Kyushu Bike Adventure 12 – Beppu to Oita
Today’s plan, a chill day after a brutal yesterday. The izakaya last night, the beef, chicken tempura, pork trotters, and especially the beer were particularly enjoyable after hours in the saddle. So, today I’m chilling. Or so I thought. My South Beepu Hotel is awesome. But Beu’s famous hells, those steaming hot springs are all uphill in North Beu, which turns out to be a relentless climb and one I hadn’t anticipated. And the rain, it’s coming down hard. I seek refuge in a sec. Dependable, consistent, cheap. Some more wet, brutal climbing and I hit Yukimorei observation deck. It’s supposed to look something like this. But expectation versus reality. Never mind. I continue on foot through a residential neighborhood up some stairs and to Kune Castle. No moat, no defenses, just a grand creaky old pine house. There’s not many tourists around, so I’m keen to explore. And I take the opportunity to nerd out on the architecture for a bit. I’ll never get my drone up in this torrent. A shame. Anyway, to hell with it, or should I say to the hells with it, specifically Pumi Jigoku. It’s the place to be if you like steam. There’s a blue spring and a red one, too. They’re not the kind of baths that you get into. I’d love a nonsson right now, but the no filming rules don’t make for great YouTube content anyway. Maybe we can settle on a foot bath. So, I’m a bit washed out in Beu today. I’ve come to this natural hotring and they have the foot baths, which is a good place to be on a rainy day, but I might come back tomorrow. I’m actually not too far away. I’m just in it tonight that’s about 20 km away. So, I might just train it back and if the weather’s better and get some nice shots. So, anyway, the plan is to just chill here for a while and I guess I’ll probably be hungry and go get some lunch. That’s the usual plan, right? And whether I cycle to it today or whether I catch the train, I have to decide. It’s not really that much fun riding in the rain, I got to say, under load and with the little foldies, but we’ll see. Feet happy. I roll back to South Beepu. Pretty much coasting downhill, cashing in on the morning’s grind. I’ve got a restaurant in mind and I roll right to it. Dripping wet. Apologies, chef. I’m soaked through. Got something delicious for a weary traveler. Tucker, go eat, boy. So, it’s a real wash out this morning. 40 to 80 m of rain today. I got absolutely soaked and I look like a at the same time. But that’s okay cuz all of my clothing and my drone and camera stayed dry. So anyway, after going to the hells of the region, I thought come back down here for lunch. And there’s this specialty which is Ryukon. And it’s like marinated sashimi bowl from it. So it’s from the waters around here. Got a onen egg on top, a bunch of wasabi, too, and a little flour. So let’s try. really nice. It’s like a soy, little bit vinegar, a little bit sesame, super light marinade, and it’s in with some salad leaves and a bed of rice. Really subtle this. Oh, so good. And this wasabi is super punchy. Let’s have a look at that wasabi on top. Oh, that’s some of the best wasabi I’ve had on this trip. That is fresh and vibrant and punchy as always. Try to load up a spoon there with a little bit of everything. That beautiful fresh seafood just caught not far from here. The egg, the wasabi. Delicious. Absolutely delicious dish. On the side, we got some dark miso with some seaweed. Some more heavy flavored miso. This nice. Good for a cold, rainy day. You know, I came to this place cuz I walked past it last night and the line was epic. So, the plan after this is to kill a bit of time and then I’m just going to ride to Oita. I’m already soaked through, so no harm in that. And I’m going to time it so I can check in as soon as I get there. That’s the plan. The coastal road to it is next, but it’s not what I would call ideal conditions. Hope I don’t get pulled over by the fashion police. Anyway, my luggage stays just about dry. If the conditions were better, this would be a nice leisurely, low hassle coastal ride. Woo! Well said, Tucker. Around Beu Bay, roll into it city and my hotel, they’ve got welcome, so I make myself very welcome. Next episode, I’m back to Beu with way better weather. I finally get that drone footage and then train it to Azamui for the craziest meal of the whole trip, followed by the most perfect ride. Trust me, you don’t want to miss this. So, I’ll catch you on the flip side. [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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