Golden Week 2019 - The plan GWの計画について

I am back in Japan for 2 month of extended business trip. In the middle of this time there is however Golden Week, the longest ever, 10 days off in a row. (Thanks to the tenno abdicating). 

I organized these 10 days at end of January, while waiting for a flight to Sapporo, that brought me, among other wintery things, to these very cute penguins in Otaru: 

Now this is no excuse for organizing a GW that is counter intuitive. Essentially the plan is:

- Day 0 (= Friday): depart from Osaka to Tokyo
- Day 1 (= Saturday): Tokyo with NPC friends
- Day 2 (= Sunday): Tokyo with more friends
- Day 3 (= Monday): move back (by train) to Kansai and stay in Yamatoyagi, in inner Nara prefecture, where I was already 1.5 years ago and liked it a lot.
- Day 4 & 5 (= Tuesday & Wednesday) in and around Yamatoyagi: Day 4 Miwa, Day 5 Asuka
- Day 6 (= Thursday), ride down towards Wakayama

Until here while illogical to move first from Kansai to Kanto and then back again, the plan isn't too bad. (Note that the Tokyo stint was conditioned by the date the NPC friends meet). Now the following part has me moving (by train) across a lot of land... to get to Matsue and Izumo. Why? Because I have never been even anywhere close to that region, it seems to be very cycling friendly, and I simply wanted to go. So...

- Day 7 (= Friday), moving by train (and a bit of bike) from Wakayama to Matsue
- Day 8 (= Saturday), Matsue
- Day 9 (= Sunday), from Matsue to Izumo
- Day 10 (= Monday), Izumo and flight back to Haneda for my last 3 weeks of business trip in Japan.

On Google maps these 10 days look like this:

Part 10 (Day 48 & 49) - Riding the Shimanami Kaido over the Seto Inland Sea しまなみ海道 - Summary

Bicycle touring Japan - Riding the Shimanami Kaido - Part 10

In this post I review my experience in riding the Shimanami Kaido, one of the best cycling courses in Japan, over 6 bridges connecting Honshu with Shikoku over the Seto Inland Sea, using small islands as bridge bases. 

Bicycle: 109  km

Other transport: 136 km

Region: Shimanami Kaido from Onomichi all the way to Imabari

Total riding time: 7:15 h

Total ascent: 786 m 

Finally the famous Shimanami Kaido ride! This is definitely a unique cycling road in Japan. Probably in other countries (e.g. central Europe) similarly well indicated cycling roads do exist, but in Japan this is quite unique. And not only that it is well indicated and riding through a nice landscape, the Seto Inland Sea, but the planners of this ride have considered cyclists when building the express way bridges linking Honshu to Shikoku. Each of the 6 bridges (i.e. exluding the first 7th brigde) have a special cycle lane, which is even separated from an other special small motorcycle lane. Also the access to these bridges were built with the cyclist in mind. Perfect ramps up (and down), with an ascent of about 3% but also always in between short stretches of less ascent to catch your breath. Specially the entry to the last bridge was spectacular, with a looping ramp high over the sea. 

Here an approximate map of the ride as Google shows it, the actual rides are, as always in the day-to-day descriptions:

The actual routes I took are in the Strava or Garmin feed of each day:

Day 48 - Onomichi to Omijima

Day 49 - Omijima to Imabari

And here an overview of the costs. 

I would say that this ride was very similar to what I had originally planned. However to ride this, actually no planning of the route is required. There are good signs everywhere and a blue line on the asphalt leads you through the course. I started on a Sunday with good weather and it was definitely a very popular ride with hundreds of cyclists. And all kind of cyclists enjoying this ride. Families, sport cyclists, middle aged ladies on mamacharis, foreigners, young Japanese couples, bigger groups and solo travelers, including a few other cycle tourists. But on Sunday mostly day trippers. On Monday this changed, much less cyclists, still more than in any other place in Japan on a normal week day. 

The main attraction of the Shimanami Kaido is the ride itself with its bridges and the view over the sea and the many small islands. The islands themselves are surprisingly hilly, but not so much the cycle road, as it is mainly on the coast where relatively flat streets have been built. But if you are into cycling up hill, there are definitely opportunities on these islands as well. In Ehime prefecture I had the impression that the cycle road became even better with special cycle roads even on the islands, not only on & towards the bridges. Specially the first half of Omijima had a nice cycle lane. 

