GW 2019 - Day 4 - Omiwa, the oldest shrine in Japan 大神神社日本一番古い神社へ

Bicycle: 38 km
Train: 86 km

Route: Yamatoyagi - Miwa - Tanzan Jinja - Yamatoyagi

Total riding time: 3:23 h

Total ascent: 588 m 
Average speed: 11.0  km/h

Weather: cloudy, but no rain and relatively warm and humid,  18 C

After breaking my saddle yesterday (after more than 5000 km) the first thing I did today, was getting to a bicycle repair shop. I was lucky enough that it broke here, not too far from Osaka, where there are several brompton sellers. I called ahead of time, and when I arrived a few minutes after he opened his shop at 11:00 he had the saddle already ready there, waiting to be installed.

It was even a very convenient place to get to from Yamatoyagi, with the express train only 2 stations away and then 1 km by bike. So already at 12:00 I was back in Yamatoyagi and ready for the ride of the day, a continuation of Day 3. 

I started with Hibara shrine. On the way there, as so often here in Nara prefecture, I came through the tranquil country side, where new rice plants were being grown for being planted later. 

Hibara shrine is mainly famous for its 3-arched Torii, a very unique shape. Apart from that there isn't a lot around, but the place is wonderful, so relaxed, on the foot of one of the holiest mountains in Japan, with the Yamanobe-no-michi coming through, and even more importantly a small restaurant where to enjoy a bowl of noodles in the shadow of a large roof. Perfect place for a lunch! 

Omiwa Jinja then wasn't very far. It is announced over the plain by this gigantic, but modern torii.

The actual shrine then is at the foot of Miwa Mountain, which in itself is the main "building" of the shrine, as it is believed that the entire mountain is a god. However to climb it, one needs to get a permit (I think it is more like an entrance fee) and one needs to be back at 16:00. So that can still be on a future "to-do list" for tourism in Nara. 

The normal torii's at this shrine are also somewhat special, with no horizontal bar:

Some of the gods here seem to like Sake and raw eggs a lot, but need the sake to be opened for them... At the round well instead, there is holy water that the mountain (= god) gives. 

When planning the route, I saw an other apparently interesting shrine, Tanzan Shrine. Only problem, it is in the mountains... This didn't stop me though, as I was thinking, well, if it gets totally impossible, I can always just turn back. 

On the way to the shrine, I also stopped at this extremely idilic lake, with some azaleas flowering: 

But then I continued on, higher and higher, stopped only briefly for a waterfall (would have been nice to get into it):

And finally made it to the peak where the shrine is located. I went also partially because shrines normally don't have any closing hours, and it would have been still enough light to see it... however - maybe because it was a temple in the past - this shrine actually has closing hours... and was already closed. So I guess this one remains on the "to-do" list. It looks very interesting... only problem is that mountain it is on. It wasn't really nice to ride up to it (I rode only until the intersection where the street goes towards the shrine, afterwards I pushed my poor bicycle). Nevertheless Strava awarded me a QOM (Queen of the Mountain)... solely thanks to the fact only 2 women ever tried with Strava on to climb that specific part of the hill... and the other one must have been much slower still when pushing her bicycle up. 

What I did achieve however was the highest ascent so far in my Garmin/Strava career. 588 m in total and 516 m at the top of the mountain! Starting from only 20 m elevation down at Yamatoyagi. 

So well, there was nothing else but to ride down again, on the other side of the hill. And actually riding down a hill so steep isn't that much fun either. However the landscape was really nice, albeit a bit foggy:

After this record ride, I was entitled to a visit in an onsen. Actually in that same onsen I was already 1.5 years ago, a big super-sento with different pools outside including one to lie in the water (one of my favorite ways how to enjoy onsen) and a lukewarm one, with a TV set, everyone was attentively watching. On were TV comedy shows and the countdown to the new Reiwa 令和 area, which will start at midnight.

