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.

D1 - Gifu Hashima to Kyoto

Route: Gifu Hashima - Nakasendo - Lake Biwa - Kyoto
Bicycle: 124 km
Train: 400 km
Total ascent: 556 

Riding time: 6:26 h

Average speed: 19,3 km/h
Weather: initially light rain, then dry with clouds and some sun, but cold, 3 C

A 4 day weekend and ticket to a royal garden in Kyoto did bring me today to Kyoto. Although I am by nature not an early bird, my alarm was ringing shortly after 5:30 this morning to catch a train from Shimokitazawa at 6:20 and a Shinkansen from Tokyo station at 7:33. My Shinkansen of the day was a peculiar Hikari. The only additional stop to a Nozomi was Odawara. Apart from that pretty much a Nozomi until it started to stop at every station after Nagoya. But I had to get out at the first station beyond Nagoya. So overall a very easy ride. But I had to start early in order to have enough time on the bike.

When I arrived at Gifu Hashima it was gently raining, not too much to put me off from riding though. But I need to recognize that the first part, until about Sekigahara wasn’t a specially enjoyable ride. Just a ride through built up parts of a sprawling town.

But then I made it in the Nakasendo, there was even a sign post saying Kyoto to the right, Edo to the left. Did people really get lost? 

From there the road wound a little bit uphill but actually not that much. The planners of the Nakasendo 中山道 didn’t really want to go on top of the mountains but THROUGH the mountains with minimum resistance. Now the highway, a state road, a small road, the local trains and the Shinkansen all take this same pass to come from Nagoya to Biwako.

Over the pass and down to Maibara and I was in known territory: Lake Biwa. Where I have already cycled several times. And also this time I took a picture of this big tree on the shore an my bike: 

The last times I was here with the brompton and once even with the brompton and a skirt with the picture of the brompton at this tree:

This tree seems to be known in the entire area for taking pictures with your mode of transportation. This time there were some people arranging their cars for the perfect shot. Last time there were several motorbike riders doing the same. So I am not alone to think this is a nice place. Probably Instagramme is full of this tree, cars, motorcycles and bicycles. 

After this stop I continued on my way to Kyoto. I was considering in leaving the bicycle at Otsu station and come here tomorrow and start from here (idea was to cycle over to Uji and the tea plantations), but the weather forecast didn’t seem too good, so I stuck to my original plan and went all the way to Kyoto. 120+ km, but mostly flat around the lake. 

On the West side it was generally sunny (but cold), but the East side is a high mountain range that was covered in snow until quite low slopes lying in the shadow. 

My planned route took me over the Biwako Ohashi, and then to Otsu on the other side of the lake. But probably I should have stayed on the Eastern side. I remember that cycling there was quite good. On the Western side it’s just on a road with a lot of traffic. At least it’s nice to be able to pass by so many cars stuck in traffic. 

Over to Kyoto there us a steep hill. Last time I climbed it I was on my heavily loaded brompton and definitely pushed up the hill for the most part. Today with my light weight carbon road bike I managed to cycle up, albeit with a break. 

Down to Yamashino, up again and down to Kyoto and in the beginning dark I arrived at my accommodation for the next few days. My suitcase had also already arrived by TaQBin. After checkin I went to the local supermarket to get dinner and breakfast and then a shower was on the plan. But instead I found (thanks to google sensei) this sento closeby which was somewhere between a normal neighborhood sento and a super sento with 4 pools inside and (!) a rotenburo!