tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60696256139120218132024-02-07T19:13:28.742-08:002cyclejapan2cyclejapan
Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-12508495387251086352013-09-19T11:47:00.000-07:002014-04-05T14:50:26.007-07:00Day 26 - Tokyo<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/112887718131159989838/about" target="_blank"><img alt="Photo courtesy of Masahisa Himi " border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghmo3e1aUyqPeIYZUchlbdUJxlwaFvHDrsbz3HNSVZF0SBtzF9228WIrSAbXvyl74SnBHS4XdSXK4ATXjhJqG4eag35MtKgEmgU4ZtYwrK-JV6t6IF4TQDQLRC4P_oPU6tjZMIaiZW_m1O/s400/photo+%252811%2529.JPG" height="428" title="Masahisa Himi " width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/112887718131159989838/about" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Photo courtesy of Masahisa </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">Himi </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: start;">, Japanese artist and photographer </span></a></td></tr>
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Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com0Tokyo, Japan35.6894875 139.6917063999999321.7112815 119.03740939999993 49.6676935 160.34600339999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-7073709423832118952013-09-18T05:48:00.000-07:002014-04-05T12:06:17.713-07:00Day 25- Ise to Fuji<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Having finally accepted that this had become less of a cycling tour and more a tour with cycling (I should maybe get the tour shirts over-printed with the bits we did by train for accuracy), we boarded the Rapid at Toba, carrying panniers and bike bags over our shoulders, heading for Nagoya.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">At Nagoya station, huge modern skyscrapers were visible from the platform as we changed onto the famous Shinkansen 'bullet train'. This super-fast line took us on to Shin-Fuji, the Fuji stop.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">We had a competition as to which one of us would see Mount Fuji first (Coca took it to the extreme of moving further up the train). Fuji is renowned for hiding its 3776m peak beneath clouds during much of the year, so we were by no means certain either would see it.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Clouds adopted Fuji-shaped tops in the distance from as far back as Toyohashi, about 150km from the mountain</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>Fuji descent</b></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">We reassembled the bikes in the car park at stage 5, 2400m and above the clouds. It's possible to reach stage 6, but on foot, not on road bikes. We met a couple of researchers from Norwich Uni who had dodged the barriers at stage 6 and climbed to the summit, sleeping out on Fuji overnight. No bears here, but very cold. They looked tired but elated, and one eyed our bikes jealously, "I knew I should have brought my mountain bike!"</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">We layered-up: long sleeves over cycle jerseys, rain jackets over everything.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Goodbyes as the climbers waited for their bus down, and we descended into the cloud. A series of hairpins slowed progress until we dropped back into the late sunshine, watching the sky go orange and then red.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">In twilight we hit the main road, downhill and much straighter for longer. Smooth tarmac and hardly any passing traffic encouraged early evening recklessness and we recorded speeds of 41/42mph through streaming eyes. Local speed limit noted as 40kmh but no speed traps thankfully.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">A full moon lit our way as we skirted the line of hills between mountain and sea, and we passed through the suburbs of Fuji town after dark. A lucky meeting with a local walking his dog provided us with a route to the Shinkansen station. Typical of the unexpected generosity of Japanese people, he reappeared some time later at the station in his car as we were dismantling our bikes, worried we might have misunderstood his directions and lost our way. We thanked him again, waved him off, smiling, and boarded the bullet train to Tokyo.</span><br />
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.Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com1Mount Fuji, Kitayama, Fujinomiya, Shizuoka, Japan35.3605555 138.7277776999999334.9417415 138.08233069999994 35.779369499999994 139.37322469999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-77332466790306572782013-09-17T05:38:00.000-07:002014-04-05T12:08:03.546-07:00Day 24 - Osaka to Ise <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Arrived at Ise on the Kasai local train </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Naiku and Geku are among the most important and holy of Shinto religion's shrines, housing it's most venerated deities, and this area has been subject to pilgrimage - called oise mairi - for many centuries. The Edo period, from 1603-1868, saw a dramatic rise in use of the pilgrim trail, with many ryokan and merchants establishing themselves along the route. Their traces line the roads, some still in use today.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Naiku, the Grand Shrine, was first established around 2000 years ago, enshrining the sun goddess, Amaterasu. She is symbolised in a mirror which sits deep within the holiest central shrine, inaccessible to all but the highest Shinto priests.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Naiku Seidan, the main building is also an example of Japan's oldest architectural style- yuiitsu shinmei zukuri.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Geku was established much later- only 1500 years ago. Here the deity of food and industriousness was set to work preparing packed lunches (bento boxes?) for Amaterasu</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">. The deities of wind and rain are also enshrined here. We felt like we'd already got to know them pretty well.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">We caught the train to Ise - Ujiyamada station which sits close to Geku temple and cycled the 12km over the hill to Naiku temple.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">In the afternoon light, golden dragonflies flitting through carefully sculpted trees in the gardens approaching Naiku shrine. You cross ceremonial bridges and pass through Torii gateways on your way deeper into sacred space.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Preparing for the ceremony to move the deity from old shrine to new, a wide deck has been built below the enclosure. However, this is in woodland, so in order to achieve this, scaffolding has been carefully erected over the plants and bushes, at about 2m high, and a timber deck then laid over the scaffold, carefully cut around the trees. The larger trees nearest the shrine have been wrapped at their bases with bamboo tied with woven fibre rope to protect them. The result is a piece of installation art, minimal but stunning.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The new shrine enclosure stands slightly lower than the old, clean, smooth-edged wood crafted and fixed with mortice and tenon joints, dowels and wedges.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Small cafe restaurant in a short parade with tanks of water filled with horny lobsters (in Japanese, Ise-ebi, named after the area), oysters, 'turban shells', scallops and clams at Toba station where we met and Kazumitsu and Hisayo Masueani who waved us into the shop from an open doorway. "Hello! Please come in!", down from Suzuka "for the day to enjoy the seafood. This is the best shellfish restaurant in Toba", the owner proudly informed us. We had made a lucky choice. After eating fresh rock oysters bigger than your fist, we were inclined to agree!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The lady who runs the simple cafe, a long table and trestles each side seating maybe 10 to 12 people at most, slicing open scallops before tossing them onto the tiny calor gas grill. A salt cellar of finely chopped chilli added a kick to the shellfish cooked in its own juices. Oishi!!!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Ise-shi is also famous for pearls, and the tiny hillock-shaped islands dotted around the coast are home to fishing villages and Ama- the women divers who traditionally search the sea bed for pearls. Remember that scene in Dr No? Connery shaves his chest and marries a local girl to find the island-lair of the master criminal. This is where it was set. They still wear knee-length white smocks and headscarves with their face masks.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">And no, many onsen visits have revealed that most Japanese men do not have chest hair.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com0Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan34.6937378 135.5021650999999634.4848083 135.17944159999996 34.902667300000005 135.82488859999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-52879615756057569942013-09-16T05:15:00.000-07:002014-04-05T13:10:05.094-07:00Day 23- Night in Osaka<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Osaka is an immense sprawling city. As we were pulled towards it on the train we realised just how huge it is compared to the other cities visited so far (Tokyo is still to come).