My last picture of Heisei 平成: April 30th of Heisei 31.

GW 2019 - Day 3 - Yamanobe no michi 山の辺の道

Bicycle: 22 km
Train: 500 km

Route: Tokyo - Tenri (by train) - Yamatoyagi

Total riding time: 1:49 h

Total ascent: 163 m 
Average speed:  12.3 km/h

Weather: cloudy and at the end light rain, 14 C

After the brief stint in Tokyo, I am back in Kansai, in Inner Nara prefecture, in the same accommodation in Yamatoyagi, where I was already 1.5 years ago during my great trip through Japan.

In the morning I took a Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto and then a normal train onwards to Tenri. Tokyo station was quite full, but everything well organized, and as I had bought my reserved seat already at the end of March, all very relaxed.

When I planned the route for today yesterday, I apparently had planned it to start in Nara... but I forgot, and throught I had planned it from Tenri. I only noticed the error when I started up the Garmin at Tenri station. But no problem, as the route was coming through Tenri, and actually looking at it in retrospect it was much better to start from Tenri than to add the additional kilometers for starting in Nara. The weather today was not very stable and finally around 17:00 it started raining, which was right the time when I finished my last temple of the day.

But let's start in Tenri. I followed my preplanned route and came to what I thought was the first attraction of the day, an ENORMOUS temple complex in Tenri. I think I have never seen in Japan a temple complex as large and as organized for masses of worshippers as this place. It somehow reminded me of the Vatican. I parked my bicycle in an enormous parking lot and went ahead with my touristic duties.

What i found was a large temple seemingly supposed to host thousands and thousands of worshipers. However when I arrived there were only a few, as attested by this picture with the shoes:

Inside an enormous tatami-clad hall, but nearly empty:

Nothing really interesting in that enormous hall though. At least for my tourist eyes.

I then continued on the "balcony" that surrounds the temple and only there I felt how big this complex really was. It isn't only this main hall but a lot of additional halls, a large courtyard (more about that one later) and in the surrounding many , large hotel type constructions. The hallway around the temple deserved special attention by the worshippers, going down to their knees, cleaning it. And yep, it was immaculate.

Initially I had this impression that something was going to happen, but yet nearly no one was here. That changed rapidly. Within a few minutes the courtyard filled with organized groups of people. All standing in a row behind their assigned group number. These worshippers were mainly students (in their sport uniforms and workers, in their respective work uniform).

Before...

... and 15 minutes later

At times this temple must get so busy that below there are entires numbered like in football stadiums.

I left the complex before the highlight of the day and continued to my first official destination, Isonokami shrine. When planning the route, I had in mind the Yamanobe Michi, which while being a hiking trail can be in a certain way emulated also on a bicycle. With a mountain bike the hiking trail itself would most likely also be ridable. I even managed to ride some parts with my brompton. 

At this shrine instead of deer, it seems that chicken are venerated:

Apart from that peculiarity, it is a nice but to my eyes unremarkable shrine.

From there on, I loosely followed the Yamanobe no michi and came through very nice landscape with old, still quite well preserved villages along the way.

The region is well known for its autumn colours, but I would say that also in spring the different types of green on the mountains, are also very nice. In some fields these small pink flowers were blooming, and along the way I also saw a few wisteria in bloom. 

Further along the way, is Chogakuji, a very quaint temple in the middle of nature. I bought my entrance ticket from an old buddhist monk (?) who however was watching Judo in TV.

I had practically the entire temple to myself, we were essentially only two tourists at the temple. And this in Golden Week! However it is obviously not one of the main temples and it was starting to rain. Actually the very light rain transformed into a more persisting, yet still light rain. So after a quick visit, I retreated, searched for a spot under a roof to get me all dressed up. When I was last travelling through Japan in autumn 2017, my rain cloths were not up to the challenge. This time I only brought a rain cape, and at least with this relatively light rain it worked well. It doesn't get too hot under the cape, so no sweat that accumulates. However it also produces quite some wind resistance. On the positive side, however that with the helmet also the rain cape hood stays in place. So finally I managed to arrive at my accommodation dry. 

