Japan: It’s All a Dream to Me Now (Video)

In the Fall of 2019 we spent six weeks cycling in Japan with our two children, aged 4.5 and 1 (followed by six weeks in Taiwan). One of the lines in the song I chose for this video goes “it’s all a dream to me now.” Since this trip the world changed completely due to COVID-19. Everything that seemed doable and easy then is now out of reach, at least for awhile. How lucky were we to have done this trip before the world had gone mad? Hopefully, we’ll have more opportunities for cycle touring in the future and not just in our dreams. 

As for our route, we started in Takamatsu, and then spent a few days on Shodoshima Island warming up. We took shelter in Takamatsu from the mega typhoon, which luckily in the end never impacted that area. Then we rode part way along the coast of Shikoku, before crossing the mountains and arriving to the other side of the the island. We spent the last couple of weeks riding between the magnificent islands along Tobishima Kaido and Shimamnami Kaido, all connected with bridges with separated bike lanes or small ferries, with very little traffic on the islands.