</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">It stretches out in all directions including up and down. Kyoto, on the other hand, is predominantly two-storey apart from the centre.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Osaka is high rise from the outskirts, and even Pachinko halls, their slot machines chirruping and chattering with bright flashing lights, with lower ground and basement arcades, have their own multi-storey car parks above.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Richard had decided on the train to dislike Osaka, having been diverted from the serenity of Ise (not so serene with a typhoon, 70kmh winds and 8m waves on the nearby coast), But Osaka has its own charm. As we cycled through the downtown area of Namba in the late afternoon, crossing Donbo-dori and the intersecting narrow streets full of cafes, the young and trendy of Osaka looked us over. A wide and eclectic range of fashion styles, from Peroxide Cobain to Barbie and urban street pop fusing with floral gothic.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">As the news channels showed flooded roads and blown down buildings across Japan, Osaka had enjoyed another hot sunny day.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Bustling side street market stalls and Prada couture shared space, giving this area a feel of Brick Lane mixed with Kings Road, but really more like the Meat-packing district of New York. This is a place for people-watching. A girl in a cocktail dress, 15cm stilettos, clutching a Channel handbag in one hand and cigarette in the other rode past on her fixed wheel bicycle: an act of skilled coordination and balance. Skaters dodged taxis and fashionistas on fatboy bikes, the handlebars extended perilously.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">We continued our exploration as night fell, tiny bars the size of a van, huge neon signs bigger than their advertised venues, a giant illuminated crab competed with a mini Statue of Liberty for attention.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">A private booth in a downtown restaurant gave us sneaked views of other diners and a chance to eat with our fingers. We broke open crab claws and sucked the juices from the shell with relish.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">An odd thing we've noticed in Japan is that on entering a cafe or restaurant, you are given a rolled damp towel (hot or cold, depending on the weather) and a glass of water, but when you eat, no napkins are on offer. This is compounded for a westerner eating with chopsticks. I defy you to eat a bowl of Ramen, noodles and accompanying bits & bobs, with just chopsticks and porcelain spoon and not get it everywhere! You're encouraged to slurp, but no help with wiping your chin afterwards...</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The next morning, dismantling the bikes for the train to Ise area, deciding we'd try again now the typhoon had passed over, I was sorry we didn't have more time to spend in cosmopolitan Osaka.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com0Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan34.6937378 135.5021650999999634.4848083 135.17944159999996 34.902667300000005 135.82488859999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-62928490238857703402013-09-15T04:54:00.000-07:002014-04-05T13:16:09.102-07:00Day 22- Day in Nara in the typhoon.<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After checking in to our hotel in Nara, we bumped into a lovely young couple pushing a buggy. Phillip, from near Birmingham, and his Japanese wife Junko had moved back to Nara a few years ago, and Phillip had cycled a lot in the area.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">He had joined a cycle club originally but found they spent all their time on busy A-roads and tunnels. So they DO cycle these routes!! He pointed out that as soon as you turn off the A-roads it's great cycling but very, very hilly.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"You do realise there's another typhoon on its way, don't you?"</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">We hadn't fully absorbed the implications. Phillip sent me a link to the Japanese weather report that evening. All the provinces in yellow are on alert. When they go red, the schools close. But, Phillip had added, you could do a lot worse than Nara in the rain. Plenty to see here.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">We decided to make a couple of local circuits to visit some of the temples in outlying villages, the following morning, including to one of the world's oldest timber buildings at Horyuji Temple in Ikarruga, (dating from around 700AD, and housing Buddhist sculpture from 623), but the rain crept up on us in a pincer movement. We were following the big cloud ahead of us as it descended to cover the hills and missed the one coming in from behind. We turned back into Nara before the typhoon swept in.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">A cycle around the temples and pagoda was cut short by worsening rain, and we sat under the eaves of the Nara museum opposite the 5-storied pagoda at Kofukuji Temple, sketching as bus loads of school children were brought in, walked around and then bussed out. A group of schoolgirls recreated the multi-armed demi-god whose statue was housed within, and we decided to investigate further.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Inside, there were almost as many warning signs as there were exhibits. No photos; no food; no making noise; no touching the artefacts; no sketching; no re-entry, and others not translated, on every available space in each room. A team of wardens in full dress uniform, white gloves and peaked cap, prowled every corner, and if they considered you were loitering too long next to an exhibit, would start to clean the floor next to you with a long handled roller brush.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">You could imagine them thinking- "this would be such a wonderful museum if it weren't for the visitors..."</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This aside, the exhibition was well worth visiting, with life-sized wooden carvings of the original Japanese monks who spread Buddhist teachings through the country, made around 720AD. These had such character and emotion in their faces it was incredible to think they were nearly 1,300 years old and a shame we couldn't capture this on film. The many-armed xxx stood over us threateningly, a Swiss-army knife of life accessories from swords to scrolls.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">By the evening, wind was howling down the streets and driving rain had flooded the roads. My borrowed umbrella from the hotel was whipped inside out as we dashed to the convenience store opposite the hotel, and then 'borrowed' by somebody else before we reached the checkout, so we got soaked on the way back.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The following morning we prepared to leave Nara for the coast, our goal to see Ise's great shrines, possibly the most important and venerated in Japan, and rebuilt every twenty years for more than 1000 years. This year another cycle ends and the deities are transferred to their new shrine buildings which sit alongside the current site.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Packed up and with bikes back in their bags, we made a shocking discovery in the train station:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">No trains were running to Ise.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The station manager explained again slowly. Nothing: no local trains, no rapid, no express: everything stops at Nabari. Arms crossed in an 'X'. Closed: "Typhoo!"</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">We decided to head for Osaka and consider our options from there. Our carefully planned schedule had slipped so much, we needed to regroup. Maybe a bullet train to Hiroshima? A shuttle to Okinawa and the tropical islands? Realistically, we only had 3 days before we were due in Tokyo, with a hotel already booked.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Osaka then. After carefully explaining the changes we would need to make at a string of stations, the man in the ticket office looked decidedly exasperated when I asked if there wasn't a more direct way. well yes, of course there's a direct way, but then you'll have to take the express...</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The discussion had turned to where we could get to and this exposed another complexity in Japan which we hadn't prepared for. It has a number of train lines, like the UK, but some are national and some private. When asking to go somewhere by train in Kansai, you need to take into account who are you asking - the ticket seller at a Kintetsu station may decide to only advise you on these trains, but the JR station across the road might offer alternatives. He may also decide to only give you the local stopping services.