UPDATE!

Finally found a worthy cause for all the money collected from our bicycle ride around Kyushu!!
UNICEF are helping children in the Tohoku area affected by the earthquake!
They are helping in all sorts of ways, from supplying school lunches, funding tournaments and sending young children to Kindergarten!
The total amount raised was a phenomenal ¥145,021!!!
Thank you all so much for your donations, support and smiles :)
Thanks to James for doing it with me and big thanks to all those shops, bars and restaurants that displayed our collection boxes and helped raise a large proportion of our money!
皆様は本当にありがとうございました！
m(_ _)m m(_ _)m m(_ _)m
Anyway, thanks to everybody! We love you all ;)
Will keep u updated of any UNICEF news in the near future! Thanks to Eriko and the UNICEF staff for all their help too!!

Charity Money Update...Any Ideas?

As the Red Cross in Japan has an overload of cash, which they are paying out in dribs and drabs, I have been actively looking for another worthy charity to give our donations to. The meeting with the staff of the Saga governor was a massive letdown. They had no interest in our efforts and knew nothing of our intention to provide bicycles to the Tohoku region, even though it was the their boss's idea and I had been waiting for three weeks for a chance to meet them and discuss their plans, which I was told they were forming. After explaining what we did, the money raised and our intentions, they said that our approximate sum of 150000yen was not enough money to provide all of the bicycles required for one of the schools mentioned, but they would see what they could do and then get back to me with a revised idea. They laughed when I said that Saga Prefecture could supplement our donation to buy the amount of bicycles needed. I wasn't joking. 
Another two weeks passed, and then when they finally made contact I was quoted a cost of 20000yen per bicycle. According to the Saga-ken staff, that fee was made up of bicycle purchase and future maintenance costs. To put it into perspective, the bicycle I rode for about 900kms around Kyushu, and am still riding, cost only 6000yen. I don't want to waste the money so kindly donated by you on bureaucracy etc.
Sorry to bore you with all of this but if anyone knows of a worthwhile cause or has a great idea then please let me know. I am still trying to find a way of providing bicycles at a reasonable cost. Thanks to Naoki, Izumi and Noriko for their help and ideas.

GnJ

九州一周Quick Update

Hiya,
Thanks to everyone who has donated, we have been truly surprised by the response and are so grateful for all the contributions...度も!
We are currently gathering together all our donations and are now hoping to surpass 140000yen in total. If you have yet to donate but have pledged a sum, then we will add it to the grand total and we will collect the money from you at a later date! If there is anyone out there who still wishes to donate then let us know asap(^O^)／
The Plan Has Changed...
We were initially planning to give all the money raised to the Japan Red Cross, but on hearing of our campaign the Mayor of Saga got in touch and suggested we pool our money together  to supply a gift of much-needed bicycles for Kessenouma City in the Tohoku region! We are still waiting for all the details from the Mayor, but it sounds like an interesting idea. Hopefully we will still be able to make a contribution to the red cross, but if anyone is opposed to the bicycle idea then please let me know so I can sort it out!
ALSO
James and I recorded a radio show last week for NBC Radio. It was a shambles but if you are interested in listening to it then check out the broadcast this Friday from 15:30!
Thanks again for all your support.
Will keep u in the loop!
G n J x

FINAL STATS...

まだ全部集めてないけど、今まで十万円以上あります‼
Here are the final challenge stats, the donations are still being counted/collected, but so far we have amassed over 100,000yen - which was our initial target!! We are still taking donations until the end of this week probably and will update you on the final total asap.
Thanks Update ... Thanks to Marianne for donating from the US and thanks to Asahi Kindergarten for their kind donation also m(_ _)m
ありがとうあさひ幼稚園 m(_ _)m

STATs...STATs...STATs...STATs...STATs...STATs...STATs...STATs...STATs...STATs...STATs...STATs...STATs...
Kilometres covered: 823km
Time in saddle: 52hours approx
Average speed: 15.4kph
Top speed: 45.4kph
Pocari sweat: 15litres (Gareth only)
Mountains conquered: 9
Tunnels: 23
Rainy days: 2
Sunny days: 4
Cloudy days: 3
Punctures: 0
Accidents: 0
Onigiris: 13
Mt Rainier Double Espressos: 14
Rose bush scratches: 4
Times stopped by police: 1
Piss bottles spotted: 9
Roadkill: 13 (cats, birds, a frog, weasels, a small calf and many unidentifiable)
Scarecrows: 4
Radio interviews: 1
Free beers: 6
Times we heard the word "Baka": 18
Times people laughed at our bikes: 7
Nights camped: 2
Worst quote:  "This road has to go down soon"
Best quote:  "Please help yourself to more beer"
Angry Cats: 2
Guys looking like they have just come from a Charlie Sheen/George Best combined stag party: 1
People sick over themselves: 1
No. of bicycles put upside down: 1
No. of volcanic eruptions: 1
No. of times we thought of quitting: 0.5
Bottles of sun-block used: 1

