History of Liverpool - true or false?

"Bong..."

"Bong..."

As the Bells of Doom sounded through the thick fog that blocked my view of Birkenhead and most of the River Mersey, the only other sounds were the lapping of the tide, the squawking of the sea gulls, and my heavy breathing. No, I wasn't on the phone, I was running. The bells that sounded across the river were eerie, to say the least, and I was half expecting people to bring out their dead. I hoped they wouldn't.

 

As you know, running is one of my favourite pastimes, especially when there's so much to see.

There are so many reminders everywhere here in Liverpool about the history of the place, and it's nautical roots. Unfortunately the Museum of Liverpool closes at 5pm so I'm unlikely to be any wiser any time soon, and doing my own research online feels a bit like cheating. My new colleagues at the office, and various talkative strangers, have told me some interesting 'facts' that I'd like to share with you, if I may.

• Vikings were rife here, back in the day. Especially on the Wirral. That's why there are so many towns ending in -by, e.g. Kirkby, Crosby, etc. 'By' means 'village' in Viking-speak. I knew that, of course, being a Viking myself. Apparently DNA tests have shown people on the Wirral to be closely related to the Scandinavians and you can't argue with science. Well, you could, but that would make this story less interesting.
• Aintree was also named during the Viking era, meaning 'one tree'. Sounds like it was a dull place back then.
• The Beatles are to Liverpool what ABBA are to Swedes - a pain in the arse. Of course they're proud of The Beatles but don't need to be reminded of them every time they speak to someone not from here.
• Kirkby, which is just outside of Liverpool, was the inspiration for Newtown, featured in Z-cars.
• I have three different stories regarding the birds that sit on top of the Liver Building. There are two birds, one facing the river, and one facing inland - this much is fact. Why they were placed like that is another story. One person (a taxi driver) told me that one bird was to look over the sailors at sea and the other was to look over the women and children inland. One person (the cleaner at David Lloyds) told me that one was to look over the sailors going out, and one to look over the sailors coming back. To me that makes no sense because surely they depart and return by ship..? And the final person who had her say (the receptionist at David Lloyds) said that one, the female, looked out over the sailors, and the other, the male, looked over the pubs........... And the winner is....... Judge for yourselves - excerpt from Wikipedia: The modern popularity of the symbol largely dates to 1911, when the Liver Building was built. This prominent display of two liver birds rekindled the idea that the liver was a mythical bird that once haunted the local shoreline. According to popular legend, they are a male and female pair, the female looking out to sea, (watching for the seamen to return safely home) whilst the male looks towards the city (making sure the pubs are open). An alternative version says that the male bird is looking in to watch over and protect the families of the seamen. Local legend also holds that the birds face away from each other as, if were they to mate and fly away, the city would cease to exist. In fact, they were indeed designed to watch the City (Our People) and the Sea (Our Prosperity). Another legend says that if an honest man and a virgin woman were to fall in love in front of the liverbird that the couple of liverbirds that are in statue form would come to life, fly away and Liverpool would cease to exist.

Above: The Liver Building, sans liver birds as they're not visible due to low-hanging clouds. Cool, eh?

• I was told that the word 'scouse' comes from Viking times, from the word 'lobscouse', a Scandinavian meat stew of sorts. I've never heard of this before, so I decided to do some research, as it felt like a prank to me! Here's what Wikipedia (UK) said:
  

The word "scouse" is a shortened form of "lobscouse", derived from the Norwegian lapskaus, Swedish lapskojs and Danishlabskovs (or the Low German Labskaus), a word for a meat stew commonly eaten by sailors. In the 19th century, poorer people in Liverpool, Birkenhead, Bootle and Wallasey commonly ate "scouse" as it was a cheap dish. Outsiders tended to call these people "scousers".

And this is what Wikipedia (Sweden) said:

Ordet kommer från engelskans lobs-cou(r)se med osäkert ursprung^[4], tidigast belagt 1706^[5]. Ordet spreds vidare av den brittiske författaren Tobias Smollett i flera böcker under 1750-talet.

Translated, it means that the word comes from the English word lobs-course, bla bla bla. Ok.... Well I'm none the wiser....

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A story about a runner

I'd like to tell you a story about a very good friend of mine, who recently bagged her first 5K run, because I want people (and her) to know how amazing she is.

I met Katherine back in 2009, where she was part of a business networking group I joined when I set up Cassy & Co. The whole group were very welcoming, but Katherine stood out as someone who was always happy, helpful, friendly and confident. And funny, she's so bloody funny! She helped me no end with my business, as well as being a great friend. The kind of friend that listens and nods when I go on about running, swimming, and cycling. Katherine had never shown an interest in actually doing any of these things, but one day she announced to me that she wanted to be able to swim "like Michaela Strachan". Having never seen Michaela swim (apparently she was on Splash!), I took Katherine at her word that it was effortless front crawl, and that it was her destiny to be equally good at swimming. Ok, she might not have used the word "destiny", but she was pretty much a mermaid in waiting.

I am always eager to help in any way I can when people want to start being more active, because I know how much it enhances your life when you start to achieve physically when you never thought you could. Like myself, Katherine didn't have a very positive outlook on exercise, probably because of PE at school, where kids are/were forced to take part in sports days and cross country races with no prior training whatsoever, forever (for some) ruining that person's want for fitness. So much emphasis is placed on being the best, and being picked first for a team. Or not being picked last, perhaps. When I went to school I was often picked last (unless my friend was doing the picking), and it didn't do much for my confidence. But exercising is not something that should be a chore, or a confidence beater. Quite the opposite! After all, it keeps us healthy! We know that dogs need exercise, we know that horses need exercise, yet we don't exercise ourselves. We're strange creatures, us humans.

Anyway, I digress... I offered to help Katherine in her quest for Strachan-like swim skills and she joined me as a guest at David Lloyds for her first lesson. It turns out that I don't know that much about teaching swimming, despite being able to swim myself and watching various instructional videos on You Tube. Apparently it's a bit more complicated than that. I tried to convince Katherine to join up so we could spend more time on it, but after weighing up the pros and cons she decided that a ridiculously over-priced monthly membership was not for her. I should learn a thing or two...

She told me that I'd just have to teach her to run instead.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing! In fact, I think I made her repeat it 76 times before I believed it. She'd never shown any interest in running, in fact it was quite the opposite, so I was a little sceptical with regards to her dedication, but it was unwavering.

I soon discovered that this amazing woman was terrified! Terrified of running the first session in her Couch to 5K training plan, which consisted of a 5-min warmup, followed by 1 min running/1.5 min walking (x8). After some "I can't"/"yes you can"/"no I can't"/"yes you can" toing and froing, she got through the first session in style, although her calves quickly tightened up during the next few sessions and Katherine's confidence plummeted. After the most amusing visit to a running shop I have ever experienced ("oh my goodness, it's like walking on clouds!!") and plenty of stretching, she was back on it. But each time the run-time went up, the "I can't"s came out. And each time she proved that she could, in fact, do it. I told her that we'd be laughing at 3 mins of running when she completed her first 5K, which, of course, she was terrified of doing.

And laugh we did, because 10 weeks after beginning her plan (a couple of weeks of illness slowed progress), Katherine joined 100 or so other runners at Rushcliffe Parkrun, and completed her first 5K in just under 38 mins. Of course, it wouldn't have been right without some drama, and the lack of tunes caused that. Next time, don't panic, just check the volume.

Afterwards, Katherine told me that she feels like she's been a passenger in my plan to turn her into a runner, but she took every stride herself, even pushing herself to a sprint finish.

Now, I know that there are loads of people who do the Couch to 5K running plan, and plenty of my friends have, with great success, but Katherine's personal journey overcoming doubt and increasing her self belief was extra inspiring. From a gilet-and-brick-trainer-wearing self doubter, to a Lycra-and-Asics-wearing 5K runner in just over 2 months is pretty awesome. Onwards and upwards, my friend!

 

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Liverpool - day whogivesamonkeys

Random blog. I'm in Liverpool, for work. It's huge. I don't mean that the city is huge, but everything in it! Huge buildings, huge statues, huge pavements... Yes, the pavements are huge. Not all of them, I'm pretty sure, even though I've not seen all of them, or even a fraction, but I'd say the ones that count are huge. I went for a run this evening, and I walked on them yesterday from the station, so I'd say that makes me somewhat of an expert on Liverpool pavement sizes.

I nearly passed out after my run, and I wasn't even going that fast. Had done a gym workout first, though not a hard one, but I was knackered! My run route was along the river Mersey (I guess, don't laugh at me if it's not the Mersey, though I'll check in a sec and delete this sentence if I was wrong so you'll never know anyway), and it was pretty awesome. There was no real wind to speak of, which is weird as it was really windy earlier, so the Mersey was pretty still. But huge. The waves were the same as, say, the Trent, but huge. I don't mean that they were high, they were wide. Oh, forget it, it's too difficult to explain and I don't have a picture.

