrics. Not to mention, he has a great voice, varied singing styles, and meaningful lyrics. Here are some songs that give you a taste of their style: Me Me She and 有心論 (yuushinron)



I was talking with a friend and she had already bought the new album, which came out on the 11th of March in Japan. She liked it, but said something about the lyrics were written 2 years ago so things have changed a little bit now. I'll have to pick the album up, aka probably rent it from Tsutaya, to see what she means.

Last.fm describes their style as:

eccentric, with combinations of melodic choruses reminiscent of Mr.Children, the rapped style of Dragon Ash, and the funk of Red Hot Chili Peppers.

I would agree with all of the above.

On a side note, I was talking to the same friend about their songs and how they sung in English and Japanese. She turned to me and said, "yeah, but don't you think there is a little too much English?" I had to pause for a second and then say, "ahem, I don't think so, but I speak English so...." Weird and kind of funny moment.