Hey guys!
I am biking 2000 KM across Japan alone for the next few months and I’m going to be writing updates about my journey. I left the town of Izumi and started my journey towards Kumamoto. I have attached photos to add visuals.
In the countryside, I was surprised that there were many stalls that sold items without a cashier. At one of the fruit stalls you simply take a bag of oranges and leave 500 yen in a box. No one is watching and everything is based on the honor system. I don’t know of many places where you expect people to be so honest! When I was taking a few photos of the stall the farmer noticed and came out to greet me. She gave me a few oranges for free!
I got to Kumamoto and spent the day exploring the city. I visited Kumamoto Castle. One of the three great castles of Japan and the only castle that has never been taken in any conflict. It was a beautiful sight. I explored the city and found statues of characters from One Piece, A popular anime. During the 2015 earthquake, the writer of the show donated a considerable sum to help rebuild the city, and the statues were created as a thank you from the city.
I ended my day with some nice Shoyu Ramen from a local restaurant. Some of the best ramen in Japan. Eating any four-legged animal was banned in Japan due to Buddhist teachings. As the country industrialized there was an excess of farm animals and this ban was lifted. As a result, a popular local dish became popular called Basashi, raw horse meat. It didn’t have a strong taste, a little sweet almost like tuna. They gave me plenty of sauces to spice it up! A very interesting city that I was happy to visit! My legs have been sore so it was nice to be able to get some rest here. Not as eventful as my last post, but a nice place to explore and catch my breath. 🙂
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I’m looking at doing 2,5-3 weeks if cycling on Shikoku next spring so I’ll try and follow your adventure to get some good insights!
Hey you seemed to have forgotten to attach photos!
What is the next stage of your journey?
Vermont and much of rural New England has this honor system for farm markets.
that’s cool. how did u get started on this. would like to know and maybe do that as well
ig I can follow this journey on?
Thank you for sharing!! Hoping to do something similar next Spring except I’ll be on a motorbike!
Glad to see you made it, keep up the good work.
Cashier-less stalls are a thing in Germany, too
I’m so glad you enjoyed the castle and the One Piece statues – those were my top 2 reasons to go to Kumamoto and it was totally worth it. Where’d you go for the local ramen?