Apparently there's a ferry that goes across to the Wirral, so I might make my way over there next week or the week after if I get a chance. If only I was on a bike tour here instead of with work. Then I'd have a lot of time to do important stuff like that.

I'm staying at the Crowne Plaza, just like I did in Kyoto, but that one was better. Simply the fact that it was in Kyoto meant that it'd win that battle. Though this one is ok, I guess. It's got a pool, but it's 18 metres, which means a swim session becomes less of a swim session and more of a maths session. My first swim training session of the week was supposed to be 300m, rest, 275m, rest, 250m, rest, etc until 0. Yeah, right. Like that's gonna happen in an 18m pool. I have my Garmin, and that will tell you how far you've gone if it knows the pool length, and it even has a custom length setting. That goes down to 20m... So yesterday I did 100 lengths, in record time, and this morning I did 10 x 6 lengths. That's 158 push-offs between lengths, if I did my maths session correctly. Maybe that's why my run was hard this evening. Or maybe that was because of the hunger. Always bloody hungry!!

Just to finish this blog off, here's a picture out of the window of my hotel room.

And here's a picture from Google maps that I saw while looking for a London bike shop. Cool, eh?

And here's a picture of my dinner, I know you love seeing the food.

 

 

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Japan - day 14 and beyond

Well, I'm home now and have been since Monday evening. My journey home was pretty straightforward, I was allowed onto the airport bus with my bike, and I had no luggage weight issues at the airport. Didn't sleep at all on the flight, in an attempt to reduce jet lag once I'd arrived home. Instead a watched a bunch of movies; 12 Years a Slave (cried like a little girl), Frozen, The Other Guys (very, very funny), Crazy Stupid Love (Ryan Gosling is quite tasty), and some other stuff I can't remember.

Both mum and Bumble squeaked like little guinea pigs when they saw me, which is always nice.

I absolutely loved my Japan holiday. I will do things a bit differently next time, but it's all a learning experience, right? But what will I miss the most? The food comes a very close second to heated toilet seats...

I certainly won't miss carrying this thing around, but it was worth it.

I will miss getting this kind of lunch for about £3.

I will miss real cycle paths and conscientious drivers.

I will miss not getting static shocks from elevator buttons.

I won't miss my Traffic Safety Lucky Charm, which kept me safe over there, because I took it home with me.

I will miss this kind of food.

I will miss these.

I will miss the blossom, although they are out in full force in old Wollaton at the moment.

I will miss the Japanese English menus. There's always a giggle-worthy mistake. Can you spot it?

I won't miss getting sunburnt on just the right side of my body.

I will miss sightseeing where I can laugh in the face of history. 70km...Pah!

I will miss blue lines that guide my way.

I will miss pocket wifi.

And I will miss the comments on my blogs that I woke up to every day.

Most of all though, I'll miss getting up at the crack of dawn, heading out on my bike and wondering what the world is going to present me with today. Sounds like I need to start planning another adventure... Perhaps I need a new bike, too...

 

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Japan - day 13 - freedom, shopping, and earthquakes

My first lie-in came on the last full day of the holiday. Decided to go for a run first thing, so made my way to the Imperial Palace at about 9.15am, which I had cycled past on the way in to Tokyo on Friday. Looked like a nice place to run and there had been a few runners there then. Was it a good place to run? Well, put it this way; if you can only go running in one place in Tokyo, let this be it. Once I got to the Palace perimeter, the number of runners picked up, and by the time I had made my way round, it became apparent that this place was THE place to run. There were literally hundreds of runners! All going at their own pace and with their own style. Apart from a couple of foreigners, all the runners had the 'gear'. Obviously it's important to look the part here.

What I also noticed was that there were quite a few road cyclist going around the perimeter, and the traffic was minimal, which made me think about Serena, cooped up in the hotel with a heavy lock shackling her. If she had seen this, she would've been chomping at the chain! So I ran home, summoned her, and took her for a spin, luggage free. Oh, the difference! She was a totally different beast! We flew up to the palace and hammered it round. When we'd got half way round, the road that goes in front of the palace was closed to traffic, but I'd seen some other cyclists within, and squeezed through. Suddenly I was in he midst of some kind of cycling event, with hundreds of cyclist of all shapes and sizes riding along. Took a shitty video, which you can see here.

It was so much fun! Some of the other cyclists, particularly the ones with race bikes, did throw me some strange looks, probably because I just kept smiling at everyone. They probably thought I wasn't right in the head. Serena and I chilled there for a while, going round and round the 'course', then I remembered I hadn't eaten anything yet so made my way back to the hotel. A lovely experience, and a great start to the day.

