SW D10 Tateshina Daira

Route: Suwa - Tateshina Daira - Chino

Bicycle: 41 km 

Train: 180 km

Total ascent: 608 m

Average speed : 14,7 km
Riding time: 2:46 h
Weather: very sunny but no longer hot, 25 C

The trip started 10 days ago in a full Shinkansen where there was only seating space on the ground for a few stations and then only standing. And is finishing in a sold out train back to Shinjuku. Between these two train rides lie 430 km and 5513 elevation meters of cycling, a lot of art, even more landscape and a lot of enjoyment. 

Today weather was very nice. Sunny and no longer hot. Such a change compared to the rain and dark clouds yesterday. I am always surprised how quickly weather can change completely. 

In principle I had planned to ride a part of the famous Venus Line up to Shirakaba lake, but I only made it up to Tateshina Daira. 

Obviously it is tiring to climb, but I think I could have done an other 10 km of climbing. Overall the plan per Komoot was only 1010 m of climbing and per Strava I did climb 608 of them. However it was getting cold. Not as long as I was riding uphill, but when I stopped at Tateshina Daira for lunch and a rest, sitting outside quickly became rather cold, and this was only at 1230 m of elevation. The top of the road was going to be at 1760 m. I only had my rain jacket as potential wind breaker and jacket for a nearly 30 km decent. This somehow seemed unwise. I need to ask some cycling friends what they bring for alpine descents. 

So instead I explored a bit around the lake and found a tiny road down to a very nice waterfall. 

From there further down and to a village onsen. It was a small village onsen, where the locals go and even leave some of their stuff permanently in the changing room. But it had a rotenburo. Once upon a time it had a view of the nearby stream, but now it’s blocked off for potential views. In the same grounds was also the village administration office, the shrine grounds and the cemetery. All you need for a successful village. 

SW D9 Ueda to Suwako

Route: Ueda - Shinonoi - Matsumoto - Suwa
Bicycle: 73 km
Train: 57 km
Total ascent:  635 m
Average speed: 16,5 km/h
Riding time: 4:30 h
Weather: for the first part rainy, for the second part windy and dark clouds but no rain anymore, 

The original plan was to ride over from Ueda through Aoki to Matsumoto and then either by bike or train to Suwako. A road I had seen a few months ago when I tried (and failed) to cycle from Bessho onsen to Matsumoto. But that plan didn’t count on a cold rainy day. When I started there was only very light rain, but t this transformed into proper rain quite quickly and at a conbini already in direction to Aoki I reconsidered my options. Being alone in the mountains on a small road up and (!) down with so much rain wasn’t going to be neither safe nor fun. So I reconsidered my options:

1. Cycle to Komoro and get a local train to Kobuchizawa. 
2. Cycle to Ueda and take a Shinkansen back to Tokyo and call it off. 
3. Cycle to Shinonoi and get a train from there to Matsumoto.

I went with option #3. Option #1 has considerably less trains. Option #2 was tempting because then I could have participated in the evening in Tokyo at the NPC ride, but weather tomorrow in the lake Suwa area seemed to be so nice plus I already had booked a hotel which at such short notice was not going to be refundable. So option #3 it was. 

So I cycled down again on the same bicycle road along the river all the way to Shinonoi. Uneventful but wet ride. 

However as soon as I arrived at the station, had packed up my bike and changed into dry clothes, the rain stopped and the sun made an appearance. But this wasn’t going to fool me. Now I was sold on the train option. 

From the train I was surprised to see a lot of damaged trees. Apparently dried out. How is that even possible on Japan with the humid summers? Or were those trees simply killed by heat not lack of water? Japan has more than enough trees, so it’s probably not a problem. And maybe even a chance to plant something else that hasn’t half of the nation sneezing in spring with allergy.

I arrived at Matsumoto station shortly before 12:00, found a very good karaage restaurant where I had chicken nanban. After lunch I changed back into my slightly damp cycling clothes, put the bike together again and then set off towards Suwako. On google maps it seems like an easy ride, but in reality there is a 1040 m high mountain pass in between and the road has a lot of up and down. 

But one gets a nice view of the lake below, and on days with less clouds the Minami and Kita Alps would also be visible. From a distinctively brutalist viewing platform. 

From there on a very small and incredibly steep (I walked) road down to the lake, a short stop on the shores in a foot spa and then off to my hotel for the last night of this trip.

