Cycling Destination

I guess there are many cyclists who love ramen.  

Such cyclists may make a ramen restaurant their cycling destination.

 

If you go cycling toward Osaki, why don’t you make “ラーメン秀Ramen Syu” your destination?

 

Syu has only two kind of ramen, ranem and char sui men (ramen with Chinese-style barbequed pork) on the menu and each has medium and large.

Ramen Medium 

Syu’s ramen soup is based on pork bone broth. I recommend the ramen to cyclists who like plain taste ramen.


Char sui is also nice!

Ramen Syu

If you go cycling toward Uchinoura, please stop by to eat ramen at “マツワキMatsuwaki”.

 

A lot of fishermen as well as local people seem to use this ramen restaurant (When I visited there during lunch time, Matsuwaki was full of local people enjoying ramen.

Ramen Medium

I recommend Matsuwaki to cyclists who like salty broth.

Ramen Matsuwaki 

Which one do you like better?

Secret View Point

This is a very nice view of the Kimotsuki River, isn’t it?

It’s a view from the top of the Mt. Gongen in Kimotsuki Town.

 

Actually, it is said that one of the Japanese notorious monster “Ittan-momen” lives here.

 

Ittan-momen is a bolt of cotton cloth like monster and can flutteringly fly very fast.

 

It is said to attack humans. It enwinds men's or women’s necks or faces then choke them to death.

Mt. Gongen

Do you believe it still lives there?

How to get there?

1. Please go down Prefectural Road 539 from Niitomi, Kimotsuki,

2. And then go straight the intersection of Daini Ariake Bashi Bridge.

3. If you go along National Road 488 toward Uchinoura, you will find this Y-intersection below.
 

4. Take the right at the Y-intersection above.

 

5. Go along the road like this above.

 

6. Turn right above.

5-minute walk from here to the goal!

A path from Mt. Gonge to Kanoya

Café

I guess ther are many cyclists who love coffee.

If you go cycling toward Osaki or Shibushi, why don’t you stop by Café Karen to drink a cup of coffee?

The café is run by an old man who supports ethnic minorities of the northern Thailand.

When you have a seat at the café, hot herb water is served first. Lemongrass, cinnamon and chamomile flavor water tastes refreshing.

He says the coffee beans used at the café comes from Chiang Rai province of Thailand.

It is said that the production of coffee beans there were started for the ethnic minorities’ livelihood instead of the production of opium poppies.

 

I believe you can feel the atmosphere of the northern Thailand while drinking coffee there.

You can also buy some Thai goods there.

Café Karen:

Address: Yomogihara 641-3, Ariake, Shibushi, Phone: 0994-75-2034

If you want to drink coffee after finishing the cycling, I recommend you to visit “Café Volcano”.

I think the logo mark with a Sakurajima motif may catch your eyes.

When you enter the café, you are supposed to see chic and simple designed furniture, and a little photo gallery.

The coffee beans are roasted with lava of Sakurajima and the coffee is brewed using flannel drip method.

This is the special made Lava Coffee Roasting Machine

*Can you see the Lava of Sakurajima?

The owner says that the coffee brewed with the beans becomes milder in taste.

Why don’t you taste Sakurajima Lava Roast Coffee?

Café Volcano

Address: Nishihara 4-9-11, Kanoya, Phone: 0994-41-4318

American Atmosphere

Would you like to feel American atmosphere?

If yes, I recommend “Early 357” in Kanoya.

“Early” comes from “Early American style” and “357” from owner’s lucky number.

It established in Kagoshima City in 1999 first and moved to owner’s home town Kanoya.

It is located at Shinkawa-cho, Kanoya.


The restaurant building is at a remove of about 30m from the street. And the country style building has its back turned to the street. This stemmed from owner's intention to make the customers feel more American country like atmosphere.

I ordered curry and rice with spiced chicken.

Slowly stewed curry sauce and crispy barbecued chicken was really good!

English language radio programs on the internet were pleasing to the customers' ears.

The restaurant holds live-music events there occasionally.

Why don’t you stop by the restaurant in order to feel American country like atmosphere and enjoy delicious cuisine after cycling?

565 Cyclists Pedal around Osumi Peninsula!

On November 27^th 2011, 565 cyclists from Saitama in the north to Okinawa in the south pedaled through autumn streets of the Osumi peninsula at Tour de Osumi 2011.

on the starting line 

Tour de Osumi 2011 has three courses. “A” course is 110km long with more than 1600m vertical climb. It’s for the experienced cyclists, but it has very beautiful views!

They started at 8:40 from Kirishimagaoka of Kanoya and were supposed to come back by 16:00.