Now at mid November it was time for the clementine harvest and it was very nice to see all these trees with the bright orange fruits. Somewhat these islands reminded me of the Mediterranean sea. And islands are simply the ideal place to relax. Apart from the islands themselves, the only somewhat touristically interesting spot is the Kosanji temple. It is not a classical temple, but more like a "best-off" interpretation of Buddhist temples. It could also be in Japan theme park somewhere in the US. It even had a Japanese castle. And the strange marble garden on top of the hill mainly convened the idea of money to spend. But after having seen a lot of normal, i.e. traditional, Japanese temples something different is also an attraction. 

Obviously to the overall enjoyment of the ride contributed the perfect weather. Sunny plus a few clouds. During the day it was still okay to ride in T-shirt, skirt and sandals. In the evening on Omijima however it got very cold! But the onsen was closeby and heated me up reliably. Timing for this ride was also perfect, as on the next day after finalizing the trip in Matsuyama it started to rain. 

Regarding gear, although it is already mid November, my relatively light dresses are still okay. 

What was annoying that with Garmin it is not possible to plan the entire Shimanami Kaido as one route. Garmin always thinks that bicycles are not allowed on the express way, which is true, and thus does not offer the possibility to use the bridges. It is very disappointing that such a well made and well known cycle lane is completely unknown to the Garmin planning algorithm.

Part 9 (Day 44 - 47 ) - Okayama and around 岡山を周り - Summary

Bicycle touring Japan - Okayama and around - Part 9

In this post I review the cycle touring but also the excursions I did by train, bus and ferry from Okayama in days 44 to 47. 

Bicycle: 59.5 km

Other transport: 363 km

Region: Okayama area, including Kurashiki, Takahashi and Inujima island

Total riding time: 4:30 h

Total ascent: 319 m + half a mountain up to Matsumoto castle

Close to Okayama is the Kibi plain a spot relatively well known for cycling among tourists, plus there are many other touristic places close to Okayama, so a 3 night stay was perfect in this region. I didn't do a lot of cycling, partially because I didn't manage to find an accommodation on Inujima and partially because riding to Bichu-Takahashi would have taken an entire day and I also wanted to visit the Korakuen in Okayama on the same day, so the decision for the train was easy. However specially the Kibi plain is great for cycling with a cycle path that is different from many others in Japan, by using small country roads / paths that existed anyway linking them up to one 20 some kilometer long trail that does wind through the landscape and drop by a number of important shrines and temples in the area all proof of the long history of Kibi plain. In general this part of my trip through Japan was quite varied. 

Here an approximate map of the ride as Google shows it, the actual rides are, as always in the day-to-day descriptions:

The actual routes I took are in the Strava or Garmin feed of each day:

Day 44 - Osaka to Okayama

Day 45 - Kibi Plain and Kurashiki

Day 46 - Okayama's Korakuen and Matsuyama castle in Bichu-Takahashi

Day 47 - Inujima and on to Onomichi

And here an overview of the costs.

In general this part of my trip through Japan was quite varied, with some nice bicycle riding, an old city (Kurashiki), an old castle (Matsuyama), a modern art island (Inujima), a traditional Japanese garden (Korakuen) and the typical temples and shrines. Within only 3 days a lot of different (!) experiences. So that was nice after the more uniform experience in Shiga and Nara prefecture, which I also utterly enjoyed. 

In my original plan, I had planned the ride through Kibi Plain and Kurashiki, i.e. Day 45. I had completely neglected Bichu-Takahashi somehow assuming that riding there would be too hard/far/high (well, I did go there by train, but I think bicycle would have been possible if I had had the entire day, but as I wanted to see Korakuen in the morning, I had only half a day, so opted for the train). I had also planned to ride out to Hoden port, from where one takes the ferry to Inujima. But being a 25 km ride, doing this in a day and back PLUS having sufficient time to explore Inujima island would have been a too long, exhausting day. My original idea was to stay one night on the island. However the three accommodation possibilities on the island, were either occupied or not in operation. Looking back, I could have probably tried to find an accommodation in Hoden or close by and just come back with the last ferry from the island, sleep on the mainland and then back by bicycle to Okayama the next day. But a bus ride was perfectly fine as well. 