At around midday I finally fill my belly and ponder on what to do on my last day. I decide it should be shopping. I needed to find a fridge magnet, and to do some further research on the lunchbox phenomenon. I have only one thing to say; if you need any bunny-face-shaped eggs in the future, I'm the one you need to come see.

I hopped on the train to Shinjuku, and was entertained for the entirety of the journey by a man, who looked like John Lennon, fighting sleep while standing. There were head rolls, and lots of knee bends (a bit like your stereotypical British policeman). Eventually, one station before we both got off, he managed to get a seat, promptly fell asleep and did some chewing in his sleep. I wanted to hug and thank him as I alighted the train, but I resisted. Wish I had now, he probably would've thought it was part of a dream! Or nightmare, perhaps more accurately.

Shopping in Shinjuku was a bit less hectic than Shibuya, but that doesn't mean it was quiet, by any stretch of the imagination.

Once my back ache, which I inevitably get from meandering around shops, had got too painful to bear, and I'd finally made some purchase decisions, I got myself a coffee and people watched for a while. I reflected on my time in Japan and if I would've done things differently should I have the time again. Yes, is the answer. I wouldn't have done as many miles each day, and I wouldn't have bothered with the tent!

On the way home, it struck me how many people were asleep on the train. They must've been very sure of where their stop was!

Back at the hotel I packed my stuff, knowing full well that it's likely to be overweight. I'm just hoping that the SAS staff go easy on me. I guess all the toiletries I've stolen from the hotels will have to stay in Japan.

After packing, I decided to try to find a TV channel, or website, that was showing the London Marathon. Failed on that count, but as I was searching the room started to move. It felt like a train was going underneath me and, coincidentally, I did hear a train at the time. So I listened out for more trains to see if I could feel them, but not at all. The tremor, confirmed by Japan's Meteorological Agency, lasted for maybe 5-10 secs and registered as a magnitude 1 in Tokyo on the Richter scale (10 being the strongest, in case you were unaware). How very exciting! Just so you know, I'm sensitive. Says so on Wikipedia:

Magnitude	Description	Mercalli intensity	Average earthquake effects	Average frequency of occurrence (estimated)
Less than 2.0	Micro	I	Microearthquakes, not felt, or felt rarely by sensitive people. Recorded by seismographs.[15]	Continual/several million per year

Scared that my stomach would simulate an earthquake in the very near future, I headed out for some dinner. My search for sushi failed and I ended up with a burger, topped with an egg, and some rice and Japanese coleslaw. Bloody delicious it was too!!

So, that's my holiday in Japan, done! Thank you all so much for sharing the experience with me, knowing you guys were reading it every day was amazing. Out of curiosity, what was your favourite day?

 

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Japan - day 12 - monkeys, coffee, and Shabu-Shabu

I awoke at the late hour of 6am, tried desperately to get a few more minutes sleep with limited success, and eventually got up around 7am. I meandered up the road to Akihabara, the manga and anime heart of Tokyo, stopping en route for coffee and French toast. Akiba, as it's also called apparently, is probably more impressive at night or if you like that kind of thing, but I snapped some pics and carried on up to Ueno Park, a very nice area with lots of places allocated for hanami. The blossom has all but gone now though, but the Japanese are making the most of every last petal and, as lunch approached, the hanami spots were going fast.

I reserved my spot by placing my bottom on a wall under a blossom tree and ate my gyozas and panda-inspired... whatever it was. Delicious and sweet.

Wandering around the park, I took in the sights and briefly watched a show with the star being a performing monkey, but couldn't bear it (pardon the animal pun) for very long.

After some time people watching and wondering what else they could make into the shape of a panda (and realising they probably had everything covered), I made my way back to the hotel to grab another layer before my next expedition. I nipped in to the Tokyo Dome Hotel in order to get a ticket for the bus to the airport for Monday morning, and to ensure that my bike could come too. After a lengthy discussion with the ticket guy, and an even lengthier conversation between him and someone on the phone, he tells me to come early so he can measure the bike. "And if it's too big?", I ask. Then I should have enough time to get the train, apparently, which involves three trains, two changes, more money, and considerably more stress. Thanks for that.

Next stop on the agenda - Shibuya. The home of the world famous Shibuya Crossing. Not as interesting or entertaining as I was hoping, but there was a guy in a onesie giving out free hugs. He looked a bit sweaty though, so I gave it a miss.

