Kyushu Bike Adventure 17 – Kagoshima to Kumamoto

Kyushu Bike Adventure 17 – Kagoshima to Kumamoto

Kagashima’s got this quaint natural beauty. Train line by the water’s edge, mountains hemming in the city center, and a volcano in the bay. Damn good pig, too. Their famous Keushima black pork on full display at the Tonkatu joint from yesterday. It’s comfy, modern, small town Japan. But the road I hear it calling is calling my name. Tucker eats. Tucker eat. I roll up to Keushima Chuo station. Old Foldi is folded in no time. And finally my first Shinkansen. Not cheap, but this bullet shoots me to Shinyatsu Shiiori Station in a flash. At the station, I meet Kumamon. He’s the official mascot of Kumamoto City. Not sure what he’s doing this far out of town, but today we’ll be seeing a whole lot of him. Next to the station, there’s a growers market with heavy watermelon, big juicy tomatoes, and wild varieties of dried mushrooms. It’s farmer’s country out here. Fields stretching out like a painting. And look at this scene. I can’t bottle it, but I can postcard it. I’m feeling content, but also hungry. Breakfast at Joyful will do. Cheap, filling, and enough pasta to power me to my destination. The country vibes are strong. Flat roads, grass crops, everything green, yellow, and abundant. I see this guy again. He sure gets around. And as I roll into Kumamoto, I head straight to Suizenji Gojuan Garden, famous for this exact view. It’s a perfect Japanese garden. Serene and balanced. And look, I’m not going to deny it a second postcard of the day. It’s just too perfect. It’s tranquil and relaxing, and the small lake is stunning from any angle. Kumamoto city surprises me. It has a modern feel but with old school charm. Modern malls, city trams fing locals, a castle on the hill. Ancient and modern, bound together and packaged. It’s love at first sight. There’s a little food store village near the castle with cute stalls serving plenty of local eating. You know, I would, but I’ve got my heart set on one final izakaya instead. There’s a massive undercover shopping street which feels kind of like the center of town and side streets leading off lined with izakayas and nightlife spots. So much choice that it’s hard to choose. But after some decision paralysis, I pick one. Hope it’s decent. Taka isakaya time. So, I’ve landed in the final city, Kumamoto. And back to the isakayas. And this place, they have a bunch of Kumamoto specialties, including these two. This is like fried cheese, I believe. I think it is. And it’s in like a tarde sauce. So, it’s deep fried. And then there’s an egg yolk on the side. Looks very inviting. So, deep fried cheese, tad sauce, egg yolk. Let’s give it a go. Really delicious. But that ain’t cheese. That is fishcake. Imagine a fishcake version of cheese gransky. Maybe it does have cheese in there. You know, sometimes Google Translate does let you down, but that’s okay because it’s delicious anyway. So, you know, bits of melty cheese in there with the tarde sauce and the egg yolk. Absolutely delicious. And then to this. So I’m almost certain that this is correct translation. That is daon. So deep fried daon. So I reckon that daon must have been boiled cuz it’s well cooked and it’s easy to eat. And then let’s put in a little light batter and deep fried. There’s some salt, dipping salt on the side. So let’s try. It’s like daon potato gems if you can imagine. I rate it. I mean I love daikon. And this is another specialty of Kumamoto. Fortunately, the izakaya has a specialties page. So, I’ve been just attacking that as is this beef tail or oxtail as you might know it. And this is a big chunky cut. And that is clearly well cooked cuz that is just falling apart. On the side, we’ve got oil and we’ve got some mustard. So, it looks like the hot English mustard variety and miscellaneous oil. So, let’s try. Oh, yeah. That is super good. So really fatty, but the fat just melts, you know, and all of those tendons, they just melt, too. Guys, you know, I love oxttow. It’s just falling apart. Look at that. That is some good eating oxtail. What a great cut. So good. All right, back to the menu. So, round two. I’ve got a stewed beef tendon and I’ve got what’s described as very spicy dried ramen. I’m in Japan. Does very spicy scare me? It does not. But we’re going to start with this stewed beef tendon. Nice soft tendon. Hopefully, it’s been cooked for a long time. In here, I see some intestines, some daon, some spring onion, and there’s this dashy broth. M. Nice light, very Japanese broth. So, let’s try this tendon. So, that tendon is just falling apart in my mouth. Barely even holding itself together, you know, just cooked nice and soft and gelatinous. Here we’ve got some intestine and some daikon. It’s actually a really light, delicious, protein heavy soup. M very hearty too. Some great textures in there and some stewed beef as well. Really easy, likable dish. And now to the very spicy dried ramen. Looks like a beef mints on top. Let’s see. Maybe it is very spicy. All right. What What else we got? Sesame seeds, spring onion, seaweed. I’m just going to mix that all in. So the ramen is of course the noodles. Spicy, but is it tak spicy? It’s definitely got a kick. Looks nice and carb heavy. I do have one final cycle tomorrow back to Fukuoka. So, might as well start loading up, right? It’s just that kind of spice that’s just plain heat. I’d say very spicy, especially in Japan. I would vouch for that. If this was in southern Thailand, you’d say mild. Actually, it’s quite young. There’s this creaminess. There’s this nice light flavor. And then there’s just this heat of a seven behind it, but I feel like it doesn’t really contribute to the flavor, not going to lie. Yeah. But not too bad. Actually, it’s growing on me. Yum. So, that’s Kumamoto. Might have a lunch here tomorrow before I leave. We’ll see how we go. No promises. All right, see you. Another top top feed. The flavors here completely delicious. Compliments to the chef. And today’s ride was beautiful, but I’m getting a bit sad. Tomorrow I return to Fukuoka, return the foldy, and jump on a ferry bound for South Korea. Just one more big ride, and this adventure it’s finished. That’s all in the next episode, the final chapter, and I’ll be getting all reflective. So, if that’s not too much for you, let’s wrap up this Kyushu adventure together. [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [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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