Ever since we moved to Kashiwara, just south of Osaka city, in the northern part of Kii peninsula I had thought about visiting the southern remote and untouched parts of the peninsula, one of the places in japan where time moves at much slower pace than in Tokyo. It was the first long-distance bicycle trip and I was very excited.

I planned to leave at about 8 o'clock, but because of the rain I had to postpone my departure until noon. For the first 10 km I followed a highway. I wanted to get to the route 26 which connects Osaka with Wakayama in the south. The road sucked. There were trucks, trucks, and more trucks. Route 26 was a little better. Although there was not much to see along the road. It was wide with 2 and sometimes even 3 lanes and at least I felt a bit safer than on the narrowere roads. The pavement was smooth. I had to take a 15 min. break 15 km before Wakayama because of the pouring rain. After 15 min. I continued cycling even though it stilll continued to rain. It did eventually stopped in Wakayama, but not before I was soaking wet.

I reached Arida town south of Wakayama after a little over 4 hours of riding. My speedometer read 100 km from Kashiwara. After a while of searching I located a small park near a tiny fishing port and decided to pitch the tent there after dark. There were houses nearby and some kids played in front. I didn't want anybody to see me putting up a tent and I thought that it would be much better to come back there after the sunset.

I decided to look for a sentou or an onsen. 2 shop ladies directed me to a hotel at a nearby hill where there was an onsen. There was an onsen alright, but for Y1000. Nuts. I climbed the hill for nothing. After getiing disappointed I rode back to town and was directed by an old man to a local sentou (NAKANO BASHIO). The man led me for about 10 min. inside of Arida's "medina" through tiny alleys where cars wouldn't fit, until we reached this small, obscure place that didn't even look like a sentou from outside. The alley with its buildings and the entrance door to the sentou looked like a scene from Kurosawa's movie in which action takes place in the Samurai times. Before, I visited a similar place in Beppu, Kyushu which was even free of charge. It was very, very old and the bathhouse in Beppu as well as the one in Arida had nothing to do with tourists and I think, I was the first non-local to be there. It was a traditional bathhouse made for the locals and not a spa made for tourists. There were holes in the walls and the paint wherever there were no holes was peeling. Still it had a very cozy atmosphere and I would choose that place over most of the tourist onsens that we have visited.

I soaked there for an hour and then I rode back to the previously located spot, set up the tent, called Ewa forom a pay phone and went to sleep.
I was a little tired and cold. My shoes were still wet. I was glad to be passed Wakayama city already, the last large city on my route and was looking forward to the next day.

DAY 2

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