BIKE TOURING AND SWIMMING IN KATSURA RIVER - EP.7
Bike mechanic! - No! Don’t! - Sorry! It’s fine. Grand bwa? Grand boy? How do you say it? -Where are you going?! - Hey! Where is this? I can sense wild beasts again! This is Gaijin Cycling Nation series, season 2! A weekly cycling vlog about our bike tour adventures in Kyoto. Don't worry, If you don't ride a bike, this show is not all about cycling.
We'll be showing non-cycling destinations here in Japan and lots of trivia as we move along. If you're into anything related to Japan, please subscribe because we upload new episodes every Monday, 7:00 PM. Please like this video to help us grow with Youtube's algorithm and if you have questions or suggestions, please leave a comment. This show is brought to you by the following.
And with Budol Buddy's wealth. Mueheheheheh... Welcome again to another episode of Gaijin Cycling Nation season 2! Last episode, we went back home from our short bike touring. We visited Amanohashidate, It doesn’t get any better than this! - Ine, - Floating village of Ine! Yeah! - and Tangocho. - This is what you call content. Don’t tell them I eat like this. - Oh no! - Wait! It’s still clean! On this episode, we’ll climb the mountain of Arashiyama, I sense wild beasts here! just to bathe in Katsura river.
- Stomach in! - No, I’m not! We’ll visit Grand Bois, a bikesop specializing in classic randonneuring bikes. Go ahead, tell him your speil. We’l’ travel back to 2016 to ride the Sagano Romance Train.
What are you waiting for? Grab your popcorn and let’s go, ikimashow! This should make the cars stop. Is this part of the climb or not? I don’t think so. This train is run by one person only. We passed by a bike shop they long wanted to check out.
Grand bwa? Grand boy? How do you say it? We’re now in Grand Bois. Grand bwa? Grand boys? How do you say it? A bike shop in Kyoto that sells classic looking bikes. Especially randonneuring bikes like these. We planned to go here but didn’t know it will be today. We stopped by to check what they sell.
- For sale. - For sale? But what does randonneuring mean? I have no idea, too. But I searched online, It’s long distance cycling. The shortest route should be 200kms. Any bikes that don’t run on a motor can be used for randonneuring. This is what rando bikes look like when you search online.
It’s feels like a gentleman’s bike. I feel like owners of these bikes will always obey traffic rules. It looks totally different from bikes like these owned by crazy people. They have a brochure of all their products in it. I’m not sure if they have stocks of what’s being shown here. They also have a family tree of Italian bike brands.
They also have this classic bike fitting tool. It’s used to measure parts you need when building a bike. Here goes Budol Buddy with his talent and that’s befriending and networking with other people. Go on, tell him what you always say to people. This is his style: He’ll introduce himself first, - I’m Marlowe! - Marlowe? followed by saying he’s a bike mechanic, - You told them you’re a mechanic, no? - Yeah. He’s like, “He builds his own bikes? Amazing!” Lastly, he’ll tell people about our Nagoya to-- Lastly, he’ll tell people about our Nagoya to Tokyo.
We left October 23 from Nagoya. and then we went to Kiso valley, then Nagano, - That’s a very long distance. - Kawa what? Kawaguchiko? - Yamanashi? Yeah. But there’s nothing wrong with what he’s doing. I’m the one having regrets because I’m too shy to talk to people. I’m having regrets from last night.
When we’re in Montbell, there were Filipinos. If I tried to talk to them, we might became friends and have local contacts of Filipinos here in Japan. What if they have a son who loves cycling too? I wished I talked to them. Conversations really--
Their son’s name is Pogacar! It’s always nice to converse with people. I hope to learn that skill in the future. Budol Buddy’s a great bike mechanic. He took a bike mechanic course in Oregon. But Jilson’s making fun of him for saying he’s a bike mechanic but his rear brakes are not working. Don't worry, If you don't ride a bike, this show is not all about cycling.
