Day 1 - The day before we had driven from Hondo to a volcanic island called Sakurajima. We camped in a park and woke on Day 1 to some cloudy weather. We parked our car at the ferry port and got our bikes out and ready. Then we made sure we had everything and we were off. We first biked around Sakurajima (Cherry Blossom Island). It was a nice ride. On the way we picked up some in season biwa, or loquats. One of the best things about travelling by bike is stopping at roadside stands and eating whatever is in season.

After getting off the island it was time to head into the mountains to cross Kyushu (the main southern island of Japan). The first mountain was a killer. We climbed from sea level to about 700 meters. At about this time it started raining. It was a rain that would last 4 whole days and 4 whole nights. Not quite exactly Noah and the ark but we go the picture.

We biked pretty hard and quit after about 100 km. Our incentive to call it a day was finding a park with a shelter we could camp under. As our tent is not the best we thought it was better to stay under something. Also the park was beautiful. The camelias were out and the view from the look out at the top of the hill was something else. Even in the rain.

Day 2 - We woke up and to our chagrin it was still raining. With not a whole lot of choices about what to do however we packed all of our stuff in our waterproof packs and started off. While all our stuff was dry we were soaked in five minutes. We still had some hills to climb before making it to the eastern coast of Kyushu and for the first time we started to appreciate the uphills over the downhills. On a cold, rainy day at least you stay warm while working uphill. On the way down we broke into goosebumps and it was all we could do to keep quitting early and calling it a day. So many people were nice to us. On this day a grocery store owner prepared some hot water for our instant noodles and invited us to sit in her break room while we ate and took refuge from the rain.

After grinning and bearing we made it to Miyazaki city at about 2. We headed for the first onsen we could find and spent first two hours in the bath and then two hours in the relaxing room drying off and warming up.That night we didn't camp and took refuge in a love hotel. (If you don't know what one is ask and we'll let you know!!)

Day 3 - Checked out of our love hotel at the last possible minute and tried to do some sight seeing in Miyazaki City. We thought the rain would hold off but at the first site the skies opened and we were wet again. But we did see some interesting statues that were buried to protect the souls of the ancient important people who had died. In Miyazaki before coming up with the idea to bury statues with the dead they had buried soldiers alive with important people.

After the park we headed to the science center where we saw a disappointing planetarium show. Deciding that was enough of the city we headed out of town. We bike along the coast and in no time we had made it to the sightseeing marvel of Aoshima. Aoshima is a small island with lots of palm trees on it and it is surrounded by a rock formation known as "the Devil's Washing Board". Maybe it was because it was raining but int any case it didn't get us too excited.

As soon as we headed off the island the heavens opened even more and as it was getting late we decided to call it a day. We needed a spot with shelter however and finally found it on the cement floor of a cooking shelter at a camp. Not the best but when it is pouring and you are desperate almost anything will do.

Day 4 - Woke up and couldn't believe that the forecast had been wrong for the third day in a row and the sun still wasn't shining. At this point we seriously thougt about turning back and even called the bus company to see if we could put our bikes in the bus. As we couldn't and as we were more than a day's ride from our car we decided to continue on. I mean, it had to get better. right. We biked along the coast and felt like we were in the ocean but we weren't. We stopped and joined the bus tourists at the famous Udu Shrine. By now we were used to the looks that suggested "What on earth are you doing??" and we enjoyed the shrine. The shrine is housed in a cave cut out of a cliff along the coast. Quite an interesting place. We continued and by evening made it to Cape Toi, the southern most cape of Miyazaki prefecture (the English translation of the Japanese word for state or province). The rain had slowed and we enjoyed looking at the horses and the natural beauty of the area around the cape.

Day 5 - Woke up and wonder of wonders it wasn't raining. However it looked like it might start any second. But then in the western sky we saw it. Our first patch of blue since we had hopped on our bikes 4 days ago. We were so happy we took a picture. From here to the end we didn't see rain again. And I think we started enjoying things a little more. It is a little disconcerting when you are constantly worrying about when you are going to be dry next and where are you going to find a dry place to stay.

Near the end of the day we had some of our best biking of the trip. We were along the coast in Kagoshima prefecture and the view was great and the sun was out. That night we found a beautiful place to camp overlooking some rice paddies and the water.

Day 6 - We had decided to take it a little easy for the rest of the trip and on Day 6 we only bike 55 kms in the morning. We arrived at our destination earlier than we expected and had a leisurely lunch before catching a ferry to the last sight seeing stop on our tour. The city was a Ibusuki, a city in Southern Kagoshima famous for it's sand onsens. On the first day we just settled in and got to sleep nice and early.

Day 7 - This was going to be our last full day on the road and we were intending to enyoy it. We leisurely biked and saw the sights around Ibuski In the afternoon we attempted to take a sand bath but as there were hundreds of people waiting we decided that just looking was good enough. We took some pictures and headed back into town for dinner. For the whole trip we had scrimped on food but we decided to go all out for the last night. We went to a traditional Japanese restaurant and had a feast. Raw fish, specially marinaded pork, and 10 other specially prepared dishes made us think that we had died and gone to heaven. A great way to end our slightly taxing and sometimes trying trip.

Day 8 - We biked the 50 km to our car along a flat road in record time. We were ready to get back home. Our car was there just as we had left it and we packed our bikes in it and were amazed when we found we could just put our foot on the gas and move, even up really big mountains.