D1 To Yamanakako

Route: Hashimoto - Doshi - Yamanakako 
Bicycle: 64 km
Train: 32 km
Total Ascent: 1412 m
Average Speed: 13,2 km/h
Riding Time: 4:45 h
Weather: grey and a little bit of rain in some moments, 7 C

For this weekend I planned to ride to Fujisan and then halfway around it. To the starting point I went by train from Meidaimae to Hashimoto. A very convenient way for me to get from Tokyo to the foot of some mountains and the countryside. Under 2 km from my house I can catch a direct train that passes probably every 10 minutes or even less and gets me out into the green in 30 to 40 minutes. Once at the station, I put together the bike again.Today there was a local group of promoters for cycling in the area, who had set up a specific place to put your bike together with a bicycle rack, and also some tools. But for them, the important thing was that you completed a survey. I don’t really think I need a specific place to put the bicycle together, especially because it wasn’t really close to the exit from the station, so actually, it was a little bit inconvenient. But if they can improve the cycling infrastructure in the area it will be welcome.

From there I was off into the mountains, following the road that the cyclists took at the Tokyo Olympics a few years ago, and I took a few months ago when I came to Yamanakako the last time.

It is a long road all uphill never really, really steep, so I can make up my way slowly, but steadily. At approximately the midway point, there is the village of Doshi with several options for lunch. Today I went to a small restaurant of an elderly lady who transformed her living room into a curry restaurant. She had one of those vending machines for tickets for lunch, with a lot of buttons that seemed to indicate that there was a lot of different choices. But she also had pictures of the menu and actually they were only two choices. Either curry with fried chicken, or the same dish without curry. All the choices in the machine were for the spiciness and the amount of rice.

It is a long road all uphill and then only about 4 km downhill to the lake. Originally I had planned to ride around the lake ones like I did back in June. But it was kind of cold and damp and no Fuji in sight so instead, I went directly to an onsen not very far from my accommodation. The same onsen I went to in June and actually also the same hotel that I used back in June.

D3 Nozawaonsen to Nagano

Route: Nozawa onsen - Hirataki - Nagano
Bicycle: 110 km
Train: 250 km
Total ascent: 1078 m
Average speed:  17.4 km/h
Riding time: 6:30 h
Weather: sunny and warm (for being November), 18 C

As I was already halfway up the mountain I decided to continue going up through the ski slopes. 

The road had very little traffic. I think there were more cross-country skiers that overtook me than cars. And overtake they did at a speed so fast I didn’t have time to get a good picture. A bit later another smaller group arrived and I was prepared and got them on video but they were nowhere as fast as the first group. Not sure if they were the Olympic squad or something like that. 

I however stopped a few times during the ascent to take pictures, enjoy the scenery and catch my breath. 

When I arrived at “the top” (it wasn’t really the top but the place from where a road descends to the valley), I decided to continue just a little bit more before turning and going downhill. From the map I thought that this road was a bit larger than the one I had come up from Nozawa but it was even smaller, and from tomorrow until end of May (!) will be closed for the winter. A bit early maybe considering how warm it was even on top today. There was so little traffic that on the entire downhill I only met 1 car and 1 motorcycle. The gradient of the descent was also good I did break a lot, but still doable. And not too many curves. 

The topic of little traffic surprisingly continued down in the valley thanks to two roads on both sides of the river. One with and one (nearly ) without traffic. 

Many varied roads and most of them with nearly no traffic! What a treat! 

While I am writing this I am sitting in the Shinkansen back to Tokyo. This being a long weekend, the shinkansen were really full. There were no more reserved seats on any shinkansen (which is fine by me as I prefer non-reserved)... but in such circumstances this also means that the non-reserved section will be really full. So well, I lined up at the unreserved car. The first Shinkansen that came was already full, but still a lot of people squeezed in. So many that they needed to apply the "backwards entering technique" you see so frequently with commuter trains in Tokyo. I waited for the next one, an "Asama" shinkansen, which starts in Nagano, so I was assured a seat and a cozy spot for the bike behind the last row. Surprisingly this shinkansen did not get overcrowded, not even in Karuizawa where I have often seen the Shinkansen to have standing space only. 