- No! Don’t! - Okay. - You have to re-bleed that now. You have to pay for that. - Really? I’m Sorry. - It’s fine. - It’s okay. - I didn’t know! This descending road is too long.
After Grand Bois, we went down a road leading to Hirosawa pond. We’re here, Arashiyama, left turn. Are we climbing already? Uhhh... yeah but not that steep. We’re going to Arashiyama right? This leads to Kiyotaki.
We’ll get there on our way back. - That’s the area with souvenir shops, right? - Yeah. That’s our way back. The roads started to shrink, now we really feel that we’re climbing.
We’re climbing this village! It’s impossible to be flats all the way, we’re supposed to go up a mountain. Look at these tied bamboo trunks. What’s that supposed to be? We went past this beautiful road. The pavement’s very similar to Higashiyama.
This is steep. We’re going west so this is definitely not Higashiyama. Higashiyama is packed with tourists too. What’s the name of that pagoda? It’s the Yasaka Pagoda and I’m too tired to walk. It’s my first time here and I love the place.
It’s a peaceful area with houses. These houses looks like the ones in Takayama. - Kriz, look at the roofs. - What about it? It’s like the ones in Takayama. At the end of the road lies Atago Jinja. We didn’t see what’s inside because we have bikes.
We never planned to visit this place anyway. What does these tied bamboo trunks symbolize anyway? Cool! How do they carry that stuff? They’re just pulling their passengers. - The wheels are huge! - Does that have gears in it? Nope.
My knees are my brakes. These are Rickshaws or Jinrikisha. These carts are common in Japan.
It’s not pulled by horses but by humans. The characters are composed of Jin, meaning human, Riki, meaning power and sha, which means vehicle. It’s the only English word I know that’s derived from a Japanese word. It’s amazing how people pull this cart on an inclined road. What if they loose grip of the cart? The passengers will roll down the road. Let’s go.
Wow! - Komoot says the way back is harder. - Why? It’s steeper when we return. This is nothing compared to that. - Is this what Fr Badd was talking about? - Where are you taking us? Remember when we dropped Fr Badd on his early PNS ride? This was their route. They climbed this road. He was discouraging us to come here. The houses were all replaced by tall trees.
It’s amazing how the road changed from a tourist area to a forest. The wild beast ride’s giving us PTSD everytime we pass through roads with thick forests. I sense wild beasts here. As we enter the woods, the road is getting steeper. Just like this turn. This one’s really steep. You need two hands on bars to climb this turn so I let go of the camera even while rolling.
It’s better to be safe than get the shot we wanted. This is my setup for the DJI Action Camera. I attached a handstrap. If you need to hold the bars with two hands, you can let go of te camera anytime, even if it’s still rolling.
But be careful not to get the strap stuck on things while riding. Just like in this situation. Someone dropped their hat. Let’s hand it to them. They pulled the handstrap! I’m sorry.
It’s done! Piece of cake! Hey! I thought it was only 100 meters? Looks like we’ve bitten off more than we could chew. This truck is making us stop. We reached the top of the road and it’s all downhill from here.
Fr Badd, you took your photo here, right? But there are no other routes home but here again. - I thought you said-- - There’s no other way. - You said this was gonna be a chill ride? - It IS chill. - I’ll throw you inside this bin. - Where are we really going? We go all the way down, then climb all the way back up again. See these steep, sharp turns? We’ll be climbing back here later.
I saw Budol Buddy walking down the road. It’s a rare sight. If you remember, he has no rear brakes. We also saw Mr. Bean’s car climbing the road.
Then we reached this beautiful Red bridge, At the end of the bridge was a short but narrow tunnel. We suddenly went inside a dark tunnel! Oh, it’s over. After the tunnel, the roads started to get tighter. Here’s Jilson with his thoughts about the route. The locals probably love this route. They can just go swimming in the river, go on short bike climbs, They can easily go to places like these.
