Miyazaki, Takachiho and Nagasaki

It's cold! Much colder than we thought Kyushu would be, and not helped by the typhoons that seem to be blowing through with alarming regularity.

Neil's place is a big, cosy haven with internet access and a beautiful sea view. A good place to watch storms go by.

At a party hosted by a friend of Neil's we met a really awkward unfriendly flight attendant, an equally awkward quiet one and the rather more lively girlfriend of the pilot host Oliver, who extended to us an invitation to visit his farm (and wife!) in France next year. Hope we can take advantage of that offer.
We were treated to perhaps the first basmati (long grain) rice I've had in seven years. Needless to say, Hozumi preferred the Japanese variety. We also met Naoki and his wife, John and Takeshi(?), all good people. John was surprisingly keen to 'have a go' on my bike, since he was thinking of getting a license, so we arranged to meet the next morning...

I taught him the basics, watched him swerve off around a corner, waited, waited and waited some more until he finally motored back with a blooded face, cracked mirror and a very endearing expression of contrition. Luckily no real harm done to him or the bike!

The nearby Udo shrine was a dramatic sight with huge waves crashing right over the rocks pictured right, and the sea churning so hard it looked like milk.

Takachiho gorge was beautiful, with sides so vertical and perfectly matched that they looked artificial, presumably a fissure created from volcanic flow.

Getting to Nagasaki was quite challenging, with an unplanned stop at a cheap hotel and hours of hanging around in bus shelters to get out of the torrential rain. We did get to see some of the hot-spring town of Obama (小浜) though, and the cheesy grinning statues no doubt erected after the election of said president..

Unzen hot springs are also worth a visit for the milky mineral waters.

Near Nagasaki is the island Hashima, popularly called 'battleship island' due to it's resemblance to same. It made for a striking silhouette, starkly jutting out of the sea, but it was virtually inaccessible to us. Typhoon winds and waves meant that the tours available, most of which don't land on the island, weren't running, and inquiries with local boat owners didn't help any. At it's peak the tiny 15 acre island housed over 5,000 people, complete with primary school and pachinko entertainment, but the island was abandoned in 1974 as the coal became more difficult to extract and petroleum became the fuel of choice. Most of the island has remained untouched since then, so it's something of a treasure trove for ruin enthusiasts who are able to get past the red tape and treacherous waters.

Nagasaki's atomic bomb victim memorials were much quieter than Hiroshima's, with water sculptures everywhere in memory of those who died crying out for it. The National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims was very calm and quite effective. An account of a doctor and his medical staff who survived and cared for burn victims 1.4km from the hypocentre was disturbing. Burn victims who seemed to be on the road to recovery suddenly started dying quite bloodily and messily day by day, based on how far from the hypocentre they had lived. Nobody knew about radiation sickness at the time, but the doctor could predict that after one family died, the next day it would be the family who had lived 100 metres further from the hypocentre. You can only imagine how he and the hospital staff felt as the 'circle of death' approached the hospital.

Freezing cold and gale-force winds made our stay, and the trip back to Miyazaki, quite uncomfortable. Fortunately we're now back at Neil's waiting for the next typhoon to pass, and repairs to my bike to be made. The mirror was replaced in no time, but it needs a new chain and sprockets and they're going to take some time to be delivered.

Next up, Yakushima, by ferry and doubling-up on Hozumi's bike.