One type of Japanese cuisine that I'd not tried yet was Shabu-Shabu, a sort of Japanese fondue, so I went to Nabezo, which my Lonely Planet guidebook recommended, at 5.30pm. "Reservation only." Of course, as per usual. Next reservation - 8.45pm. I put my name down as the hunger rage had been subdued by a strawberry scone and a 'coffee & cream frappucino' from Starbucks, as I watched the cattle crossing.

So I had a few hours to kill, and was in shopping heaven. If you're into lunch boxes. No, not that type, you filthy animals! The bento type! An entire department just for eating your lunch. May have to splash out... but my luggage is already overweight...

Some half hour of browsing later, I'm standing outside a shoe shop (which, btw, does not have tiny shoes for tiny feet as may be expected here in Japan) checking my map when someone says hello to me. I look up and see a north-African looking bloke with an orange down jacket on. "Remember me?", he says. "No", I reply honestly. Apparently we met by the crossing. Must've been in another universe. We chat for a while, he tells me he's Moroccan and that he's been living in Japan for five years. Really nice guy, and I had some time to spare, so we went for a coffee (third one today!) and continued chatting. I now know pretty much everything about the Japanese visa system, Moroccan banks, and how much Moroccan tour guides earn. I now also have another emergency contact, which is always handy.

Already being out of my comfort zone by going for a coffee with a total stranger, I'm was a little relieved to have a Shabu-Shabu reservation waiting for me, and my stomach had started making noises again.

Shabu-Shabu involves throwing meat and veggies into two different 'soups' and letting them cook, before dipping them in egg or sauce and chomping away. I chose Shabu-Shabu and Sukiyaki soups because they were the only ones I'd read about it the guidebook. The waiter spotted I was a Shabu-Shabu virgin and kindly showed me the ropes. You can eat as much as you like within 90 mins.

Now, I need to mention a few things about Tokyo. The population of Tokyo is 13 million, that's about 4 million more than London. That's 11 million more than any other city that I've been to during my trip. And I believe half of the population of Tokyo was in Shibuya tonight. At least, that's how it felt. Tokyo is so different from anywhere else I've been in Japan, just as I'm sure most large cities are, but I can certainly say I've not warmed to it yet.

What I also discovered, upon emerging from my fondue-fest, is that Tokyo has a lot of piss heads. As I made my way back to Shibuya station, I walked straight past the Karaoke bar I had flagged on my map. Part of me now wishes I'd gone in, but the other part of me is glad that I didn't bother. Having abstained from alcohol all evening (part of my personal safety initiative) I decided to have a night cap in the hotel bar instead. Sorry, closed at 10.30pm. Meh.

 

 

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Japan - day 11 - tears, traffic, Tokyo!

Today I cried.

My original plan was to cycle from Hakone down to Odawara and get the train in to Tokyo. I decided instead to cycle, for two reasons:

1. I had missed out on the 140 km ride around Fuji, and
2. I couldn't face messing around with the bike and the luggage on the train again. It's actually easier to ride for 6 hours than to deal with that.

I chose a route with minimal elevation, i.e. as few hills as possible, so it should've been pretty easy going. Strava, the website I used to map the route, doesn't tell you the number of metres I'd have to descend, however...

Pretty much straight from the hotel and for approx 12 km it was downhill, and very, very steep. Oh, my poor hands!! The whole way down I had to sit on both brakes so as not to get out of control - and with the bike being so heavy, there was a lot of squeezing to be done. I could manage about 5 mins, then I had to have a 5 min break. At one point I even had to get off and walk because my hands were not useable any more and were just shaking. It was so painful, I just had to cry to release the pain. I'm not sure exactly how long it took me to get down to 'normal' roads, but when I eventually did, it was like heaven. Or at least it would have been if it wasn't so bloody cold! So, all in all, not a great morning.

The turning point was the pissing dog. The weather had brightened up and it was time to shed a layer, so I stopped at a 7/11 for a comfort break, and to fuel up with another rice ball. As I was on my way in to attend to my lavatorial needs, a lady was tying her little fluffy dog up outside. When I got back out, it was still there and had done an appropriately tiny poop. When the lady came back out of the shop, she put her bag down next to the dog and proceeded to clean up the minuscule mess. The tiny pooch took this as a great opportunity to cock his leg and piss into the lady's bag. I nearly spat Speed Athlete all over my poor bike.

Once your hands have stopped cramping and you've witnessed a tiny dog take a piss into its owner's bag, things must be looking up.

As I was getting closer to Tokyo, of course the traffic started getting heavier, though it wasn't slowing me down too much, mainly because I wasn't going very fast anyway. There were no real hills to speak of until Tokyo, so it was just a case of taking in the sights.

Cycling through Yokohama was cool, it was quite grand and, had I had more time, I could've gone on a roller coaster and a Ferris wheel. Here's a pic from Yokohama. Doesn't really do it justice.

Past Yokohama and in to Tokyo.

Traffic kept building but still it was no worse than what I've cycled in within the UK. In fact, even in Tokyo drivers are more polite than in the quietest of places in the UK. In the two weeks that I've spent here, not once have I felt intimidated by other road users, and I can count on exactly three fingers the number of times a vehicle has passed a little too close for comfort. In the UK, that would be per ride.

I must mention the Global Network of Head Nodders at this point, a.k.a. the Global Road Cycling Club. Once you're in the club, all other road cyclists who are also members must nod as they pass you. Any other sign for 'hello' is also acceptable, e.g. wave, thumb up, etc. To enter into the club, you simply begin head nodding. But beware, you must not nod if you don't think the other person is a member! So here's a quick guide to identifying a member of the GNHN:

• They ride a road bike. Not a commuter bike, or a mountain bike. It's got to have curly handlebars.
• They wear a helmet.
• They wear cycling gear specifically designed for road cycling.
• And here's the most important thing: they've clocked you and they look like they're a prime candidate for a Head Nod.

I have been using this guide for the last two weeks and have nodded to many a fellow member. Please be aware though, that if you're riding a road racing bike, such as mine, with panniers and handlebar bags, such as mine, other members may get a little confused.

Japan - day 10 - Mt Fuji, lakes, and hunger rage

Hot spring bath first thing? I could certainly get used to that! Had the place to myself too, that's what happens when you get up before 6am. Last night, after finishing my day 9 blog, I ate my dinner in front of the telly - a very entertaining show where three people were driving around Japan, sampling different foods and trying Onsen (hot springs). I, of course, fell asleep, woke up just before 9pm and went to bed. Was absolutely pooped.

So, after my bath, I got ready and headed up ('up' will be the theme for the last couple of days) to the cable car station, hoping to beat the rush. Got there about 7.30am, and not another person in sight. Score! Oh, wait... The cable car doesn't start running until 8.45am? Well isn't that lovely...? Lucky for me, there's always something to see nearby, and I found this little beauty hiding away up the mountain.

Breakfast this morning consisted of chocolate biscuits, with a view to getting something decent with a coffee later on.

Something decent, ended up being this.

Fine, it isn't exactly the finest dining experience, but check out the view! And I was starving! The picture was taken at the stop half way down (which is actually also the highest point of) the Hakone Ropeway, a cable car that runs down to Lake Ashino-ko. I saw a guy there with a Specialized S-Works bike (same make as mine), so I asked him if he'd cycled up here, to which he nodded his head. I applauded him and tried to explain that I couldn't make it on my bike, it was too much. He nodded and smiled; I suspect he had not a clue what I was rambling on about. He didn't have any luggage though - slacker. My favourite bit was when he went to the view point for Mt Fuji, placed his bike against the fence and took a picture of it with Mt Fuji in the background. There's a man who loves his bike.

At the same view point earlier on, I had kindly offered to take a picture of a group of German tourists as they gathered in front of the mountain as a group. "Oh yes, that would be great, thank you", the man responds. He gives me his camera, and suddenly there's a queue of about 8 people handing me their cameras. Needless to say I was there for quite a while.

Mt Fuji is simply spectacular to see in the flesh. It is so imposing and as near to perfection as you would want in a volcano. No wonder the Japanese hold it so dear. If this trip had gone to plan, I would've been cycling around the Fuji Five Lakes today and it would've been amazing, I've no doubt. I'm also in no doubt that I made the right decision, as my legs were so fatigued today that I couldn't even manage a flight of stairs without stopping half way.

From Togendai, the cable car's terminal station, I got on the Lake Ashino-ko Sightseeing Cruise and listened to a pair of Swedish girls who were sitting behind me. One was pissed off with the other for some reason so they didn't speak for the rest of the time on the boat. I'm quite lucky, I think, because I haven't fallen out with myself once so far. There have been times where I've been close (when I insist on making yet another stop on a ride), but then I remember where I am.

In Hakone-machi, I went to a museum about... well, I have no idea as it was all in Japanese. There were photos taken that you can see if you wish. I then walked to Moto-Hakone via a trail called Cedar Ave, for obvious reasons, where I visited the rather splendid Naruyama Art Gallery (check me out, being all cultured), where I made a quick coffee stop.

