The next day I awoke with a new wheeling fervor.  Slightly disgruntled by the previous day’s setbacks, I was exited to assemble my bicycle once again and ride 100km.   I felt bad for the help at the hotel, which had to endure the confusion and terror of looking at my blood–stained sheets.  I felt the urge to leave a tip, but didn’t as it can be considered patronizing and rude in this culture.  As if I don’t make enough faux-pas every day…I found an excellent cycle shop in the city which resurrected  my bicycle to full heath and mana with deft and speed.

After gawking at top-notch cycling equipment and purchasing a new water bottle and some accessories, I stocked up on energy bars and mixed a re-hydration coctail of Pocari Sweat, fiber supplement, and spring water.I put on my headphones and turned up Body Language 4 mixed by DJ Dixon. Click the link to have a listen. The Japanese countryside rolled by as I edged closer and closer to Nagoya, the day’s target.  I passed numerous abandoned entertainment and pachinko establishments, deserted and seemingly bombed out after Japan’s economic boom.  Below is the Cannon Bowl.  Eerie. Across the street was an upside down house sprinkled in graffiti.  An unlocked bicycle was parked outside, suggesting someone lives there. I continued to ride through Toyohashi the GPS navigation told me to make a rare turn onto a back road.  I followed it, and found myself in the middle of Toyohashi Festival 2008.  What luck! Here, I snacked, preempting lunch for this wonderful occasion.  Fried chicken, chocolate covered bananas, coffee, french fries (with no ketchup to speak of!), and a few other special treats. The festival had a giant blue tarp filled with people sawing wood and building structures and objects.  In Japanese culture, craftsmanship and the ability to make objects of quality is held in special reverence.  This bicycle journey was awakening me to the reality which was reflected in the numerous books and articles I had read about the concept.  The youngsters sawed and pounded away, nurtured into this culture of craftsmanship.  I was brought back to my backyard treehouse days, sawing the same two-by-fours and building all manner of skateboard furniture and miscellaneous artworks. I stocked up on water and headed onward towards Nagoya, witnessing all manner of psychedelic constructs.  After wheeling for 40 more Kilometers, I met up again with Callum in Mikawa Anjo, to where he had taken the Shinkansen.  We ate another snack at a wild west themed restaurant and began entering the urban sprawl of nagoya.After speeding through traffic for a good hour and a half, we arrived downtown. Nagoya is a city I highly recommend.  As Japan’s fourth largest city, the area is unusually wealthy compared with other cities outside of Tokyo.  This is because of Toyota and Honda choosing to headquarter themselves here, creating a gigantic supply chain of vendors also based in the area creating everything from vulcanized rubber to seat upholstery and audio systems.  Nagoya is also known for Miso-Katsu, a special type of Don Katsu fried with miso instead of standard batter.  We got a recommendation from our hotelier and ventured down to eat.  The delicacy and branded glass is pictured below.

Delicious.  We wandered around a bit looking for an Australian pub featuring an ale brewed in Callum’s hometown.  Incredibly, we walked by an office building where dozens of baseball fans had gathered to watch a game. The team they rooted for is owned by the corporation headquartered in this office building.  During games, the company invites fans to sit in the lobby and watch the game on their plasma television.  The crowd cheered and whacked sticks together to make noise and generate excitement.  I’ll never understand spectator sports.  We strolled around Nagoya passing through dodgy districts flush with pachinko parlors and seedy bars.  Circus Circus game and coffee pictured below. After some digging on Wikitravel and local recommendations, we stumbled across a nightclub that seemed to be miraculously hopping this Sunday night.  The DJ quickly befriended Callum and began to play some of the best dance music I have ever heard in my life. We danced around vigorously in sandals with the other Sunday night party-goers and stretched out our muscles from the day’s ride.  The DJ gave Callum a promotional mix CD, and we headed off to the hotel in a Taxi.  Nagoya will forever hold a special place in my heart and musical education.