Kyushu Bike Adventure 8 – Nagasaki to Imari

Kyushu Bike Adventure 8 – Nagasaki to Imari

I wake up to a cloudy view over Nagasaki Port from my muchloved Minamy Airbnb. Early start today and those street cats I love, they’re nowhere in sight. Looks like I’ve dodged a tough goodbye. Thoughts of yesterday’s Champon and S Udon swell through my mind as I roll my foldy towards Nagasaki Station. Not sure why I keep filming myself folding this thing, but I could probably do it blindfolded by now. It’s with a heavy heart that I leave Nagasaki, so I cheer myself up with a Kambini microwave cheeseburger. Not my idea, I’d do it for the fans. So, I promised Brez, you remember Brez, the durian guy? I promised him that I would eat my favorite guilty pleasure, which is kind of like drunk food from a convenience store in Japan. A nice filthy microwaved double cheeseburger. What I normally tend to eat, dried squid. Love this stuff. And just some veg with a dip. So, they’re both really good, but ignore them for now. We’re going filthy. So, yeah, this is I’ve only ever eaten one of these drunk before. Have a look at that filthy cheeseburger. Little bit of tomato sauce in there. So bread is just for you. I’ve never done this sober before. [Music] Is it delicious? It’s not delicious. There’s no durian, but it’s got a little bit going on. You know, it’s basic cheeseburger. If a McDonald’s double cheeseburger was an A, I’d give this probably a C. But, you know, it’s calories. I did just hit some pickle. It’s actually mustard at the top. There’s some tomato sauce. Of course, those thin bits of cheese, two beef patties. What more could you want? I know what more you could want to catch a train before it leaves. Got to go. The train from Nagasaki to Arita is a stunner. Hugging the east side of Omura Bay. You can barely make out the other side. Water meets sky in hues of dull blue. At one stop, I spot this wild building out of place with its 17th century Dutch aesthetic. It’s part of Huis 10 Bosch, a Dutch themed amusement park. I was not expecting that. A golden drip, a switch of trains, a quick montage, and I’m in Arita. Right. Time to ride. From Arita, I set out north. [Music] So, I rented this foldy and with a bag, you can just chuck it onto a train. So, you can carry it onto a train with you, which is what I’ve been doing. And then I’ve been curating my stops. So, if I’m in a town and I want to go to the next place, of course, I’d like to cycle between them, but sometimes that’s not practical because it’s so mountainous around here. And this I can do nine or 10 degree slopes with this bike. But 10 degrees is a lot of hard work. Basically, I’ve been searching for roots between train stations. So anywhere between 20 and 50 km is a nice day cycling depending on the terrain. My average day would just be catch a train somewhere, do a bike ride, do 3 4h hour bike ride, end at another station, jump on the train and head to the place where I plan to sleep. But mainly it’s all about this ride and I’m going through this town now. Don’t know what it is. Just got Google Maps guiding me and it is absolutely stunning. So on Google Maps I’m using the walking route, not the driving route and that just has a tendency to take me away from the main roads. Just riding through little towns and it’s just an absolute pleasure. I’m not trying to win any prizes. I’m just trying to have a good time and I can really curate my experience by doing this. By catching the trains and by taking on bikes here, have a look at this. It’s just beautiful Kyushu countryside as far as the I can see. I’m ready to put down some kilometers, but instead of heading straight to Imari, I bypass the town and cycle up a mountain instead all the way to Okawa Village. It’s pretty brutal. Kilome of steep climbs. Relentless. I’m too busy hating life to film much up here, but the destination, I think it might be worth it. Okawachiama’s this tiny pottery village tucked in the mountains with a cute river running through. If a pottery village doesn’t sound like your idea of a good time, I hear you. And yet this place, I love it. Along the river, a bunch of old school woodfired kils set up and waiting. It’s like stepping back in time. Local artisans keeping the craft alive. Okawakiyama. It really is a stunning place. The ride back downhill to Omari, it’s a breeze. All gravity and no pedal. My reward awaiting me at an