Three Japanese top-level pro cyclists joined the cycle event. In a way, I, a hobby cyclist, had a great feeling to get passed by them.

I tried to chase one of them during an uphill section. But I was distanced after chasing him for about 300m.

The participants enjoyed delicious local foods at every aid stations.

at the Hanaze Aid Station

lunchtime

lunch

What was the most wonderful was the cheer from spectators and the hospitality provided by staff members!

Chirimen Zan-mai Don ~S-1 Grand Prix Winner, WAKA, Shibushi City~

In recent years, Japanese people look forward to seeing what local dish wins B-1 Grand Prix. B-1 Grand Prix is a nationwide contest to find the best “cheap but delicious local dish (B Class Local Dish)” every year. It is said that this came from the fact that we can see the movement to boost local economic development through the promotion of B Class Local Dishes in various regions these days.
 

In Kagoshima, to have the same effect, S-1 Grand Prix was held last February. “S” of S-1 came from “SHO-TEN-GAI (local shopping avenue)” and S-1 means the best local easy-to-eat dish like which is served at “SHO-TEN-GAI”.

Sejiro Chirimen Zan-mai Don (a bowl of rice topped with boiled young sardine, young sardine fritters and fried burdock root and young sardine) won the first S-1 Gran Prix.

 Sejiro Chirimen Zan-mai Don

It was really delicious!

 

This bowl of rice is supposed to participate in the All Japan Local Bowl of Rice Championship which will take place at Tokyo Dome early January in 2012.

You can enjoy it at 1000 yen at the ”Restaurant WAKA” in Shibushi City.

Please be advised that the restaurant closes between lunch and dinner. Please get there by 14:00.

Why don't you stop by the restaurant when you go for cycling toward Shibushi?

Mt. Ontake

Mt. Ontake (1182m) is one of the mountains in the Takakuma mountain range.
 

It is the highest point in the Kimotsuki watershed.

Aournd the Peak of Mt. Ontake

As I said before, the Takakuma mountain range has the southern limit of Buna’s distribution.
 

What’s more, now I am aware that it also has southern limit of each distribution of a lot of other plants.

 

MIZUNARA, Japanese oak, is one of the plants.

 

If you take “TV Tower Route” to the peak of Mt. Ontake, you may find MIZANARA trees along the ridge around the 9^th station, although I could not find BUNA (Japanese beech). In general, BUNA makes forests with MIZUNARA. So, BUNA must be around there…

(I hear that BUNA can be seen behind the peak of Mt. Ontake, Mt. Onogara side .)

MIZUNARA

When you climb Mt. Ontake, you can go to the Tozanguchi, starting point, by bicycle or car. Tozanguchi is equivalent to the 5^th station.

It’s a 1 and 1/2-hour climb to the peak.

View from Peak (Meinoo Ranch)

I found a falcon flying around the peak.


This is the route to Tozanguchi.

KOYAMA YABUSAME Festival

KOYAMA YABUSAME Festival took place today, October 16^th 2011, in the KIMOTSUKI town.

 A archer shoots an arrow.

YABUSAME is a Japanese traditional horse back archery (the shooting of arrows by samurai while riding a horse). It’s a shrine ritual for the peace and security of a nation, the productiveness of grain and the secure protection from plagues.

*FYI: KOYAMA is the name of a district of KIMOTSUKI town.

YABUSAME is carried out at some shrines nationwide in Japan. Here in KIMOTSUKI town, it is carried out at SHIJYUKUSYO Shrine, which was established during HEIAN era (794-1192), in October every year.

 SHIJYUKUSYO Shrine

The grand festival including YABUSAME ritual of SHIJYUKUSYO shrine used to take place on October 19^th, but recently it has been taking place on the third Sunday of October in order that as many visitors as possible could come to see the festival.

According to the homepage of KIMOTSUKI town, YABUSAME originally began in 1096 and the ritual at SHIJYUKUSYO shrine began in the first half of the 1100s. This means that YABUSAME here in KIMOTSUKI town amazingly has about 900-year history.

YABUSAME has been being handed down over the generations by the “YABUSAME Preservation Society”.

A main archer is picked out of the second grade school boy of a local junior high every year. The former archer who played the main archer in the previous year is supposed to play a sub-archer.

 Main Archer

In most cases, the archer has no experience to ride a horse when he is picked out. So he has to start by horse riding to play the YABUSAME archer.

The training begins at around one month ahead of the festival.

It is believed that the archer must have been struggling with a sense of responsibility for the success in the ritual and a fear of fall from the horse.

