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Month in Pictures: November 2013

December 2, 2013

Our latest gallery of photos and stories from the road…

Wheel camber Japan — If you don't have a tandem, this is the only way to roll in Japan!

7eleven electric car — You know you're in Japan when... you find your bike bigger than some cars!

Snake on the road Japan — These critters need to get off the road in Japan! Lots of road kill around...

Tandem bicycle touring cyclingabout — We LOVE our steel Co-Motion Cycles tandem. You certainly won't be seeing it in a scrap metal yard again... we think it will last longer than our life is long!

Akiyoshido Cave Japan — We went deep today into Japan's largest limestone cave! Unlike Korea, there wasn't any singing elves digging for gemstones though...

Japanese dragons — Alleykat become DRAGONS in Japan! It seems that culture and tradition will feature very heavily in the next film... the Japanese are masters at holding on to it!

Sake drinking in Japan — The Japanese are quiet and shy... until the sake (rice wine) is brought out. Then those who claim to speak 'no English' communicate with us perfectly!

Sheraton hotel Hiroshima — Our life is ridiculous sometimes. This 5-star hotel is where we will sleep tonight thanks to an incredible person we haven't even met!!!

Jeju Island Panarama — We can't decide which meal of the day we look forward to most... Lunch is pretty awesome because we normally eat it in BEAUTIFUL locations!

Eating at a restaurant Hiroshima — This morning I just felt you might be deeply tired in mind of our different culture. Mari put us in a 5 star hotel two nights ago, and we talked the night away over Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki last night! Mari is a super-cute superwoman and great friend.

Camping on a pier in Japan — Japan has BEAUTIFUL campsites! We found a little pier off a tiny island and HAD to spend the night with the gentle lapping of waves.

Hagi city gates — Temples and city gates are just commonplace in the Japanese landscape - but that doesn't stop us being bowled over; socks thoroughly blown off when we cycle in cities like Hagi where the homes and structures are beautifully preserved.

Onomichi bike path Japan — An incredible cycle path exists between Onomichi and Imabari, Japan. Bicycles are able to cross many HUGE bridges connecting a whole bunch of small islands. So awesome!

Monkeys in Japan — FINALLY, we have seen wild monkeys! These are the first monkeys we've seen between Amsterdam and Japan - and will definitely not be our last as we head into SE Asia.

Tandem touring bike with panniers — Within six weeks of dating we were bicycle touring around New Zealand. Right now we have almost spent more years riding around the world than we have together in Australia. It is our anniversary today, which reminds us that we are in this together - a perfect yin and yang, an Alleykat of the highest order. Thanks for following and contributing to our crazy life - we look forward to the next amazing year!

Tsuwano festival — We sometimes end up in interesting places! In Tsuwano, Japan we were involved in a festival which included lots of drinking and naked bodies. A great day out!

Walking in fall in Japan — We were very lucky to be swept under the wings of two amazing people: Katie and Olivia, who shared both their time and food with us Alleykats. Through their excellent organising (and cooking) skills, we experienced our first ever Thanksgiving dinner with 30 other English teachers! Thanks y'all.

Pachinko machines in Japan — Pachinko is the saddest thing about Japan. It's the noisiest, brightest, most colourful form of gambling in the world. Japanese pachinko companies profit 300 billion dollars per year from it, and it shows - pachinko parlours are the biggest, fanciest buildings around! More @ http://www.bbc.com/travel/feature/20120815-the-big-business-of-japans-pachinko-parlours

Camping in Japan — The temperature is dropping a bit much overnight for camping in Japan, so this park will have to be one of our last. Not a bad view!

Co-motion cycles catalogue 2014 — Guess who are the cover models for the 2014 Co-Motion Cycles catalogue? Yeah, that's right - you know famous people, ain't no big thang!

Author

Alee Denham

Alee is a bike and travel addict who has cycled through 100+ countries and doesn't really have any plans of stopping. Along the way, he creates technical resources, in-depth reviews, inspirational videos, how-to guides and more. If you've learned something from him, you can support his mission to create the best bike travel content HERE.