D2 Nozawa onsen to Ryuo ski village and back

Route: Nozawaonsen - Ryuo ski slopes - Nozawaonsen
Bicycle: 61 km
Total ascent:1,215 m
Riding time: 4:12 h
Average speed: 14,6 km/h
Weather: some clouds but dry, 15 C

When I was in this area a few weeks ago in Shibu onsen, I found an interesting place on Google maps. A gondola going up to lookout point where one can see, in the right conditions, a sea of clouds below. However, when I was here the last time the conditions were not right. Actually, the lookout point was in the clouds for that entire day. Luckily, they have a live feed on YouTube where one can check the current situation. So I didn’t go back then but now that I’m back in this area I planed to go today.

As I am staying currently, also in a ski station, the first thing to do was going down hills, all the way down. And then it was all the way up to the next ski village: Ryuo. And up and up. 

But on a quiet road with not too much traffic. Admittedly this picture was from a specially quiet road  so quiet that I was ringing my bell just in case any bear was around.

The climb up seemed endless and the valley station of the gondola definitely wasn’t in a “valley”. But rather very much up a hill… only that the mountain behind was even higher. 1,770 m to be precise. 

When I finally arrived I parked my bicycle and started my prep what to bring, what to leave with the bike, when I heard an amount that the next gondola is going to leave soon. And I just about still made it. On the mountain the first thing, before enjoying the view was to get lunch in a rather trendy panorama restaurant. After lunch the obligatory pictures of the view …

… and then I made it to the next gondola a few minutes later, and returned down back to my bike. From there it was mainly downhill until it wasn’t. Until I needed to cycle up again to Nozawa onsen. On the downhill I passed through an Apple plantation (and other fruits: pears, grapes, kaki…). So many apples that the air was thick with the smell of apples. 

I knew the whole time that the climb up to my ski hotel was waiting at the end of the day and I was very apprehensive of it and unsure if I would have enough energy to get up there. However finally it was easier than yesterday. Maybe because I already knew how the road would evolve and there isn’t any crazy steep section. 

Nozawa onsen was one of the several places where the Olympics of 1998 were held, apparently the Biathlon events. However they also have a ski jump arena.

As yesterday the owner of the lodge drove me down to the village where I returned to the only onsen in town with a rotenburo to wash and relax and then to have dinner. 

D1 Nagano to Nozawaonsen

Route: Nagano to Nozawaonsen
Bicycle: 70 km
Train: 250 km
Average Speed: 14.5 km/h
Total ascent: 1050 m
Riding time: 4:30 h
Weather: Warm, sunny and just splendid, 20 C

Another long weekend, again good weather... actually quite warm for early November in Nagano... and off I went again to Nagano. A few weeks ago, I had organized several weekends away booking even double accomodations in two differents places where I want to ride, so I could cancel based on the weather. The other option for this weekend was Shizuoka... but Nagano in early November is definitely the place to be. 

I got up early in the morning... but it takes me quite some time to actually get started, so finally I didn't arrive to Nagano station until shortly after 10:00 and rolled out just before 10:30. There are different ways from Nagano to Nozawaonsen. Obviously the easiest would be a train... however that isn't the plan here. The second easiest would be just to follow the river to the foot of the ascent up to Nozawaonsen... boring... so instead I planned to visit yet again Nojiri lake but with the late start, lack of sleep, and the ascent that is needed to even get to the lake I got tired mid way through, so shortened the ride a little bit. Still came pretty close to the lake... but not to the lake itself. But road through really nice autumn colours in the countryside. 

I always knew that at the end there was a hill awaiting me... I just didn't realize how much of a hill it was. It seemed endless to my already tired body... and even when I reached this sign of Nozawa onsen, there wasn't actually yet any sign of the village itself. For that I needed to cycle a little bit further uphill until a higher lying valley came into view. 

But the lodge I had reserved wasn't in town... but rather in the ski area of Nozawa onsen. So it continued up and up for me. However once arrived, I was rewarded by this nice sunset over the Japanese alps in a light evening breeze: 

My hotel itself was called "Lodge Hahnenkamm" like the ski descent in Kitzbühel. An other hotel up there was called "Pension Schnee". Very Austrian everything. 

I was the only guest for the entire weekend and the hotel owners were extremly kind. They drove me down to the village (which in meters isn't very far, but a steep descent), where I went to the only onsen in town with a rotenburo... but that was a very nice onsen: Furusato no yu. I had a nice relaxing bath there. It has 2 pools inside. One called "lukewarm" at 41-42 C and one called "hot" at 43-45 C. And a rotenburo which seemed to be cooler than the lukewarm option. The hot option initially might seem to hot, but after a while was actually quite enjoyable. As long as you don't move around in the hot water. 

The city itself, being an onsen town is actually dotted with onsen, aparently all free of charge and the ones I saw all looking very nice... but none of them have a rotenburo... and if I can have a rotenburo that is definitely where I am headed. They looked nice though. Very traditional. 

After the bath I had dinner in town, then called again my hotel owner, who came down to the village to pick me up again. 

Ride out to Fuji & Rain around Kawaguchiko

Day 1

Route: Hashimoto - Doshi road - Yamanakako

Bicycle: 81 km

Train: 35 km

Average Speed: 14.7 km/h

Total Ascent: 1436 m

Riding Time: 5:31 h

Weather: Sun and clouds, no rain, 20 C

I had booked a simple hotel on the shores of Yamanakako about a week ago. Cancellable until 2 days before so I was checking the weather forecast on a daily basis. It was kind of unclear but seemed okay enough, so today in the morning with a relatively early train I went out to Hashimoto and from there into the mountains again. Along a road that featured in the Tokyo Olympic 2 years ago. 

It is a nice mountain road, with not too much traffic but enough vending machines and several small villages along the road to cycle up slowly but steadily. It is actually also a nice incline and would probably even make for a nice descent (which I did not try on Day 2 though). The descent down to Yamanakako on the other side was relatively short, as that lake is quite high. I arrived very early at my hotel, so I had more than enough time to do ride once around the lake and enjoying the views of Mt. Fuji floating above the clouds. 

Back at the lake some more Olympics inspired photos before heading to an onsen closeby, washing, relaxing and having dinner before checking into my room. The hotel owner was very nice and let my bicycle park inside. 

Day 2

Route: Yamanakako - Kawaguchiko loop

Bicycle: 47 km

Train: 100 km

Average Speed: 17.6 km

Total Ascent: 200 m

Riding Time: 2:33 h

Weather: Rain, rain and more rain, 14 C

My original plan for today was to attempt to ride up to the 5th station of Mt. Fuji... but there was no Fuji today:

It had been replaced by incessant rain for the entire day. Anyway from where I was staying there were only 2 ways back home and both involved riding a bicycle at least for some time. Method #1, back over the mountains and downhill to Hashimoto. Method #2 over to Kawaguchiko and a train back from there. Riding downhill for a long time in the rain, is not my definition of fun nor does it feel specially safe... plus it would probably have been freezing cold. So option #2 it was. And actually cycling in the flat (or at least not a lot of downhill) in the rain isn't that bad, as long as you don't stop. The rain jacket does keep the upper body dry to a certain extend, but the pants get completely soaked and obviously are seeping upwards into the jersey. But as long as you are riding and it is not too cold outside, it is not that unpleasant as this picture might make it seem. Stopping however for a lunch or any other longer break wasn't really a good plan. Sitting mostly wet in a restaurant is neither good for the restaurant nor for me. 

So I just cycled around Yamanakako, then over to Kawakuchiko and as I was in good enough spirits made a loop around the Kawaguchi Lake, but did not venture further to the other 3 lakes. 

At this likely famous photo spot I run into bus loads of foreign (freezingly cold and miserable looking) tourists who had booked a day trip "to see Mt. Fuji"... and all they saw was their money gone, their clothes wet and the inside of a gift shop. But not a single glimpse of Mt. Fuji. I guess those tourists were feeling even more for me, out there on a bicycle in the rain... but I can go back to Mt. Fuji nearly any weekend, and I have seen Mt. Fuji from all its 5 lakes in glorious weather last year. And know that I will have so many more opportunities to see it, that I didn't mind. And as said, as long as you don't stop too long, cycling in the flat in the rain, isn't that bad. 