I am repeating accommodation from 1.5 years ago, a small guest house in Yamato-Yagi which I quite liked. In the evening I went to a local restaurant here closeby and then worked on my blog posts, as well as on planning my next days.

For tomorrow, the first agenda point will be to go to Osaka (by train), in order to get a new brompton saddle. The old one broke when reassembling the bicycle in Tenri. Luckily I am not too far from bompton civilization and found even one in Tokyo, that had saddels. But tomorrow more about this.

GW 2019 - Day 2 - Shibamata in Tokyo 柴又へ

Bicycle: 46 km

Route: Otemachi - Shibamata - Kagurazaka - Otemachi

Total riding time: 3:38 h

Total ascent: 178 m 
Average speed:  12.8 km/h

Weather: sunny and not freezing 20 C

What an improvement on the weather from the day before. Today it was nicely warm and sunny. Not hot, but nice enough to ride for a certain time with short sleeves and no getting frozen on the bike as yesterday during the planned picnic ride, which turned out to be a restaurant ride. 

I had the entire day for myself for some explorations by bike in Tokyo and then in the evening dinner with German friends. I hadn't planned anything before coming to Tokyo, so just planned the route on the morning. Looking at Japan-Guide I found the suggested neighbourhood of Shibamata and also Rikugien garden. I only made it to Shibamata, also because it was really nice there.

On the way out to Shibamata, I passed by the Hokasai museum...

... Tokyo Skytree ...

... and finally Arakawa:

To arrive finally at the highlight of the ride, Shibamata. The main highlight is the temple, which has superbly rich wooden carvings, apparently from the same artists as the famous carvings in Nikko.

With the details of beards

The carvings are now protected from the weather by a outer glass house, but as a visitor one can enter inside that house and get on a kind of podium walking once around the entire temple, admiring at close distance the details of the carvings, which are really outstanding. Very much reminded me of capitals in romanic cloisters.

The temple itself is in a nice temple setting and has the added attraction of a view-garden:

The normal approach to the temple is through an old shopping street full with Japanese sweet and Senbei shops.

The famous Senbei

These shops and Shibamata as a whole has also been immortalized in the the films of "Otoko ha tsurai yo" 男はつらいよ. There is even a museum (which I did not visit) dedicated to the films and its director.

While I did not visit the museum, there was yet an other attraction in Shibamata, Yamata Tei, a tea house with garden. I didn't take a tea and sweet (also because I hadn't had yet lunch) but it must be nice sitting there, gazing out into the garden and sipping the bitter green tea. Next time!

After picking up a bento box close to the station, I headed to Edogawa, the river separating Chiba from Tokyo and had my lunch down at the river, not without a view on the last remaining watashi boat:

Watashi is one of those words which I knew since a long time means boat, because it is an example of how computer recognition of kanjis work. Watashi means in most circumstances "I", but in some sentences it can mean this very specific type of boat. Now when typing in Japanese, one either types in romaji, i.e. "watashi" or in hiragana, i.e. わたし and then the computer provides a list of possible kanjis from where to choose the right one. Computers mostly guess it correctly, but as a novice writer one has to be able to distinguish the two kanjis 私 (= I) and 渡 (the boat). But as you can see, the kanjis are VERY different, so actually not complicated to tell the two apart, even if you know only one of them and even if you know that one only vaguely.

After lunch I headed back to the centre of Tokyo in direction of my friends. But as I had planned the ride on Garmin to pass by Rikugien, I passed there and stopped briefly. Actually I could have even gone to the garden, as opening hours were prolonged by an hour... but I didn't have time, nor did I want to rush through the garden. So I continued on to Kagurazaka, but stopped at Akagi Shrine, really close to my friends, which I found out only yesterday was build by Kengo Kuma, a famous Japanese architect for which my husbands cousin works.