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Moreover, the guard on the platform might have a different opinion on how to get there. No don't take the express at 11.15 and change at Tsuruhachi, take the limited express (the limited refers to limited stops, we discover) at 11.24 and change at Nabari... It may involve buying separate tickets for different parts of your journey, buying supplementary tickets to ride the express, or going from another platform.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This, I think, is one of the reasons tourists are encouraged to buy Japan Rail Passes before they arrive. Does it go to...? Yes, just get on. Let the guard on the train push you out at the right stop or change.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Platform guards see their job as keeping the trains running, so a traveller with a map is often an annoying hindrance. After a few minutes they tend to walk off, peeved at your inability to read the Japanese display board clearly stating this train's destination and stopping points.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com1Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan34.6850869 135.805000234.4761079 135.4822767 34.8940659 136.1277237tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-48548671397771342002013-09-14T13:45:00.000-07:002014-04-05T13:31:11.040-07:00Day 21 - Kyoto to Nara (30 miles)<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">We cycled along Kamo river and out of Kyoto, past the industrial sprawl and freeway intersections and bypasses, mainly on the pavement in busy traffic, although followed a cyclist in racing gear for a few km on the main road before he turned off.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Industry now interspersed with agriculture and small green and yellow rice fields punctuate grey factories.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">We turn off the main road and cycle parallel to it through rice fields and lotus ponds, fig orchards. Crossing another railway and back onto route 24 towards Nara.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Arrived mid-afternoon and cycled through the park, at first delighted to see wild deer wandering amongst the tourists.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222;">After visiting the Daibutsu-den, hall of the Great Buddha of Nara and largest timber structure until modem times, standing nearly 50m high, and the grounds of Todaiji temple, we became less delighted as they gang-mobbed us, noses in our panniers and pockets, butting and nipping us as they tried to reach our rice-ball lunch.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">At the tourist office, we were given maps and guides, some in English, and discover the cycle route we could have followed all along the river.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-weight: normal;">They recommended the most expensive hotel in all Nara, located inside the park before suggesting a more reasonably priced 'business hotel' round the corner in the shopping arcade. No deer.</span></span><br />
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Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com1Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan35.0116363 135.7680293999999334.595911799999996 135.12258239999994 35.4273608 136.41347639999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-61562942594208118262013-09-13T05:21:00.000-07:002014-04-05T13:25:48.577-07:00Day 20- Kyoto cycling the philosophers walk<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSokLD8QubASS2i9QYIAsXsCaQpeFnwbTFxHykPcgPd8V0BGfCKHeAdvZKpfjmnjZc1ISAtfXczNHzbSDnnxWaN8TxrATzKrZipcPgxPdLpxHv37YaHSIxEUfY_thFfY2fueyiDPkP6P8X/s640/blogger-image-1709989159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSokLD8QubASS2i9QYIAsXsCaQpeFnwbTFxHykPcgPd8V0BGfCKHeAdvZKpfjmnjZc1ISAtfXczNHzbSDnnxWaN8TxrATzKrZipcPgxPdLpxHv37YaHSIxEUfY_thFfY2fueyiDPkP6P8X/s1600/blogger-image-1709989159.jpg" /></a><br />
We left the Travellers Inn Hotel in the morning after explaining we made a mistake with the booking, rather than 2 nights one person, 2 persons one night and ventured into the heat of the morning to find the next hotel. <br />
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We cycled across the baking hot city full of temples and shrines, and, as with most of Japan's cities, we rode on the pavement, avoiding fast and totally careless cyclists of all ages.<br />
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Starting our cultural visit at the Imperial Palace, which is a wide and mainly empty garden, with wide gravel paths, high walls and formal gateways protecting the imperial residence and the guests' of state residence. You could visit the surroundings of the palace with a tour guide but no self-guided tour was available, so we opted out, and left for the cool surroundings of Shimogamo Shrine.<br />
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The shrine sits on an island in the middle of the river, hidden within a woodland of trees and ponds, which meant the air was much cooler and refreshing but, as a result, we were literally eaten by the thousands of mosquitos living in the damp shady grounds of the shrine.<br />
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We discovered the amazing snow ice-cream, where you are given a large bowl of finely shaved ice to pour a sweet green tea syrup over and eat with a delicate hammer-beaten spoon! Perfect for this weather. <br />
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At the temple, Richard was fascinated by Chie and Naomi, two lovely young ladies from Osaka that came to spend the day in Kyoto in traditional kimono dress, so we followed then around and took several photos, before making friends and exchanging Facebook addresses, finally leaving to cycle the philosophy's walk. <br />
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The walk, which ambles along a gurgling stream lined with cherry and beech trees, takes you past beautifully restored old dwellings and well integrated contemporary houses as well as many small shrines just a short walk from the path. <br />
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We continued our cultural visit to Ginkakuji Temple, which has an amazing zen garden, with a cone-shaped gravel mound and more than 500-year old trees. We also followed some geisha girls around but no photos with them this time.<br />
In our first night in Kyoto we met Kumi Nakagawa - at Kokoraya restaurant, we liked her and her restaurant so much that we came back the second night. The menu included unwinding egg, addicted cucumber and rare cheese cake dessert, all locally grown or produced. Even the 'moon walk' area is beautiful (we had cycled around the geisha district and the red light district the night before with a great deal of fascination at the discreet arrival and departure of dark taxis). <br />
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We already miss Kyoto, what a beautiful city!<br />
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Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com0Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan35.0116363 135.7680293999999334.595911799999996 135.12258239999994 35.4273608 136.41347639999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-38348589040657046332013-09-12T17:15:00.000-07:002014-04-05T13:35:20.810-07:00Day 19- Kanazawa to KyotoAfter an enjoyable evening in Kanazawa, we went for a sketch in the morning to the famous Kenrokuen Gardens before getting the train to Kyoto.<br />
Kenrokuen is one of Japan's 'Three Most Beautiful Gardens' located on the heights of the central part of Kanazawa and next to Kanazawa Castle. The Maeda family, one of the feudal rulers maintained the garden over generations.<br />
The garden has artificial ponds, hills and ancient tea houses dotted around the garden. We drew the "Kasumigaike" which has a small island, on which is said that an ageless hermit with miraculous power was believed to live. He must be very very small. And live on carp.<br />
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Kenrokuen, according to the guidebook, means "having six factors", and was given the name because of the six attributes that bring out the perfect landscape of the garden: spaciousness, tranquility, artifice, antiquity, water courses, and magnificent views. Just like our back garden in Peckham, then...<br />
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We had put the bikes together again after arriving in Kyoto main JR station. We're becoming quite proficient at de-wheeling, strapping them down, with the handlebars, bagging them up and then the reverse at the other end.<br />
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Cycling around Kyoto in the late afternoon, we realised how big the city is. There is so much here to see, both historically and culturally.<br />
