Day 04 – Kitakyushu (Kokura Station) to Ube (Kotoshiba Station)
60km – Say goodbye to Kyushu as we cross the Kanmon Straight into Western Honshu, a region better known as Chugoku. The first leg on Japan’s largest island will take us to the industrial city of Ube, overlooking the beautiful Seto Inland Sea.
Today’s ride will initially take us to the northern tip of Kyushu, through the Kanmon Tunnel and across the Kanmon Straight. We’ll need to walk our bikes through the tunnel before mounting them again on Japan’s main island of Honshu.
The Western part of Honshu is named Chugoku, and is one of the lesser traveled parts of Japan, especially by foreign tourists. While there are several hotspots like Hiroshima and Okayama, we’ll initially be riding through Yamaguchi, a rarely touched prefecture. We’ll take the opportunity to stop at a few sights along the way, including Chofu Garden and one of the many fruit farms in the area.
We’ll end our day in the small coastal town of Ube, staying in a hotel made using re-purposed shipping containers.
Highlights
- Coffee in Moji
- Kanmon Tunnel
- Chofu Garden
- Fruit picking
Food & Accommodation
Yamaguchi is not a well known tourist destination, therefore options for accommodation are somewhat limited. In recent years a chain called Hotel R9 The Yard has become successful in rural areas, using repurposed shipping containers as rooms. We’ll get to experience staying in these containers for the night. Due to Yamaguchi Airport being nearby, there are some good food options, including the popular chain Ootoya.