However bad enough to really want to go to an onsen, wash, dry and hopefully find a dry spot in the afternoon to catch the train back. And so I did. I had found a super sento close to Fujikyu Highland amusement park and cycled there. In onsens normally you take of your shoes at the entrance and leave them in a locker. But my feet (still cycling in sandals) where so dirty that that didn't seem like a viable option. So the front staff gave me a small towel to whip down my feet ... which I handed back totally soiled... but now with reasonably clean feet to walk around. 

Washing in that onsen felt wonderful. All that road grime to get off, and then soak in the water. I spent several hours there between bathing and having lunch, before it seemed that there was a window of opportunity in the rain to head down to the closeby station and get on a train back to Tokyo. 

Yamanote line by bike - 自転車で山手線

Bicycle: 42 km

Route: Yamanote line sotomawari

Total riding time: 3:27 h 

Total ascent: 230 m 

Average speed: 12.1 km/h

Weather: Sunny, but not that warm, specially some chilly wind, 16 C

Originally for today the picnic ride with my friends from the NPC was planned, but due to Covid-19 pandemic it was cancelled a few weeks ago. What a pity, today would have been the perfect weather for a picnic. Not like last year when it was cold and rainy and we had to do our "picnic" in our favorite Taiwanese restaurant. But at least we could do it and enjoy the time together. 

When I was thinking yesterday where to ride in order to start and finish in Shinbashi without the need for any train, I remembered the Yamanote line ride we did with the NPC a few years back in August during an entire night. It was actually my last ride before starting on my two months adventure through Japan. And it was the test ride with all my luggage.

In the initial part of the ride I came through some small neighbourhoods with their temples and shopping streets around Shinagawa:

In that shopping street about half of the shops were open. The restaurants mainly seemed to do take-out. And a barber had decided to sell his face masks at about 100 yen per piece. In one shop they also claimed to sell self made ones, but one needed to order them.

I continued on along Meguro river where the cherry blossoms have been replaced by azalea:

Shortly before Meguro I came by this temple. I really only stopped there, because the slope was so steep that I only managed to ride until there before getting of and pushing... so as I was off the bike anyway... well, I could as well visit the temple. The outstanding feature was this small buddha completely covered in gold. But not expertly, but rather in a DIY style by the worshippers themselves. One could (not now, but in normal times) buy some gold leaves and then apply them on the Buddha...

... in theory on the place of the body that one wanted to cure... but I have some doubts that there is the same amount of people that have head pains than people that have pains in the middle of their left lower leg...

From this oasis of tranquility to the normally crazy busy part of Tokyo: Shibuya!

Although the government of Tokyo is urging people to stay at home, people were around. Walking, jogging, cycling but also doing grocery or other shopping. However compared to any normal Saturday Shibuya crossing was very empty. All department stores, cinemas, museums, pachinko parlors, music venues... are all closed, so in Shibuya there isn't much to do. But in the more local neighbourhoods people are around to enjoy the sun and flowers or simply to do some shopping.

After Shibuya my next picture stop was Meiji shrine just besides the newly build Harajuku station.

But then on through the Northern parts of the city. It is easy to think that Tokyo is a huge metropolis full of skyscrapers, but actually most parts of Tokyo are pretty low-rise. Only that this time I didn't take any picture of that part of Tokyo. I took some pictures of a really interesting architecture (left up), of an exposition of houses (right up) and a very dilapidated sento.

As it was a ride very closely along the Yamanote line I obviously also took pictures of trains:

I was lucky that the ride was along Yamanote line, because my stupid Garmin decided at Meiji shrine that it didn't want to work properly anymore. It was impossible to reactivate the touch screen. Only that I hadn't even deactivated it. It only resumed to normal working order in Yanaka, probably around 20 km later after a stop at a toilet. But with the Yamanote line there to follow and google maps I made go without it.

Riding through the city was definitely not a normal Saturday, when the streets in Akihabara and Kanda would be full of shoppers.

It felt a little bit like a late night ride, after most of the shops had closed... only that it was in the afternoon.