I did not have extremely high expectations for this region, so was positively impressed by the variation of nice touristic spots. Probably the one place that surprised me most was Kurashiki. I have seen on this trip (and before) other "old towns" in Japan, and often it is hardly one street, full of souvenir shops and tourists, like for example in Takayama. In Kurashiki it was much more than just one street, it is really like a small portion of the city that is well preserved. The channel in the middle also adds to the attractiveness. And last but not least this old town is remarkably different from others, such as Imaicho or Sawara in having a distinctive Meiji/Taisho era flair. There are tourists around, but nothing compared to Takayama.

The next part I really enjoyed, and that wasn't on my original plan at all, was Matsuyama castle in Bichu-Takahashi. It is one of the 12 remaining original castles in Japan, but also among those it is unique in its position high above the city on a mountain of about 400 m, overlooking the narrow valley and the other hills around. Being remote does also mean much less tourists. And it was probably the first spot in Japan where I had good koyo! Not excellent, but good enough. Hasedera in Nara was an other spot, but there is felt still slightly to early. 

Then the day on Inujima was also unique in being a modern art project, I don't want to call it museum, as the only museum building really has only 1 piece of art which I totally not enjoyed. Probably the nicest piece of art was the "flower house". I am sure it has a less poetical name invented by the artist, but in connection with the surrounding small village houses and the adjacent "lense house" it was very nice. And anyway, small islands in the Seto Inland Sea are simply nice and extremly relaxing by themselves. 

I have been talking a lot about the none-bicycle related excursions I have done, but actually the one and only ride I did, through Kibi plain, was also very nice. It has its fair share of temples and shrines. Probably nothing that can impress you after having visited Nara, but the cycle lane through that landscape is particularly nice, as it does NOT follow one river, but goes to each of the temples / shrines and uses small rural ways that gently wind through the generally flat landscape, surrounded by some hills. The cycle road is also extremely well signposted, so once you have found its starting point, you cannot get lost anymore. In that it is very similar to the Shimanami Kaido. Even the blue arrows painted on the road are similar to the big brother over the Seto Inland Sea. 

After the one day of rain since I restarted my ride on Day 38 in Maibara, that I used for work related issues in Osaka, again weather was perfectly fine for Okayama. But it is getting slightly colder and on Inujima the wind was strong and cold. But I guess that's only fair for early November. 

At this point of my cycle touring experience, my gear is all still appropriate, which is really good if you think that I started 2 months ago, in early September in Hokkaido and have changed practically nothing in my gear since then. Nothing has broken so far nor did I loose anything. So all fine!

Part 8 (Day 38 - Day 43) - From Lake Biwa to the origins of Japan 琵琶湖から日本の出身へ - Summary

Bicycle touring Japan - Lake Biwa and Nara - Part 8

In this post I review probably one of the best parts of my ride through Japan, because it was a long stretch, continuously riding in a region with a wealth of interesting sightseeing spots, and this although I did NOT do any sightseeing in Kyoto and Nara city. 

Bicycle: 284.5  km

Other transport: 420 km (to get to the starting point, but no further transport until reaching Osaka)

Region: Shiga, Nara and Osaka prefecture, from Maibara on Biwa lake through Uji to Nara and then deeper into Nara prefecture and out to Osaka

Total riding time: 18:53 h

Total ascent: 1,152 m 

Nearly a full week on the bicycle, without taking any bus, train, taxi or other mode of transport, skipping the more touristy parts like Kyoto and Nara and visiting the wonderful and more secluded areas around Lake Biwa and into inner Nara prefecture was probably, together with the Shimanami Kaido ride, one of the best experiences on my 2 months ride through Japan. 

With a region so rich in history and spots to visit, one picture isn't really enough:

From upper left to lower left, clockwise: Phoenix hall in Uji, historical building in Imaicho, pagoda at Hasedera, castle in Hikone

Here an approximate map of the ride as Google shows it, the actual rides are, as always in the day-to-day descriptions:

The actual routes I took are in the Strava or Garmin feed of each day:

• Day 38 - Tokyo to Maibara and on to Omi Hachiman
• Day 39 - Omi Hachiman to Uji
• Day 40 - Uji to Nara
• Day 41 - Nara to Yamatoyagi
• Day 42 - Around Yamatoyagi
• Day 43 - Yamatoyagi to Osaka

And here an overview of the costs.

