A weather warning…
Ricardo: A typhoon? Steven, you're on two wheels. What are you thinking? Is a bucket list item really worth risking that?
Steven: Well, if a bad system moves in, I’ll pull over, find a local onsen, and wait it out. Part of the adventure is adapting. Play it by ear.
Ricardo: I suppose you can always hole up somewhere. And I get it that you’re taking a ferry to avoid the nasty roads. Why don’t you just take slow trains?
Steven: When you’re in a train, it’s kind of passive. On a bike, you feel the temperature drop when you enter a forest, you smell the ocean. It's immersive.
Ricardo: Immersive is one way to put it. Specially if it rains. Navigating is what would drive me crazy. The signs outside major cities get incredibly confusing, and if your GPS cuts out in the middle of some mountain road, you're going to be hopelessly lost.
Steven: It’s a concern. But getting lost can enter the itinerary. Take a wrong turn and end up at a hidden roadside shack serving great udon. Local people can be very kind.
Ricardo: What about the ferry? And getting seasick if the weather turns bad.
Steven: Well, if I don’t get sick it could be a nice rest.
Ricardo: The cost? Wouldn’t a train be cheaper?
Steven: Nope. Fare for the bike and me is like twenty thou and a bed for the night, the train nearly double and no bed. I’m sure there’ll be moments where I say what possessed me but it’s all about the challenge.
Ricardo: Well, stay safe out there.
Road trip and sea trip
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Voice-over
Typhoon 30 is heading for Okinawa between Friday and Saturday. Departing Yokosuka at 23:45 on Friday night, the eye of the storm is still way south. However, long before a typhoon arrives, it sends massive swells rolling up the Kuroshio Current. For a long-distance car ferry cutting straight across the open ocean toward Kyushu, the atmospheric pressure drop and sea conditions suggests a wild crossing.
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