The views were simply terrible...

From Moto-Hakone I took the Sightseeing Cruise back to the cable car and went back up to the top, during which time I spoke to a rather posh-sounding English couple who were friendly but not overly inspiring. They were on their way to the Open Air Museum, which is were I was on my to as well, but it had gotten a bit chilly with the wind, so I decided to go back to the hotel to get another jacket and fleece. Way to go, idiot. It just seemed to get warmer and warmer after that, and it ended up walking around with all these clothes!

The Open Air Museum was great, or it least it would have been if I hadn't been in a hunger rage for most of the visit. I managed to calm it for a while with a muffin so could enjoy at least some of what I saw. I subsequently decided to go for a wander to see if I could find a restaurant, but it was a bit early yet, only 5.30pm, so I kind of meandered. Got speaking to a couple of Australian ladies (named Suzie and Terri) and tagged along with them for a while, at the same time searching for some place to eat. Everywhere was closed as I walked up the hill, most of the restaurants I'd seen had been down the hill, and I didn't want to go back there as I'd just have to walk back up, and it was bloody steep! In the end I walked - slowly as I was close to passing out by this point - up the hill, over the brow, and back down to my hotel. At 6.45pm, when I arrived, I asked the guy at reception if there was a hotel restaurant.

"Only by reservation", he replies.

"Can I make a reservation now?"

"No", he says, smiling, thinking I'm joking. "The only place nearby is down the hill 10 minutes, but you're best to take the shuttle bus, which leaves in 15 mins."

Err, no, not today, not now. "I will walk", I tell him.

"Not a good idea, the road is dark and quite busy."

Quite busy?!?! I think I'd seen 3 cars as I'd walked down the same road. He obviously had no idea what he was dealing with here.

10 mins later I had unashamedly ordered my spaghetti bolognese with salad, garlic bread, and beer.

 

 

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Japan - day 9 - hot springs, ferries, and up, up, up!

You may remember day 7; I know I do! That was when I ended up being saved by two knights in shining armour and stayed in a hotel. Well, what I didn't go into detail about was the hotel itself. It was a traditional Japanese Ryokan; very pretty indeed, with futon bed and paper walls.

It also meant it was freezing, too light, and the bed was like sleeping on rock. But at least it was a bed. All this meant that sleep was limited, meaning that last night I was absolutely exhausted. Was asleep by 9.30pm, in a comfortable bed.

I woke up naturally just after 5am to this gorgeous sun rise.

I then started the day as it should start every single day - with an outdoor hot spring bath. Can't believe it's been 9 days and I haven't done this before!! As for etiquette, I just copied what the other ladies did, and didn't get shouted at once! Woohoo! It was so hot I could only stay in it for about 10 mins before I felt like my blood was going to start boiling, so I headed back to the room to get my stuff together. I had a ferry to catch at 8.10am so I had to leave the hotel at the latest at 7.45am. This included breakfast, which I ate with a fork! I hadn't planned to, I've been going Japanese style this whole time, but a waitress, who had taken me under her wing, insisted. We spoke last night at dinner and it turns out she is originally from Thailand, and she doesn't like "Japanese stuff" (which is what she called the sushi I was having at the time).

 

Anyway, back to plan B that I mentioned yesterday. The plan now is to, unfortunately, bypass the Fuji Five Lakes and head straight for Hakone, and spend two nights there. The campsite better be open!

Japan - day 8 - artificial intelligence, artificial unintelligence, and plan B

Some days are uneventful. Today was one of those days. Out at 6am with a delicious rice ball that my hotel host had prepared for me, and boy did I need it. Pretty much the first hour was uphill. Hilary, that Le B'stard hill of yours? I frickin' eat those hills for breakfast in Japan!

This is where it took me.

During my rides, there's obviously a lot of time to think, and I have to keep motivated in order actually get up the mountain. Without realising it at first, I'd come up with my own version of Vanilla Ice's Ice Ice Baby:

Alright stop! Get off your bike and listen,

Kajsa's back with a brand new mission,

Some hills, grab a hold of you tightly,

Pedal the small cog, daily and nightly,

Will they ever stop? Yo, I don't know,

Get on your bike, and now go!

To the extreme I ride a bike like a vandal,

Jump off the bike and I walk with a sandal,

Climb on your bike, bike, baby,

Climb on your bike, bike, baby...

What do you reckon? Pretty good, eh?

