OLIVES AND MONKEYS, NEW HIMEJI BUDDIES

I woke up around 6am surprised that I had actually gotten some sleep. About 30 yards away a guy walking his dog was staring at me. Without trying to look too suspicious, I started packing my stuff to make a quick exit. Another guy walking his dog came up and asked me how I can sleep in the cold like that. I guess I’m used to it from the camping trips I’m always going on. It was still cold and my body was asleep so I headed into the ferry terminal since it was already open and warm inside. I lounged for half an hour or so inside to check my route and warm up. While I was checking my phone, the guy who talked to me in the park appeared with his dog inside the waiting room and asked me if I left a pair of gloves there. I told him it wasn't mine and thanked the guy.

I needed some energy so I went to the conbini to warm up with coffee and pork buns. My main purpose of the trip to Shodoshima Island was to check out the Kankeikan Gorge so I headed towards the other side of the island. After asking a construction worker for directions, I found the road and headed up into the mountains…I wasn't being paranoid about construction work being done everywhere in Japan, I guess it is that time of the year where towns use up all their budget before the new fiscal year begins.

The first sign that greeted me as I headed towards the gorge was 10% grade sign. I tried to make it as far up the road as possible but it was too steep so I proceeded to push my bike up the road. Eventually, I reached the parking lot where the ropeway starts from the bottom and bought a round trip ticket to the top. The ropeway is pretty quick, only 5 minutes maybe. The view is very nice, and the gorge didn’t disappoint. Up top, I walked around the ropeway station for a while and took some nice pictures.I found a trail that took you further up into the mountain and so I hiked up towards the peak for a chance to get a nicer shot. No one else was on the trail, and after a few miles I reached the lookout point. I had the place all to myself, so I sat and enjoyed the scenery for a bit. While I gazed out towards the sea, a lizard crawled out from underneath a boulder right next to me.

On the way down I ran into another lone hiker and two kids. At the ropeway station, I ate a croquette burger that was supposed to have olives or something in it but I didn’t taste it at all. Shodoshima is known for olives, so they had all sorts of pricey olive based gifts and such inside the gift shop but I didn't bother buying it. I headed back down the ropeway soon after and decided to pass through the mountain route to get to the ferry terminal on the other side. What an ordeal that turned into. The road just kept climbing all the way up the mountain. I wondered if I had made a mistake and that the coastal route was the better option. I pushed the bike for hours, cursing myself. I saw a lady on a pilgrimage trip along the way and wondered where she came from and where she was going; she didn’t have much on her, just a small backpack. I ran into monkeys again too. I still don’t trust them so I made sure they kept a distance and kept looking over my shoulder to make sure they weren’t stalking me.

I finally reached the road that took me to the ferry port and it was all downhill to the port so I was pretty happy. My brakes are starting to wear out so I need to adjust that soon. It was a little nerve wracking going downhill, the road was steep and there were blind curves all the way down. I arrived early to the ferry terminal with time to kill, so I ate at small shop by the ferry terminal. It was actually the only place in that village that served anything. I ordered the anago-ten-don, which is tempura fish over a big bowl of rice. It was delicious, and my hunger went away. After I ate I talked to the guy who worked at the ferry terminal, he is local island guy. I heard what sounded like gun shots in the mountains and so I asked him if they hunt around here. He said boars are an issue on the island, before they weren’t there. Apparently they swam across from an island nearby and they’ve become a problem now. The islanders don’t really know how to deal with them.

The ferry finally arrived and I said good bye to Shodoshima. This ferry would take me to Himeji where I will continue the rest of the trip on the main island. During the voyage, I did some research and found a guest house where I decided I was going to stay. The scenery along the Seto Inland Sea is quite nice, but I was disgusted to see one small island being totally demolished with big dump trucks. Whether they were mining or using the island dirt as a filler I will never know.

The ferry arrived to Himeji and I headed to the guest house. Passing through Himeji, I could see the castle was still under construction. The owner of the guest house was pretty cool and a few other guests all joined into the conversation about where to go eat. Oota-kun, Salty, and I decided to hit a sento first which is a public bath house. It’s usually way cheaper than an onsen and more ghetto so to speak. Afterwards we looked for a restaurant that was recommended to us by the guest house owner. It serves oden Himeji style which is a bit different from other oden. Salty was here on vacation from Okinawa and Oota-kun was here from Tokyo on his first solo travel trip. The dinner was good, but Oota-kun and I were still hungry so we went looking for ramen shop while Salty went to see his friends. Oota is a reallysmart guy for being 16 years old. He is a little different like me so I liked him.