Biking Around Tombs

November 16, 2013

All Pictures

 

Let’s get some exercise! 

We live in Okayama, or at least we did at the time of this trip. The best things to do when you live in Okayama is to go to Kobe, Osaka, or fly to Korea. There is not that much to do in Okayama.

Okayama is where most of the non-descript factories of Japan are. There are about 8 factories right outside our apartment, but other than noise, I have no idea what they produce.

pyramids

We saw online that there was a bike trail we could take that was not too far from our town. Even though Mark hates exercise, we went and had fun. Well, fun is too strong a word. We… passed some time.

Let see a pagoda!

The bikes were a bit overpriced. They were old and not very well taken care of. There is nothing here that cannot be seen in other more exciting places in Japan. If you are nearby and have nothing better to do, this is great. I would not come all the way to Okayama to see this though.

All Pictures

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Japan
(日本)
(Nippon)

How to get there:

You can enter Japan by plane or boat. Though, the number of boats going to Japan from other countries has gone down significantly.

Americans get 90-day visas to Japan at the port of entry. Check with your nearest Japanese embassy or consulate for visa information.

Phone:

• Emergency Numbers:
  • Police 110
  • Ambulance and Fire 119
• Important phone numbers to know while in Japan 

Website:

• Tourism
• 10 Things to know before you visit Japan
• Phrase Book

Downloads:

• Travel Guides
• Camping
• Katakana/ Hiragana/ romaji chart

Videos:

• History of Japan’s Ancient and Modern Empire
• China Uncensored: Why does China hate Japan?

Books:

• Comfort Woman
• The Commoner
• Empire of the Sun
• Flyboys: A True Story of Courage
• Geisha, a Life
• Ghost Soldiers: The Forgotten Epic Story of World War II’s Most Dramatic Mission
• The Last Concubine
• Memoirs of a Geisha
• Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath
• Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan
• What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Notes:

• Be careful what over the counter drugs you bring into Japan.  Actifed, Sudafed, Vicks inhalers, and Codeine are prohibited.
• InternationalATMs are really hard to find; more so if you aren’t in a big city. Many places in Japan do not use credit cards. Take cash and call your bank to askwhatATMs or banks in Japan will work with your cash card.
  • ATMs have opening hours. Usually 9:00-18:00 (They have better work hours than most business men and women here.)
  • The Post Office bank seems to work with the most international cards.
• You can get a Japan Railway, pass which saves you a lot of money on the trains, but you can only buy it before you get to Japan and you cannot be a resident of Japan. (I don’t have more information about it because I’ve only ever lived in Japan; I’ve never been a tourist here.)

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Kibi Plain
(吉備郡)

How to get there:

• Coordinates 34°40’22.1″N 133°44’18.0″E

Websites:

• JapanGuide
• JapanTravel
• OkaJet

Cost:

• There are two places to rent bikes. near Soja station or near Bizen-Ichinomiya station.
  • It’s 1,000 yen for one day, if you rent the bike from one place and return it to the other rental place.
  • 200 yen an hour with a minimum charge of 400 yen if you return the bike to the place where you got it.

Hours:

• 9:00 ~ 18:00

Notes:

• This is a self guided bike tour.
• The rental place is called:
  • Uedo Rent-a-cycle (ウエドレンタサイクル) near Bizen-Ichinomiya station
  • Araki Rent-a-Cycle (荒木レンタサイクル) near Soja station
• The bike route is about 17 kilometer long.
• You’ll be given a free map when you rent the bike.

Map: