D3 Yamadera

Route: Zao onsen- Yamadera - Kaminoyama onsen
Bicycle: 86 km
Train: 350 km
Total ascent: 500 m
Average speed: 15 km/h (for the part wahoo recorded)
Riding time: unknown (Wahoo only recorded the ride up to Yamadera)
Weather: sunny, a bit windy, 22C

The day started in two different onsen tubs of my hotel. Between 21:00 and 10:00 the onsen are free to be used (privately) by the guests. When I woke up at 6:00 and went down to get a key there was none but around 7:00 I got a key to this tub:

Where I had a relaxing bath. When I came back to hang the key back at the board also an other key was available if one of the tubs with a view that I hadn’t been to yet. So I took the opportunity and had a second bath.

While taking the bath one actually doesn’t really see the landscape. Only if you sit on the wall between the two tubs. But then there was the famous “unkai” = “sea of clouds”. 

Sufficiently clean and relaxed I went back to my room and had my conbini breakfast (which I prefer over a Japanese breakfast) , packed my too big bag (definitely did bring unnecessary items: 2 jackets!) and then started the ride of the last day of this 3 day weekend.

When I planned this weekend back in August I only knew that Zao onsen itself is famous and that the crater above is a nice place. So I hadn’t a specific plan for the third day. And then decided to give Yamadera a second visit. I had been there already on my Tour de Japan back in 2017. Curiously nearly exactly 7 years ago on 11/Oct. Back then I went by train from Yamagata as I had gotten incredibly wet the day before and didn’t want to take an other chance. Turned out weather was totally fine. And I missed a very nice cycling path along a river. 

Today being a National holiday and perfect weather the temple was more busy than back then, but still reasonable.

But strangely the part of the temple I like most is the post box. Last time I even saw the postman coming up all these stairs to deliver/ receive post. 

Back down the many stairs I jumped back on my bike and down it was along the nice bicycle path until I took the turn to Yamagata, which week was on streets that weren’t that nice. I took a rest in the castle park had a snack there…

… and decided that by now it was too late to get to an onsen I had seen in the hills around Kaminoyama and instead cycled to the station directly where I am now in the waiting room with the bike packed up, a bento bought and waiting for my train. It wasn’t possible to change the reservation to an earlier train as it is fully booked. But sitting here isn’t so bad either.