It’s a relative effort. You climb a mountain but after that, you’re satisfied. You might be wondering where we are in this dense forest. We’re situated here on the map, In the middle of mountains and forests.
This is what we wanted to see. The Sanin railroad in the middle of the forest. We wanted to get closer but if we do, we’ll have to climb back up because it’s just a dead end. - What’s down there? - Nothing, it’s a dead end.
Really? Just do it. You’re already there. If you’re all going down, I’m coming too. Please don’t go down. Why do you have go there? Just like what Budol Buddy said in episode 1 of this season. We’re not always in Japan. Let’s go through all the scenic roads.
We decided to come down to see it. We’re all unsatisfied, We crossed a red bridge again. There are lots of bridges here because we’re going along the Katsura river. We reached the end of the road. It’s really just a dead end. But there’s a train station, a bathroom and a vending machine.
- Can you buy me a drink? - You’re one stubborn man. How did you get in? We thought this was the route for the Sagano Romantic Train. But we made a mistake.
This is the commuter train line, and this is the Sagano Scenic Railway. We’re on the wrong spot. But for your viewing pleasure, we’ll time travel back to 2016. My first ever visit here in Japan. I’ll show you how it feels to ride the Sagano Romantic Train.
Back then, we we’re staying in Osaka. It’s easier to tour the Kansai region if you’re staying in Osaka. We took a train to Kyoto station. The station was like this even in 2016. Lots of people because it’s a central station. Torokko, Torokko, Torokko.
- We ride this train? - Yeah. let’s go! We got left behind because we’re both dumb tourists. But things like these are normal for first timers. We didn’t make it? - What time is it? - 8:45... 9am.
The Kyoto train’s late! It’s so annoying! Let me introduce you to my travel buddy. This is Isteben. We’ve known each other since college.
He’s one of the reasons why I ended up being a video editor. But it’s tragic so let’s not talk about it. Look how old my phone is! iPhone 4s! After a fast train ride, we made it to Torokko station.
The station’s looks matches the train, They’re both classy, they even have a chandelier. They even have anime displays. You know this guy? They let us in the platform.
- Car no. 1 right? Seat number-- - Kar no. Lopez. hey! You miss her? As I’ve said, this train is for tourists. Photobomber. This was our ticket back in 2016. The ticket’s worth 620 Yen. I wonder how much it costs today? Torokko station, car no. 1 seat no. 8, 620 Yen. Right?
Whatever. Here comes our train. It’s classic looking, right? It’s a reserved seating so you everyone gets a spot. Look at these wooden chairs! It’s like the chairs inside a confession room.
Finally, we started moving. It will get inside a tunnel first because the line is in the middle of a mountain. It’s all dark at first.
Once it exits the tunnel, you’ll see the scenic view of river and trees. You can even see the tourists on a boat ride. They also have this boat ride here in Kyoto.
You can tell this is an old video because most people take horizontal videos. Reels we’re not yet invented back then. This is the view from the front of the train. It has it’s own railroad. From the sides, you can see the Katsura river and trees This is the train operator.
Do you call them operators or drivers? And in the middle of the train ride, something or someone boarded our train. He’s part of the tour experience. The train ride is also catered towards children. You can also take a photo with the masked man. He even takes a selfie for you.
There’s also a singing experience. The passengers are also singing along. Finally, we reached the end of the line. The last station was packed with kids waiting to get on the train. It’s their turn to ride back to Arashiyama. Maybe it’s a school tour.
I envy how they get to visit nice places as a student. Back then, our school tours were just going to Boom na Boom and Megamall. We also have our return ticket. But we need to change seats. After the chaos caused by children, we finally started moving again. Look at what I’m standing on.
You can see where you’ll end up if ever the flooring collapses. We have a new seat number so we get to sit in the open air car. The masked man was still on board entertaining some foreigners. I wonder how much he earns from this job. He looks happy doing it.