In my original plan for Kyoto & Nara and for Shiga prefecture, I had envisioned to do a very similar ride through Nara, but coming from Mie prefecture. That wasn't possible as I had to go back to Tokyo for a few days after visiting Ise, so I did the trip the other way round. In Shiga, my original plan did foresee a full circle of the lake. Which might have been nice too, specially as there are relatively good cycling infrastructure around the lake. Actually lake Shiga was (again together with the Shimanami Kaido) one of the areas where I met the highest number of cyclists. On lake Shiga it seemed to be mainly race bike riders who came out to the lake for the day from Kyoto for a ride. And they do have a point: 

But the lake is also home to this very nice, old preserved castle.

Specially around Lake Biwa and also along the river from Kyoto to Nara, there are good bicycle lanes. The one on the Kizugawa even had a fee of 10 yen to cross one of the bridges. The only time I paid for a cycling lane (as the bridge fees of the Shimanami Kaido got [temporarily] waived). 

Thanks to staying in Uji itself I was able to get to the Phoenix hall right in the morning before the bus loads of tourists arrived. Even though the first few visits to the inside of the Phoenix hall was already full, but that wasn't probably a bad thing, as this way I could enjoy the garden around and the view of the hall with few tourists and then visit the inside in a small group when the park started to fill up with groups. 

On this trip I did not visit any place in central Nara, but did ride straight out of town to temples lying outside and specially to the UNESCO world cultural heritage site of Horyuji. While that one was nice, there were so many other nice temples in that one day, that it is really hard to decide.

But no need to decide... I simply visited them all. Luckily I don't get "templed out" quickly.

Further into Nara prefecture, in Yamatoyagi I discovered a really nice area. Yet unspoiled by tourists but full of interesting sights, small villages and nice landscape.

On my last evening in my hostel in Yamatoyagi I met a woman from Sapporo very enthusiastic about Nara region. She comes here frequently and never runs out of spots to visit. And while my interest (and understanding) of Japanese history is poor, I certainly can understand her. Not only after the trip to Hasedera and Asuka, but also what I have seen in Nara, between Nara and Yamatoyagi and also considering all the other places still to be seen here in the region which I will skip this time. 

It seems that Nara prefecture only has a set amount of money to spend on tourist information and promotion. And as there are already so many interesting places in Nara town itself, plus the UNESCO world heritage site in Horyuji, there was no money left to make the region more inland around Sakurai and Asuka known. This is actually great news for tourists searching for a place still authentically Japanese and beautiful. What you can find here:

• Hasedera temple
• Imaicho - old city
• The oldest Buddha in Japan
• Asuka - a history laden small village said to be the cradle of Japan

It was great to have an entire part of this journey by bicycle only. No folding up the brompton, just getting on the bicycle every morning and riding around. 

Both in Nara and in Yamatoyagi I went to two very old fashioned neighbourhood sentos. The one in Yamatoyagi felt like nothing had changed, including the clients, in the last 50 years. 

Both the accommodation in Nara, and even more so the one in Yamatoyagi were really nice. Old Japanese houses revived as guesthouses.

Before leaving Nara prefecture I went to see the small village of Imaicho, which essentially is a part of Yamatoyagi and is definitely one of the best preserved old cities in Japan. Much better than Takayama which is so famous. Really strange that so many tourists who are in Kyoto/Nara anyway, make the enormous detour to Takayama, when Imaicho is there just a few train stops down from Kyoto/Nara/Osaka. But well, much better for me.

The final ride from Yamatoyagi to Osaka was rather eventless with Osaka spreading through the entire plain and a bit boring, after all the nice riding through Shiga, Kyoto and Nara prefecture.

For the entire week I was also very lucky with the weather. The only day with rain was the day AFTER in Osaka, which I however mainly spent at work and then off by train to Okayama. And well, the ride from Uji to Nara was quite cold and very windy. Actually I could not really enjoy the Heijo palace in Nara because I (and most other visitors) was essentially freezing. But luckily on the next day already weather had made a U-turn and nice riding temperatures returned.

As I had passed through home before Day 38, I made a few changes to the stuff I am bringing with me, but nothing really dramatic. Essentially what I started packing for the initial ride in Hokkaido is still perfectly valid even now in early November (but obviously much more in the South of Japan).