The archer is supposed to go for the ritual bathe to the KASHIWABARU seashore near the river mouth of the Kimotsuki River for purification two days ahead of the festival and to isolate himself from his family.

On the day of the festival, after blessed by the Shinto priests in a traditional ritual at the shrine, the main archer and sub-archer perform YABUSAM.

YABUSAME is performed at about 330m long riding road along the approach to the shrine.

There are three targets along the riding road.

After one test run, the archer is supposed to perform three runs to shoot three arrows each run.

The archer’s father is supposed to sprinkle the salt to purify the riding road ahead of each run.

Purification of Riding Road

Sub-archer is supposed to heel the horse in order to shoot arrows as a substitute if the main archer falls from his horse.

As the ritual, it is better that as many arrows as possible meet targets.

However, it is said that the archer does not make all nine arrows meet targets. Why? It is believe that the following year must be worse if all arrows meet their targets, like the full moon is sure to wane on the next night.

This year, six arrows of the nine met the targets.

I believe the following year would be better than this year!

Buried Torii Gate, SAKURAJIMA 1

This is “Buried Torii Gate” at the Kurokami district in Sakurajima.

Buried Torii Gate at Kurokami District

The Torii gate about 3 meters high was filled almost totally with a large amount of volcanic ash from Mt. Sakurajima Volcano when Mt. Sakurajima had a large eruption in 1914.

Mt. Sakurajima is one of most active volcano in the world.

Last year, 896 explosive eruptions were observed by Kagoshima Local Meteorological Observatory.

This year, 758 explosive eruptions have been already counted as of October 10^th.

A caution zone is designated by Kagoshima city within 2km from the center of the craters to ban the access to the craters.

Volcanic alert level is the 3^rd place, level 3, in Japanese five-level rating system.

It is said that a volume of magma equivalent to 90% of the volume of 1914 eruption has already filled a magma chamber just below the Kinko bay and the magma chamber will be filled in 10 or 20 years.

However, according to Kagoshima Local Meteorological Observatory, there seemed to be no immediate sign that the volcanic activities was going up.

And remember, the most advanced monitoring system in the world has been installed around the volcano and it is monitored 24/7.

Be careful for ash fall when you go to Sakurajima!

Dream-like Bar-B-Q Restaurant

Would you like to eat A4 level (the 2^nd place of 15-level rating system for beef quality) beef of Japanese black as much as you want for 90 minutes for 3,150 yen.

What’s more, if you want to plus all-you-can-drink (beer & shochu), the charge will be only 3,950 yen.

People who want to go to the dream-like Bar-B-Q restaurant to enjoy wonderful beef straight from the ranch run by the owner, please visit “SHINMURA CHIKUSAN YAKINIKU HONPO” in Kimotsuki town!

Be sure to make a reservation before visiting there, because it is always crowded!

The 11th Tour De Osumi to Take Place Nov 27, 2011

Registration for the 11th Tour De Osumi has begun.  

This cycle event is just a long ride event not a race.

It is scheduled to take place Sunday on November 27, 2011.

The past several years, in the “A” course (the longest course), the cyclists were expected to go to the Cape Sata after starting at KIRISHIMAGAOKA Park (Kanoya city) and back again.

KIRISHIMAGAOKA Park

But this year, the course is changed.

This year, after starting at the same park, the cyclists need to go south along the Kinko bay until Nejime.

Big camphor tree near the Minami-osumi town hall. It is said that about 450 years ago, Portuguese trading ships were tied up to the tree. 

After passing in front of the Minami-osumi town hall, mountain sections begin.

On the way to Kishira area, you can enjoy a lot of beautiful views, for example, river flows on river bed consisting of flat rocks of HANAZW Park, very beautiful ocean views from the national highway route 448.

A view of HANAZA Park

A view of the Pacific ocean from R448

After passing Kishira, you go up and down along the route 448 to Uchinoura.

Just before entering Uchinoura village, you can pass the Space Center where the asteroid probe “HAYABUSA” was launched.

  Uchinoura Space Center, JAXA

After stopping by the Uchinorau fishing part, about 4.5km climb awaits you.

When you pass the KUNIMI tunnel, about 23km ride are now left.  

The total is 101.4km long.

This cycle event has two other courses.

“B” course is about 70km long (if you choose “B” course, you can experience ride at a bank track course).

And “C” course is for family and it about 30km long.

You can apply this cycle event through this website below.

http://www.sportsentry.ne.jp/event.php?tid=27946

SASHIBA, Grey-faced Buzzard

SASHIBA migration season has come.