TOP FIVE RANDOM SONGS HUMMED IN MY HEAD
1. I'm gonna be 500miles - Scottish Twin Geeks
2. The Heat Is On - Benny Hills Cop
3. All You Need Is _______ - The Beatles
4. Eye Knows - De La Souls
5. Frank "Jeff" Mills - The Lemonheads

Final Thanks...

The final message of thanks is to all those who have donated, cheered, supported, laughed with/at us, helped us, advised us, and made us smile over the course of the challenge and our lives.
Special thanks to Tom, JoeJen, Jason and The Fowle family for their extremely generous donations from the UK. Diolch o'r calon i ti Gav, soled gwboi. Edrych mlaen tan mis Hydref.
Thanks to everyone from Saga and the area for their amazing donations and cheer!!
Thanks to my nephew Jac for following me every step of the way!
Thanks to Gary in Canadia for inspiration and support.
Thanks to Lee for his cycling advice and support from Taiwan.
Thanks to Eggy Vern for his comments and support.
Thanks to adopted little sister Laura for calling us a pair of idiots.
Thanks to Jim/Sylv for their comments from the US.
Thanks Dragos, you crazy Romanian bear-man.
Thanks Noriko and Keiko.
Thanks Chiyuki, Naoki, Yuji and their families and extended families.

Obviously great thanks to both our families for all of their love and support, we do appreciate you all - honestly!
Thanks to everyone else from Saga, Japan and beyond who have commented, liked etc on facebook, twitter and blogger. There are far too many to mention - but we love you all.
The final stats and many photos will be published asap. We will keep you updated of any developments via the blog.
THANK YOU EVERYONE. We will never forget your generosity and kindness towards Japan.

Thanks - Part Two

宮崎市　－　Miyazaki City, Miyazaki Pref.
居酒屋でんでんでんありがとう！
Thanks to Dendenden Izakaya!

延岡市　ー　Nobeoka City, Miyazaki Pref.
延岡駅の近くに居酒屋呑んのん有ります、皆さんありがとうございました。色々美味しかった！
Thanks to Izakaya Nonnon for some great food, sake and fantastic service from all the lovely ladies. We will never forget the female customer who downed loads of whisky, passed out and then, soon after waking up, was sick all over herself and couldn't stop crying - even after the youngest grandaughter of the owner cleaned her up (she was a boxer too! They're everywhere in Kyushu!). She sounded like a cat being strangled or an erotic trombone! Thanks ladies!!!! 居酒屋呑んのん　NonNon

豊後大野、三重町、大分県。　Bungoono, Mie Town, Oita Pref.
魚レストラン喜久の安田家族は本当に、本当にありがとうございました！
店の食べ物はめちゃめちゃすごかった！皆様は本当に優しかった、ありがとう！！！
Thanks so, so much to Restaurant Kiku in Mie Town. The food was quite extraordinary. I got to catch my own fish (filefish/leatherfish?) from a large tank inside the restaurant, which main man Takeshi then gutted and prepared into amazing sashimi, ably assisted by James! He served the sashimi with an amazing Jalapeno dressing, a recipe that he has perfected since his time working at the Nobu restaurant in London. Not only was the food top class and absolutely remarakable, given the quaint, seemingly uninhabited town it is situated in, but the sake was also pretty damn good too. To top it all off the family invited us to spend the night in the Izakaya and supplied us with provisions for the following day. As has been mentioned, it was not the first time I have fallen asleep in an Izakaya (and probably not the last), but it was the first time I have purposely slept on a bed of izakaya floor cushions surrounded by bottles of booze...great feeling!
The next day we were taken on a brief tour of Mie and then Taketa Town. The waterfalls of Ono Town were breathtaking.

