Shimanami Kaido and the Seto Inland Sea

Disappointing delay in vote reform February 23, 2012

The political parties will likely miss an important deadline in their efforts to reapportion Lower House seats. In March 2011, the Supreme Court ruled that the August 2009 Lower House election was held unconstitutionally because of a large disparity in the value of one vote between depopulated rural areas and populated urban areas. Under a relevant law, Satu […]

Ikea to open first Kyushu outlet February 23, 2012

Ikea Japan, the Japanese arm of Sweden's Ikea self-assembly furniture group, said Wednesday it will open a store in the city of Fukuoka on April 11, its first retail outlet in Kyushu. The sixth store to be set up in Japan will offer 9,500 items on its 30,000-sq.-meter floor space, according to Ikea Japan, based in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture.

Test faulty; no warp speed yet to disprove Einstein February 23, 2012

Researchers have found a flaw in the technical setup of an experiment that startled the science world last year by appearing to show particles traveling faster than light. The problem may have affected measurements that clocked subatomic neutrino particles breaking what Nobel Prize-winning physicist Albert Einstein considered the ultimate speed barrier. […]

Rare earth recycling bill in works February 23, 2012

The government has drafted a bill requiring consumers to make efforts to recycle used electronic products containing rare earth and other metals essential in producing hybrid motor vehicles and precision electronics, official sources said Thursday. The government intends to secure the supply of rare earth, rare metal and precious metal resources through the […]

Researchers locate birthplace of eels February 23, 2012

Japanese researchers said Thursday they have located an area where "ma-anago" (real Japanese conger) lay their eggs, retrieving young fish 380 km south of Okinotorishima Island in the Pacific Ocean. The egg-laying site should be along a ridge at the bottom of the ocean about 100 km south of where the fish were found, based on the direction of the c […]

Shimanami Kaido and the Seto Inland Sea

Posted on December 27, 2011 by dannycycle

Over the three day holiday, which included Christmas this year, my wife and I went to the Seto Inland Sea and cycled a course called the Shimanami Kaido which has its starting point in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, and finishes in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture. The shortest route is 70 kilometers, but there are a variety of routes that can be taken to extend the ride to more than a hundred kilometers. This is the second trip I have taken that I read about in the Cycling Japan Guide. It is an incredible journey that allows for intimate views of Mandarin Orchard farmers toiling away on their orange-dotted hillsides and factory shipbuilding activities where tall red cranes move large steel bars and girders into place. It is fun to catch a glimpse of mundane scenes of workers riding their forklifts into factories that have all of these enormous darkened steels hooks hanging from ceilings and cement floors cluttered with what looks to be shrapnel of every size and shape. There are also sleepy little towns such as Setoda with delicious restaurants serving up Octopus and Red Snapper as well as cultural points of interest such as old temple grounds and museums. However, the main draw to this ride are the bridges which in effect connect Honshu to Shikoku and allow for such a course to be made. I will go into more detail at a later point in the multiple day ride page, but here are a few pictures that give a feel for the course.