• Strange Strine

    Reversing Destiny

    Almost 25 years ago, Kangaeroo picked up a newspaper containing an article about a park created for people to experience life in a different perspective. The Site of Reversible Destiny was created without horizontal and vertical lines to try to shape a new way of looking at art and architecture, as well as life in general. The revolutionary park was created under a concept of reversible destiny by architect/artist couple Shusaku Arakawa and Madeline Gins. And Kangaeroo was hooked. A visit to the park was immediately on the bucket list. And stayed there without being crossed off for 2 1/2…

  • Unknown Nichigo

    Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 10: Nara to Kyoto

    Our tour has reached Kyoto, remarkably with only minor injuries and not a single puncture in the more than 11,000 kilometers the cyclists covered collectively since setting out from Izumi, Kagoshima Prefecture, on the morning of October 1. The group battled a barrage of rain on the most prominent of climbs on Mount Aso and Koyasan, but got through unscathed each time. The tour drew to a close in a journey between the two ancient capitals of Nara, where participants frolicked with the deer roaming freely through the city and saw its lauded Great Buddha at Todaiji, and Kyoto, where…

  • Unknown Nichigo

    Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 9: Koyasan to Nara

    Glorious weather almost a complete turnaround from the previous day was the hallmark of the penultimate day of the 2019 Kagoshima to Kyoto cycling tour. Sunny skies greeted the riders as they roused from their sleep in a chilly Koyasan temple. Riding remained cold and rugging up was the order of the day with the first 20 kilometers of the ride a rousing descent from Koyasan onto the plains of Wakayama Prefecture. Riders maintained a steady pace following the outstanding bicycle tracks along the Kinokawa River joining Wakayama and Nara prefectures. Riders passed through some wonderfully quaint mountain villages, rustic…

  • Unknown Nichigo

    Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 7: Matsuyama to Wakayama

    A moving day allowed the tour riders to freshen legs ahead of the trip’s biggest climb, but that didn’t mean it was an easy day. Riders had a free morning in Matsuyama before assembling around midday to catch a bus to Tokushima. Activities engaged in during the morning included watching a festival, visiting Dogo Onsen hot spring and climbing up to Matsuyama Castle to check out the views of the city. The bus trip to Tokushima was largely uneventful and after about two hours, participants marched on to the Nankai ferry for the journey to Wakayama, leaving Shikoku in their…

  • Unknown Nichigo

    Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 5: Beppu to Uchiko

    Glorious sunshine greeted tour participants as they woke in Beppu, coincidentally on the morning the Wallabies, Australia’s national rugby team, would be playing a World Cup match in the same city. After a quick breakfast the entire tour assembled and hurtled off down the hill toward the beachfront. A ferry ride from Kyushu to Shikoku awaited, and the team rode onto the huge ship, tied up the bikes and moved upstairs for the long ride. Repairs and adjustments were made to bikes on the boat trip, but upon alighting, cyclists immediately rode off up the river until reaching a mountain…

  • Unknown Nichigo

    Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 4: Kurokawa to Beppu

    Glorious weather greeted the tour today, paving the way for some amazing riding. The group set out from the gloriously quaint hot spring resort town of Kurokawa. Slowly but surely, the riders wound their way through forested areas, driving ever upward until reaching the Kuju ski ground, the highest point of the entire tour at 1,140 meters above sea level. Despite reaching the tour’s literal high point, it wasn’t all downhill from there. Travels along undulating roads followed over the next 30 or so kilometers along beautiful thoroughfares such as the Yamanami Kaido. The group inched ever downward, though, until…

  • Unknown Nichigo

    Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 3: Ozu to Kurokawa

    Mount Aso threw everything it had a tour participants today including heavy rain, strong winds, great elevation, mist, clouds, cold, storms…and kangaroos. Kangaroos can be found grazing along the sides of Mount Aso. But thanks to a heavy cloud of mist, little could be found as the tour crossed the active volcano housing a city in its caldera. Participants made it safely up and across the top of the volcano to be rewarded with a descent of breathtaking beauty, including rivers, valleys, gorges and ending in a picturesque pastoral area of outstanding rustic beauty. Brommie was resolute, struggling up the…

  • Unknown Nichigo

    Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day 1: Izumi to Hinagu

    The tour kicked off on the bikes with a ride through a samurai household neighborhood in Izumi and then moved its way through mandarin groves while heading toward the coast. Riders reached Minamata, which gave its name to one of the world’s best-known instances of industrial disease. Despite it’s bleak and tragic past, Minamata is quite quaint. From Minamata it was a trek around the glorious Ashikita Coast. Roads were almost traffic free and the journey was peaceful and quite with wonderful views of the seas and Amakusa Islands in the distance. The rode drew to a close with a…

  • Unknown Nichigo

    Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto Day -1B: Haneda to Izumi

    Izumi is one of Kagoshima Prefecture’s–and Japan’s, for that matter–little gems. This little town in the heart of what was the Choshu domain that would usher Japan into the modern world from the latter half of the 19th century now markets itself largely around the tens of thousands of cranes that migrate there during the colder months. But Izumi also has plenty of history, including a district of samurai houses, and wonderful natural surrounds. Enough of the tourist stuff, though, because Izumi is the start of the Tour de Kagoshima-Kyoto run by the indefatigable Japan Biking and Pedal Pedal Bicycle Tours.…