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We stayed the first night in a Travellers Inn. It had seemed fine on the website but having checked in, we discovered our 4th floor room had no lift and had seen better days. Peeling wallpaper and burns in the carpet. Walking up the stairs, you pass the smoking floors and breathe in a lungful.<br />
We found a smart downtown hotel for the next night.<br />
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Leaving our bags, we headed out to visit some of Kyoto's numerous temples by bike.<br />
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My paranoia at being bitten had me covered in foul-smelling tropical strength repellant, but Coca used her usual trick of being with someone more prone to be bitten than her.<br />
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This time it didn't work. As we bent over the bikes to lock them, a cloud of semi-invisible mosquitos settled on us and within a few minutes Coca was covered in bites. The next morning, applying cream I counted 52 separate bites on Coca's legs!<br />
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We cycled to the covered arcades in the centre and found a cosy little restaurant, Kokoraya. The food was excellent and staff lovely. We made friends with Kumi and went back the following night.<br />
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Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com0Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan36.561325400000008 136.6562050999999736.152905400000009 136.01075809999998 36.969745400000008 137.30165209999996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-31322386835631618392013-09-11T05:35:00.000-07:002014-04-05T11:11:07.059-07:00Day 18- Takayama to Kanazawa via Shirakawa-go We left our charming Ryokan in Takayama, sadly by bus, as the strain going up the mountain the day before left my bike with no back gears, cable snapped, no gear change, definitely not the right terrain for a fixie. <br />
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There are several bicycle shops in Takayama town, but mainly for renting the traditional Japanese shopping bikes (known locally as mama chariots), we left with the new cable, hoping to find a bicycle repair shop in Kanazawa, our next destination. <br />
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On the way we stopped at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the traditional old village Shirakawa-go, a whole preservation district of houses in the Gassho (to pray) style. <br />
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Shirakawa -go is a beautifully preserved village of little houses with thatched roofs. To get into the villages you go through a time-travel tunnel to arrive 200 years ago Japan (just need to ignore all the buses parked at the entrance of the village area) and once you cross the wobbly bridge you are away from contemporary Japan (strangely enough the place was full of Spanish tourists, not sure why). We discovered the soy ice-cream, really tasty and similar flavour to salted caramel, wandered around and made a sketch. <br />
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After a bus journey dozing through multiple tunnels, some more than 11km long, we arrived at Kanazawa, a big city with lots of western people (strange to see after being in the north) and lots of bicycle shops!<br />
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The hotel contacted Model-T , a nearby shop who were open and would repair my gear set.<br />
The repair guy pointed at my Rapha cycling shorts and said "cool". He then tinkered and tweaked until all ran smoothly. Phew! what a relief...<br />
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We stayed at the Trusty Hotel in the Kourimbo area, a nice and modern hotel opposite to the boutique shops. We could have been in Milan or some other European city.<br />
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After waking and big breackfast we explored Kanazawa castle and garden, made a little sketch and left for Kyoto by train. <br />
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The further south we go, the more westerners we find, it feels quite strange almost to see non-Japanese people. <div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie2osrfUDsA_M-IpiercFruuQTG6cGLwnDFNrFGYD8UvGh2zN8HXfCVjWjy6fwoLPLiSYOCE6kIqhdWsWfkAoQ5B5W9H3NPfv6ykdOItKL-9UrA99NfFoFuGCVsYOmqZ3ujjIxnfFJMdQH/s640/blogger-image--120615672.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie2osrfUDsA_M-IpiercFruuQTG6cGLwnDFNrFGYD8UvGh2zN8HXfCVjWjy6fwoLPLiSYOCE6kIqhdWsWfkAoQ5B5W9H3NPfv6ykdOItKL-9UrA99NfFoFuGCVsYOmqZ3ujjIxnfFJMdQH/s640/blogger-image--120615672.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRH8edq5aKfQbkDiSPv5E5KyskT6Sr_Dec2u92M6Iu6g8oW9W2aUESCAm-30DnOcCfjkOPSTg9yEvhoyBi0Wl-paHMjNqQLCWlrum2JuM4L16raOO01Cvpf2KaEKin-xW2-glSwBsYffGr/s640/blogger-image--1011974049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqOobmEichsJyeZQvumtjxCI9CzGUTY6DtclD0KIxvnjUah_o9Ddz9P2qTSbiSDfbzK4oZxuTHKRIU7U8AT63e7W02dubrvP6PJ_8aW_BCcbildrjL2TSVonrtjrfX6X1JadY2VV8A0Zqi/s640/blogger-image--1772287397.jpg" /></a></div>Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com0Takayama, Gifu, Japan36.1461236 137.252172935.3255026 135.9612794 36.966744600000006 138.54306640000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-83342810893042747132013-09-10T02:06:00.000-07:002014-04-05T11:10:18.984-07:00Day 17 Norikura Highlands to Takayama via Mount Norikura (2nd attempt)42 miles, max speed 36mph (min speed 4mph)<br />
Alt. approx 2950m (Norikura peak at 3026m)<br />
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At breakfast the next morning I noticed the meershaum (sp?) hanging on the wall of Pension Grindelwald and the photos of a young Japanese girl dressed as Heidi in the Swiss Alps. the owner explained it was his daughter from a family holiday many years before (she is now a famous Japanese singer - album '25 to 26').<br />
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We said goodbye to our new friends Takaaki and Yoshie, and to Brett and his wife Chiemi, over from Brisbane to introduce a new arrival to Japanese in-laws, and started back up the long climb to Norikura.<br />
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A different gatekeeper was there this morning, but he had been one of the wardens driving along the pass before dusk, so remembered us.<br />
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We passed the point where we'd stopped yesterday after about an hour or so, with more energy but realised we had been fooling ourselves the evening before. The curve we'd seen ahead was still miles from the top, and we would have been sleeping with the bears if we'd carried on the night before.<br />
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The road became steeper and the curves tighter. The odd cyclist began to appear, a couple passed us in Lycra (and no panniers) on the way up, and a couple more on their way down in full wind gear. It was definitely colder today which made cycling easier.<br />
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After what seemed hours more, the peak came into view, snow still sitting in its shaded hollows. The trees became stunted, tall beeches replaced by small firs and heathers. Japanese Grouse inhabit this area along with local mountain goats, but we didn't see any. It became eerily silent, too cold for even the flies, and we crossed over a plateau near the top with wind howling through the spokes.<br />
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At last, the top, signs showing that this marked the border between Nagano Prefecture and Gifu, as well as another bear warning.<br />
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Just beyond the peak, a small green lake and a hill station where the Highland buses turn around. We bought coffees and cake before the big descent down the other side.<br />
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As we came outside the hill station, things had changed. The clouds had descended over the peak and you could barely see the lake in front of us.<br />
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Deciding to push on, we cycled slowly, the road disappearing 20-30m ahead of us. It was freezing cold and we wore all the long sleeve tops and rain jackets.<br />
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It became steeper and suddenly hairpin bends appeared in front of us, the world past the bend obliterated by cloud. We carried on carefully, and as the clouds lifted slightly, or maybe as we descended below them, we were able to pick up speed.<br />
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Multiple hairpin bends (I counted over 30) came after short steep straights, so you needed to brake, release, brake, release, making sure the wheel rims didn't overheat and split. By the time the road eased out, both of us had cramps in our hands.<br />
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About half way down, we had to pull over. A snapped gear cable - luckily on the way down the mountain, on Coca's bike, required a temporary fix and we coasted the remainder of the journey, Coca struggling with only 3 gears.<br />
