GW2023 D1 - Kyoto and Yodogawa

Route: From Kyoto down Yodogawa and then up again
Bicycle: 64 km
Total Ascent: 68 m
Average Speed: 19.8 km/h
Riding Time: 3:12 h
Weather: Some sun, some clouds and some lakes on the cycling road, 17 C

My first Golden Week since moving back to Japan last year. Company is closed for a full 10 days! When I organised this years GW, I wasn’t specially inspired where to go, so instead of making some complicated plans, I just decided to come an entire week to Kyoto, bring the bike and do cycling trips from here. While it is nice to cycle from A to B, it also means that you have to bring all the luggage on the bike. And although I am now quite skilled in brining not that much luggage, it is still luggage. And riding a road bike without luggage is just more fun. Plus I kind of knew that I would need to bring my work computer with me… and I definitely do not want to log that thing around on a bike. So instead I booked some weeks ago a hotel in Kyoto, again South of the station in an area that is pretty non descript, but turned out to be very convenient for me as a cyclist. Not only is it very close to the entrance of a cycle path along the Kamogawa river, but it also has a sento (albeit no rotenburo). For the normal tourist the place might not be that convenient… but ain’t no normal tourist.

An other first was to reserve my Shinkansen ticket on the EX app and link it to my pasmo card… and while I did struggle a bit when doing the reservation, taking the train today was pretty easy. Just swipe over your pasmo card, and you are all set. 

For the recent trip to Tohoku I had bought a new rinko bag (bag to transport legally a bicycle on a train in Japan) where both the front and rear wheel needs to be removed so that the bike becomes even smaller… but even so, it is still pretty big. So when the third person arrived who had resevered the luggage space behind the seats in the last row, one other person (who admittedly only had a rather small luggage in the storage area, needed to put his trunk overhead. He wasn’t too pleased. But his luggage was definitely the smallest of the 3 and did perfectly fit overhead. 

I arrived at 12:00 at Kyoto station, then took a subway to my hotel (I didn’t dare to assemble the bike at the station), but instead assembled it calmly at the hotel. 

I hadn’t made any special plan for today, also because the weather was kind of unclear. In the morning both in Tokyo and Kyoto it had rained, but until I came here it had stopped raining and even the sun every now and then came out. So as I hadn’t decided any fancy route, I just did a bit of Yodogawa cycling (I.e. along the river between Kyoto and Osaka) in memory of the good old times, when I was at Linical Osaka office for extended business trips and took my Brompton on the weekend to cycle around. Quite often Osaka - Kyoto. Specially in 2020, when Corona had just started. So in memory of these old times, I just cycled along the two rivers with a goal to start the return after about 2 hours… which resulted to be here:

Apart from some enormous puddles on the cycling road, the ride was relatively eventless. 

For tomorrow I made more concrete plans… Let’s see if plan will become reality.

When I came back to Kyoto to my hotel, I noticed that some streets we’re closed for a shrnie festival. So I followed the lead, and quite close to Kyoto station I came up to one matsuri shrine being transported through the city. When I arrived I just saw it from behind being danced through the streets… but then around Kyoto station they only pushed it on its wheels. But still… nice. Not as nice as the typical matsuri in my neighbourhood. But okay and a good start into this GW. 

Weekend in Tohoku around Iwate-san

Day 1

Route: Morioka - Koiwai Farm - Hachimantai
Bicycle: 67 km
Train: 300 km
Average speed: 14,3 km/h
Total ascent: 1173 m
Riding time: 4:40h
Weather: Sunny, some clouds, 8C

For this weekend I signed up many months ago for a ride with a team of people from Osaka. They are doing regularly one day and weekend trips. Normally around Osaka… but sometimes also a bit further afield. The first time I joined them was in January this year, for a ride in Shizuoka prefecture. This month the ride was even further North. Around Morioka in Hachimantai area. 

We all met the evening before in Koriyama, had dinner... and some of us (not me though) did drink too much. But we had a lot of fun. The next morning was an early start to catch a Shinkansen further North to Morioka, a city where I had been years ago in my Tour of Japan. 

Riding out of Morioka first along a river and then through the countryside. Taking in the nice panorama and the occasional sakura tree still flowering. Actually not "still" flowering, but in their prime: the benefit of colder climate up in the mountains. 

We were really lucky with our hanami, as in most other parts in Northern Tohoku the flowers were already fading and on our train ride back to Tokyo there was a Japanese tour group of elderly tourists who went all the way to Hirosaki to see the famous cherry trees at the castle... just to see cherry blossoms well beyond their peak. 

We stopped at Koiwai farm, apparently a very well known farm for milk products, ...