We can’t actually tell. He’s wearing a mask so we can’t see his face. Before the last station, the children reached their stop. We have no idea where they’re off to next after the train ride.
The train felt quiet after all the kids and tourists have left. It felt like the people were part of the experience in this ride. We’re finally back to the first station.
After the kids, the train was filled with seniors. It’s a amazing how we get on the train from end to end, and see passengers from all stages of life. If you’re interested to try the Sagano Romance Train, You just need to get to Saga, Torokko station. The Saga, Torokko station is just beside it.
Check the train schedule in advance so you know what time you need to be there. I took the train from Quezon Avenue. I’m running late! - Where are you going?! - Hey! What happened?! Where am I? I’m supposed to go down at Shaw station! Adidas のvelosamba発売した時から ケムサメのずっと欲しかった靴だった。 通常のサンバに似て それに「ヴェロ」という名前がくついてるから 自転車乗りでもokです。 自転車用とカジュアル用に履ける靴が望むなら ベロサンバはオススメです。 ケムサメの日本自転車旅行ずっとこの靴で旅してた。 山でも、 海岸添えでも、 街中でも、 森の中でも。 Adidas のvelosamba。 If we take the highway, where does it lead to? This road? - That’s headed north west, to Fukuchiyama. - Out of the way?
Yeah. Oh, man. This is where we go if we did the one shot ride to Ine. We’ll just have to go back where we came from. Remember all those fast descents? We’ll climb it now.
You’ll begin to realize how long the route was when you’re heading back. It’s because you became familiar with it. It’ nothing but a long rolling road in the middle of the forest.
These curved metals are so useful on blind curves. If you look closely, you’ll know if someones in front of you. We’ve been going along this river for so long now.
Even back in 2016, we’ve been seeing this river over and over again. Why not make the effort to go swim in it. We’re already here. Look, there are people on a boat. We passed this place twice now.
That means we’ve been given 2 chances to see the river face to face. Be careful. The ground’s slippery. Hey! You’re going down riding your bike? You’ll crash doing that. Luckily, we found a small but steep trail going down the river.
There’s a paved trail, we know people use this trail a lot. This is another unplanned trip. We never intended to swim in the river but we got lucky. Let’s try river dipping.
We came across a sign. We thought we should pay if we go swimming. There were prices written in it. We can’t read it, our translator’s on a day off.
Fr Badd’s off to Osaka today Buying high-end bike parts. Smells like rubber. He chose his bike parts over us. That’s why he’s not with us today. - Netting. - Pole fishing, netting and others.
- We can’t go fishing? - You’ll be fined if you go fishing No fishing allowed! It’s not like we’re gonna go fishing. No catfishing! Whoah! - You’re going nude? - Am I not allowed to? Here’s the river. It’s crystal clear. Brighter than my future. Here goes Budol Buddy. He’ll draw first blood on this river bathing experience. - Ouch! - What if we’re not allowed to do this.
It’s too cold! I went to search for a shade, the sun’s too hot today. I need a place to sit down to remove my shoes. Speaking of shoes, I want to convince you to buy Adidas Velosamba. So that’s why you brought us here. Only to sell us shoes. Typical capitalist human.
A huge shout out to Adidas PH. Thank you for these Velosamba’s Good for bike adventures. Let’s get closer to them, let’s film some content. I noticed they were talking to someone. And not just people, they also have a dog.
The dog knows how to fetch. It looks like Graham. To those who don’t know, this is Graham. Budol Buddy’s labrador retriever. It’s swimming time! It’s too cold! Remember, this activity is unplanned. We’ll be wearing the same wet clothes later.
Our balls will be sticking out to our shorts later. Why are you filming my wiener?! If you happen to film my penis, please edit it out. Why is it out of your pants? It feels good! This is my first time doing this in Japan. Jilson doesn’t wanna swim because his undies are gonna get wet. - I don’t wanna get my underwear wet. - All of us have wet undies now. - I’ll be sitting on the leather saddle later. - I accepted to go biking with wet shorts.
