Arriving in Hong Kong, Dew finds a sea passage over to Japan. Having now amassed the almost incredible figure of 200,000 miles on her cycling clock, there is no room for doubt as far as her determination and fortitude are concerned--so when the ship in which she is working her passage to Okinawa gets caught up in unseasonable storms, the sudden burst of fragility brought up along with her seasickness comes as a surprise. Nevertheless, Dew makes it to her destination, and the pedalling begins.

For the reader, the pleasure in what follows is undoubtedly in Dew's unself-conscious admiration for the generosity of the Japanese. This makes her an engaging companion, and overrides any faults in the prose (which, it has to be said, is laden with adjectives). The result is a book which can be infuriating, but one that also raises a smile and introduces some unusual situations--a snake on the stones in front of Dew, for instance, or the couple who insist on her sleeping by their shop and helping herself to whatever she likes.

Wherever she is, Dew appears effervescent, and it is this enthusiasm which makes The Sun in my Eyes more interesting than many other two-wheeled travel books. --Toby Green