Amari Tan Steakhouse. Taka, time to get your steak on. So, I’ve just cycled to Imari has passing this restaurant. It’s called It’s a Showtime and it’s a steak restaurant and I’ve come in for some Imari beef. The famous Imari beef. Not as famous as Coobe, of course, but thinking it’s going to be good. It’s A4 Wagu. It’s regional. It’s from this exact region, and they’re very proud of it around here. Entree rice paper rolls. Really delicious beef flavor with beetroot. Got balsamic glaze. And can I do this here? Balsamic glaze and a Dijon. So, I’m going to hit that balsamic and Dijon. So succulent and sweet. That mean it’s got a sweet a natural sweetness about it. Fresh, cold, dectable. It’s got my taste buds going and I’m keen for some of this beef. Now, I went for the expensive stuff, of course, but thankfully it’s much cheaper than coobe beef because I’m here for lunchtime you get lunchtime specials as well. So, you get a set menu and it is cheaper. Still pricey, but compared to Kobe beef, it’s not even in the same ballpark. So, as the chef starts preparing our meat, I’ve got a side salad and a soup. tasting very corny. I think it’s corn and butternut. It’s like a creamy western style vegetable soup. So, I’ll let the chef do his hard work and I’ll continue on this entree. [Music] [Music] So, Emari beef. Although I bought the most expensive cup, I also bought the cheapest. And this is the cheapest. So, I’m going to try it with the lemon sauce. That is amazing. So, possibly this is the expensive car. It’s melting in my mouth like it is, but yet to be determined. I’ll let you know soon. So, I’ve got some of that wasabi powder on here. That is buttery beef. That is so good. So, I would normally eat my steak medium rare, but the chef recommends medium. So, medium it is. And it does taste like it’s cooked to perfection. So, I’ll try this onion sauce now. [Music] Oh, that is just divine. My favorite is probably the wasabi powder. All right, let’s try the second cut to try to figure out which is more expensive. That is delicious, too. Really moist, really buttery. But I’m thinking this is the good stuff. Interestingly, he’s put white pepper on my plate. And yeah, if you just ordered this, you would be very happy. There’s just a slight toughness to it. Slightly chewy, only slightly, but leads me to the differentiation between the two dishes. And I do love this lemon sauce as well. All right, one more piece of the good stuff is Immari A4 Wagu in Amari. Bike touring can be absolutely delicious. So, the steak’s all gone and I’ve had a little bit of time to reflect. Comparing it to my Kobe beef experience, and that was very good, but it was very expensive. A sideby-side comparison, there’s really not a lot in it. What I can say for certain is that this was definitely better than my microwave double cheeseburger this morning. Yeah. So, if I had to choose Kobe Beef or this, I think I would choose this because it’s just better value and it’s pretty much as good, I got to say. and comes with a lovely cup of tea, delightful, smashing. [Music] Today felt good. Back in the saddle, pushing my body, stumbling upon more hidden Japanese gems. Tomorrow, I’m looping back to Fukuoka and then hitting up an okonomyaki tepan joint for dinner. want to see or hit the button. Stay tuned and come along. [Music]

Flying from Jakarta Indonesia to Fukuoka Japan for a bicycle tour on a Brompton folding bike. Expect to see Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kitakyushu, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, Kumamoto and plenty of towns in between. I ride, I eat, I ride, I eat, I rinse, I repeat. 18 episodes. Ramen, gyoza, onigiri, miso black cod, Imari beef, Takuro rice, kushiyaki, sashimi, combini, okonomiyaki, sushi, yakitori, yakiniku, tonkatsu, tonkotsu, tempura, soba, udon, matsunabe, sake, keiseki, not gonna lie, I do a lotta eating.

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@Japan @Kyushu @Ramen @gyoza @onigiri @miso black cod @Imari beef @Takuro rice @kushiyaki @sashimi @combini @okonomiyaki @sushi @yakitori @yakiniku @tonkatsu @tonkotsu @tempura @soba @udon @matsunabe @sake @keiseki @Fukuoka @Nagasaki @Kitakyushu @Miyazaki @Kagoshima @Kumamoto @drone @foldy @Brompton @bike @bicycle @biketour @oita @Imari @karatsu @kashima @isahaya @miyajidake @beppu @nakatsu @hells @azamui @saiki @nobeoka @takachiho @takachihogorge @sakurajima