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There was no point whinging about the rain today - for once, I didn't really care. Today I'd only be walking into the grounds of Temple 38, and hopefully into a konbini to get some much needed supplies (mainly sugars, carbs and coffee). Apart from that, I'd be riding a cool granny bike for most of the day, regardless of how absolutely drenched I'd be getting. And no heavy backpack! Winner.
Today we ride from the top of the page...
...to the bottom. Typhoon Lan approaches from the South. Fun times!
After a quick breakfast, I had a practice ride in the carport of the main building. This was going to be a little trickier than I had first thought - this bike had no gears, thin wheels, and I wasn't convinced that the seat would hold me. Thankfully it had brakes though, providing that the rain wouldn't make them slippery to the point where they wouldn't grip. It was only 19km to Temple 38 and knowing that it would only take me a couple of hours at the most to get there, there was no way today would be rushed, no matter how much I wanted to beat the typhoon. I said goodbye to Jill, not sure of when I'd see her next, and then I was on the road just after seven o'clock. What a sight - the six-foot-two-inch Gaijin awkwardly riding on the little Japanese bicycle, complete with a cute basket.
Guest House Ohki-No-Hama.
This morning I was quickly discovering that the muscles used for riding are NOT the same muscles I had been using for walking. I noticed this even more so when I would have to ride up some inclines, especially when I had no low gears to use. The inclines were at times painful, my quads would be burning like hell, but then there was the fine balance of riding downhill too. This meant no pedalling at all, merely gliding into the little villages that scattered the road towards Temple 38. The bike was doing great, and I prayed that I wouldn't get a puncture.
Oh this doesn't look good.
It was hard to admire the natural beauty of the peninsula and mountains, due to the fact that I had wind and rain in my eyes the entire time. Covered in my rain gear, I did my best to ride with my head facing the ground, looking up through my brow at every opportunity. Honestly, I looked like an idiot. Head to toe in black rain gear, with my face covered as much as I could to keep dry - I probably looked a little scary. And as for the rain gear in particular - it wasn't working. I had only travelled a few kilometres and I was drenched, inside and out. Looking down at my feet, I could see water pour out of the ankles of my boots every time I pushed down on the pedals. But still, I didn't care. Today was only a half-day, and I planned to be back at Ohki-No-Hama by lunchtime, soaking in a nice hot bath. I couldn't talk to Gemma last night, as phone and internet reception was pretty bad. Everytime we tried, we'd get cut off. It was frustrating to say the least, so I was hoping I'd be able to find somewhere with phone coverage today and at least hear her voice.
I arrived at the tip of the cape just after 9 o'clock - home of Temple 38, Kongōfukuji (金剛福寺). Also known as The Temple Of Everlasting Happiness, there were quite a few buses with tourists outside, but not many pilgrims. I parked my bike outside a shop across the road, grabbed my dry sack containing my stamp book, candles, incense and coins, and slowly made my way into the wet temple grounds, passing a local toad on my way in.
Kongōfukuji (金剛福寺)
Suprisingly, there wasn't much shelter available at Kongōfukuji, apart from a small awning near the temple office. I sat my possessions there and then ventured out to visit the main and daishi halls. There was no way I could use the umbrella today, the wind was crazy. It's even hard trying to follow temple etiquette when there's torrential rain, but I did my best to follow protocol and kept to the same procedure that I had performed at the previous 37 temples.
The Temple Of Everlasting Happiness. I'd be happier if it would stop bloody raining.
Kongōfukuji was one magnificent temple. With a large pond in the centre of the complex full of Japanese Koi fish, it was one of the most beautiful temples I had seen yet. The halls were on either side of the pond, and there were statues and stone lanterns scattered all around. A small timber bridge allowed you to walk across the pond and admire the temple from many different angles. It was very clear that the staff here took good care of the temple, with the grounds and statues all being in immaculate condition. Knowing that I had plenty of time on my hands, I ignored the rain and took my time to really soak in the atmosphere of Kongōfukuji.
Still majestic, even in the rain.
These guys were always wanting to be fed!
After admiring what seemed like dozens of bosatsu statues (I think they were of the temple deiti, Senju Kannon Bosatsu) and trying my hardest to use my phone with wet fingers to take a semi-decent photo, I decided that it was time to hit the road.
Bosatsu statues.
In my head, my plan was sound: Ride back the way I came, take a detour into the town of Tosa-Shimizu for supplies, and then ride back to Ohki-No-Hama to bunker down from the now closer Typhoon Lan. In practice, this was becoming harder with every minute passing by, with stronger winds buffeting me along the road in all directions, and the rain falling sideways, stinging my face to the point of numbness. I passed the elderly pilgrims who I met the night prior, and passed Jill on her way to Kongōfukuji too. I was even greeted by some young Japanese guys chilling in a henro hut, smoking and drinking and having a laugh. The ride back eventually got easier, thanks to a tail wind pushing me along at speed. In a twisted sort of way, I was now thankful for the oncoming typhoon. I was now hungry and Lan was helping me along beautifully to my next stop.
Check out my sweet ride.
By the time I rode into Tosa-Shimizu, the rain had begun to subside. It was a nice little coastal town on the Western side of the cape, and felt very welcoming. Riding along next to cars on the road, and then on footpaths was a little unnerving at first, but after being told off by a scorned middle aged woman for my lack of road rule sense, I quickly got the hang of it. Luckily I was off the bike soon enough, with a Lawson's sign rising up in the distance. Here I stopped for a good hour, eating lunch, and finally getting to speak to my girl over the phone. There was nowhere to sit indoors, so I crouched and huddled under an awning near the standard smokers corner that every konbini has. A single ashtray that sits outside every konbini, they are always bound to be under cover. After sandwiches, fried chicken, and coffee (FINALLY) It was time to stock up for tonight and tomorrow’s meals.
So much food!
With a large haul of pastas, baked goods, chocolate, chocolate and even more chocolate (I love chocolate, especially Pocky), I was thankful for the basket on my granny bike. I had about 10km to go before I was half at my lodging, and the heavy rain had returned. It was a struggle at first, trying to control the bike with extra weight in the basket (there was a lot of food, believe me), but I eventually got the hang of it. After passing through a tunnel, it didn’t take too long to get back to the Eastern side of the cape, and back along the coast once more. I briefly stopped at the beach to suss out the incoming storm and check out the massive waves, realised I had to get moving again, and then made the final dash to Ohki-No-Hama.
It was just shy of 2 o’clock when I arrived. I took my shoes off at the entry, poured the water out of them, and stuffed them with newspaper to dry them out. I was now walking around in the lodgings slippers, much to the amusement of Yuusuke. I jumped in the hot shower, soaked for ages, and then got changed into dry clothes. For the remainder of the day, I relaxed on the couch with more coffee...
Yuusuke and I sat for a couple of hours in the evening, talking about everything and anything. His English was as good as my Japanese, probably a little better, but we made it work. After a beer or two, he was off to bed early, and I wasn’t far behind. The wind was howling and the rain didn't let up, and I knew that tomorrow I’d have to consider other options. Yuusuke told me that the area may be getting evacuated, meaning that walking was going to be extremely dangerous. I had a feeling that I’d have to create a plan B, but I could worry about that in the morning. For now, I was safe. And I had my Pocky.
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