EX1ST

DREAMS HAVE WINGS

A combination of events lead this trip to surface. Its like I always had in in me but never saw it. I bought a bike and spent time riding with John, I meet Sam who told me about WWOOF, I listened to Joseph Campbell, I hadn't been anywhere since I got here, I was looking for a way out of my routine and I read the Alchemist. When the idea popped into my head I spent a few sleepless nights just rejoicing in the adventure I was about to undertake.

Soon after, even before I had started to prepare, the challenges came. These were challenges of the mind. I dreamt that I would have three accidents, one with a tree, one with a truck, one with a cliff. In my dream I kept going. Then, Nana told me that my fortune for the year your be better if I don't travel north. Another challenge I thought, and it just made me more determined to overcome it. Challenges become reaffirmation when they are seen as obstacles that can be overcome.

People have been very encouraging about the idea and see it as a good chance to visit Japan. Other see it as escapism, that is also true. I want time to reflect on my life here, meet people, see places.

BIKE N BAG PLANNING

I got the bike before thinking about doing this trip. I chose a cross bike without suspension for the hilly roads around here. Its funny how mountain bikes are the worst bikes for mountain road rides. The bike has slick tires and can accommodate a rack at the back. Good choice for me and the trip.

Preparing the bike for the trip took only a couple of days looking through the catalogue from Fukui San and ordering the stuff. Choose a compromise between the cheapest and lightest. Buy in bulk and you get some sort of discount. I got a rear rack only because it makes bagging the bike easier and limits my luggage. I got the smaller bags for the same reason. There were a few trips to adventure sports shops, the 100 yen shop and the hardware supermarket. Buy cheaper alternative if you think you can.

Looking for a good first aid kit was ironically diffficult, non of the drug supermarkets (this is how it works in japan) had a frist aid kit. Buying the bits and bobs would have set me back loads, so I'm looking for an alternative via my friends studying medicine.

Im still pondering over what to take. Weight is the ultimate pain in the butt. This might sound funny by I don't know wether to take the beast. The beast is what I call my Apple iBook computer because although its very powerful its really heavy for the trip. The jury is still out. Tech people say take it, you would be stupid not to, and other people say don't bother, it would be stupid to do so. Another dilemma over weight or comfort is bringing a small gas stove.

ROUTE PLANNING

Planning for the 1MANJAPAN trip took longer than I expected. Once I got the inspiration to travel round Japan I was ready to leave in December. I guess I am quick to change, foolishly rushing into the unknown with only my motivation and determination behind me. The truth is that I needed more than that to go round the island. You have to make the most of everything.

During my very generous two week winder vacation, in the warmth of my girlfriend's house, I spent day after day in the kotatsu planning the route. My resources where a mixture of Japanese and English websites and maps, and the WWOOF host listings for Japan - my reason for going.

The Japan Shobunsha Road Atlas is an invaluable resource for foreigners navigating the various destination. All the towns and cities have their kanji version underneath the name. This really helps when looking which helps when looking at conspicuous road signs. I used a 2000 edition of the atlas, which although dated now due to all the town merges that occurred in 2003 and 2005, worked well. I ordered a new one to take with me leaving this one behind for my copilot to keep track of me and help me along the way.

The initial trip was penciled out to be a clockwise route round japan starting in Matsumoto, going north first along the Sea of Japan coast. Considering my start date and my mothers visit during Golden Week, I decided to be in Tokyo for this hectic time and meet her there. The revised route heads south down to Kofu, around Mt Fuji, then Tokyo and northwards along the Pacific coast after Golden Week. The route looks like a figure of eight, with Matsumoto in the middle.

With the route in mind, the road atlas open and a calculator on the table, I looked at the cities that I would pass, the distance it would take, the time it would take, just to get an idea of the scale of the journey. It scared me at times that I would be doing this, then I found a guy who travelled from London to Tokyo. I felt reassured and humbled. The route was the divided into about ten legs. This made it easier to set a goal.

The next stage of the planning took the longest. The WWOOF print out has about 190 hosts. By the end of my stay, they were dotting my old road atlas. I added potential stops along the route, revising it again, often changing the whole route on that leg. It was very interesting to see the WWOOF hosts mapped out, I wish they could provide this kind of information.

Unfortunately the road atlas does not have all the villages and towns indexed, just he cities and random stuff like onsens, temples, shrines, mountains, capes, rivers and gores. All very interesting. Looking at the directions provided to the WWOOF hosts helped a lot. I also hit on Wikipedia to see if the place was a new one and therefore not on my map. From Wikipedia I could take the japanese name and put that in Google Local map service. It only took a second or two... thousand.

Looking at dedicated bike routes was fun, all in Japanese. Its not that important at the moment but it might provide a nice brake from the traffic from time to time. You mainly find bike routes in cities. Once the route was planned, I referred to the website to see if any trails helped me along the way. There is no need to divert from the route for the sake of a bike route. Some of the take you away from the coast, to some out of the way place and just stop, leaving you to find your own way back to the main roads.

The last stage of the planning was spent consolidating the route itinerary with the bike lanes and recommendations from people that have been around. I already have all my dream destinations added. The planning gets exciting again.

FINAL COUNT DOWN

The last days at the office will fly by. I really enjoyed working there, and look forward to saying goodbye to all the people who I met, leaving, and above all keeping in touch. My boss, I know he hates being called that, dropped off a CD while I was away over Christmas. I thought it would be "Good Karaoke Classics for Foreigners". Instead it was a selection called "Good for Guitar". Ironically, there were many songs about traveling, living, moving on, love, etc. They all seemed very appropriate. Thanks Trevor.

A few inventory checks and a final reduction of unnecessary gear. The computer goes to Nana for the year. I will look into getting myself a new ketai (mobile phone), that can browse the web, email, take 3.2 megapixels photos, play and record sound, video conference... and its got an alarm clock. The stove is also out, bocause when you get a stove, you need gas, a pan, a spoon, some food, water, water cleaning tablets (which I need anyway), salt, etc. So I thought that because Im not going to use it everyday, I will do without. I would like to catch a fish and cook it over campfire though. Perhaps in Hokkaido. Where is my "Safe-to-Eat Fish Recipe Book"?

MONEY

Not all preferctures handle all cashcards. I got stuck in Yokkaichi, last year, down to the fact that there were no ATM machines that accepted my card and I had not brought enough cash with me. That night, David had given me the keys to the school to take back to Matsumoto, if it wasn't for that I would have gone to hang out with the homeless that night.

Post office bank accounts are the most accessible.

TEST YOUR GEAR

If you are abit like me and cant wait to open the present before Christmas, then do just that. Try out your gear, last night I slept in the sack, I was so excited! Tonight the tent is up and it looks good. I noticed that I need four camping pegs.

EX1ST

1MANJAPAN

Planning

All part of the fun

DREAMS HAVE WINGS

BIKE N BAG PLANNING

ROUTE PLANNING

FINAL COUNT DOWN

MONEY

TEST YOUR GEAR

BIKE

LIVING

CLOTHES

NOTES