Trip 2 - Day 1 - Kobe to Konan

Day 1 of our Shikoku and Kyushu tour started with a splash! After a very late night arriving in Kobe, grabbing a bite to eat and getting all our shit bike-ready, we got up at 7:30am to meet Shin - our contact at Best Bikes Japan for the bike handover. Looking out the window confirmed that the little pitter-pat we could hear was indeed rain. Fuuuuuck! It was therefore with no small amount of trepidation that I filed out with Lucas and Richard to board Shin's van to a nearby parking lot where our bikes were ready for us. After installing ETC cards, getting our packs strapped down, and donning our rain gear, we finally ventured forth.

Shin - the man of the hour!

The planned route for day 1 was to burn from Kobe to Shikoku, straight across Awaji Island, and then down to the south coast town of Konan. Right from the start the rain came down, and it continued to come down, and down, and down. So much fucking rain.

Route Day 1 - Kobe to the South Coast of Shikoku

Right from the start the rain came down, did I tell you that? And it continued all fucking day. We jumped on the freeway just south of our Kobe hotel and soon we were winging our way across the Akashi Kaiko Bridge to Awaji island. Rain pelted us, and although we could see the water of Kobe Bay from the bridge, we missed out on the amazing view that the bridge offers. Hopefully we'll get to see it on the way back.

Crossing the Akashi Kaiko Bridge to Awaji Island

Once on Awaji, we stayed on the freeway all the way to the other end of the island, and the Onaruto Bridge to Shikoku. The Onaruto Bridge spans the straight between the two islands, and has a turbulent whirlpool underneath it caused by the shape of the sea floor and the smaller islands that dot the straight.

As we crossed the bridge we caught a glimpse of the whirlpool, but yet again the weather was against us. With my helmet camera also feeling the deluge, there's not even a reasonable photo to show.

A glimpse of the whirlpool beneath Onaruto Bridge.

Anyway we finally crossed the bridge (another crossing that will hopefully be better on the way back) and were finally on the island of Shikoku. We continued a few more kms just past Tokushima - the main city at the top of the island, but with stomachs rumbling and gear sodden we pulled into a Coco-Ichibanya - a great little curry-rice chain store - for a well-earned lunch.

Pulling into Coco-Ichibanya. The rain still falling.

We jumped off our bikes and headed in, dripping all over their beautifully polished floor as we proceeded to undress. And we were fucking wet man, completely sodden. The amount of water pooling on the floor around our table was ridiculous. We did apologise about it to the nice serving girl, but she just waved it away. Awww. Anway, we proceeded to order three rounds of curry-kutsu and it was glorious. Spicy curry heaven that blew my head off.

Mmm Cury-Katsu and rice.

While we ate and dried out a little, the rain continued to come down. In fact it got worse. Heavier and heavier it fell. I'm not proud to say that in a low moment I considered chucking the whole god-damn thing in, but in the end we all decided to gird our loins and soldier on. We were wet already, and nothing was going to change that. And where the fuck else where we going to go? On went all our wet gear, and on to the bikes we climbed. Soon we were (very carefully) motoring into the heart of Shikoku, finally ending up, as planned on route 195.

Rain or no rain, the ride down 195 was worth the effort. The road travelled through small farming villages and rice paddies before plunging in to a steep valley; heavily wooded and shrowded in misty mountain sides. The road followed the river at the bottom of the valley, criss-crossing it with many bridges as it raged; milky green and fast flowing.

The start of our ride down Route 195

About halfway to our destination, during a short break in the rain, we stopped en-route for a quick toilet break at tiny village rest stop. Here we were met with a string of colourful carp strung across the river. A bit of colour to brighten our day.

Carp strung across the river

With the light fading, we finally reached our destination, and old onsen hotel 'Shioyajuku' on the coast in Konan. Our gear was soaked through and we were bone weary, but we made it.

Onsen hotel Shioyajuku (the next morning)

Bikes parked out of the rain next to the front door

We stripped off, hanging all our shit as best we could (the hotel foyer is currently full of it) and sat down to a nice meal in our room.

A very welcome dinner

After dinner we headed to the simple yet functional bath to warm our bones. The end to a very wet yet ultimately rewarding day. Tomorrow promises to be clear and warm, so with any luck we'll have dry gear in no time.

The bath in Shioyajuku - calling our names!