Day 5 – 1 May 2025, Thursday

When I woke up at 6:00am this morning, I checked the weather forecast and saw that it was currently 20 degrees C outside, with the maximum temperature for the day at 24 degrees C, nice and cool. But more importantly, the forecast showed that it would be a cloudy day, with rainy conditions expected around 5:00pm. Of course, this doesn’t bode well because we will be cycling today. After experiencing the rain that went on for our entire ride on Day 2, we will really appreciate a dry ride today.

As the bicycle rental shop at Nago only opens at 10:30am, we couldn’t start our ride any earlier than that. Since we had the morning free, we decided to go for a light run around our neighbourhood. Before coming on the trip, I had already asked the rest of the guys to bring along a set of running attire so we were all prepared. At 7:05am, the four guys (sans ZY) started our jog.

The plan was to take it easy and jog at a leisurely pace for 30 minutes. We wanted to run along the coastline to enjoy the scenery but the path by the beach was not continuous so we ended up jogging beside the main road further inland for most part. Initially, we stayed in step and chatted as we jogged. But I have not been running much in the past two years so my stamina is really bad. After a while, I couldn’t keep up the tempo and decided to focus on my breathing as much as possible. I was also mindful about our cycling later so I didn’t want to over-exert myself.

After making a U-turn at the halfway point, my pace slowed considerably and the gap between myself and the guys got bigger. We ended our jog at the McDonald’s restaurant near our apartment. In the end, we ran for only 25 minutes, covering a distance of 4km. I wasn’t pleased about my performance but it was nice to go for a jog together in the fresh morning air.

After cooling down with some light stretches, we dabao-ed (i.e. takeaway) McDonald’s to our apartment, where ZY was waiting for us. We had a nice breakfast at the long bar table in our living room, overlooking the sea. I could sit there all day to look at the calming view, with a cup of coffee and a book in my hand.

After gearing up (all of us wore the same black FamilyMart socks), we walked to the bus stop near our apartment, in front of Lawson kombini, to catch bus service number 20. The bus arrived four minutes ahead of schedule and we hopped on at 9:27am. In Japan, you usually board the bus first and pay later. Upon boarding, we each collected a small paper ticket from the machine and made cash payment to the bus captain upon alighting via the front door. The fare was 190 yen (S$1.75) for the 10-minute ride.

I rented our bicycles from a shop called Hub Cycle Okinawa (click here). As we allocated two days of cycling in Nago, we will collect the bicycles today and keep them overnight at our apartment before returning them tomorrow. Hub Cycle is usually closed on Sundays and Wednesdays so you’ll need to make your bike rental plans accordingly. As we arrived early, Hub Cycle was not open yet so we took a short walk to Nago City Hall nearby for a look.

Nago City Hall was completed in 1981 and it is a fine example of Brutalist architectural style, with exposed concrete blocks to help it withstand typhoons and strong winds due to its coastal location. Its open layout also encourages natural ventilation by allowing sea breezes to cool the building, especially during the hot summer months. The building is covered with bougainvillea and other plants to provide shade and add a dash of colour to its otherwise drab appearance.

We climbed to the top floor to explore the building. I liked its unique aesthetic and design, with plenty of angular features and zig zag corridors. However, the building’s pink and grey striped exterior is grimy and water-stained, giving it an appearance of an ancient ruin. I imagine it will be even more beautiful once its exterior has been jet-sprayed and cleaned up nicely. It was a gloomy day so the building didn’t look its best, but it was still an interesting visit.

When we returned to Hub Cycle at 10:15am, we found that it was already open. The helpful staff member, Hiroki san, retrieved my booking and set up the bicycles for us. We rented four cross bikes (aka hybrid bikes) for the guys and an e-bike for ZY. After checking the equipment and testing out the bicycles, we officially started our ride at 10:38am.

For today’s ride, I let PL take on navigation duties because I wanted to mount my mobile phone to a chest harness to capture video footage from our ride. We will be cycling around the Motobu Peninsula in a clockwise direction along the coastline. According to the suggested route on the Velodash app, the distance is around 58km and the elevation gain is 267m. It should be quite a relaxing ride and not too strenuous in terms of the distance and elevation.

From Hub Cycle, we first went on National Route 58 before switching to Route 449 at the Y-intersection. The initial part was not very pleasant because there was a long stretch of construction and quarry works so there were many big trucks and debris on the roads. I cycled on the pavement to avoid the dust and heavy traffic. After that, it was much better as the roads got less busy and I went back to cycling on the road.

