Day -2: Cycling Kansai.

Welcome back!

We have been again on a cycling vacation in Japan, which has seen us pedaling there from the 8th to the 25th of October 2018. Our destination this time has been the region of Kansai, starting and ending in Osaka, going first around lake Biwa, then Kyoto, Nara, Koya-san, along the coast until Yunomine and back to Wakayama and Osaka. You can see the entire route in the picture below.

This time, with respect to last year journey, we have made some changes:

• We have decided to rent our bikes there, saving on the hassle of carrying them along between our place and the airport.
• We have decided to get rid of the jet lag before starting the actual cycling, therefore we landed 2 days before our planned start (that's also why the title of this post has a -2)
• This time we know first hand how hilly Japan can be
• We decided to use an app to track our route (the image above is made with that app, called Polarsteps)

In the weeks before our departure, Kansai was struck by a large typhoon, which caused severe damages all around the region, including the closure of the airport for 10 days.
Right on the day of our arrival another typhoon is moving over Japanese territory, and before departure we were concerned that it could have affected our trip.

When we land in KIX the sky is swollen with clouds and the humidity is high, and when we reach the center of Osaka strong gusts of wind were starting  to blow, but luckily enough we just manage to use lunch time to get shelter from the rain while enjoying a tasty okonomiyaki, and we can walk in the city when the sky clears up.

To reach our guest house we go first through a shopping road and then through the Osaka Temmangu shrine. The temple is crowded with people, probably for some celebration, but we don't feel like visiting it carrying all our luggage, therefore we just take some rest under its trees in the precinct, then we move on after taking a cold drink from the vending machines. We stop at the guest house, have some chat with the landlady who explains us a bit of the surroundings while offering us some Hōjicha, then take a refreshing shower and return on the street for a stroll before dinner, reaching Osaka castle immediately after sunset.

From there we walk back to our lodging, but first we stop at a convenience store to buy our dinner. Jet lag is kicking in, and we want some rest. For this night we are the only guests at the guest house, and we can really enjoy the place.

The place is called Tenma Itoya, the ground floor has a kitchen/dining room and two showers, while the upper floor has 4 sleeping rooms, equipped with tatami and futons. The landlord and his helpers are very kind, and are eager to have some talk with us. We tell them about our plans for the coming days, and they are really surprised; I guess not many people, among those visiting Japan, embark on a 1k+ km trip on bike.

When we lay on our futons, the room is filled with the scent of straw and the light buzz of the air-conditioner. We try to get some sleep, tomorrow we will be traveling around anyway.