Last night I slept almost 12 hours! Clearly that big mountain took something out of me. Also congrats to Steph for winning Pac Open! 🎉 I headed east before going north so that I could avoid unnecessary elevation. I stopped at the first Family Mart I saw when my bike started giving me problems. The freewheel was not working properly, which meant that it would try to spin with my wheel even when I wasn't pedalling. This meant it would throw the chain off the gears whenever I stopped pedalling. Because of this, I had to ride in a super weird way constantly pedalling all the way to the next town where I found a bike shop. I gave my bike to the man at the little bike shop and went for lunch at Joyfull while I waited. I had a video call with Steph and got the full comp debrief! After lunch I went back to the bike shop and he said it was an easy fix and refused to charge me. I got him a cold green tea from the vending machine nearby as a thanks, today was very hot after all! I continued to my final destination. I planned on staying at a hostel tonight, but they had booked out online. My Japanese skills came in clutch though, because when I called it turns out they did have space after all! I listened to a Japanese podcast on music on the way there and got to my hostel before and rain hit. They gave me a free pair of chopsticks because I accidentally said yes when they asked if I was doing the pilgrimage. I've been talking to an Aussie couple and a Japanese guy who are taking the pilgrimage! They also have a massage chair there which is awesome.