Day 52. Sunday, September 5, 2010. Nagasaki to Akune, Kagoshima-ken.
Alarm at 4:50; up at 4:55; waiting in the YH lobby for the doors to be unlocked at 5:05. The distance to the ferry at Mogi for Amakusa-shima was 11 kms according to Google Maps. Their distances have been different. I knew there'd be a grade to climb to leave Nagasaki, but I didn't know it's steepness nor especially it's length. I hoped leaving before 5:30 would allow me enough time to get to Mogi for the first ferry at 7:00.
Desk man unlocked the doors at 5:20 and I was on the road a few moments later having loaded everything the night befoe. Still dark, but little traffic on the main thoroughfare passing Nagasaki Station. No traffic on Route 324 to Mogi. Climb it did, but not as long as I'd feared allowing me to reach the ferry in only 50 minutes, at 6:10.
Ferry reached Tomioka at 8:10. Followed Route 389 along the west coast of Amakusa. Fairly good riding. Saw a number of Catholic churches in the villages. They were in the center which I imagine is an important location. It also seemed by its ubiquitous odor that I had missed the yet-to-be-famous "Manuring Festival" by only a day.
Made Ushibuka by about 12:10, but had to wait for the ferry until 1:30. Upon landing on Nagashima the road went straight up, an ill omen. 17 kms of ups and downs climaxed at the highway bridge to the mainland. The pedestrian walkway was no wider than the handlebars and so forced me to go forward at an exceptionally slow and awkward pace.
I wanted to reach the junction with Route 3 at a minimum, but, on getting there, found nothing even hinting at accommodation so I turned right and proceeded south until the town of Akune.
It was nearly 5:00 and still no sign of any sort of hotels so I stopped to ask at a Hotto Motto, a nationwide bento chain. I was directed to the only hotel in town which was "Rocks-Inn". Much more comfortable than it's name, but a "business hotel" is a business hotel. Yakiniku and beer down the street rounded off the day.
June 10, 2011.
Riding across the island district of Amakusa was a treat. Traffic was non-existent or very light on the west coast. In contrast, once I was back on mainland Kyushu I needed to be very careful given the high volume of traffic. The rural beauty of Amakusa yielded to the practical but blighting presence of countless small businesses serving the populations of closely spaced towns along Rte. 3, the main road from Kumamoto to Kagoshima.
No comments:
Post a Comment