Japan - day 7 - rounds of applause and knights in shining armour

Today is likely to be one that I won't forget. And those who know me well will tell you that today must've been really bloody memorable.

It began well. A pre-6am start, and the road out of Kyoto was south, straight as an arrow. Not much traffic about that early so I made good time. Once out of Kyoto, the route Strava had assigned me was superb, must remember to thank them. Another cycling road, along a beautiful river, for miles! I was grinning from ear to ear (or 'ere to 'ere if you could see me). The weather was cold but sunny, and I'm glad I took the warm lobster gloves and the shoe covers.

Unfortunately, the cycling route could last forever and I joined the traffic again. Today's route was 85 km in total, and would take me to Yoshino, THE place in Japan for blossom viewing. It's pretty much 30,000 (ish, I guess) blossom trees on the side of a mountain. Note: mountain. So I started taking on some hills, gradual ones initially, but then they just started going ooooooon, and oooooon, and ooooooon.... You know me, I'll take on a challenge, but my legs had already been pedalling for close to 4 hours, so it wasn't easy going! But, I persevered, and conquered them all! Except one... Well, two if you count a getting-your-breath-back stop as a failure. I don't... I can still feel that hill in my legs. For the hill where I did have to get off and walk, a local on a bike was going down the hill, and said something to me as he went past. I heard "loser", but it could've been something else, possibly in Japanese. Maybe the Japanese word for "loser".

Suddenly the route took a turn that led me onto a bridge and up a mountain road, just big enough for one car. It was absolutely stunning!

Eventually I made it to Yoshino at about 1.30pm, which turned out to be a town with lots of shops and restaurants. I wasn't allowed to cycle, nor could I have due to the number of people, so I just had to get on and push. And push I did, it was all uphill to the end of the town. Unfortunately, the blossoms weren't in full bloom so Yoshino certainly didn't take my breath away. It was probably a couple of days away from full bloom, at a guess. Check me out, making out I'm some kind of expert!

The streets in Yoshino were crammed, but as always, there was no trouble with getting around. I decided to find myself a spot so I could drink (was sooooooo thirsty), and asked a lady who was waiting for her husband (he'd gone up to a lookout point that she couldn't be arsed to climb), to take my picture. We started chatting, through charades and the odd English word, and it turns out we were both in Arashiyama yesterday! Small world. She was impressed with my cycling expedition and even bowed and gave me a round of applause. Not the first round of applause I'd had, either. A guy was so impressed with my efforts at pushing my bike up the steepest street in Yoshino, that he offered a round of applause too. Greatly appreciated.

Once I had done with Yoshino, about 4.30pm, it was on to the camp site, which was about 15km away. It was a pleasant ride, though I got a bit lost, and I couldn't find the campsite to begin with. Eventually, at about 5.45pm, I did find the campsite, I think, because there were toilets there, and sinks and what not. Except it was completely empty. Not a soul to be found anywhere. I figured I could set up camp anyway, at least I had the amenities. Except they were locked. Shit. Sunset was around 6.30pm, I knew that much, and I knew I had until about 7pm before it got dark, so I set about trying to find somewhere suitable to set up camp, preferably near a toilet and some people. There was nowhere to be found. I asked an old man to help, but he just started spouting Japanese at me. Don't know what I was expecting...

At this point it was starting to get dark, and very cold, and I'd spent 20 mins or so getting to some sort of civilisation, so I headed for the only lights I could see where there were humans, the Higashiyoshino Village Office. I parked the bike up outside and headed in, asking if anyone spoke English. Nobody did, so it was out with my Japanese phrase book app (which is shit btw, it doesn't have anything about camping in it) and we established I needed somewhere to sleep. As appears to usually be the case, the youngest person in the place was summoned, as the one most likely to speak English. They showed me a map with my campsite on, and I gave the Japanese sign for no/closed/off/not allowed, which is a cross with your forearms. This sparked the 'ooooooooooohhh' that I am so used to by now and they got their thinking caps on. I asked if there was a 'hoteru' (that's the actual word for hotel), and they said that there was, and a couple of phone calls later I was booked in.

In true Japanese style though, they didn't just point me in the right direction, the older of the bunch said he and the young guy would take me. I figured they meant I would follow them...

Nope, it was on to the wagon for Serena, me and the boss in the front, and the young guy holding the bike at the back. Did I offer to do it? Of course I did, but it would never have been accepted. Once we'd got to the hotel and I'd been shown around, it was time to say goodbye. I asked the young guy what his name was. Hirocan, he told me. Hiro... Of course that was his name. "See you next time", he joked as he left.

 

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