I've always enjoyed cycling, but never to the extent that I suddenly wanted to cycle 3000 km. My original idea to travel Japan was entirely different and there was no bike involved. This plan had some issues though and by looking for solutions I eventually came to the current idea. I've never camped, but the freedom you get from taking a tent with you was something I couldn't leave behind.
In September of 2010 I cycled a couple of days in The Netherlands and despite the bad weather (and my stuff, which aren't bought to use in such a weather) I really enjoyed myself. I'm now convinced that I can handle this, altough it won't be easy. Japan exists for almost 80% out of mountains, which means that I'll have to do a lot of climbing and going down. On top of that I'll meet the end of the moesson rains and I'll be cycling more than half of my trip during the typhoon season. The recent developments in Japan are another thing to take into account, because not all of it will be resolved by the time I start my trip.
On the 25th of June 2011 I left for Japan. I cycled from north to south, covering about 3300 kilometers. I met a lot of nice people, saw some strange things and had the best holiday ever. I came back on the 20th of September 2011, 3 months later. I'll never forget this amazing trip, the start of all the other crazy ideas in my head!
Why start with Japan?
Since a few years I've been fascinated by Japan and everything around it. It all started by watching the anime serie "Rurouni Kenshin" (also know as "Samurai X"). Anime are Japanese cartoonseries, but not comparable with the cartoonseries in Europe and America. Anime is often aimed at adults (there is also pornographic anime, called "hentai"), but is also used to inform the Japanese people of certain things and events. After "Rurouni Kenshin" I wanted more and I rolled into the world of anime, which intrigued me more and more. Not only the culture, but also the language started to appeal to me. In the end I enrolled myself in Japanology (a course at the university), but unfortunately I had to quit. My fascination for Japan is still as big as it was though. To make matters worse, I even have a boyfriend that's also in love with Japan! :)