BEE Japan

A house.  That’s right, BEE Japan 2008 have a whole HOUSE to ourselves. 

The morning started like any other.  I jumped off Allan’s (our couchsurfer host) couch and rushed to the corner store to grab supplies for breakfast while the rest of the group tried their darndest to grab an extra few minutes of sleep.  Breakfast was 7 grain cereal, boiled until it looked like paper pulp, but after loading it with nuts and raisins tasted fairly good!

We had agreed the night before to depart by 8am, and we were fairly good- the last group giving goodbye hugs to our friendly host by 8:30am.  Our route for the day was a simple one: head west to the river, take the bike path north, and then cut across to the town of Ogaki.  If not for the brutal headwinds, we probably could have made the entire journey in less than 3 hours. 

Unfortunately, things such as the Solar Ark (fully equipped with a Solar Lab where you could learn about the wonders of solar panels) distracted us from our goal of getting to Ogaki by noon.  Carlos and I spent close to 2 hours exploring the different exhibitions, trying to pedal our way to the sun (it would have taken me another 529 years to reach that destination) and questioning the solar robot about the history of solar power. 

We met up with the Matsuokas, expecting to be taken to their home.  Instead we were lead to their vacant 2nd home, given the key, and left to our own devices!  So THAT is how we came to be in possession of a whole house.

Route: 50 km
Weather: SUNNY (and very very hot)