Why this ride
From Nakama it runs 73 km to Nakama; allow about 1 h 52 of riding. On the way it passes Nakatsu-miya and Onga river Pumping Station. Rivers set the line for much of the day.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Onga river Pumping Station and Mikadobashira · 201 km from Nakama
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 73 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 52
- 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. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Nakatsu-miya.
2. 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 comes up about 37 km into the recorded legs. Next is Mikadobashira.
3. Back to 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 Nakatsu-miya, late in the day. Next is Onga river Pumping Station.
4. 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 at Onga river Pumping Station. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Onga river Pumping Station to Nakatsu-miya
Onga river Pumping Station → Nakatsu-miya is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Nakatsu-miya to Back to Onga river Pumping Station
Nakatsu-miya → Back to Onga river Pumping Station is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.