Part 7 (Day 33 - Day 37) - Pacific Coast Bicycle Route to Ise 太平洋サイクリングロードで伊勢へ - Summary

Bicycle touring Japan - Pacific Coast Bicycle Route to Ise - Part 7

In this post I review my ride on the Pacific Coast Bicycle Road from Shizuoka to Irago and then on towards Toba and Ise by ferry. 

Bicycle: 212 km

Other transport: 568 km

Region: Along the Pacific Coast from Shizuoka to Cape Irago and then over by ferry to Toba and to Ise, returning by train through Nagoya to Tokyo 

Total riding time: 16:00 h

Total ascent: 1,177 m 

While the region is very nice, unfortunately the Pacific Coast Bicycle Route in many parts is not up to it at all, being hugely overgrown by vegetation or invaded by sand dunes that make passage impossible or simply hard to find. It isn't true for the entire path, there are good stretches as well, but many bad or impassible stretches taint the image of this bicycle lane. However arriving at cape Irago did repay for a lot of it and sightseeing in Ise was also nice.

Here an approximate map of the ride as Google shows it, the actual rides are, as always, in the day-to-day descriptions:




The actual routes I took are in the Strava or Garmin feed of each day:

• Day 33 - Shizuoka to Omaezaki
• Day 34 - Omaezaki to Bentenjima
• Day 35 - Bentenjima to Cape Irago
• Day 36 - Cape Irago to Ise
• Day 37 - Ise through Nagoya to Tokyo

And here an overview of the costs.

As per my original plan, I rode down the Pacific Coast from Shizuoka to Irago and then on with the ferry to Toba and then to Ise. In my plan of Mie prefecture, I would have continued on from Ise towards Inner Nara prefecture (taking a train at some place). However as I needed to go back to Tokyo for a few days, I stopped at Ise and then did the ride through Nara prefecture coming from Maibara instead. 

While the part between Shizuoka and Cape Irago does not have a lot of touristic highlights, Ise then is a worthwhile touristic visit, to the birthplace of Shintoism.

Also Cape Irago and specially the hotel I had stayed in at the end of the cape, was in a very nice landscape ...

... and even the ride down the long peninsula from Bentenjima to Cape Irago had its scenic spots with all those cabbage fields.

Actually most of this ride could have been done by bicycle only. The high km in other transport is mainly due to the fact that I needed to return to Tokyo after visiting Ise to take care of some work related issues. Apart from that the only non-bicycle time was under the rain between Omaezaki and Bentenjima and obviously the ferry over from Irago to Toba. If the weather would have been better essentially the entire way from Shizuoka to Ise is perfectly ridable by bicycle. Well, perfectly, with the caveat of the badly maintained bicycle path along the Pacific coast, the existence of which was one of the reasons I even had chosen this ride.

Yes, all of these are pictures of the Pacific Coast Bicycle Lane

In all fairness, also these are all images from this bicycle path, including a specific bridge

None withstanding these difficulties, actually Day 33 was the longest ride so far (76 km) and Day 35 was the one with most ascent (529 m, 74 km). So actually I did get a lot of cycling done. And weather, except on Day 34, was very good cycling weather.

Gear wise I unfortunately had my second confirmation that my rain gear is totally not up to rain. After this ride I did avoid any more rainy rides while in Japan, but sooner or later I will need to address this problem and look into a more reliable rain wear option. 

Part 6 (Day 26 - Day 32) - Hokuriku and Gifu 北陸と岐阜 - Summary

Bicycle touring Japan - Hokuriku and Gifu - Part 6

In this post I review my rather rainy trip through Hokuriku and up to Takayama and into the bliss of rotenburo at Hirayu Onsen, where I did sit out one of the latest typhoons in Japanese history happily in even more water... but hot water. 

Bicycle: 69.5 km

Other transport: 537 km

Region: Getting from Naoetsu into Kurobe gorge, then through Toyama and Takayama to Hirayu onsen and then down the other side of Japan to Shizuoka

Total riding time: 4:50 h

Total ascent: 257 m 

In this part not a lot of riding was involved. Partially due to the weather, partially due to the topography. Nonetheless I had one wonderful riding day and two great onsen experiences and a somewhat deluding touristic experience of Takayama. 