... had lunch there (it was more like a snack and took an eternity, as the small restaurant outside of the farm wasn't equipped to handle that many orders at the same time) and then cycled to our second touristic highlight of the day. A solitary cherry tree with the backdrop of Mount Iwate: 

From there is was mainly downhillls... until it wasn't. Until a quite long and - looking now at the Strava file - apparently quite steep ascent up the slopes of the vulcano. However I made it up there, was even with the first people there and so had enough time to take in the volcanic landscape. 

We were rather late at this point, but from here onwards it was really downhill... but also really cold. I think my Wahoo showed -2C... But while moving it was okay. We arrived at our resort hotel, had time for a pre-lunch soak in the onsen and then off to buffet dinner, which included an entire mountain of crabs.

We had fun, again a few people did drink way too much... but miraculously the next day were still operational. 

Day 2

Route: Hachimantai - Shibutami 
Bicycle: 42 km
Train: 550 km
Average speed: 14,3 km/h
Total ascent: 571 m
Riding time: 2:31 h
Weather: Sunny, some clouds, quite windy, 9C

On day 2 we awoke to a cold but sunny morning, gazing out of our window on Mount Iwate and a cherry tree in full swing: 

The preannounced plan for the day was to ride up Aspite Line to see the snow wall along both sides of the street. I was quite worried about this part of the ride days earlier, after seeing this weather forecast that had the temperature at -20 C at the top! 

Officially the road was closed... but somehow at some point someone decided that it actually wasn't closed... and frankly, there were other cars going up and down. So it didn't really seem to be closed. 

However only a relatively small group (less than half of the group) attempted it... and it would have been a long ride up (and probably a very freezing and long ride down). So the ride leader decided after a few kilometers of cycling up hill (where it got actually quite warm... although it was cold) to take pictures and return down to join the others and go for lunch. In a certain way I was a bit disappointed because the initial "advertisement" for this ride was the snow wall... But it would have been a long ride up. We only made it up to an altitude shy of 800 m... and the highest point would have been around 1500 m. 

After lunch, we had an uneventful ride slowly downhills, made it to a first train station, where we decided to cycle to Morioka instead... but during the ride there (on a rather busy road) decided to call it a day and look for an other train station, right in time to avoid a major downpour. So all in all a good day. 

Before boarding the shinkansen back to Tokyo we had Morioka cold noodles, which seem to originate from Korea. Aparatenly there were a lot of immigrants from Korea after the war in Morioka. It was nice... but not really appropriate for a rather cold April day. But in summer it most be lovely. 

Up to Miyagase Dam and down to an onsen

Route: Hashimoto - Miyagase Dam - Atsugi
Bicycle: 42 km
Train: 85 km

Average Speed: 17 km/h

Total Ascent: 496 m

Riding Time: 2:27 h

Weather: Sunny and 15C

Although it was already Sunday I was still kind of hungover from drinking way too much with an ex-colleague and friend on Friday evening. But today was an easy ride... wouldn't it have been for the new cycling bag. In preparation of the ride at end of April in Iwate, the leader of that event had asked me to buy a bicycle bag where both wheels are been taken out, so that the bike is a bit smaller... in light of the big group all being in the same Shinkansen. And well... taking out that extra wheel is a real pain. Not so much the taking out part... as the putting back in part. But well, I did pack up the bicycle at home already a few days ago... and had a try. While my friend instead had a Montbell bag where you only need to take out the front wheel that additionally is wide enough to just drop over and get going. Much easier than the one I had bought a few months ago, where I always struggle to get the zipper to close. Shortly after this ride I bought also the Montbell bag... now having a total of 3 bags for my one bicycle... and the Montbell bag did change my riding experience quite a lot. Taking a train now, is pretty straightforward. Pop out the front wheel, put in the metal spacer, tie the wheel to the frame, pop over the ample bag ... and get going. I timed it on my first attempt and it took 8 min! Without any hurry. 

We cycled up to Miyagase Dam, had lunch there on the shore... 

... enjoyed the scenery still with a lot of hanami, including cherry blossoms in the mountain ... 

... and then rolled down the hill to an onsen in Atsugi. Where we soaked for hours and chatted happily away. 

A string for a downtube?

Route: Tokyo - Kamifukuoka Silk Cycle and back
Bicycle: 77 km
Average Speed: 17.3 km/h
Total Ascent: 312 m
Riding Time: 4:28 h
Weather: Sunny and clouds but no rain, 14 C

This weekend friends wanted to go visit a very special bicycle shop... only that it looks like your totally normal neighbourhood bicycle shop... but it isn't. The owner of the shop previously worked at Giant in Japan in an important position designing bicycles. And now still designs his own bicycles. Bicycles with a cord for a downtube!