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We made it into Matsumoto mid-afternoon where the friendly girls from i-site, a local bike-hire & tour group gave us directions to a repair shop.<br />
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They organise sunrise downhill cycles on Norikura- basically driving you up to the hill station and then putting you on your bike to freewheel down. Excellent fun, but ours felt more well-earned!<br />
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We eventually found the bike shop open, but the owner could only sell us the cable and not fit it. After struggling with it ourselves ( it fed in to the lever ok but wouldn't grip or change gear) we had to give up. <br />
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No cycling tomorrow. This had been planned as another early start to take in the historic hill villages and on to Kanazawa. We checked bus times and went for a huge dinner instead. Local Hiba beef: steak marbled with fat which makes it incredibly delicious when grilled was a revelation.<br />
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Ps. Note: at the Japan Ukiyo-e (woodcut) museum, we enjoyed prints by some of the Edo period masters in our hotel slippers. Edo is characterised by 'floating' elements, and Hokusai's Red Fuji, (Japan's best known woodcut artist- famous for the iconic 'Great Wave'. Not Hirosage, sorry!<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFZ0O0uCPMfky0mn4yBzT2cZPxFER1PWQ1afMVf-6xGXQx8JKiwMeDi8SovoiRSh37R6VKYrxSEz1e8bekiHk41Rx31Wdbq_6kIQAbETchc_coIH1yrHM6pRjZi4BrrLvTHeHitaXFsrW/s640/blogger-image--631139162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTFZ0O0uCPMfky0mn4yBzT2cZPxFER1PWQ1afMVf-6xGXQx8JKiwMeDi8SovoiRSh37R6VKYrxSEz1e8bekiHk41Rx31Wdbq_6kIQAbETchc_coIH1yrHM6pRjZi4BrrLvTHeHitaXFsrW/s640/blogger-image--631139162.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-7UkVVCUQ1s63_Ivx4vs0DtiyNL6z1KRePrzKUgrJuBJSUWB0upyFa7O2k54hMsKWW8eTcdczndAxPaRbqNqiVxG4R3lasZQ4IYd-2qIDcJ_tzwYn-9vBFPLg9sK7QZBYO5FbiciKlFUA/s640/blogger-image-753981793.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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*Epic fail- we ended up staying in pension Grindelwald -a Swiss chalet type log cabin in Norikura Highland, about 1200m Altitude.<br />
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56 miles<br />
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We woke early, grabbing breakfast and provisions from a 7-eleven on the way out of Matsumoto.<br />
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I had been stressing about this leg of the journey. The route between Nagano and Takayama via Matsumoto had been described on one of the cycle Japan websites so we had been looking forward to it. <br />
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However, when I looked at more detailed local maps, I found that the main road (Route 158) from Matsumoto to Takayama noted on the cycling website includes at least 22 separate tunnels, some of which are several kilometres long. <br />
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ARE YOU JOKING? Has anybody actually cycled this route?<br />
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More investigation found a branch off Route 158 which took us over Mount Norikura, standing at 3026m high, and only going through 8 tunnels, all less than a kilometre long.<br />
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The weather forecast showed sunshine and 24 degrees for the next 3 days, so we decided this was our best option to actually cycle some of Japan's most impressive landscape.<br />
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Route 158 took us on typical A-roads from the outskirts of Matsumoto into the countryside. It followed the Azumi river and started to get hilly as we met our first tunnel after about 20miles.<br />
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Japanese A road drivers apparently prefer to go through rather than round or over their hills and mountains.<br />
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Big trucks and no pavement made the string of tunnels a matter of gritted teeth and fast pedalling but was no fun. <br />
The turn off onto B-road Route 26 was mid-tunnel!<br />
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The next 4 tunnels were empty, and almost a pleasure by comparison. Definitely a road less travelled.<br />
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We continued to climb, noticing changes in the plants and noises along the way- more alpine flowers, less noisy cicadas.<br />
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As we freewheeled a short downhill section Coca shouted something I couldn't hear. There was moss on the sides of the road and it was getting slippy. I assumed she'd shouted something about this.<br />
"Monkeys!!"<br />
I suddenly noticed the high sides to the road was lined by red-faced (and bummed) monkeys with grey whiskers, sitting on fences, peering out of trees and bushes. A couple crossed the road in front of me.<br />
They seemed un afraid but camera-shy. I managed some fairly blurred shots which could have been yetis.<br />
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We reached the Norikura pass at around 3pm, still climbing. This section of road is closed between October and May as this is skiing territory (some of Japan's Winter Olympics were held here). As we approached, the gatekeeper waved us down. Gate closes at 5.30pm at both ends. No private cars or motorbikes. The only traffic would be the regular Highland Express buses, a few taxis, and a handful of cyclists. There are no road lights up there, so once the sun goes down it's dark and many sharp bends make it treacherous driving.<br />
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I asked if it was ok to go on, would we make it through? He shrugged. We could try.<br />
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As we slowly proceeded up in bottom gear (panniers make it difficult to go above the bottom 2 or 3 on hills) a number of Lycra-clad cyclists whizzed past us on their way down. We have been impressed by how friendly other cyclists, and in particular motorcyclists, are over here. In Hokkaido nearly all the bikers waved cheerfully at us as they passed. The downhill cyclists wore long sleeves, even leggings, and wind jackets. We were in short sleeves and sweating hard.<br />
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Each 100m in altitude was marked at the side of the road. 1800m, 1900m, and it became slower and steeper. The mountain is covered in forest nearly to the peak, unlike Fuji, and it was dense with plants and climbers (the dreaded Japanese Knotweed?) dragging larger trees back down to the undergrowth.<br />
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We could see the snowy peak of Norikura in the distance. The road goes below the peak but we weren't sure by how much. 2400m? 2500m?<br />
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After nearly two hours of steep climbs and uphill hairpins we stopped. 4.45 and we were maybe at 2,400m. We could see stretches of road high above us.<br />
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It dawned on us we wouldn't make it. We had been putting off eating till we reached the top and we were very tired and hungry.<br />
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We reluctantly turned and started down. It was suddenly freezing. The cool of the altitude and the sun dropping had us hastily putting on as many layers as possible as we freewheeled down, hands shaking from gripping the brakes and teeth chattering from the cold.<br />
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We made it back to the gate at 5.20. The gatekeeper looked surprised. Closed? No, too far today. Tomorrow. See you tomorrow.<br />
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Takaaku and Yoshie saved our day, as we could not find accommodation at the local onsen, and it was getting dark and late. Takaaku and Yoshie called the pension where they were staying and managed to get us a room. They treated us to a bottle of wine and helped us rearranging the hotel bookings for the next day. <br />
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We took the opportunity to wash clothes and dry out our shoes, wearing flip-flops outside and visiting the Japan Ukiyo-e (woodcut) museum, where we enjoyed prints by some of the Edo period masters in our hotel slippers. Edo is characterised by 'floating' elements, and Hokusai's Red Fuji, (Japan's best known woodcut artist- famous for the iconic 'Great Wave' and some of Utamaro's prints of courtesans were on display.<br />
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In the afternoon, wandering the traditional wooden shops with borrowed umbrellas, we discovered a local delicacy: sticky rice with chestnuts. Simple but very tasty.<br />
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As the last of the rain eased and trees dripped on the gravel path around the moat of the castle, we found a dry spot and sketched.<br />