Here an approximate map of the ride as Google shows it, the actual rides are, as always in the day-to-day descriptions:




However this time a lot of bus and train was involved, which is not shown on the above map. The actual routes I took are in the Strava or Garmin feed of each day:

• Day 26 - Naoetsu to Omi
• Day 27 - Into Kurobe gorge
• Day 28 - Out of Kurobe gorge and to Toyama
• Day 29 - Toyama to Takayama
• Day 30 - Takayama to Hirayu Onsen
• Day 31 - Rest day at Hirayu Onsen
• Day 32 - Hirayu Onsen to Shizuoka 

And here an overview of the costs.

In my original plan I had the Kurobe gorge and little else of what I finally did. Initially I had planned to cycle down the Sea of Japan side through Kanazawa to Fukui, but due to the weather (and time) I had to give up on that plan.  

In the past weeks I had circumnavigated the rain quite successfully. Apart from one rainy day in Akita prefecture, I didn't really get into the rain. However now it was unavoidable. Rain everywhere in Japan. So I decided to go into the mountains a part that I wouldn't have made anyway by bicycle, and do sit the rain out as good as I could. Which in a rotenburo is always a nice experience.

Essentially this part 6 was a very varied experience and a slow way how to get from Naoetsu to Shizuoka. By Shinkansen, one would probably 4 hours... it took me a week... but with a lot of sightseeing and even more onsen in between.

Only the first day really involved any cycling, but it was a surprisingly good cycling experience, as there was a long bicycle lane along the Sea of Japan on an old rail way track. As so often, these things are not publicized at all, only the cyclists of that area likely know about it.

The trip into Kurobe gorge was also spectacular, specially in that small train riding deep into the gorge. The walk at the end point of the train was not such a special experience, too touristic and too early for real koyo, but the night in the ryokan inside the gorge was great with the onsen outside in the middle of the nature and gazing at monkeys while soaking in the hot water.

The following day in Toyama was essentially a passage day. Looking at it from retrospect, I could have easily travelled up to Takayama on that same day, and would not have lost out on anything in Toyama. However the glass exhibition was nice.

Takayama then was a bit of a deception. It has become very popular with tourists as a "real" Japan experience of a small town that is still preserved... when actually there isn't a lot that is still preserved and what there is, is full of touristic shops. It was also really the first time, 30 days into my trip through Japan, that I encountered foreign, read: Western, tourists in any noticeable amount. There had been some in Hiraizumi, but really Takayama was the first place where they did come in masses. Which was unfortunately very noticeable by the amount of tourist traps around town.

But I did escape from Takayama and the incoming typhoon up into the mountains and into one of the best onsen experiences I had so far in Japan: Hirayu Onsen. I have been organizing my trip on a day-by-day basis, normally not prebooking more than 1 or 2 days ahead. So when I was sitting in the hotel in Takayama considering where to go next, I first thought about Gero Onsen, half way down to Nagoya. But then I looked at the photos of the Japan-guide web page and was not impressed at all. So after surfing around on their very helpful internet page a bit more, I found Hirayu onsen. I stayed in the very first hotel on the list, but I guess if I ever go back to that region, I would like to try out others, more secluded ones. The Hirayu no Mori where I stayed, was perfect for my needs: directly besides the bus stop and with a LOT of rotenburos, but I guess that the more secluded ones offer nicer views from their pools.

To my gear I added a small foldable umbrella on day 30 in Takayama, which then essentially was left unused for nearly the rest of the trip through Japan. My rain gear did not suffer a reality test, as I retreated before the rain. 

Part 5 (Day 21 - Day 25) Sado island 佐渡島 - Summary

Bicycle touring Japan - Sado Island - Part 5

In this post I review the four days I spent on Sado exploring the island by bicycle and entering into one of Japan's bicycle heavens. 

Bicycle: 120 km

Other transport: 290 km

Region: Sado Island

Total riding time: 9:30 h

Total ascent: 861 m 

These days I have discovered Sado island and was fascinated by its beautiful villages and rural landscape. Sado is definitely a cyclist dream, both for the more leisurely riders as myself, as well as for more ambitious riders who like steep rides (why would anyone like to ride up hills is a mystery to me).

Here an approximate map of the ride as Google shows it, the actual rides are, as always in the day-to-day descriptions:

The actual routes I took are in the Strava or Garmin feed of each day:

• Day 21 - Yamagata to Niigata 
• Day 22 - Sado cruising 
• Day 23 - Sado around Mano
• Day 24 - Hatano Matsuri
• Day 25 - Mano to Ogi and back to Honshu

And here an overview of the costs.