It was a cloudy day so the temperature was nice and cool, but it also meant that the views weren’t as good because the sea wasn’t sparkling blue like it would on a sunny day. When we reached the coastal section, the overcast skies made the sea look lifeless and uninviting. About an hour into the ride, we saw dark clouds hovering heavily in the sky, increasing our urgency to complete the ride as soon as possible so as to avoid the rain.

We passed by Ocean Expo Park just before noon time. This is where Churaumi Aquarium is located. The aquarium is famous for its giant whale sharks swimming in the Kuroshio Tank, once the largest aquarium tank in the world. Churaumi Aquarium is the number one attraction in Okinawa so the surrounding area was busy with many coach buses and tourists. I considered visiting the aquarium but IH said it was not fantastic so we gave it a miss.

After Ocean Park, the route turned east and we soon reached Nakijin Village. We were back in the countryside and it was much nicer to ride here. The countryside was reminiscent of Taiwan and Jeju, with large farmland areas cultivating various crops.

At 12:50pm, we reached Warumi Bridge, a 315m-long arch bridge connecting the main island to Yagaji Island. This is where we had the best views for the day. The bridge overlooked the emerald green water, with lush forests flanking the strait. We could also see Kouri Bridge in the distance, a 2km-long bridge connecting Yagaji Island to Kouri Island. The views would have been even more stunning if it was a sunny day, but it was breathtaking nonetheless.

The Velodash route offered the option of cycling across Kouri Bridge to visit Kouri Island before turning back, but we decided to skip the detour to Kouri Island because of the grey clouds looming overhead. We pressed on and cycled to the other end of Yagaji Island, where we crossed two smaller bridges across Ojima Island before connecting back to the main island. After that, it was back to National Route 58.

At 1:30pm, we took a toilet break beside a baseball field and recharged with cold drinks from a vending machine. Vending machines are everywhere in Japan, even at the remotest countryside areas, so you won’t go thirsty. By then, we were very confident that we would complete our ride before the rain set in.

To get back to our apartment in Agarie, we deviated from the Velodash route and turned left at the Nago City Fire Department HQ to use the small road. After cycling for about 3 hours 40 minutes, we ended our ride at 2:20pm, covering a distance of 53.8km, with an elevation gain of 415m. It was a short and relaxing ride. We didn’t have the best weather but at least it was cool and it didn’t rain.

We rewarded ourselves with a simple lunch at Sukiya because it was near our apartment. The unagi and beef combo rice bowl tasted especially great because we were famished after our physical exertions this morning. After finishing our lunch, we cycled back to our apartment and locked the bicycles at a small shelter below our block, where they will remain overnight. We then showered and chilled the afternoon away.

At 5:20pm, we left our apartment and took an Uber car to AEON Nago mall. PL preferred to relax in the apartment so the three amigos plus ZY went ahead. The ride took 18 minutes and the fare was 1,900 yen (S$17.51). The rain that had been threatening to fall all day finally started, so the weather forecast was pretty accurate after all.

The mall wasn’t tall but it spanned a large ground area, due to abundance of land here. Besides the large AEON supermarket and department store, there were other stores like Uniqlo, ABC-Mart, Daiso, Best Denki, Owndays, Miyawaki Shoten bookstore and a large Himaraya Sports & Golf store selling sports products. There were a handful of eateries like Mister Donut, Lotteria, Blue Seal and a few restaurants on the second floor. We spent about 1 hour 40 minutes shopping here before adjourning to another place for dinner.

KP was craving for sushi and we found a sushi restaurant called Kura nearby so we walked over, as the rain had been reduced to a light drizzle. Kura was packed with locals on this Thursday evening but we managed to get a table immediately. The Chawanmushi was silky smooth but the sushi wasn’t great. The standard at Kura was like a typical conveyor belt sushi chain restaurant in Singapore. I think we have been spoiled with awesome sushi and sashimi over the past four days so this didn’t meet our high expectations.

When we left Kura at 7:55pm, the rain started again and it was much heavier. We took an Uber car back to the A&W restaurant near our apartment. The ride back was cheaper (1,400 yen/S$12.90). This time, PL joined us for some A&W root beer float, curly fries and coney dog. After the meal, we went back to our apartment to play Bridge (as usual) until midnight, thereby wrapping up Day 5 of our trip. Last day of cycling tomorrow, let’s hope for better weather!