Wet underwear’s a big issue for him. So we all tried to convince him to swim. Did you know that we’ll be swimming today? - No. - I thought we’ll just be biking today. - We just saw this river! - I knew that there’ll be a river. - But didn’t expect we could swim. - Me too, I know there will be rivers.
- I didn’t expect to get wet. - You didn’t say anything to me! But I know there’s a river in the area. - I’m not packed for swimming too. - I’m wearing cotton briefs!
I’d swim if I was wearing a bib shorts. No! You’ll be fine! You know what I’ll do? I’ll go commando later. Oh no! It’s exposed! We’re all convincing Jilson to go swimming. Come on! It’s worth it! Wet briefs are temporary. This experience is once in a lifetime. - Come on! - Are we really allowed to swim? - It’s fine. No one’s around. - Even their dog went swimming! - That’s already a dog. - Yeah. Even the dog got wet.
Finally, he was tempted by these three devils. - Yeah, take of your clothes... - Why are you squeezing your stomach!? - Damn! - Looks good on video! It’s too cold! What is this!? - Just go slowly. - Will you get mad if I splash you with water?
That’s cold. It is cold! Holy sh*t! We had a joke where we call Marlowe a Robot. Hey robot, go charge yourself. It was when we’re in Ukawa onsen. If ever he gets caught by the military and they make tests on him, that’s the only time we’ll know he’s not a human but a robot! What if he gets wet and gets a short circuit.
What if you start to twitch when your head gets wet. The women with a dog came back. Connecting people! - Connecting people! - He came closer to hear their IG handles! We went to Ine yesterday. He’s skilled in talking to people. He got to chat with them a little.
They soon found out we’re making Youtube videos. We’re making a documentary. - He has a Youtube! - Youtuber! - Let’s do it! - The camera’s rolling! That’s not live! They got curious how much Youtuber’s earn. - Do you earn much money? - Only a little. We learned their dog’s name is Blue. What is your dog’s name? - What’s his name? - Blue! Blue? Blue...
He’s a good retriever. His fellow labrador retrievers will be proud. Bye! Nice meeting you! - We can finally say that we-- - Do it again. I can finally brag that we swam in a random river in Japan. -There’s one final thing that we haven’t done yet. - What’s that? You remember Kaneko’s shirt? - Oh yeah! You wanna shoot it over there?! I’m game! - Forget it. That’s public nudity. - It’ll be quick! - No! forget it.
I’ll sit down, take off my pants, then take a photo of me in sideview. - Forget it! Go talk to Jilson. - Come on, let’s do it! We have a photo of Budol Buddy like the free shirt we got from Kaneko So. Hurry up! Someone might come! For my eyes only. I can see your buttcrack from this angle! This is how Kaneko’s shirt look like.
This is Budol Buddy’s version But we can’t release it according to manager. It’s forever hidden in our harddrives. You just came up with this tour this morning, right? You’re one smart bastard. That ends another episode of Gaijin Cycling Nation Season 2! We hope you all get hyped about Budol Buddy’s upcoming nude shirt. Please subscribe if you’re new to this channel. Because we have weekly episodes, that’s right! Weekly episodes, every Monday, 7PM.
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If you have questions or suggestions, please leave a comment down below. Next and final episode! We’ll visit Arashiyama bamboo forest. A tourist destination in Kyoto with lots of Bamboo grass. We’ll visit Osaka, and learn about Glico Man’s history.
And we’ll come home to our beloved country. But before everything ends, let’s do a group ride and be part of the GCN season 2 season finale! We’ll try to join their zumba session if possible. I have this one request for the video. When I say let’s go, you say Ikimashow. Okay? Ready? Let’s go, Ikimashow!
2025-02-24 05:47