In my original plan, only 2 days were allotted to Sado island, but partially due to the rain everywhere else and not so partially due to the beauty and relaxation on Sado I made it into a 4 day, 3 night stay, and enjoyed it thoroughly.

For me Sado was really the quintessential Japanese country side. Small villages with actually nice houses that are lived in. A active village life with matsuris (see Day 24) for and by the locals, and sufficient sightseeing spots to keep also a tourist busy for some days and all this with very little tourists! At least at the temples I visited practically no tourists. Only at the toki-bird park and the sake factory were there any tourists, but actually this change from touristy to not-touristy makes that you enjoy even more the non-touristic parts, feeling privileged to be able to "discover" these parts.

Sado island, or at least the plain between Ryotsu and Mano would seem to be a cyclist paradise:

• A lot of small scenic streets with little or no traffic

Street by Sobama beach

• Not a lot of traffic on the main roads either
• A very nice ride along the Kokufu river





Cycle path along the Kokufu river

• Some cycling maps are available from the tourist information and rental bicycles are available as well. 
• Very nice landscape and really nice small villages and towns. 

View over Mano bay

• Some sightseeing spots, such as temples, shrines and sunset over the beach

Myosho-ji

• Some onsen (I don't think there are any spectacular onsen, like in Kurobe gorge or Hirayu onsen), but Sado is famous for its good waters and soaking in a local neighborhood onsen is also nice. 

Even the ride over to Ogi was enjoyable for me, although there were some mountains (hills?) to master, but I was repaid by a different landscape around Sobama beach, more rural Japan and empty roads. 

And while I didn't meet a lot of other cyclists (as already in the weeks before, except in Hokkaido), it was the first time I met 3 other bromptonists! 

• The husband of the owner of the B&B has a brompton that he uses when he "flees" to Okinawa in the long winter. 
• A women from Nagoya I met in the onsen in Ogi owns a brompton which she hardly every uses.
• And on the ferry back from Ogi to Honshu there was even an other folded up brompton with its rider. 

To the enjoyment of Sado, it did help that I was generally lucky with the weather. Two very nice and sunny days, 2 cloudy days, but only a few drops of rain on the last day, which I did sit out in the onsen waiting for my ferry to bring me back to Honshu. While practically everywhere else in Japan (with the exception of Hokkaido) it was raining. 

Regarding gear, I don't think that I learned anything new. Surprisingly although this is my first long term bicycle travel, I have brought the right equipment with me. At least it does work perfectly for me. And with washing machines widely available at hotels, washing every few days has so far not been a problem.

Part 4 (Day 15 - Day 21) - Akita and Yamagata 秋田と山形 - Summary

Bicycle touring Japan - Akita & Yamagata - Part 4

In this post I review my bicycle tour of Akita and the little riding I have been doing in Yamagata. Highlights of this week were the onsen and the Tozawa lake region as well as the temple in Yamaera. Apart from bicycle touring it also included some considerable train riding.  

Bicycle: 120 km

Other transport: 434 km

Region: Akita & Yamagata

Total riding time: 8:00 h

Total ascent: 432 m (plus the 1000 steps at Yamadera)

Total descent: 1,245 m (actually this is not strictly speaking TOTAL descent, but the main descent of days 17 and 18)

This part had two highlights, the temple in Yamadera (and specially my perfect timing when visiting them) and Tozawa lake region including its relaxing in Onsens. Kakunodate wasn't bad either.

However there was also a low point, the rainy ride from Kakunodate to Omagari and the continuation all soaked in the train. Not a good idea. But at least something learnt.

Here an overview map of the approximate routes taken (those by bicycle):

In between these far away stretches of rides I didn't teletransport, but took old-school local trains.

The actual routes I took are in the Strava or Garmin feed of each day:

• Day 15 Noheji to Tozawa Lake
• Day 16 Relaxing in Nyuto onsen
• Day 17 Around Tozawa Lake
• Day 18 Nyuto Onsen to Kakunodate
• Day 19 Kakunodate to Omagari and on to Yamagata
• Day 20 Sightseeing in Yamadera
• Day 21 Yamagata through Kaminoyama onsen and Yunezawa to Niigata

And here an overview of the costs.