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In the evening, Coca dragged us into a tiny bar on a side street. The locals looked slightly horrified that we might cause trouble, but after lots of 'sumamasen' (excuse me) and arigato gosaimas (thank you very much) we managed to appease them. Asking what would they recommend, the table in the corner shouted suggestions and we ended up with hot and juicy boneless chicken with the leg bone as a lollypop stick deep fried in tempura- beating KFC hands down! <br />
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Several beers later, the owner presented us with a gift- an ink and watercolour sketch of a tiger and dragon! So unexpected, but typical of the generosity we have experienced here. We gave them our cycle japan cards and thanked them profusely before winding our way back to the hotel.<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHG_hF_i-thf1tad_QQPqahccAFwIMlAzNgt9SRfdsYNgyguIpJNjof-DPYZ_J9t3I-3eZqptV9uEnYzGWL44o5ORg2rdI0vBIvDYMh4r2OKIGrJ2cAYsTMJZWjobuZWBdTSFzk61GXZF/s640/blogger-image--1091592379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHG_hF_i-thf1tad_QQPqahccAFwIMlAzNgt9SRfdsYNgyguIpJNjof-DPYZ_J9t3I-3eZqptV9uEnYzGWL44o5ORg2rdI0vBIvDYMh4r2OKIGrJ2cAYsTMJZWjobuZWBdTSFzk61GXZF/s640/blogger-image--1091592379.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRHczWFzSgprQQxE4n-IKEpKGdkzTEtlv7okkD4EzjzcXgT2_kbwvsfCaiM1VLseK8eWnkvL35MU2adEKLEBFlZ3550QXO-t-wG-13R_sypU4FJG8zMTDS7xSV1jnGxpJ9w4k9TRIHBtM/s640/blogger-image-50983043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRHczWFzSgprQQxE4n-IKEpKGdkzTEtlv7okkD4EzjzcXgT2_kbwvsfCaiM1VLseK8eWnkvL35MU2adEKLEBFlZ3550QXO-t-wG-13R_sypU4FJG8zMTDS7xSV1jnGxpJ9w4k9TRIHBtM/s640/blogger-image-50983043.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIj6oZ7VfsMqc91Whei9ErobSiLvalxfdedCnZtVSBccnyBLZXchYZ3vgaDSiDmW-5Rm9QvhbSh4PjOWZuiEpS4X4iDdubipVq6FPQT5Q9Dk_uR4xmKAuxiHzf4sYscfLaSkEMHR0SWXD/s640/blogger-image--1293635576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIj6oZ7VfsMqc91Whei9ErobSiLvalxfdedCnZtVSBccnyBLZXchYZ3vgaDSiDmW-5Rm9QvhbSh4PjOWZuiEpS4X4iDdubipVq6FPQT5Q9Dk_uR4xmKAuxiHzf4sYscfLaSkEMHR0SWXD/s640/blogger-image--1293635576.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HchM3G-GxdfGSK5hJRfxoxows7HirbdSTMSEsNQgQxrDYUeVqS5ivqHVVtUzLtbE6VJA-Imwi5ic2eOhmOUxyFujNEzWPcI9Ly9897hielptu_xR3VudXJpgHv_oUUyLc6tjNpeiWqkb/s640/blogger-image-79899585.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HchM3G-GxdfGSK5hJRfxoxows7HirbdSTMSEsNQgQxrDYUeVqS5ivqHVVtUzLtbE6VJA-Imwi5ic2eOhmOUxyFujNEzWPcI9Ly9897hielptu_xR3VudXJpgHv_oUUyLc6tjNpeiWqkb/s640/blogger-image-79899585.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2LrEJ0U5PbNPMYX4IlZGOzjGRgQotLDj0MGjf12BKaTteoU2FZpX2Cmg4VRRxU1MCfXTmmujpDPfwWvfDqFW9kcbaV_YPSS3FlZslT00TLnBWy23MvO42Up3fUSizDn802zOten5Q6-G/s640/blogger-image--530013254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga2LrEJ0U5PbNPMYX4IlZGOzjGRgQotLDj0MGjf12BKaTteoU2FZpX2Cmg4VRRxU1MCfXTmmujpDPfwWvfDqFW9kcbaV_YPSS3FlZslT00TLnBWy23MvO42Up3fUSizDn802zOten5Q6-G/s640/blogger-image--530013254.jpg" /></a></div>Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com0Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan36.2380381 137.9720340999999735.8279806 137.32658709999998 36.6480956 138.61748109999996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-15306032853577271002013-09-07T17:27:00.000-07:002014-04-05T11:06:10.535-07:00Day 14- Nagano to MatsumotoWe left the hotel in Nagano early with dry weather and allowed ourselves a stop at the famous zen temple Zenkō-ji.<br />
<br />
After crossing the big gate guarded by a gigantic warriors each side, (lots of pairs woven shoes hanging at the base of each - some human-sized some big enough for the feet of these temple guardians) you enter into the temple, which is a compound of 30+ temples, with booths to buy prayers and gifts and queues for different parts. <br />
<br />
At the main temple, pilgrims touch a wooden statue of the founding monk, his eyes and hands worn smooth.<br />
<br />
You should also burn some incense inside a big hollow cylinder topped by a lion standing guard outside and impregnate yourself with the smoke emanating from openings in the side and from his mouth. There are 2 stone wheels you spin to receive salvation and several other mystical favours. <br />
<br />
There are carp, turtles and a variety of beautifully kept gardens and small temples to different attributes of the Buddha, such as eternal enlightenment.<br />
<br />
After a self-guided speedy tour and a sketch we left for Matsumoto.<br />
<br />
We took Route 19, which pretty much took us all the way. <br />
It was mostly an easy cycle following the river (according to the local guides, the biggest one in Japan but not named on our road map). <br />
We went over several massive bridges with deep ravines below, water thundering through waterfalls leading into the river, and round reservoirs formed by a series of dams until the rain became too heavy to cycle.<br />
<br />
We stop for our packed lunch under the protection of a bus shelter until it stopped enough to continue, but arrived in Matsumoto soaked and in need of a hot bath. <div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwnW6YJXXdcAdmEQWz3aQ0Dd-L2xehuWn6ODkqewnHOvn5DpObgBB_KOGl7AHFqwplRklVLsX3cresGCAJkChzXqJHFBHMf5pKhJQoGysjcAZdvhjKgYGgBfdN66fv3xlJosUQwyZFUU9/s640/blogger-image--1238117748.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrwnW6YJXXdcAdmEQWz3aQ0Dd-L2xehuWn6ODkqewnHOvn5DpObgBB_KOGl7AHFqwplRklVLsX3cresGCAJkChzXqJHFBHMf5pKhJQoGysjcAZdvhjKgYGgBfdN66fv3xlJosUQwyZFUU9/s640/blogger-image--1238117748.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrPi2wTkU97ihSlBPdmulkDt84aTHm40Fk7oJT8cmaD6D3zQvnNQzEJIneYzcxCIwnACgTyr8B3EuEdFBmVruYk6xqeXtClBxakKYSvJWaiFucWjgAlWJDinFROKgn8Q7n_f2ndG3mP3v/s640/blogger-image-1257222233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFrPi2wTkU97ihSlBPdmulkDt84aTHm40Fk7oJT8cmaD6D3zQvnNQzEJIneYzcxCIwnACgTyr8B3EuEdFBmVruYk6xqeXtClBxakKYSvJWaiFucWjgAlWJDinFROKgn8Q7n_f2ndG3mP3v/s640/blogger-image-1257222233.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjup6eJM2s6uGTaTr2_SkXE_dB4E-37LgdcJPbUmAL1eNeyQc7Mdjrlxs30-Jx6eCcxwt4REob9G8RP2tveJ0snj5cQAGIOxH0DBFh-reI4aYJ124bXTztiW_6AKZj0Ki_q4fp7BzAxKihX/s640/blogger-image--1619745540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjup6eJM2s6uGTaTr2_SkXE_dB4E-37LgdcJPbUmAL1eNeyQc7Mdjrlxs30-Jx6eCcxwt4REob9G8RP2tveJ0snj5cQAGIOxH0DBFh-reI4aYJ124bXTztiW_6AKZj0Ki_q4fp7BzAxKihX/s640/blogger-image--1619745540.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHYZw78koruWEm2ZAc2Yv425-4fzFoZQE_RE_LBuCbWHudGVsaLWh-Dif4Zo7MxRUEyVpzSTR_gx8K88T6IDyY46KmWqnV3KjS0HSMLgkRKj_w9kXbt4x_3f_p6CJWF4tywd77DN9_gKpY/s640/blogger-image--397956061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxMcxRNvZMFNEub96_LOl1gnQ9egIeqjMdjhXkS_6FUjdlof_El6LHpl3vtwT3wHPx61HogoeZqMpq2Nc7KNlxoY8wXlD5vDVv-YljX_WKlSC3HegyCFJto65Y4WyMGOC2VmhGYbyPdSQ/s640/blogger-image-1111958368.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-rIEot9kLbDPEh3UvP46BA-gCrNwaBFX-nHoiVj48SgN_37xx0MXGdKZY0Nb4qBr00EESScbnzsHSKociBLLGM0WQoty1_wl5InFEEON2DH1ExnzZRAraZtUcx_ME9c2xmEFu6rbsMVds/s640/blogger-image--304898521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-rIEot9kLbDPEh3UvP46BA-gCrNwaBFX-nHoiVj48SgN_37xx0MXGdKZY0Nb4qBr00EESScbnzsHSKociBLLGM0WQoty1_wl5InFEEON2DH1ExnzZRAraZtUcx_ME9c2xmEFu6rbsMVds/s640/blogger-image--304898521.jpg" /></a></div>Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com0Nagano, Japan36.6485496 138.1942431999999636.240880100000005 137.54879619999997 37.0562191 138.83969019999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-72428243572194676572013-09-06T15:04:00.000-07:002014-04-05T11:05:42.072-07:00Day 13 Mano Bay - Ogi, ferry to Naoetsu, cycle to Arai (?) and thenlocal train to NaganoTotal: 30 miles cycled<br />
<br />
We woke in our 70s Ryokan to broken sunshine. The forecast was for more rain, but the early morning was being kind to us.<br />
<br />
We needed to make a decision: stay longer on Sado island or go back to the mainland and cover more distance.<br />
<br />
The thing is, Sado is very pretty and surprisingly rural- I think we were expecting it to be more of a resort (it holds an 'Earth Festival' in mid-August with the Kodo Drummers and other internationally acclaimed artists, and many people had told us it was beautiful). <br />
<br />
So in essence, we were seeing similar wild landscape and coast we had experienced on Hokkaido, but would be doing a circuit of a small island (25-30km across its slim-hipped middle and about 100km long). However, there are 2 parallel lines of worthy mountains to the north and south, and crystal clear diving waters.<br />
<br />
We cycled along the coast to Ogi, amazed as eagles swept down to the road in front of us, wingspans atleast 1.5m. We had seen large birds of prey circling since Hokkaido, including about 50 standing in a field, which was very odd.<br />
<br />
The wilds of north of Japan around Hirosaki and the ancient beech forests to the west, down to Niigata, are home to Japanese Golden Eagles, but I couldn't swear we actually saw these. <br />
<br />
<br />
Bird-watching by bike is a rough <br />
science.<br />
<br />
As clouds rolled in we had made our decision: even beautiful coast can be grey and foreboding in a storm, so we'd be better moving on.<br />
<br />
