The coastal road from Hagi to Nagato was one of the most beautiful yet. Forested hills, small fishing villages, clear blue water and narrow roads with no traffic.
In Nagato we decided to visit the Kiwado hot spring, located on a hill overlooking the bay, before riding to the campsite. That’s where we met Seiko, who invited us to stay at her place. What a gorgeous traditional house! Built 130 years ago and beautifully renovated and maintained! We chatted all night over a bottle of red. Seiko was excited to practise her English, so we finally had somebody who could answer all our questions about Japan and its customs.
The next morning Seiko offered to drive us to the Motonosumi Inari Shrine and to Tsunoshima, where her friends are running a bakery. The coffee and pastries were fabulous! Thanks for being such a great tourist guide, Seiko! We hope we’ll be able to return the favour one day!
Next stop was Akiyoshidai, a karst plateau estimated to be a 300 million year old coral reef. The landscape is very different from the surrounding forests.
We went inside Japan’s largest and longest cave, called Akiyoshido. The public is allowed in a 1km section of a total of 9km length. Absolutely stunning! Underground rivers, huge columns, limestone terraces, waterfalls and deep pools.
We couldn’t figure out how to get onto the bridge to cross from Honshu to Kyushu, until we realised that there is a tunnel for bicycles and pedestrians!
We happened to stumble into the Moji Port Festival - what a great coincidence! Drummers, dancers, food stalls, music and lots of people in amazing dresses!
The tunnel looks great fun to ride through. Japan looks very well setup for bikes. Even though they are a high population country it seems like you can still find some beautiful natural areas without too many people. It has been extremely warm weather since you have left and only cold and windy in the last few days so winter is on its way.
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