SW D8 Nozawa onsen to Ueda

Route:Nozawa onsen - follow the River - Ueda
Bicycle: 101 km
Total ascent: 644 m
Average speed: 19,2 km/h
Riding time: 5:16 h
Weather: cloudy but no rain where I was, 27 C

 

Today was a transition day. Fitting for the day after the queens stage. Downhill from Nozawa onsen to the broad valley around Nagano that is a hot bed for any kind of fruit cultivation. Mainly apples, but also walnuts, pears, kaki, grapes, …

And mountains.

 

The only sightseeing spot I visited today, was this gigantic ginkgo tree. I had seen indications to it in past rides around Nozawa onsen, but never actually went. Should definitely go again when the koyo season is in full swing.

Apart from that, it was a relatively uneventful day, riding for a good pirate along the river on a dedicated bike path.At my second breakfast stop, I checked if there is an onsen close to Ueda and found one not too far and nearly on my way. It was one of the few onsen with a view while sitting in the hot water. A view over the valley and towards the mountains in front. There was even at some point a nice little rainbow, but I got lucky and it never rained in the entire day where I was.

SW D7 Tokamachi - Akiyama - Nozawa onsen

Route: Tokamachi - Akiyama - Nozawa onsen
Bicycle: 80 km
Total ascent: 1750 m
Average speed: 15,2 km/h
Riding time: 5:15 h
Weather: hot but not that humid, mostly sunny later some clouds, 30 C

After the rest day, today the Queens stage: up to Akiyama and then at the end up to the ski area of Nozawa onsen. 

Akiyama was suggested as one of the interesting spots fit the art exhibition, but I didn’t make it up to the interesting piece. I stopped about 6 km and , more importantly 240 meters of elevation before reaching that part of the exhibition. Maybe in hindsight I should have continued on, but I had the feeling that there was a lot of downhill in the uphill I had done and needed to cycle all this back. But it was misleading. Actually what I saw on Komoot was much closer to reality, ie nearly one long downhill with one kicker, compared to what I had felt coming uphill. Not the first time that some downhill in an uphill on the way back seem petty.

At this abandoned school I turned back after a good rest and an onigiri I had bought at a conbini in the valley. Inside was an art installation that was more for children to play with. 

But the valley itself was gorgeous, with a steep wall on one side and a lovely stream.

On the way down I stopped at a soba restaurant. Apparently Niigata is very famous for its rice, but I have been eating soba twice and even saw some soba fields. 

Back down in the Shinano valley I stopped at Hong Kong house and yet an other abandoned school turned into an art venue for a last look at some art:

But overall the art I like here is the one that stands in the landscape and interacts with it. 

For the night I had reserved a room with half board in the ski area of Nozawa onsen. I had come here last year November. Very friendly owners. And a good cook. 

Tomorrow probably back to Tokyo as weather isn’t promising here. Not yet decided if I’ll ride in the rain to Nagano or get down the mountain by bus and then take a train from Iiyama. 

SW D6 More art, more rain, no bike

Route: ryokan to MonET museum and back
Bicycle: 0 km
Taxi: 3,5 km

Bus: 3,5 km
Weather: rain and more rain, 25 C

Today’s forecast was rain and more rain. So much rain that parts of Niigata prefecture are under alert for landslides and inundation. So cycling wasn’t in the plan today. But today the museums opened again, so I took a taxi from my ryokan to the MonET museum in Tokamachi. 

Frankly I am a bit disappointed by it. I had expected that as the main venue of the festival the art work would be new, but really only the art work on the openly accessible ground level was new, and I had seen that already on Sunday. 

While the art inside the museum was mostly (or maybe even completely) the same as 2 years ago. This doesn’t mean it’s not good /interesting art, but I had expected to be mostly new exhibits. 

Anyway I was able to see again this “waterfall”. It’s not water but silicone oil falling down and creating a very nice and gentle movement. 

As I had no other plans for today , I took it slowly , then had lunch at the neighboring “michi-no-eki” and am now sitting in the onsen of the museum, writing todays and yesterdays blog posts. 

The onsen doesn’t have a rotenburo, which normally isn’t what I like, but with the rain rotenburo can often not be enjoyed anyway. 