The string looks really thin and feeble, but we all tried riding the bikes and they feel surprisingly normal. Only that they were all way too small for me. 

The purpose of the rope as a downtube is obviously to be able to fold the bicycle. And yes, it gets reasonably small very quick. Not as small as a brompton... but the bikes ride much more like a normal bicycle. 

One friend was so convinced that he finally did order one... which arrived in early September. The shop owner had the frames constructed in Taiwan and then assembled them here in Japan. These bikes are also surprisingly economical for a full blown bicycle. 

On the way to the bicycle shop we passed by Riken. By the entrance and exit gate where I always got into Riken now nearly 30 years ago ! (in 1995). I hadn't been here in such a long time. 

After the visit to the cycle shop we started returning back to Tokyo... but before that one of my friends told me that it was his wife's birthday today... so after a bit of thinking I proposed to ride back to Tokyo fast and bake a cake while they would cycle at a more leisurely pace and join me in Shimokitazawa where we went for dinner... and then back to my place... where the freshly prepared cake was waiting. A big surprise... to the friend whos birthday it was. As everyone had tole her that I needed to head home quickly to get some urgent work finished... while everyone else knew what I was up to. 

Hanami in Kumagaya

Route: Up Arakawa and down Arakawa and over back to home

Bicycle: 140 km

Train: 20 km

Average Speed: 21.3 km/h

Total Ascent: 278 m

Riding Time: 6:31 h

Weather: Perfectly sunny and getting nice and warm, 18 C

The same meetup group with whom I went to Kasumigaura a few weeks back, announced an other ride to Kumagaya along the Arakawa river for some hanami. I know that those guys are fast. Crazy fast... but they claimed for this ride that intermediate riders would be okay, and it was a flat ride plus, worst case, I could just drop. 

We met at a conbini close to Arakawa river and set off. As always with this group, only road cyclists, mainly young men, a crazy fast German lady and then there was me. But all nice. 

When entering Arakawa river we were greeted by Shibazakura (phlox moss in English... but Shibazakura, i.e. grass cherry blossoms just makes so much more sense):

And then we cycled up Arakawa river. This river probably has the best cycling road around Tokyo... broad, well paved, not too many pedestrians... but it is a heavily dammed river in an otherwise built up area, so not really nice. But you can get to nice places from there. Only that from my house cycling all the way to Arakawa is a long (20+ km ride) just to be on a cycling highway. But today there was the goal of sakura in Kumagaya. 

I had no idea that this spot in Kumagaya existed, and it turned out that the organizer only knew, because she had bought what she thought was a normal map of Japan, but turned out to be a map where you "need" to scratch open sightseeing spots that you have been to. And apparently there isn't that much to see in Saitama (really?) that this Hanami spot made it on the list. 

Along the way out and back again, we stopped at a farm with ice factory. This has become quite a thing in Japan (I don't remember seeing that a few years ago (between 2015 and 2017 when I last was living in Japan), but now it is quite a thing. Farms selling their own ice cream. 

But the main attraction of the day were the sakura and rape, skillfully planted together and blooming at the same time. 

On the way back the rest of the team road all the way to Tokyo on Arakawa, but I wanted to cycle home and not need to rinko, and cycling all the way back to Tokyo would have brought me to the wrong side of the city. I knew from a ride with my NPC cycling friends last year in December a good road from Akigase park to Shibuya area of Tokyo, so thanks to komoot and Strava I found the route, reprogrammed it and dropped off at Akigase to cycle back home all the way.

Curiously on the very next day (I am writing this blog post many months later, while lying in my hammock in my garden on a not too hot summer evening), I was again in this very same area, riding back the very same road from Akigase to Tokyo. This time riding at a good speed in order to get home in time to bake a cake for one of my friends who had her birthday on that day. 

A weekend in Tsukuba

Day 1
Route: Tsukuba - Tsukuba mountain & back
Bicycle: 62 km
Train: 75 km
Total Ascent: 820 m
Average speed: 15,5 km/h
Riding Time: 4:00 h
Weather: sunny and quite warm, but the air still quite cold, 16C

A weekend full of sun and spring temperatures awaits, so I decided to spend the entire weekend outside of Tokyo. Again in Tsukuba! I now was in this area for 4 weekends, I think:

1) Very speedy ride around Kasumigaura 

2) First try at Kairakuen in Mito, and then cycling to Tsukuba

3) A second visit to the Plum Garden of Kairakuen  and cycling over the hills back to Tsukuba last WE

4) and now start and end in Tsukuba and in between an exploration of Tsukuba mountain, I.e., todays ride. 

