The Birthplace of Japan
Jeremy rides out with me. He is a pro compared to yours truly. We take a detour from my....well, what has been my 2 day detour into the mountains. We end up in what Jeremy tells me is the mythical birthplace of Japan. A land of masks and gods and really really ancient stories. I had no clue Kyushu had this place here. When we finally reach the mountain shrine, I see a million little stones and pebbles all stacked around the cave shrine. Story goes that a God pulled open the massive rock at the entrance, throwing it all the way to Nagano (central Japan) releasing a woman, which I imagine symbolizes Japan itself. At least this is how I understood it as the locals were telling me yesterday at the festival. But with that much shochū going around.....don't quote me. Regardless, the jinja is one of the most beautiful ones I have seen yet.
Down to Hyuga
I say my goodbyes to Jeremy and thank him for having me. The rest of the day is spent looking at more stunning mountain views as I ride down. Ah......feels good to let gravity to some of the work. If you think about it, Life is sort of like a mountain. It is tough to scale, full of stuff that can hurt you, but ultimately, the higher up you decide to go, the more stunning the view in the end.....not to say the faster and more enjoyable it is to do the second half.
I am careful, but let the brakes loose a bit like I used to before the accident. I enjoy a steady downhill ride for about two straight hours. I can't afford a fall so close to the end, but have definitely been feeling almost completely back to normal.
Some Girls
I reach the town of Hyuga after sun down. I see the sea in the darkness. I made it down. No more mountains ever again from here on. It feels great to say that. Goodbye Yama. You were a fierce foe.....the only one who managed to get me into a hospital. But I leave you behind now.....till the next adventure.
In Hyuga town I find the first hotel and take it. A bit expensive....but whatever at this point.......I have almost reached complete brokedom.
In an elevator of the hotel, I make friends with one of the girls that works there. I ask for a good restaurant and she calls her English-speaking friend over. Haruka is her name, tells me she studies in Hawaii. So I invite her to dinner with me.
After work, I go downstairs and find her. She asks me if her friend can come too. Oh...I guess this wasn't a spontaneous date. Yea sure, I say. After all, I am usually in complete solitude in the forests somewhere. At most I talk to an animal here and there (yea...going a bit crazy), so two girls instead of one sounds fine still.
We find an Izakaya and eat. Drinks? No.....no drinks. Hungry? Not really. I offer to pay, yea.....hoping to get lucky one last time before the end. The two girls, who previously said were not hungry, instantaneously transform into some kind of famished mythical creatures with the appetites of a bus-worth of sumo wrestlers. Man....they really must work you overtime at that hotel, I think to myself.
Spoiler alert: I do not get lucky......I do however end up spending an unholy amount on these two money-sucking sirens. Damn it.....should have known better. We end up going to a karaoke. But I sing in English, they sing in Japanese......nobody knows anyone's songs. We might as well have sung alone. Sigh.... Terrible choice of company.
By the end of the night, the two quickly say goodbye to me and split in opposite directions into the night like two mischievous forest spirits that bested me with their beauty. In all fairness, Haruka's friend was nice, and offered to pay for Karaoke. And, in Haruka's defense, it's not really her fault. She lives in a world of Britney Spears, Louie Vuitton and popularity. She's been told what to think and how to act, accepted it as her only destiny, and therefore acts in the only way she knows. So beautiful....but yet, so insecure regardless. She could never understand my world cause.....well, this place of broken bikes, homeless monks, and kind strangers is too different from what she knows. Still...good luck living with your crappy jobs and being house wives for the rest of your lives...I mumble to myself as they scuttle away, satisfied of plundering this traveler's empty coffers.
Regardless, I have been through much worst. After five minutes I remember I am a stone's throw away from the end. I smile again. It's 2am....exhausted, I pass out in my room thinking of what I will do in Cape Sata. I just hope it won't rain that day. Sigh.....please don't rain. I've waited too long for this.
103km
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