Not a lot of this trip was in my original plan for Akita and Yamagata. Specially I hadn't realized how close Kakunodate is from Tazawako, where I had planned from the beginning to go for some relaxing onsen. In Yamagata I had planned on more (and different riding), but after the rain on day 19, I was not going to take chances on day 20, so no ride to Yamadera.

View from Yamadera

Yamadera temple buildings

From a bicycle ride perspective, without any doubt the best part was the ride around Tazawa lake. Perfect weather in a nice environment.

Lake Tazawa

Torii on the lake 

Shrine on the shore of Lake Tazawa

As said above, the total low point was the ride in the rain from Kakunodate to Omagari on Day 19.

Drying after a day out in the rain

Regarding gear, I have learnt that even wearing my rain jacket, I still get wet inside, because of the sweat. But I also tried on the T-bag rain cover and saw that it fits, but only if one does put it on slowly and methodically. I.e. not slip in on while it is raining.

This part was heavily influenced by the weather. Aka RAIN! It lead to one relaxing day in Nyuto onsen, without any ride nor sightseeing, just soaking in the traditional onsen at Tsuru-no-yu, but also a rain soak on day 19 and an on-foot (and train) exploration of Yamadera, because I was simply too afraid of rain, which in the end didn't occur at all on Day 20.

Also when I first arrived in Yamagata and looked at my next options, it seemed that the next 10 days would be dominated by rain practically everywhere in Japan, with just a few days of exceptions in Hokkaido, where I didn't want to return. So I had been contemplating going back to Tokyo for some days and wait out the rain. However after more data became available, right now it looks like Sado islands from tomorrow will be good and the day today (Day 21) also did not see any rain, at least not during my hours outside in  the open.

As a last picture of this week, a flower from Kakunodate:

This week did also conclude the trip to Tohoku, now on to Hokuriku!

Part 3 (Day 12 - 15) - Aomori Shimokita peninsula 青森 下北半島 - Summary

Bicycle touring Japan - Aomori - Part 3

In this post I review bicycle touring experience in Aomori, in the very North of Honshu, Japan, where I spent the last 3 days, including an excellent stay at a temple on Mount Osore. 

Bicycle: 172 km

Other transport: 488 km

Region: Aomori, and a little bit Hokkaido and Iwate

Total riding time: 11:00 h

Total ascent: 991 m

After the agriculture and culture in Iwate, in these 4 days, I went up again North, to the Shimokita peninsula. This had been my original start into the Honshu ride, however due to the bad weather that was forecasted for that region for end September, I had stared in Iwate.

Here an overview map of the approximate routes taken:

The actual routes I took are in the Strava or Garmin feed of each day:

• Day 12 Hiraizumi to Hakodate
• Day 13 Hakodate to Osorezan
• Day 14 Osorezan to Noheji
• Day 15 Noheji to Tazawako Lake

And here an overview of the costs.

Compared to my original plan, I did not ride up to Osorezan by bike, but rather by a very comfortable taxi, and I did not finish in Hachinohe but in Shichinohe, ...  just one number less. (For explanation, see here), because I did not find an accommodation in Rokkasho.

The best of this ride without any doubt was the onsen right outside of the main temple on Osorezan. It is unfortunate that the water is so acidic, so it is recommended to remain only quite short in the water. But I could have soaked for hours there.

Also the entire surroundings of the temple, with the sulfur and hot steam rising between green woods and a crystal blue lake, were incredibly beautiful.

Osorezan is somewhat hard to reach, on the very tip of Shimokita peninsula, but it is definitely worth a journey.

From a bicycle ride perspective, I think the best part was between Oma and Ohata, because the road runs along the coast and there isn't too much traffic. There is some up-and-down before reaching Ohata, but it's kind of okay.

The ride between Mutsu and Noheji and on to Shichinohe was also okay in those parts where I had a street alternative to the main road, and actually there were some. Specially in the part from Noheji to Shichinohe I had for most part very quiet country side roads. There aren't any spectacular sights there, just Aomori countryside.

Regarding gear, I have finally used my shoes. Two days in a row! And I started using my bicycle shorts (instead of the skirt). I still feel however that the skirt is much better as it is cotton, while the bicycle shorts are made from some synthetic material that sounds like "rash-rash" which each step I take. It's okay thought while cycling.

With the outlook of a very rainy Saturday (7/Oct = Day 16) and some general tiredness, I opted to continue for Lake Tazawako and its onsen. And from here, probably on to Akita and Yamagata.