My friends lent me some towels and I headed off to a quick soak and shower at the local sento, which is a traditional bath house recently renovated, but still very much traditional. In contrary to a normal sento, like the one I was heating up the evening before, this one has several different pools: quite hot with whirlpool effect, carbonated and not so hot water, mist sauna, normal sauna and cold water pool... but no rotenburo. So far the only sento with rotenburo in Tokyo I have visited is the one in Shinagawa.

Freshly bathed we then spend a nice evening on the balcony grilling, later trying the くず餅 (Kuzu mochi), I had brought from Shibamata... all agreeing that we prefer the normal mochi made of rice, rather then the wheat one. And thus a nice evening with friends came to an end.

I hopped back on my bike and made the last few kilometers back to my hotel, where I washed, packed up and got ready for my trip to Nara prefecture.

GW 2019 - Day 1 - Cold Picnic ride with NPC - 超寒いピクニックライド

Bicycle: 33 km

Route: Otemachi - Hairdresser (in Shimokitazawa) - Shibuya - Shiba Koen - Otemachi

Total riding time: 2:27 h

Total ascent: 176 m 

Weather: cloudy, some light rain and freeeeeeezingly cold, 11 C

My Golden Week cycling in Japan started with the monthly cycling with the friends from Tokyo NPC. I had come from Osaka the night before to Tokyo, dropped off the work computer for a record Golden Week in the office and stayed the night in yet an other Toyoko Inn, very close to Tokyo Station. As I had been staying so much in Toyoko Inns (mainly business), I had enough points to pay all 3 nights with the points. And I think I still have for an other night or so. 

On Saturday morning I had an appointment with my hairdresser (I know, having a hairdresser in Tokyo is somewhat impractical if living in The Netherlands..., but the one and only I tried over there left my hair feel broken for several days) and hey, having a chat with your hairdresser that knows you is also attractive. 

After only a few meters from the hotel, I headed back to get an extra layer, it was cold. During the day however it would only get even colder!

The hairdresser finished his job quickly and to my full satisfaction, chat and all included, then I put my helmet on again on my freshly cut hair (he didn't take it badly) and set off to the meeting point in Shibuya.

Maybe due to the freezing temperatures or maybe it was the first day of Golden Week, we weren't a large group, but the hardcore fans all attended, including an ex-colleague of mine (the one the very right of this picture) who cycled all the way from Hiratsuka (some 60 km) to attend. Some more  people joined us along the way. We were all more or less freezing on our bicycles, but yet, made it to the destination of Shiba Koen which would have been the spot for the picnic. When we arrived there, we took a quick picture and decided very quickly on seeking refuge in a restaurant to get something hot. As often before we went to a Taiwanese place close to Hamamatsucho Station. 

本日のライドも無事終了しました。ご参加頂いた皆様有難うございましたー♪(a)#npc128 pic.twitter.com/NGIyYsXdPZ

— ナイトペダルクルージング (@NPC_TDF) April 27, 2019

After filling our stomachs and warming up, the tradition dictates a hot coffee and some sweets, which we achieved at a family restaurant, also close to Hamamatsucho. On the way we took this picture:

Getting out of the family restaurant... and it was freezing cold again, but lucky for me it wasn't too far from there to my hotel in Otemachi. Arriving I asked at the reception, if there was any sento in the area, and although we are talking the very centre of Tokyo, there was a very traditional sento right behind the corner, Inari Yu. A sento were the old ladies from the neighbourhood assemble every evening to have a chat and a soak, and which brought me back to operating temperature. A ramen soup later... and I was in bed.

