[2019-10-13]
The detour I took, and the waiting for the typhoon to pass, made me late in my general schedule. My new plan was to circle Fuji from the southeast, going downhill directly to the coast.
Having eaten something for breakfast, I left the Michi no Eki at 7 a.m. to stop five minutes later at the first Coin Laundry I spotted. It was almost a week since I left my friend’s house in Tokyo, and now I had a lot of dirty and sweaty clothes.
I knew I could find this service in every neighborhood; I planned to wash everything each week. You’ll find everything you can expect: Rows of washing machines and dryers, coin changers, baskets, old magazines, and even a small shoe washing machine – I had never seen something like that, but I needed it. (I paid ¥800, around 8usd, for everything).
I continued riding straight to the sea, now with my clothes clean and warm.
The saddest part of being in such a hurry was that I couldn’t appreciate the Fuji for enough time. Each time I glanced to my right, I saw it further away.
Besides that, I was surprised noticing that all the roads were clean. I was expecting to see a lot of debris from the past days’ strong winds. I also thought I would have to ride through many ponds. But everything was clean and perfect for riding. It was as if nothing had happened (Later, I would learn that the typhoon caused great damage in other cities and 121 fatalities).
Getting down from the mountains, I found another manhole cover. Those covers (apart from the custom design) had the title of the city or town, so I always knew where I was – and I was crossing Susono City.
Five hours after I started, I reached the coast. It was now midday, and I rested for some minutes in a park. It felt nice to see the sea again; everything was so calm again; no typhoon in sight (even if it was still advancing through north Japan). It was a sunny day.
From the road station to the sea there were more than 30km descending. I made all of it without feeling tired. Only a bit weary from the heat, but no more. The gravity and inertia made most of the work.
I was now in the city of Numazu, as this other cover showed. And as expected, the theme was Mount Fuji, featured in every design.
My destination was near, so I relaxed and searched for a restaurant.
While having lunch, I reviewed my routes and schedule to realize I had made some wrong calculations on my original plan. It looked like I had missed a day, and even with the detouring of the Fuji, I was still delayed. I decided to ride further that afternoon, having been the morning ride so relaxed.
I hurried through an industrial side of Fuji city, where I enjoyed the great mountain again and took all the photos I could.
But I couldn’t ignore this beautiful manhole cover, the first one I saw with colors. It featured Princess Kaguya, the protagonist from ‘The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter’ – considered the oldest surviving Japanese prose narrative (from the 10th-century).
Before leaving Fuji city, I saw this other cover that caught my attention – Apart from its shape, it was different: it didn’t have the name of the city but the kanji for Fire Hydrant.
An hour later, I was reinforcing my appreciation for rural areas. I ended up on an old, wonderful street, one of the nicest since I arrived in Japan.
I wasn’t aware then, but I was crossing the town of Yuiimajuku. An old post town, part of the ancient Tokaido route which connected Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo).
It had been around 70km of riding. A long part of the route was downhill, but there hadn’t been any clouds in the sky. I was exhausted from the heat, and it was 5 p.m. It was getting dark soon.
Also, I was a bit afraid, not knowing what to expect (as pretty much every other night). My place for that night was a bit improvised: a large park beside the sea at the entrance of Shizuoka (the next large city on the map).
Apart from that, I had been so relaxed the past few days (even with the typhoon). I knew I had a safe place in the Michi no Eki; I didn’t have to worry about finding where to sleep. I think that I’ve gotten used to that.
Tenninmori was a narrow but long park that divided the residential area from the beach. While I was entering the park, I crossed a lot of people going out. It looked like they had been doing a barbecue on the beach.
The park had a walking path in the middle, surrounded by pine trees. I couldn’t wait to appreciate it in daylight; it should have looked beautiful. Also, on a clear day, you can have fantastic sights of Mt. Fuji.
Walking in complete darkness between the trees, I crossed some couples on benches or walking around. I was going to some restrooms I saw ahead on the map. I expected to find some spot for my tent near them. I didn’t search on the beach because I didn’t know how much the tide would rise.
When I determined a good spot for the night, I returned to the streets for something to eat. I saw the entrance of a shrine, a white torii surrounded by trees. It was so dark and a bit scary, but at that moment, I wasn’t interested in entering it.
I started to feel a bit alone. Sometimes, I wished I could have those experiences with someone else: exploring a temple at night, dining, and walking in the parks and pleasant surroundings.
Everything was good when travelling – I rode at my pace; I stopped and continued when I wished, without bothering anyone else. But my feelings always change at night, when I must wait all night alone. Or in the moments of searching for a spot to sleep, I think it would have been nicer to have some help.
After eating in a nearby Family Mart Konbini, strong winds received me in the park. It was so much that I didn’t know if my tent would stand or if I even would be able to set it. (Another pair of hands would have helped immensely at that moment).
I had to move to a small space between weeds behind the restrooms that protected me from the gusts.
Even with the restrooms as a shield, it felt that the side would rip apart. I looked online and read that my tent could support winds up to 30mph. And according to an app (Windy), I was against 17mph. So, it was reassuring to have that information.
Even so, I had to move the tent a bit more to the bushes because the way it was flapping was very distressing.
Then, I tried to fall asleep fast because the forecast said it would be rainy in the morning, so I hoped to wake up early and pack before everything was wet.
Don‘t hesitate to ask any questions in the comments below.
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