SASHIB, Grey-faced Buzzard, is an Asian bird of prey.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey-faced_Buzzard


In this season, all of SASHIBA in Japan stop by around here before flying to South-east Asia, because of this region is on their migration path.

It is said that sometimes more than 10 thousands of SASHIBA fly sough together.

This morning, not so many SASHIBA were watched at the bird-watching party held at Osumi Regional Park because of not so good weather condition.

However we were able to see more than 70 SASHIBA were swirling upward. I could somehow take photos of SASHIBA sitting on a branch although the quality is bad.

The Osumi Regional Park is one of best place for watching SASHIBA migration.

The migration season continues for a while longer.

SERINA

Just before the end of “Eggane (Japanese spiny lobster) Festival”, September 30^th, I somehow made a last-minute reservation at a local restaurant near the Uchinoura fishing port “SERINA” and ate eggane cuisine.

That’s really eggane-packed dishes!

This eggane dishes were served at the Eggane Festival special price 4,000yen.

Although the festival has already ended, eggane fishing season is still continuing.

From October through April, eggane dishes also will be served around Uchinoura, but the price of the eggane dishes are said to be served at real market value.

It is said that eggane is not caught during moonlight nights. So the market price of eggane may go down around in the new of the moon.

Don’t forget, during the heavy wind roughs the sea, eggane is not able to be landed.

Why don’t you come to enjoy the eggane at Uchinoura?

Northern Limit, Southern Limit

Osumi peninsula is located at the northern limit of natural habitats of two subtropical plants. One of the two plants is “Sotetsu (Sago palm)” and the other is “Hego (large spiny tree fern)”

*Sotetsu: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycas_revoluta
*Hego: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyatheales#About_tree_ferns

The northern limit of Sotetsu’s habitat along the east coast side of the peninsula is located at Hisaki, just the tip of the Cape Tsushiro, in Uchinoura area, Kimotsuki town. The Tajiri fishing port and around the cape Sata in Minami-osumi town are another Sotetsu’s natural habitats. These Sotetsu’s habitats were designated as a special natural treasure in 1952.

Photo: Sotetsu tree at Cape Sata

*Hisaki: http://yj.pn/CSn_Rn
*Tajiri fishing port: http://yj.pn/t7Z5zJ 

Meanwhile, as for Hego, the northern limit of its habitat along the east coast side is located near the Funama fishing port at Kishira area in Kimotsuki town. The one along west coast side is located at Nejime area in Minami-osumi town.

Photo: Hego tree at Funama fishing port

*Funama fishing port: http://yj.pn/X7m4vA
*Nejime: http://yj.pn/EOdMfV

Roughly speaking, I guess, these means that Sotetsu’s natural habitats are distributed along the east coast of the Osumi peninsula and Hego’s ones are distributed on the south side of the line drawn from Kishira area to Nejime area.


On the other hand, Osumi area also has a southern limit of a deciduous broad-leaved tree. The tree is “Buna (Japanese beech)”. Its natural habitat is located at the Mt. Takakuma. As for Japanese beech, the Shirakami-sanchi (Aomori prefecture and Akita prefecture) is famous because it is registered as a world heritage site. Through this we can see, basically Buna is distributed in the north-eastern part of Japan.

Why is Buna’s natural habitat there? A local historian said in his newspaper column, “That’s why it was warm enough for the beech to survive here around Osumi area ever during the last glacial age and it was also cool enough to survive around mountain area here even during extremely warm climate following the last glacial age”. 

*Japanese beech: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fagus_crenata
*Mt. Takakuma: http://yj.pn/vnzWrw 

What a wonderful place here is! This area has such a unique ecosystem.

Here I’d like to introduce a tour course for Sotetsu and Hego natural habitats in Kimotsuki town from Kanoya. This course is 106km long. The highest point on the entire path is the Futagawa tunnel about 480 meters above sea level and total vertical climb is 1,560 meters. It may look a little bit tough.
When you come to Funama village, please go down to the Funama fishing port. Then you can find a signboard on the left hand along the way to the Funama fishing port soon. After leaving your bike around signboard, walk into a bush and see a Hego tree!

As for Sotetsu’s habitat, you need to walk down a small path to the Hisaki lighthouse to see the habitat. So I recommend you to bring sneakers in case that you wear binding shoes. I am afraid it is too dangerous to walk down with binding shoes. In fact, I gave up walking down. Furthermore, you should be very careful to ride because last one kilo to Hisaki, the road surface is not so good and very slippery.

Remember that a bike light is needed, because you need to go through a 3,300 meters long the Kunimi tunnel on the way back to Kanoya.