I had booked a hotel close to Kenkyu Gakuen station, because I had discovered a great super sento around here last time, and the price of the hotel was good. The part of this sprawling town isn’t nice, but sightseeing around the hotel was not part of the plan. 

When I arrived I reassemble the bike and then let my small back bag at the hotel before heading to the mountains. Tsukuba mountain stands in the middle of a plain and is connected with a few other mountains around it. I had decided to try an approach over the top of these other mountains. The initial ascent was quite steep, but on a nice road through the forest and with no traffic whatsoever.

With a few breaks I managed to cycle it up and came to a youth camp. My May did show that from there a yellow (so presumably not too small road) would continue, but in reality it became a gravel path. It was kind of possible to cycle it up, but I had to stop a few times because the surface was not good enough and then remounting wasn’t a simple affair, because of the limited amount of traction I could get with my slick road tires. But luckily it wasn’t too long. 

On top of the mountain the road became better but had also more traffic. A lot actually young (and not so young) men in their small sport cars or otherwise very noisy cars. Probably attracted by the many curves and the other car freaks who might admire your car. 

When I came to a tourist village I got some curry rice in the shape of Mount Tsukuba:

In that same village was also the main attraction of the day, a plum garden:

The plums were in full bloom and weather was great. It reminded me a lot of Yoshino (in Nara prefecture) where I went for hanami (sakura) a few years ago:

Sakura flowers are more impress than plum flowers, but it is similar. Plum: 

Cherry:

From there it was a steep downhill back to the fertile plain. Actually I now like riding up mountains (if it isn’t too steep) but riding those same mountains down is still very nerve racking. Breaking all the time and still feeling too fast. 

Day 2
Route: Kasumigaura & RinRinRoad

Route: Tsukuba - Tsukuba mountain & back
Bicycle: 108 km
Train: 75 km
Total Ascent: 123 m
Average speed: 20 km/h
Riding Time: 5:24 h
Weather: overcast and cooler than yesterday, 15 C

On the second day of my weekend in Tsukuba I was torn between cycling up again to the mountain or going for the flat and distance by riding around Kasumigaura.

 I settled for the flat and had planned an ambitious tour of about 145 km or a somewhat shorter version of 118 km. Finally I didn’t do either. I started, but while riding down along the lake I got quite tired. There was wind, but I didn’t think that it was so strong, but somehow I was tired and didn’t want to continue further and further away from the hotel where I had left my bag including the bag for the bike. Maybe if I would have had the bicycle bag I might have continued, although there wouldn’t have been any connection to Tsukuba from there. Instead I decided to turn back and if I had enough power left just cycle a bit farther on the RinRinRoad closer to Tsukuba.

It seems to be the planting season of lotus, the fields got filled with water and these farmers here where for hours immersed in their field tending to the plants which soon will become a water jungle.

It must be nice when they are all flowering. 

The day ended after 100+ km (I finally did a few extra km closer to Tsukuba, including traversing the vast campus in f Tsukuba university) in the same super sento as yesterday and last weekend.

Well, technically the day hasn’t ended yet, writing this while being in the train back home, but already quite close to home. Next station Nogizaka.

A day away with plums in full bloom

Route: Mito - Kairakuen - Tsukuba 
Bicycle: 81 km
Train: 200 km
Total Ascent: 793 m
Average speed: 17 km/h
Riding Time: 4:45 h
Weather: Sun and clouds, a bit colder than yesterday, 10 C

This was the second, and this time successful attempt to see plums in bloom at Kairakuen. I came here 2 weeks ago, but back then there were only very few trees already flowering. The rest were still preparing. But 2 weeks later and with warmer weather, today most of the trees were in full bloom and quite spectacular. 

Frankly I would not be able to distinguish a plum flower from a cherry blossom. 

However although today I saw the garden in all its splendor, I am still not seeing why this is one of the 3 best Japanese gardens  it’s essentially a plum orchard. 

It was again an early start to get to Mito station before 9:00 to have enough time after the touristic visit to get some cycling done. The route I selected for today was a bit more hilly and with quite a steep ascent (and descent) at the end over a mountain connected with Tsukuba mountain. Before that it went through the countryside, partially on the “Fruits road” where there were strawberry fields, grape plantations and obviously plums. 

Up that hill motorcycles were prohibited, but not people who think their car is a motorcycle and make a lot of noise in their small - quite common looking - cars getting up the mountain, taking every corner as it were a formula 1 race. Quite noisy. 

