Table Of Content1
japan by bicycle Documentary
Don’t miss the Japan by Bicycle documentary!
Watch for free now at JapanByBicycle.com (English and Japanese subtitles available)
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because you neeD more info on japan
How to Get Yourself to Japan eBook
Download at JapanByBicycle.com and save 20% now with the discount code: Ramen9000
As you’ll see in the Japan by Bicycle adventure, Japan “How much money should I bring?” “Do I need to know
is close to my heart. After talking with others who share Japanese?” I answer all these questions and reveal
my interest in this fascinating country, I realized that everything you need to know to successfully get your-
many of you have questions about exactly how to get self to Japan for either a short or long term stay in this
to Japan. “How do I get a job?” “What visa do I need?” eBook “How to Get Yourself to Japan.”
Topics covered:
• The many opportunities and options
to go to Japan
• Visa options, which visa you need, and
how to avoid being denied
• The proven forumula to successful job
hunting in Japan
• Exact budgets and figures for both
tourists and residents
• Self-studying Japanese effectively
• Travel insights and secrets to
maximize your time in Japan
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JapanByBicycle.com
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Copyright 5 Day 21 - The Kansai Crawl 156
Dedication 6 Day 22 - What to See in Kyoto in 5 Hours 161
Foreword 7 Day 23 - The 308 Blues 170
Day 24 - Dylan Takes the Plunge 177
Introduction
Day 25 - Dangerously Cheesy 183
Day 26 - More Money, More Problems? 189
About the Trip 8
Day 27 & 28 - Typhoon of the Century 193
Meet the Team 13
Day 29 - Creatures from the Deep 202
Our Gear Recommendations 16
Phase 4: N. Honshu (map) 207
Trip Prep Day 30 - Home is Where You Lean Your Bike 208
Day 31 & 32 - Two Days Through the Alps 214
Responding to Disaster 20 Day 33 - Everything Happens for a Reason 224
Assembly Week in Review 24 Day 34 - The Key to Progress 229
Final Prep with Dylan 28 Day 35 - The Crazy Cycle 234
Day 36 - Know Your Role 241
Trip Journal
Day 37 - Out of Akita 246
Trip Overview (map) 20 Day 38 - Butterflies for Japan’s Final Boss 252
Phase 1: Pre-Trip (map) 31 Phase 5: Hokkaido (map) 258
Yakushima I - To the Forested Island of Mononoke 32 Day 39 - Convenience and Comforts 259
Yakushima II - The Island of Mononoke Day 40 - Desire VS. the Police 263
Kicks My Butt 40 Day 41 - Zen Riding with Three Drifters 268
Yakushima III - Cedars and Monkeys and Day 42 - The End is Nigh 273
Deer, OH MY! 46 Day 43 - To the Finish Line and Beyond 279
Phase 2: Kyushu (map) 53
Wrap-Up
Day 1 - Hard Fought Start at Cape Sata 54
Day 2 - Soggy Ride to Topher 61 Stats & Facts 291
Day 3 - Famed Japanese Hospitality 66 Insight & Advice - What Worked & What Didn’t 295
Day 4 - 100 km to Kumamoto 72
Day 5 - Gusty Hills to Nagasaki 76 Bonus Chapters
Day 6 - Nagasaki: Memorials and Mikans 81
Bonus Chapters Intro 297
Day 7 - Japan by Ambulance 87
Walking North America - Profile of a Thru Hiker 299
Day 8 & 9 - More Road Rash Research 92
Traveling on Drugs - Funding My Addiction 301
Day 8 & 9 - And Then There Were Two 96
Traveling on Drugs - The Fix 302
Day 10 & 11 - Blood Infections & Gratitude 102
Procrastination and Travel - A Cautionary Tale 304
Phase 3: S. Honshu (map) 107
Alone in Hiroshima 306
Day 12 - Bring It On Honshu 108
Day 13 & 14 - The Familiar Sinking Feeling 113
Get More Japan by Bicycle!
Day 15 - The Scooby-Doo Method Employed 122
Day 16 - In Spokes We Trust 126 Watch the Japan by Bicycle Movie! 308
Day 17 - Foul Laundry Mathematics 132 Further Reading 309
Day 15 - 17 Bridges and Citrus: Dylan’s Solo
Shikoku Tour 136
Day 18 & 19 - Deep Night Towa Tei Show 143
Day 20 - Kansai Doldrums 151
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Japan by Bicycle
by Andrew Marston, Scott Keenan, & Dylan Gunning
This book and its contents are copyright © 2013 Andrew Marston. All commercial rights reserved. Case # 1-939211431.
Feel free to distribute this book for free and use its content for non-commercial purposes. Please get permission before
using any of the content of this book commercial purposes. Direct inquiries to andrew (at) andrewmarston.com
Book layout, design, and formatting by Andrew Marston. Cover illustration by Yannick McLeod. Cover design by Andrew
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Marston and Casey Snyder.