A last dip before leaving in a beautiful secluded lagoon was declined after a big black snake slithered off a rock in front of me and dashed for the undergrowth. Coca, standing in said undergrowth, wasn't keen on moving from the spot so I stamped whilst singing loudly, hoping this would be enough to alert any more snakes to our presence and we both then ran quickly back to the bikes<br />
<br />
We caught the ferry at Ogi, pausing to look at the traditional flat-bottomed boats, constructed like half-barrels, with ladies in wide conical hats waiting to offer rides of the bay.<br />
<br />
Ogi to Naoetsu took about 2hrs 30mins, and in the port we took directions to Joetsu and Route 18, and then cycled on towards Arai, finding a local train to Nagano at around 5pm.<br />
<br />
Reassembling the bikes at the station, we cycled through the very vibrant city centre until we found a hotel for the night.<br />
<br />
The local market cafe bar provided a great dinner including a slab about 30cm long of juicy baked<br />
tuna cheek. Here we met a group of Japanese students, busy enjoying their Friday night, who generously included us, asking lots of questions and laughing a lot.<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwe_-ZL37ZctwrfUBpnBLth-HU_bGDsRkIPxEqYcHCkJPRANLQY2L9OPT9-yUXZ4eRQJrZ17hAkCz-dakDJ6XApb2eEgdwPsSzVladthNXH9Ac_YDbdtti49cgCM1mDcZUZKZiBAv3_-yU/s640/blogger-image-1531666460.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwe_-ZL37ZctwrfUBpnBLth-HU_bGDsRkIPxEqYcHCkJPRANLQY2L9OPT9-yUXZ4eRQJrZ17hAkCz-dakDJ6XApb2eEgdwPsSzVladthNXH9Ac_YDbdtti49cgCM1mDcZUZKZiBAv3_-yU/s640/blogger-image-1531666460.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06yM5na3ODMxMWp9Q-va8t43FVp88mcV1-ZrWdylDV7pd6ZECKr-i9sKOdwCyCTiOZ_mbIn1RSGsi62pBzNIoTlQtMWJZ8d8by7GOTl3NbgxeZI1KvKni573JGNwlmNjwLZDF6zPt-3fg/s640/blogger-image-1231716677.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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After breakfast in one of the long covered streets in downtown Niigata, we cycled back over the Bandai bridge again down to the port.<br />
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Tickets to Ryotsu Port in Sado for person + bike is about ¥2,600, and takes 2hrs 40mins.<br />
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Arriving at the port, we cycled route 350 west across the narrow middle of the island and then north around the coast on Route 45 to find the hotel we'd seen on the web but not booked. The journey was around 25miles over a number of hills and valleys and it was rapidly approaching dusk when we arrived in a very remote fishing village with one single cold-war style concrete block on the bleak shoreline of rocks. All of the pictures had been from inside the hotel but we recognised the views.<br />
We looked at each other and grimaced. Mano bay and a recommended Ryokan was another 40minutes cycle. <br />
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Heads down, we pushed on, back up the hill. We arrived in the dark to a friendly glow from the Ryokan and a burst of laughter as somebody opened a door. We wanted to stay here immediately! A young woman greeted us at the side of the building but apologetically explained "Full". A friendly young man from the Ryokan joined her. They were very busy and fully booked tonight. What to do? With what we have come to recognise as remarkable Japanese hospitality, he then walked us around the corner to another less western-accessible ryokan, where he negotiated with the owner and convinced them to let us stay. Having agreed this he then directed us to the two closest restaurants which he recommended- a small traditional Japanese restaurant and a "very cheap: very good" Yakitori grill where we went for excellent kebabs of liver, chicken and other tasty but unidentified meats, washed down with tall draft beers. <br />
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The owner and his mother, a very sweet lady who sat fanning the grill as sticks of meat hissed and sizzled in front of her, were very friendly, also dealing with a table of Japanese businessmen sitting behind us. I asked if they served wagashi -sweets- but he said no. He then became very busy, boiling small dishes of something in a bain-marie and plunging it into iced water. We tried to attract his attention to ask for the bill, but couldn't catch his eye. <br />
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After about 10 minutes we were wondering if we should just stand up and wave our money, but he came over with a glass bowl. He had prepared for us an unusual but delicious dish of transparent flat noodles with a light salted caramel sauce. Incredible<br />
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Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com1Niigata, Niigata Prefecture, Japan37.9161924 139.0364125999999537.5149689 138.39096559999996 38.3174159 139.68185959999994tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-19058537821382387742013-09-04T15:24:00.000-07:002014-04-05T11:01:25.980-07:00Day 11 - Kakunodate (Akita) - Niigata by train.In the morning we said goodbye to Eiki,the lady who runs Fuga guesthouse above her Italian restaurant, and her 3 excited dogs, to visit the largest and oldest of the occupied Samurai residences and were lucky to be shown around by a descendant of the original Samurai. <br />
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He showed us his grandmother's silk kimonos, all beautifully embroidered with cherry blossom or autumn flowers and all with the family crest of two linked holly leaves.<br />
<br />
The house had at least 4 entrances: one for the Samurai and anyone of equal standing: one for women & children: one for staff and a main entrance that was only used for visits by dignitaries or for ceremonies, or for the arrival of the landowner who ruled the area and planned the grid of properties and roads in central Kakunodate.<br />
<br />
A waiting chamber held visitors until they were ready to be received in one of the main rooms, all with tatami mats but one with them running parallel throughout as officials would sit in a row, each on his own mat.<br />
<br />
High level panels were intricately cut with fretwork turtles - symbols of long life and good luck - with wood grain resembling water ripples. The shadows cast by lighting apparently made the turtles dance across the walls at night.<br />
<br />
The chambers behind originally had wooden floors with sunken fireplaces where charcoal was burnt to avoid smokeand pot hangers suspended from the ceiling.<br />
<br />
In the well-kept garden dotted by stubs and rocky outcrops surrounded by moss, a 35m fir tree stood, planted by the first Samurai resident. Again a symbol of long life.<br />
<br />
With more typhoon warnings and yahoo local weather predicting 80% likelihood of storms for the rest of the week, we decided it was time to move on. <br />
<br />
Catching the express train in Kakunodate mid-morning, (not the bullet train, sadly) we changed at Akita after a speedy 45minute trip and took the limited express (not sure what was limited exactly) arriving in Niigata another 3.5hours later.<br />
<br />
We discovered seats that swivelled round on a central post to allow everybody to face the way of travel, or turn to have clusters of 4. Very clever, and we immediately turned the seats in front to face us, spreading out our bags and maps, but we wondered what would happen to your book and bits hung on the back of the seat in front if this passenger decided to swivel. This clearly needed consensus and forward planning, and we predicted chaos should it ever come to England.<br />
<br />
In Niigata we found the tourist information centre by the station and asked for a good bike shop. <br />
<br />
We were running out of plastic liners for Coca's bike so wanted to try again to buy another rinko bukeru- the lightweight bike bags for use on the train.<br />
<br />
The idea of the rinko bag is to transform the bike into carry-on luggage and avoid paying for big package tickets (actually only ¥240 ~ £1.70 each so not exactly a problem apart from on the bullet trains where it has to be packed small)<br />
<br />
You remove the front wheel (and sometimes the back), strapping them to the sides, turning the front forks through 90 degrees and then sliding the whole into a draw-string bag made from ripstop material.<br />
<br />
Pedals and gear teeth are a bit of a problem, so it's still better to wrap these and tape them, but a rinko bag is a lot easier and quicker than the bin bags and packing tape we had been using so far.<br />
<br />
The friendly lady in the tourist office directed us to Furumachi Bicycle - a specialist bike shop in cool downtown Niigata. We lucked-out! The owner, Arata, runs a stylish design shop (also supplying London's Twentytwentyone) as well as Furumachi Bicycle, and speaks very good English. Moreover, Don, the manager and mechanic is a Kiwi, adventurer and all-round good bloke.<br />
<br />
The bike bag was dealt with in a few minutes, but we stayed on to chat.<br />