Ride to the hairdresser: 

... and Picknick ride: 

Minoo Park and onsen in Bampaku Kinen park - 箕面と万博記念温泉

Bicycle: 34 km

Route: Shin-Osaka - Minoo Park - Banpaku Kinen Park - Shin-Osaka

Total riding time: 2:45 h

Total ascent: 280 m 
Average speed:  12.4 km/h

Weather: sunny and warmer than necessary, 27 C

Nearly 25 years ago I was for the first - and so far last - time in Minoo park, while travelling through Japan at the end of my first 5 months in Japan. I travelled for maybe 2 weeks (would need to look up the old letters) and in Osaka visited a friend that I somehow met in Tokyo but he was actually doing some research work in Osaka. We did a few touristic things together in Osaka, and one of them must have been a visit to Minoo park. I don't really know, but I remember it was a rather long trip by bus from the city center out into the nature, then a quite tiring walk (it was August, so really hot) but then we met these cute, but somewhat aggressive monkeys. In the middle of nature but still not so far away from Osaka. I can't really say now if this was Minoo park, but by all likelihood it must have been. 

I wanted to see those monkeys again, but so far when I was in Osaka I always either had more interesting things to do, or weather was just not right to go out there, hiking. But today was perfect. After the farer excursion yesterday to Miho Museum, today I didn't want to go that far away, so a place reachable from my hotel by bicycle seemed to be a good choice.

Now the ride towards Minoo park was not specially nice, just urban sprawl. Probably I should have taken this course which seems to run along a river. But when I planned the route yesterday I forgot that I had seen that course already and just looked for smaller streets on Garmin. 

Osaka is also a surprisingly hilly city... at least beyond Esaka. 

So well, the ride there was not the nicest I have ever done in Japan, but the destination was nice, and shady:

I parked the bicycle at the entrance to Minoo Park and then walked up the easy way along the valley to the waterfall.

Along the way one could still see the damage done by a typhoon. Was it typhoon 21 of 2018? But in the meantime the walkway has been reopened again. A temple along the way is still somewhat damaged.

At the waterfall I was also rewarded with a monkey... eating his ice cream:

On the way back at the same temple, what is probably going to be the last hanami for this year (as I don't plan to go North):

I didn't record the walk on Garmin... but it would have added some additional elevation to it. 

This park is really such a change from the surroundings. The city just extends and extends until there, and then, from one meter to the next, one is surrounded by nature. Very relaxing.

For the ride back I had found an onsen in Banpaku Kinen Park. I actually had planned (in Garmin) to also visit the park itself... but it was way too late for that. So more to do in a future visit to Osaka. Then I should probably try this https://www.cyclesports.jp/courseguide/jitenshado/007/index# route. 

In the park I went to the onsen (super-sento), which has a lot of outdoor space with 4 different pools, one of them luke warm, which was nice as a cooling down option.

And well, then it was time to call it a day and ride back. The one problem of that onsen might simply be that it is "too far" from Shin-Osaka, so once finished there, I still have several km to ride back, including some more hills. So no ideal after a relaxing bath. But the onsen itself was nice.

Miho Museum - a perfect day 最高

Bicycle: 53 km

Train: 150 km

Route: Minami Kusatsu - Miho Museum - Moriyama

Total riding time: 3:35 h

Total ascent: 480 m 

Weather: sunny, but not too hot,  21C

My ride today did bring to a very special place, Miho Museum. I had heard about this museum already quite some time ago, but always only knew that it was hard to reach... which kind of is true. But today I gathered my determination and set out to ride up (!) to it.

And actually it wasn't as hard as I thought, it was a steady climb up, well, with a few a bit more flat patches, but really only between the lower and the upper parking lot at the museum, the road became too steep... so I parked at the lower one.

The museum is superbly integrated in the nature plus has a very selected collection (which I actually didn't see), but more on that later.

Breathtaking view like a paravent from the museum

Entrance way to the museum 

The setting of the museum is unique and in koyo season it must also be spectacular, but today with the hanami it was incredible.

Approach to the museum

The museum in form of a shrine

View from the lobby

The museum itself does not seem to be very large, but actually I only saw about half of it, a special  temporary exhibition about Zen art with the main treasures of Daitokuji temple in Kyoto. One had to stand in a queue for a bit, but I used the time to listen to the audio guide. The exhibition itself was really worth it.