Once I finish this post I’ll go and get my bath and then either watch the sumo tournament here or go back by taxi (or bus?) to my ryokan for a last night. Tomorrow weather is supposedly again sunny (and hot - very hot apparently all in Japan with 36 C in Tokyo and not much less here) and I’ll ride from here to Nozawa onsen, to the same pension I already went last year. Probably on Saturday I will return to Tokyo as the weather in the region isn’t going to be good for riding. So probably I can participate in the NPC ride in Tokyo on Saturday evening. 

SW D5 More art

Route: Valley of Tokamachi
Bicycle: 48 km
Total ascent: 554 m
Average speed: 16 km/h
Riding time: 2:58 h
Weather: very humid, some rain, and warm, 30 C

Today’s weather forecast had some rain, some non-rain time. I managed to pass the rain time under the roof of a 7/11, but still got kind of wet: road spray and an incredible humidity. Like in a botanical garden subtropical green house. 

I had decided to stay in the valley and look for some new artwork in the area. Luckily the app of the Tsumari Echigo festival has a google map where one can filter for new artwork. I should also remeber fit the next time that the indoor events are all closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. 

Most of the art work I saw left me pretty indifferent …

Except these cubes in the forest on a very soft ground in a very wet forest. 

But I also went to see some long time favorites:

I think here the official art work is the blue metal construction (an English terraced house) but I like the enormous torii in the rice paddies. 

This was the furthest I got today from my accommodation . Rain was already visible in the distance but I made it to a 7/11 comfortably in time and has lunch under their roof (outside) while waiting out the rain, before returning and going towards Tokamachi. A new piece of art that has been recommended was this:

A man powered snow plow, which wouldn’t work, which is clear from looking at an actual snow plow right next to it. 

Checking the weather it weekend it wouldn’t rain soon, so I continued to the farest spot in Tokamachi , where these two pieces of art awaited me:

I had seen pictures of it, where the ball was still green, but I think even with the withered leaves it still looks nice. 

These two pieces were next to a shrine at the feet of a hill behind the local sports ground. 

This shrine had a sumo ring, but this wasn’t where I watched sumo today. Instead back in my accommodation I watched the autumn (!) sumo meeting and how Oo-no-sato did win his 10th match in a row, on his way of winning this tournament with two wins advantage over the next 3  competitors. 

SW D4 more art and a castle around Tokamachi

Route: Tokamachi area
Bicycle: 44 km
Total ascent: 582 m
Average speed: 12,9 km/h
Riding time: 3:24 h
Weather: hot and humid, some rain, 30 C

Today’s highlight was not art, but a castle.

And I nearly missed it for the third time. I have been here now three times once in 2015 by car and then two years ago in 2022 by bicycle and both times I was really close to this castle, but both times I did not make it up to the castle. The year we came by car, we went to a part of the art installation that is only a few hundred meters below the castle, but if I remember correctly, it started raining, so we probably didn’t drive up to the castle. Two years ago, I came again to this area on a very hot and humid day and had struggled up the hill to a certain point, not actually with the goal to reach the castle, but those aren’t installations below it. But I gave up on the road junction and rode downhill instead. Today again, I was at risk of not reaching the castle. The initial road is crazy steep so I pushed up the bike for most of it. Then at the road junction where I had given up the last time, it levels off a little bit, but at that point it started raining. Not the first rain of the day but the first strong rain. Luckily, I made it under a tree and in combination with my rain, jacket and helmet cover I stayed reasonably dry.The rain didn’t last very long, which was kind of clear from the type of clouds today. So I waited it out for maybe 10-15 minute, And then restarted my ride. Originally, I hadn’t even planned to ride up to the castle, instead, I was interested in the art installations.But once I reached the entrance to the art installations, I remembered that I had been here already back in the day. So no need to repeat this again that instead, I continued uphill and was greeted by this very asiatic view. One can easily imagine it as an ink drawing.

But let’s start the day at the beginning. The first artwork was really close to my ryokan, So I kind of felt compelled to go and see it.

Well, I would say that the bear alert sign on the road leading up to it was more artistic than this piece of art.

After that, it was down through the rice and soba fields and the next stop was this artistic parking lot, which I kind of like and have visited in every single visit to this area.

This time I even saw how it looks from the side.

The next stop was one of the artworks I had been recommended the other day at the museum. And it was nice, but didn’t make the highlight of the day. While I was there it rained a little bit on and off, very light rain, but still I did hide below some trees and waited it out.

At this point, I had become rather hungry, and I had missed to buy some snacks at a conbini. So I decided to ask Google sensei for some restaurant recommendations, and it came up with a very good suggestion for a soba restaurant. Both tasty and very nice settings. I would say this was highlight number two of the day.

