Day 89 — Togo to Kagoshima - Tom and Marilee Retire to the Road

November 30, 2025

Day 89 — Togo to Kagoshima

Well, this was it. The last ride towards Kagoshima, which was effectively the end of the north/south traverse of the main islands of Japan. From Kagoshima we were headed south by ferry to Okinawa, but essentially the real ride south would be done by day’s end. It didn’t quite seem real. Weren’t we just going to keep doing this forever?

We woke up to a campground shrouded in thick fog that had moved up the river valley. The forecast called for a sunny day, but it would be a while before the sun shone on us. The dampness amplified the chill of the morning and we stood around shivering and sipping our coffee, trying to will the sun to break through. It did eventually of course, then we had to spend a little time trying to dry out our fog dampened tent. The day would be a short one, so we felt ok spending the time doing that, with the added benefit of it being good and warm by the time we got going.

The late arrival ghetto. Photo taken in a way to avoid showing the mud.

Well as a last ride, the fates provided us with a beauty. We handed this last ride over to Komoot — as mentioned we had lots of time to do few km, so we had the time to accommodate its quirks — and it plotted us some lovely quiet backroads well away from the busy highway to Kagoshima, and added a decent bit of climbing, just for old times’ sake. It was a crisp sunny fall day, with spectacular fall colours on display. It feels like we’ve been chasing fall south the past 3 months. In any event we were grateful that this ride ended up being an enjoyable reminder of so, so many beautiful rides in Japan.

Given the shortness of the ride, we took our time. We paused at a pullout with some interesting Karst formations, made all the more picturesque with blazing red maples. We ended up in a small town around noon and treated ourselves to a full lunch at a Joyfull Cafe, where we were entertained by watching the preteen kids getting creative with the fountain drinks, just like our kids used to. Even the ride into the city was good, as we ended up on an uninterrupted side road that tracked the river down into the centre of the city. At one point we looked up and there was the top of Sakurajima, glowing in the sun above the tops of the buildings.

Detail from the ride — little shrines like this are everywhere

Went past a logging operation. It’s not the board feet that are important, it’s how neat you stack the timber

In Kagoshima we had an air bnb booked in the entertainment district. This meant we could cook for ourselves again! It did take us a while to find it. Hilariously, we were standing right under the building sign searching google maps thinking there was some mistake until I went across the street which provided the proper vantage point to see the sign.

Once again, we had a decent little apartment, Japanese style (spartan, sleeping mats in the floor) with a single induction burner to test my iron cheffing abilities. We sourced ingredients for the evening’s meal in, including wine from an actual shop, not 7-11 or Family Mart, to toast our completion of this leg of the journey.

So there you have it! 4500 km over 90 days! Still some riding to do in Japan in Okinawa and other islands, but the north/south traverse from Wakkanai to Kagoshima is accomplished!

Sakurajima from the balcony of our apartment

50 km, 627 m elevation gain. Here ends the north south traverse of Japan!

Today's ride: 50 km (31 miles)
Total: 4,522 km (2,808 miles)

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