The rest of the museum seems to house selected art works from different ancient cultures, e.g. egyptien, roman... I didn't have time nor strength to see these parts today as well. So I can come back to the museum in the future.

This was now the 4th weekend in a row with Hanami!

• 31/Mar: Kyoto with colleagues and blossoms still nearly closed
• 6 & 7/April: ride to Daigoji
• 13/April: trip to Yoshino
• 20/April: weeping cherries at Miho museum

Kyoto, Yoshino, Daiguji, Miho Museum

Both on the way up as well as the way down, I passed through, what I think is the nicest small village in Japan I have seen so far. Totally un-touristic, actually a totally anonymous village, not too small, not too big, but still in its vast majority it has maintained (and lived in) the traditional houses: Kamitanakami.

And the day finished perfectly in an onsen (super-sento) in Moriyama.

A perfect day!


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Map: 

Along Yodogawa - fastest 40 km ever 淀川沿って走るレコード

Bicycle: 50.6 km

Route: Along Yodogawa and back at exactly 25 km

Total riding time: 2:46 h

Total ascent: 51 m 
Average speed: 18.2 km/h

Weather: sunny later on dark, 16 C

I escaped early from work (but had to attend a TC later tonight) and just wanted to get some movement. So I just cycled up on Yodogawa along the route I found 2 weeks ago which starts very close to my hotel along one river and then links up to Yodogawa cycling route. One long cycling road, only interrupted by those barriers against motorcyclists, which however stop everyone from just riding through.

Weather was perfect and I was energetic riding along up the river at quite some speed. So I decided to turn back at exactly 25 km to get a full 50 km.

What I hadn't considered, that coming back - downstream - might actually be more exhausting than riding up... because of the wind. It was one of those rides that seemed perfectly windstill... well, only when you have the wind in your back. But still thanks to racing up the river and not slowing down too much on the way back, I made my fastest 40 km ever at only 2:08 h (okay, I know, a lot of other people wont be impressed by that, but hey, it was 17 min faster than the previous record (which was only a few days ago. Which in turn only was very slightly faster than one ride I did about a year ago in the Netherlands. 

What was rather surprising is how far I came on the left side of the river towards Kyoto. I had asked the other day some cyclists at the merger of Yodogawa river and Uji river, if there was a cycling lane on both sides of the river, and they told me, no. Only on the right side was there such a cycling lane. But as a matter of fact on the left side there is also one at least until the point where I reached today, which is only about 4 km from the joining of those rivers... And by all that I can see on Strava maps and in 3 D reality this cycling road also should arrive until that confluence. Not sure why they were convinced it wouldn't.

It is true though that the cycling road on the other side of the river especially in the upper part (seen from Kyoto) is easier to ride, as it has way less obstacles. 

Hanami at Kyoto temples - 京都のお寺で花見を

Bicycle: 59 km

Train: 54 km

Route: From Yamashina to Shin-Osaka

Total riding time: 3:49 h

Total ascent: 176 m 
Average speed: 15.6 km/h

Weather: sunny and quite warm, 20 C

I followed through on the decision taken yesterday, to go back to Yamashina and complete the sightseeing of Hanami there and then ride back to Osaka.

This was definitely the better way to address this route. First sightseeing and then riding back. And in retrospect, it was great that I had not arrived yesterday in time at Daigoji temple. The complex is huge and with all the cherry blossoms invites for a lot of pictures. I think I spent probably about 2 h (including lunch) there today.

My day started at Bishamon-do temple, close to Yamashina station. Today it was the turn of their Hanami festival. They didn't only have the obligatory flowers but also various spectacles. When I arrived it was the turn of a group of elderly, very formal ladies playing the shamisen.

And more flowers creating a very nice atmosphere at that temple. 