The kindness and generosity shown to us will not be forgotten and it definitely spurred us on for the remainder of our journey - Thank you ever so much for everything!
For Kiku location and contact info check here - Kiku Restaurant

Top photo is of me and Mrs Yasuda. The bottom one is of James and Takeshi, her son and chef that studied and worked for three years at the Michelin-starred Nobu London restaurant, which you can find out about here Nobu London

日田市、大分県　ー　Hita City, Oita Pref
焼とり一幸のマスター、ママ、とお客様はありがとうございました！！！
メニュは本当にオリジナルとうまい！サッポロ生ビールも美味しかった！三九！焼とり一幸日田

Thanks to Yakitori Ichikou in Hita City. We were initially drawn to this place because it had the same name as the fantastic place with "the boxer with the big head" that we had previously got sloshed-up at in Miyakonojou City, Miyazaki Prefecture. We soon realised that this establishment not only had a great name but great food, drinks and customers to boot! Our amazing run of stumbling upon "Izakaya Gold" was continuing unabated until the last evening, Yay! The menu was pretty spectacular for such a humble looking restaurant... I will write more about it in a future food blog, but here is a taster - lovely beef ribs!!

You can find out more info on the restaurant here Yakitori Ikou Hita

The third and final installment of our Thanks will be published tomorrow

The Aftermath and Thanks...PART ONE

まだまだ膝が痛い！！年だからね！
皆様本当に有難うございました。。。
My knees are still sore, but I have finally shaved off my dreadful beard.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who have helped us, by donating, cheering us on, feeding us, lubricating our insides and making us smile and feel proud of our efforts.
Here is a mention/shout out to as many as we can remember - part one only, part two tomorrow.
If you are ever in and around Kyushu/Japan then please feel free to ask us for any information.
****有り難い****
佐賀　－　Saga City
焼鳥なんぶ nanbu-yakitori、酔美バー suivie 、Sports Bar CRON cron blog, 立ち飲みや のん Non、3rd Place the 3rd .... Everybody - 有難う！
Thanks to Yakitori Nanbu - my blog page here nanbu-yakitori, Suivie suivie , CRON cron (Yuji's Bar), the Standing BarNon & 3rd Place Cafe the 3rd for displaying our collection boxes and helping us raise money for the Red Cross - THANK YOUxx
みやきプリントありがとう！あのＴ－シャツはかっこいね！
Thank you MIYAKI PRINT for the cool T-shirts and flag!
西九州大学ありがとう
Thanks to Nishi-Kyushu University
小城市中学校ありがとう
Thanks to James' school - Ogi Junior High!
古賀家族ありがとう。
Thanks to the Koga family for their support and cheer.
寺町家族ありがとう。
Thanks the Teramachi family for their help and support.
東島家族は色々ありがとうね！
Thanks to The Higashijima family for support and inspiration.
Thanks to Junko for helping us with the newspaper interview etc!
Thanks to Noriko and Toshiko for their wise advice!
Special thanks to all of our friends who have cheered us at every step and have probably been as surprised as we have by the fact that we managed to do something worthwhile.

九州の有り難い　－　Thanks to Kyushu
九州の運転者本当に有り難う。何回私たちは死にかけていた。。。
Thanks to the motorists of Kyushu, you nearly squashed us many, many times but we live to ride another challenge. Thanks for your patience and the many waves and cheers that made us fight every kilometre.
出水町　－　新亀屋旅館の人たちありがとう。　兵たん居酒屋もありがとう！
Izumi City, Kagoshima Prefecture.
Thanks to everyone at the Shinkameya Ryokan and the great Hyoutan Izakaya...very delicious!! You can find the address and phone number here http://rp.gnavi.co.jp/5200819/
- in the photo below you can see some tasty "basashi" - that's raw horse meat to you! The white pieces in the middle are raw fat... 馬刺し

鹿児島市 　Kagoshima City
PiPi Cafeの智美ちゃんと友達は有り難うね、楽しかった！
Thanks to Tomomi and her friends at the PiPi cafe - we had a lovely time! PiPi cafe info here PiPi Cafe Kagoshima
都城市 Miyakonojou City, Miyazaki Prefecture
焼鳥一幸の乙丸家族とお客様達は本当に優しいね、皆様ありがとうございました！！！炭焼き地鶏ときびなご天ぷらは美味しかった！
Thank you so much to Mr Otomaru (The Boxer) and his lovely wife at Yakitori Ichikou for feeding us some fine food and telling us amazing tales of boxing and life in general - we will visit you again I'm sure, we had a good laugh! Thanks also to the customers, in particular the lovely little lady from Watanabe Farms for her very generous donation and for getting all the other drinkers to cough up some cash! Cheers! You can find the place on google maps here Yakitori Ichikou and here is the master below in his prime as a welterweight boxing champ!!


More to Follow in Part Two tomorrow!!