When coming through Ueno, there is a market street that normally is too busy to even contemplate to cycle through, but today it was possible. Along the side several makeshift stalls offered paper masks at roughly 70 - 80 yen per mask (in packs of 50). So a little bit cheaper than in Shinagawa. But I had bought two reusable and hand made masks back in Shibuya in a small artisanal shop.

No one had yet time to replace the "Tokyo 2020" signs, so there is publicity around the city (and also at Narita airport) for the "Tokyo 2020" Olympics...

But at Tokyo station, the clock has already been turned to next year for the countdown: 

When I passed through here in mid February, actually on my first ride back in Japan, it was only 5 months to the Olympics... Covid-19 happened and now supposedly it is exactly 454 days until the opening ceremony (the picture above is for the Paralympics). But we will see. Obviously all politicians say, that it will not be postponed again... We will see ...

The last stop on my ride today was around Tokyo station, right in time for the sunset, which I used for some special pictures. E.g. how to make even small brompton wheels look reaaaaaalllly big!

Sunset right opposite of Tokyo station ... 

... and by extension, just above the palace:

While the street in front of the palace was nearly void of traffic.

5 months before Tokyo Olympics

Bicycle: 14 km

Route: Shinbashi - Odaiba - Rainbow Bridge - Shibuya

Total riding time: 1:38 h 

Total ascent:  159 m 

Average speed: 8.5 km/h

Weather: Dry, quite warm (for being February), overcast,  15 C

Before the ride with the NPC friends in the evening I started the day already on the bicycle, just to get out there, moving and get over the jet lag. Which is always a great idea.

A few months ago I already did a ride to several of the Olympic sites, but back then the weather didn't seem good enough to do the walk over the Rainbow bridge from Odaiba back to Tokyo, so I decided today to do that in the morning. And also to see a bit more of Odaiba, which however continues to not impress me positively. But I also continue to think that for the Olympics this is a great place. Actually very close to the centre of Tokyo, but vast space available. 

From left to right, up to down: Urban Sports Arena - still very much under construction... but I think they only need to construct the pats for skating or so; Tokyo Big Sight; Ariake Gymnastics centre

Now also a long Olympic boulevard exists, which connects several of the Olympic sites, but well, without the masses of Olympia is a bit empty. As Odaiba generally is.

At the end of the boulevard it is guarded by Gundam... he puts the bicycle into proportion!

At that point it was around 12:30, and as I knew from my previous ride around Odaiba it can be quite difficult to find a place to eat, I decided to visit an other tourist spot, Venus Fort. I have no idea why people would go there for shopping, but it was surprisingly attractive for foreigners. And well, I have to admit that it is a curious place:

Indoor shopping centre in the style of an Italian (?) city.

I had (a not very tasty) lunch there and then continued to one more Olympia spot, the rings in front of the Rainbow bridge...

... before finally approaching the bridge. Rainbow bridge allows only pedestrians, but bicycles can be brought along... but only with a strap-on chastity belt (see back wheel):

One has a few nice sights from the bridge, but it is also true that mainly it is a bridge with a lot of traffic and one walks alongside that traffic in a cage:

But here the nice sights... Unfortunately although the weather was nice and warm, the sky was overcast, so not ideal for photos.

It was still quite early when I came down from the bridge so I decided to do something else in Shibuya before the evening ride with the NPC. In this article on Japan-guide I had found some interesting things to do in Shibuya, and I went to the Yamatane museum. Which had a quite interesting nihonga exhibition about "beautiful women". Many of the paintings were actually by women and not as old as one might think, but often in old style. One could see quite clearly how the Western art was influenced at the beginning of the 20th century by Japanese art, but also vice-versa. What was also surprising that there were a few visitors in kimono and even some men with kimono. Japanese really dress for the occasion!

The exhibition itself was small enough, that I had even time for a very Japanese sweet in the museum cafe afterwards and arrived just in time for the NPC meeting. BTW, the hot drink, which wasn't a tea, was definitely curious. Slightly salty and with an orchid flower floating gently in it. Wont be my favourite drink, but definitely a worthwhile start into 2 months of Japanese cuisine.