What definitely did not feel like a highlight, or even vaguely interesting, was the artwork right in front of the small castle. I get it, that the stone is formed like the mountains in front, but with all the clouds, the mountains weren’t visible, and overall the stone just seemed a stone among other stones.

 

From here it was mainly downhill. I made a stop at the local golf course which hosts another big part of the art exhibition. But even the outside artworks were today closed. Not really sure why that would be necessary.

SW D3 Matsuyama and Matsudai art

Route : Tokamachi - Shikawatari - Matsunoyama - Matsudai
Bicycle: 43 km
Train: 15 km
Total ascent: 739 m
Average speed: 13,7 km/h
Riding time: 3:10 h
Weather: sunny and getting hit again, 32C

Yesterday at the Monet museum I asked the friendly lady at the reception for suggestions of art work to see plus I had seen a picture of a old house from which an enormous bubble emerges which I found curious. 

Today I didn’t start that early and while a few hours extra sleep where nice it also meant that I was still out there when it really got hot. although truth be told, while it is hot, it isn’t unbearably hot, just about bearable. When I looked at the map yesterday to plan the ride,  I saw a a street on the other side of the valley, which seemed to have potentially less traffic than the road on this side. So I decided to take it, and it was great, part of it was actually kind of closed. Maybe not really closed but definitely again the road that isn’t been transited by anyone. Luckily, I also did not run into a bear. 

From Shikawatashi I started uphill, but soon found the first artwork.

Actually, only the first of these shows an artwork. And only a small piece of that picture is a artwork. Mostly it is a Tepco installation for Hydro power. And frankly speaking, the industrial installation was much more interesting than the art. The second picture isn’t art at all. It is a damn against landslides and avalanches. But in the context of the art triennial anything can seem art. While some of the art doesn’t seem right at all.

I continued further uphill and found three other small exhibition, places within close proximity. I have the impression that except the two purpose built, museums in Tokamachi and Matsudai, anll exhibitions are either in abandoned school buildings, or abandoned houses.And abandoned school houses are very abundant. In general in Japan, and in this area that is very rural, and not well-connected even more so. In one of the buildings, there was a long explanation about the history of the school building, it started as a small school at the end of the 19th century, then grew and grew before reaching its peak shortly after the second world war. From there, it was a continuous decline and probably from the 90s onwards bottomless fall. Number of students diminishing so far that school got combined and closed. I read somewhere recently studied by the Japanese government that says that about 40% of all Japanese municipalities will disappear. 

The other sort of venues are abandoned houses, of which there is no lack in the countryside in Japan. This artwork here with a web of strings through the entire building kind of captured this feeling of loss. 

I’m not sure, but I suspect that some of these houses will only host this one installation, will not survive until the next annual, and no one will remove the installation. This house here already in Matsudai, at the end of my ride today, felt like a capitalist nightmare. The entire house covered in fake gold, Mahjong tiles, game automat, and more gold.Removing all the decoration to reuse this building for something else would seem a total waste of time, knowing how many abandoned buildings there are in this area and in general in Japan.

But back to the house with the bubble. Curiously called China house.I have no idea why it has absolutely no obvious connection with China. This is how the bubble from the inside looks.

Close by there was another abundance school now used as an exhibition facility. Unfortunately, the school was abundant before it got installed air-conditioning so it was actually quite hot inside.

There was a bath inside, but not off refreshing water, but instead of wooden balls. Much harder to get out than the IKEA balls.

I have been recommended another Place in the area, called “the teachers house”, But by the time I had finished with the exhibition and the schoolhouse, I felt quite hot and decided to just ride downhill to Matsudai. The museum there looks a little bit like a spaceship that landed in the middle of rice paddies. In the coffee, I had a cold drink and a small piece of cake, but in an art project even that can look like art.

And thanks to the advancements in AI technology, I was even able to raise my foot that was standing in the picture and disturbing the artistic vibe.

But it was also nice landscape today…

 

… some even without any art in it.

Even at this museum, I was still feeling relatively hot and why it was getting a bit more bearable outside. I also saw that there’s a very long tunnel between Matsudai and Tokamachi, and I have no idea if it is nice to ride with a bike or not. So I gave into the temptation and took the train back to Tokamachi and then only cycled back the last few kilometers to my ryokan.