Why this ride
73 km from Nishifukuma to Nishifukuma, about 1 h 53 of riding. On the way it passes Onga river Pumping Station and back through Onga river Pumping Station. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Nakatsu-miya and Mikadobashira
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 73 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 53
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Nakatsu-miya
Munakata Taisha is not one shrine but three, spread across the sea off northern Kyushu, and Nakatsu-miya is the middle one. The boat leaves from the little harbour of Kōnominato and takes roughly a quarter of an hour, crossing water that was once the main sea lane between Japan and the Korean peninsula. Shrines were built at three points along that lane to protect sailors, and the middle one honours the goddess Tagitsuhime.
Read the complete Nakatsu-miya write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nakatsu-miya is where the day begins. Next is Onga river Pumping Station.
2. Onga river Pumping Station
Steel needs water, a great deal of it, and in the early twentieth century the new Imperial Steel Works at Yawata in northern Kyushu needed more than the local streams could provide. The answer was this pumping station on the Onga river at Nakama, built in 1910, which drew water from the river and sent it through pipelines to the steel works. Remarkably, it is still in operation more than a century later. The red brick building with its tall windows is part of the UNESCO listing of Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution, alongside shipyards, coal mines and iron works that tell the story of Japan's dramatic transformation into an industrial power.
Read the complete Onga river Pumping Station write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Onga river Pumping Station comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mikadobashira.
3. back through Onga river Pumping Station
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Onga river Pumping Station write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Onga river Pumping Station, late in the day. Next is Nakatsu-miya.
4. Nakatsu-miya
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Nakatsu-miya write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Nakatsu-miya. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Nakatsu-miya to Onga river Pumping Station
Nakatsu-miya → Onga river Pumping Station is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Onga river Pumping Station to back through Onga river Pumping Station
Onga river Pumping Station → back through Onga river Pumping Station is 1 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Onga river Pumping Station to Nakatsu-miya
back through Onga river Pumping Station → Nakatsu-miya is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.