Yesterday in Google maps, I had seen that there is also an other hanami spot close to Daigoji, Kaijuji:

Google maps functionality is definitely a great invention!

So when I had seen all the flowers at my first temple of the day, I took the same river as yesterday versus Kaijuji. Again a very nice temple with cherry blossoms just at their peak and as this place probably is less known by tourists, also in comparison much emptier... but nice nevertheless (or maybe because of lack of too many tourists).

And then off to the most famous of the 3 temples of the day for cherry blossoms, Daigoji. Garmin had found me a slightly better route than yesterday (without a hill in between). This time there was enough time to buy the ticket and see everything. The temple consists of 3 large areas that are only accessible with a ticket. 2 of them are temple buildings and spots for hanami (and in autumn for koyo), one seems to be a museum only (which I didn't visit as I wanted to ride on and didn't really have such an interest into buddhistic art today.

Gate to the main temple area

The oldest wooden building in Kyoto... but Cherry blossoms take precedence

Cherry blossom petals floating on a pond 

Very romantic. Some areas of the temple were quite crowded, but actually around the temples themselves, there is enough space to enjoy it.

There is even a hike up a hill to the inner temples, which I didn't do, but must be nice at koyo times.

In my Garmin plan of yesterday I had also mapped in Mampukuji in Uji - actually not too far away - but it was shortly after 15:00 when I left Daigoji and I had already seen 3 magnificent temples and not so much time before sunset to get back home in Shin-Osaka, so I left it for an upcoming ride. Actually there are even more things already on my "to-do list" for that region, as there is a reconstructed castle close to Fushimi Inari and the mausoleum of the Meiji emperor.

Very close to this mausoleum I did however one more sightseeing today, by pure chance. I was riding and passed Momoyama-Minamiguchi station, when I saw a strangely shaped building right besides the station, which I had seen before while searching for modern architecture. It is a dental clinic build by Shin Takamatsu, build to resemble a steam engine.

Riding further along, I passed by this Showa era sluice with a very small but nearly interactive museum:

Returning I took the same river combination - Ujigawa and then Yodogawa as yesterday, but today it was in descent. I didn't really notice it yesterday that I was riding up all the time (although it is logical looking at the map), but riding downwards really made a difference. I even got a laurel wreath from Garmin for my fastest 40 km. Which must be completely due to a very fast ride from where Ujigawa joins Yodogawa. When I had arrived at the confluence it was already around 17:00 and from there it is still about 30 km to Shin-Osaka with a sunset coming up at 18:23! While riding to that point I had decided to try to ask some fellow cyclists (well, some race cycle cyclists) if there is a bike lane on the Ibaraki side of the Yodogawa river. At the confluence I found a group of cyclists that were taking a break there, asked and was informed that there is only one cyclelane on the other side (i.e. the same side I rode up yesterday or back in January when riding to Arashiyama). So now it was already a bit after 17:00 and I had 30 km in front of me, or a ride on a Keihan train to downtown Osaka, which was a back-up solution, but not my preferred choice. I didn't really expect to make it to Shin-Osaka when I set off at that junction, but thought that well, there were sufficient train stations not too far from the river, that I could try. The slight, but steady downhill combined with the good cycling lane helped me to speed along at about 27 km/h for 15 km or so:

Every now and then, however one has to stop, step off the bicycle and get through one of those annoying cycling obstacles. But well...

And last, but not least, thanks to Garmin, I finally found a good access road from where I am staying in Shin-Osaka to Yodogawa-river. I had tried in the past, and made it to the river (e.g. yesterday), but the access is a bit complicated. However taking the Kanzaki river was the solution. There is a perfect, small cycling lane along it, that brings me extremely close to temporary-home. Very convenient!

So overall an extremely successful day:

• 3 Hanami spots
• Fastest 40 km so far
• Modern architecture by surprise 
• New cycling lane discovery

Perfect end for this weekend. Next weekend more.