Left Singapore with bikes packed in their Body Bags. Arrived safely in Kumamoto, except for David's saddle which was badly scratched. Checked into the New Otani which was adjacent to the JR station. Had a light meal and a good sake in the rather large town - one shopping arcade was 1km long. Repackaged the bikes into their lightweight livery to conform with JR trains.
This morning, took the local train from Kumamoto to Misumi. It is advisable to try and get the front carriage as there is space to put the bikes. Sat immediately behind the driver and watch everything as the scenery changed. There was frost on some fields but it was a glorious sunny day. There were a few traditional houses with tarpaulin over the roofs, a reminder of the earthquake that struck the region less than a year ago. We reassembled the bikes at Misumi station and set off to look for the Kyohara bike shop. Our little pump does not get up to the 100 psi we need. We got a little lost and asked a dustman where the bike shop was. We got there and thought it was closed, and along came the dustman who asked the shop to open up. Unfortunately, the pumps they had were not suitable. So we set off and climbed the hill to the first of five bridges to Amakusa.
At the bridge, a little mini truck arrived, honking. It was our hero, the dustman, who had found a pump which fitted and we were able to pump up David's tyres. He then gave us three oranges and a mini pump and wished us on our way. How can you measure that kindness!
We continued onto Oyano island where we stopped for a coffee. The owner and her husband are cyclists. While we were having coffee and cakes, he took it upon himself to check our tyres and pumped them up to the right pressure. She gave us homemade orange peel sweets which were delicious, just the energy two cyclists need.
We crossed over to Matsushima island and after a wrong turn or two, found ourselves on the coastal road heading towards Hondo. We had a bowl of ramen at a mom-and-pop shop. Eventually, we arrived at Minshuku Tairyoumaru in Reihoku. We cleaned up and had a soak in the hot-tub. The owner Rika, took us to a restaurant for an izakaya meal - fresh, fresh sashimi, rice with little fish washed down with local rice shochu on ice. She picked us up from the restaurant after our meal and organised our accommodation for tomorrow. No wonder, she is #1 on Tripadvisor for Amakusa.
Tonight we sleep on a futon in a huge 20-tatami traditional room. After 80km, we will have a good night's sleep!
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| View from the driver's cabin |
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| A very kind man who went out of his way to help us |
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| Sashimi at the local izakaya |
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