Sooner or later I’ll be trying out Tsukuba mountain itself! But that is probably better achieved from Tsukuba. 

Last time I was too tired to go to an onsen at the end of the ride, but today I made it. Kirari onsen, is your typical super sento. Two pools inside, sauna and 2 pools outside, plus some shallow water to lie in. My preferred rotenburo. I think I spent over half an hour in that. Falling asleep at times. Very relaxing. 

D4 - A cold and windy day on Lake Biwa

Route: Kyoto - Tokaido - Biwako - Maibara 
Bicycle: 94 km
Train: 420 km
Total Ascent: 518 m
Average Speed: 17,7 km/h
Riding Time: 5:18h
Weather: coooold and veryyy windyyy, cloudy, some snowflakes, 0 C

While I write this I am sitting in what should be a warm Shinkansen train, but I am still kind of cold and not looking forward to get off the train and into the cold again. But this can’t be helped. 

Originally my plan was to cycle along the old Tokaido road, the main route that connected Kyoto and Edo during the shogunate. To start from the right place, I first cycled up to Sanjo Ohashi, took a quick picture before heading out of the city and up to Otsu.

Once over the hills in Otsu I continued to follow the old Tokaido. I had planned the route based on a route I had found a few years ago on Strava and with the help of komoot and google maps. On the ground it wouldn’t be possible to follow it. It is indicated in some parts, but not good enough to be able to follow it through. I wanted to take a picture of such an indication, but always thought “I’ll do it later…” and never did. 

Somehow riding the old Tokaido did not live up to my expectations. Either it was relatively small neighborhood streets with frequent crossings or large streets with a lot of traffic. This combined with the cold and the fact that I would have ventured away from the Shinkansen line, finally turned the tide and made me return to Biwako and the known cycle path along it. 

Today it was very windy and for the most part it was either headwind or side/headwind and this in the cold. Per the thermometer on the wahoo it was about 1 C, but it felt way colder. Cold enough that I was actually kind of cold while riding, and still am. And no onsen awaits me at home tonight, but at least hot bath tub! 

Apparently all the other potential cyclists got the note and stayed home today. I think I saw 1 or 2 cyclists beyond Kyoto. And this in a place like Biwako, where there is normally quite a steady stream of cyclists. 

Even at THE tree there weren’t any people today taking pictures with their car/motorbike/bicycle 

D3 - Gardens in Kyoto

Route: within Kyoto
Bicycle: 42 km
Walking: 5 km
Total Ascent: 260 m

Average Speed: 10,9 km/h

Riding Time: 3:52 h
Weather: clouds, sun, windy and quite cold, 5 C

This whole trip came about because I got a ticket for Shugakuin imperial villa for today and there is a long weekend. So today first agenda point was the planned visit to this imperial villa on the outskirts of Kyoto. 

No idea how many imperial villas there are in Kyoto, but at least 3 as I have been previously to 2 others. This one is famous for its landscape garden incorporating the wider landscape, like an English garden.

Probably the English weren’t the only garden builders who realized that a garden can profit from its surroundings. Luckily for this garden, it is in the hilly part of Kyoto, still on the outskirts and thus the landscape is still there to act as a backdrop.

The garden is specially famous for its autumn colors. And now in February was a bit barren, no flowers yet, no leaves yet. But still nice… and this only means that I can come back here some day in the future.

In one of the buildings (none seemed really fit for living there…), was “one of the three best shelves” of Japan (per the description). I didn’t even know that this was a category to excel in.

After the visit I descended back into town, stopped along the way in an old fashioned ladies curry shop and then headed to the Mirei Shigemori house & garden, where I had a reservation for 14:00. I arrived a bit early so headed for some explorations of the surroundings, which is an important shrine. But what was really nice about that neighbourhood , how remote and tranquil it felt.

The garden is a Japanese zen like garden, which he built originally for a shrine building but then bought the house and garden and used it as residence. Residence with tea pavilion and all, but still quite a normal sized house. 

The small white stones represent the sea, the reddish wavey stones the shoreline that is awash with waves and the green moss populates islands in this sea with high, rocky mountains.

Although today the sun was shining (at times) it was really cold, so after the visit I decided to head back to my hotel, have an afternoon break , get my full gloves and then head out again to an onsen where I had been back in January and eaten very well. (The onsen is also okay, but the food was specially good.)

BTW, if you wonder what happened to D2 of this trip, well it was a rest day. It was cold and rainy so I decided to do some long overdue shopping: a new cover for my kotatsu futon and some zabuton to sit. I searched on Google maps and found a few potentially interesting stores, went to 2 and ordered in one. Both these stores where still producing their goods in Kyoto!