Dedicated to the victims of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
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The meat of this book is the Trip Journal Purpose of the Japan by Bicycle book
section with the entries Scott, Dylan, and I took and documentary
turns writing as the trip unfolded in 2011. I’ve
While on the trip, publishing the journal entries
included a by-line and the original publication
online was great for keeping family and friends
date for these chapters to help keep our voices
updated in real-time, but time constraints meant
distinct. Otherwise, it’s safe to assume that the
we couldn’t share as much as we wanted. After
supplementary chapters such as “About the Trip”
the trip was over it was more than a year before I
and “Our Gear” were written several years later by
revisited the footage and photos. Looking back at
me, Andrew Marston.
the great memories, I realized Japan by Bicycle
wasn’t finished. If solo Japan hiker Tyler McNiven
About this book
had decided not to make his documentary “Kintaro
This book is the revised, expanded, extra shiny,
Walks Japan” (available on YouTube here), or if
collectors’ version of the Japan by Bicycle
Craig Stanton hadn’t put in the effort to keep his
trip journal entries published daily on the
blog One Man Walking as he walked all of Japan,
JapanByBicycle web site during the end-to-end
I might never have been inspired to attempt this
cycle tour of Japan I took in 2011 with my two
trip at all. Surely, there’s someone out there primed
friends Scott Keenan and Dylan Gunning. With
and ready to do great things, all they need is a little
added commentary, riding data, gear lists, 600+
inspiration. Hopefully this book and the Japan by
never-before-published photos, and even a full-
Bicycle film will do just that. If three average guys
feature documentary, I’ve pulled out all the stops
like Scott, Dylan, and I can bicycle all of Japan, big
to give you the most complete picture possible
feats are definitely within your grasp too. You just
of what it was like to bicycle 3,500 km from Cape
need to go for them.
Soya to Cape Sata only one month after the 2011
Also, I made the Japan by Bicycle book and
Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
documentary because I’m an organizational nut
Watch the entire Japan by Bicycle documentary for
who needs everything tied up neatly with a bow on
free now at JapanByBicycle.com.
top... but mostly the other stuff.
- Andrew Marston
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To prepare for being in Japan, I had the team practice flashing peace signs in every picture... obviously Dylan still has some work to do.
Overview before the trip began, an earthquake and tsunami
devastated the country. To help, we turned the trip
AFTER LIVING IN JAPAN FOR OVER TWO
into a fund-raiser. Our goal was to raise $10,000 of
years, I decided to return to America. To end my
relief aid. By the time we crossed the finish line, over
time in Japan, I cycled the entire country from south
$13,500 had been given. Completing this trip was
to north with my friends Scott and Dylan. At night we
one of my major life goals. It taught me the value of
camped or stayed with hosts. Our route stretched
big dreams, good friends, and perseverance. This
over 3500 km and took 43 days. One month
ride will always be one of my best memories.
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Why cycle all of Japan? traveled all over the country, and learned to read
and write (in Japanese). I’ve gone into much deeper
The short and philosophical answer:
detail about the nuts and bolts of moving to Japan
Because pursuing big goals is essential to realizing
in the book “How to Get Yourself to Japan” which
your capabilities and pushing your boundaries
you can download at JapanByBicycle.com (be
further.
sure to use the discount code “Ramen9000”). I
The long and quasi-logical answer: realized that without consciously making it a goal,
The idea of propelling myself the length of Japan I had started assuming that someday I wanted to
started in college (that’s “university” for the non-US undertake a similar journey as Tyler and Craig. From
crowd) when watching the documentary “Kintaro then on I put it on my list of life-goals and looked
Walks Japan” (available on YouTube here) in which for an opportunity. Such a chance came up when
Tyler MacNiven stepped his way from Cape Sata, my fiancée, another second year English teacher in
the southernmost point of the Japan, to Cape Soya, Fukuoka, and I decided not to renew our contracts
the northernmost point. At that time I was mostly for a third year teaching. Both our visas expired in
focused on my goal of moving to Japan to live and August, but my contract ran out in March. Suddenly,
work, but the idea of traversing the whole country all the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place.
was still simmering in the back of my mind. Then in
The trips Craig and Tyler took definitely impacted
2008 I found out that another hiker, Craig Stanton,
my life. They seem like two fairly easy-going,
had walked a similar South to North route, blogging
self-motivated guys who decided they could do
the whole way on his site One Man Walking.
something awesome. If they could do it, why not
Entranced, I read every entry on the site and even
me? Setting big goals is scary stuff. “What if it
contacted Craig asking for more info. He was very
doesn’t happen? What if I try and fail?“ Thoughts
helpful, encouraging me that I could do the same
like these can play on the mind. It was important
thing if I put my mind to it.
to me to show myself what I was capable of
Five days after graduation in 2009, I went to Tokyo accomplishing, where my limits were, and areas I
with zero Japanese ability, a backpack, and a deep could improve.
love of ramen noodles. In three weeks I received
The decision to travel by bicycle was because
four job offers, moved to Fukuoka Prefecture and
I’m too impatient to walk, and backpacks are
“made it” in Japan. For two years I taught English,
uncomfortable. ^_^
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