Don, we discovered, had among other things spent several months cycling across northern Thailand as well as a number of years in the South Island of New Zealand building 'ordinaries', penny-farthing bicycles, for a living. Quite a niche market. He showed us a sepia photo of a man in tweeds standing with a penny-farthing in front of the pagoda in Sado island, our next stop. "That's me!" Under the brim of the tweed cap you could make out a familiar grin.<br />
<br />
We explained we had made a tentative reservation with one of the hotels, but Atara had a better idea- "it's your honeymoon- you've GOT to stay in a Love Hotel!" A couple of phonecalls later we were ready. You can't actually book in advance, it appears: check-in is from 8pm to 10pm and on a first-come-first-served basis. We arrived after a huge bowl of ramen from one of the oldest noodle shops in Niigata, also recommended by Atara, and went to reception. An empty desk and a phone greeted us. A phone call and we discovered that its all automated- a screen displays rooms available with photos and you choose by selecting a button. A receipt is printed out with directions to the room and there you are. Almost.<br />
Atara explained that we were fine as long as we didn't want to leave before check-out. (Before 10am)<br />
Otherwise you would need to phone reception to ask to be let out- you haven't paid yet and this is done by a vending machine slot in the entrance lobby of the room before you can leave.<br />
<br />
You can order pretty much anything from the room, from drinks to baby-doll night dresses, and the film menu caters for all tastes, including videos of Japanese women playing golf in bikinis slightly too small for them... Whatever turns you on, I suppose. "Four!"<br />
<br />
We tried the Star Trek lighting console by the bed which gave multiple mood effects, as well as the jacuzzi feature in the rose scented bath, before falling asleep, both still fighting off colds from the typhoons we'd cycled through the week before.<br />
<br />
We understood from Atara that, despite the possibly seedy connotation of a 'Love Hotel' it was actually introduced to serve a simple purpose- many Japanese adults still live with their parents, a reflection of accommodation costs, and so a place where you can take your girlfriend or boyfriend for time together was eminently sensible. For a very reasonable cost you were given a good sized western-style room with big ensuite. A range of room sizes at higher prices allowed you to upgrade to rooms the size of some London apartments.<br />
<br />
Of course businessmen and women still take their lovers there, and a suited couple discreetly entered as we were unlocking our bikes outside, perhaps for a more thorough business meeting, but as a comfortable and economical alternative to standard hotels, it's worth braving the Japanese instructions, so long as you have someone to explain for you. This really isn't designed for foreigners though!<br />
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Leaving along Route 13 towards Akita gave horrible flashbacks from yesterday, but the weather remained dry for now if very overcast. Temperature read 24 degrees on a sign leaving town.<br />
<br />
We passed the turn off for Hotta Fortress and carried on about 5 more miles until signs for Kakunodate directed us right. A later sign for the Hotta Fortress took us into flat rice fields with jagged mountains along the skyline disappearing into cloud.<br />
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At Hotta Fortress we walked around the reconstruction of the huge timber entrance gate and up to the hill fort area with views across the fields.<br />
The remains of the fort looked like one of those Danel Buren sculptures. <br />
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Back in the car park a lovely lady selling food and gifts directed us to the information centre where the gentleman in the office helped give us directions and called a friend Chiaki who spoke excellent English and offered to be help if we needed assistance later on our journey through Japan.<br />
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As we came out, an enormous bank of black cloud swept over us followed by torrential rain driving horizontally across the car park. The lady from the shop beckoned us inside and fed us biscuits and green tea until it stopped raining, and an origami sculpture she was in the process of making when we arrived. <br />
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Another lady on a moped, Yuuko, invited us across the road to an unassuming building opposite the information centre which turned out to be the archaeological centre for all the excavations in the area. The director vey kindly showed us the collection dating back to prehistory with some amazing 10-11th century swords and arrowheads, the result of 30 years work in the field.<br />
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Everybody was incredibly kind and hospitable, waving us off as the clouds cleared and the sun shone long enough for us to cycle on to Kakunodate and the 350 year old Samurai Houses.<br />
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Bathing with the Yakuza<br />
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The Onsen experience is part of Japanese culture and you will find woodcuts showing men with hair in topknots sharing communal baths.<br />
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When I first read about this I imagined childhood experience of chlorinated swimming pools with plasters floating on the bottom or forced saunas in Boy Scouts, but Japanese onsen is much more cultured.<br />
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Arriving at a public onsen you pay ¥500 or so and ¥200 more if you need towels. (Towels play an important part and there are rules to follow.)<br />
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Men and women are usually separated and there are entrances within the reception with drapes hanging to midway down in red/pink for women and blue or green for men. The hieroglyph on the drape says men or women for those who can actually read Japanese.<br />
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You may need to remove your shoes here or even before the reception area, but you will be barefoot from when you enter till you leave the onsen. Some provide plastic slippers but I have yet to find men's size 10 or above.<br />
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Behind the drape is a standing space before a sliding door into the changing area. Closing this behind you, you enter a recognisable, if surprisingly clean, changing room with lockers, basins, mirrors and benches. Some have open shelves with baskets for you to put your clothes and big towel in. Valuables in the locker and a wrist strap key leaves you naked and ready for the next stage. Remember your towel etiquette now.<br />
<br />
You have a big towel and a little towel. The big towel is for drying off in the changing area only. Under no circumstances should it go into the bathing area. This would be 'bad'*<br />
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Taking your little towel with you through the next sliding door, you enter the bath house proper. A row of showers with taps sit at knee height off the floor with a shelf and mirror suitable only for small children. A number of very low plastic stools the size of buckets explain this, as you are now supposed to squat down on your bucket stool and lather up with the bottles of soap and shampoo sitting on the shelf in front of you. You then wash this off sitting, NOT standing, in order to avoid splashing your fellow bathers, and then towel off with your little towel to remove excess water and remaining soap before getting in the pool.<br />
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The onsen itself is a naturally heated spring and depending where you go it may be clear, rust coloured or milky, and be warm to unbearably hot. I also heard of one famous onsen with a pH level close to pure acid! Doze off at your peril...<br />
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Some pools are only big enough for 5 or 6 people but some could accommodate both home and away teams plus the ref. The pools are about bath depth so you can sit on the bottom with your shoulders just above the water. There's also a step along one side so you can cook just your legs, or even sit on the side and poach your feet pink.<br />
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Counting to 100 you lie in the pool, then towel off with the little towel before repeating or showering or plunging into an icy cold bath to one side. Each time you dry off with the small towel. I've seen men shaving and cleaning their teeth while sitting naked on their little upturned bucket. Some men wear the little towel round their head whilst in the bath. Think of Rambo or the Deerhunter.<br />
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Many onsen which also advertise in English warn that tattoos are not allowed and you should cover the offending body art with a large sticking plaster. The link between tattoos and yakuza gangsters is still strong in some areas. <br />
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However some public onsen seem less concerned and I saw men with MA-husive tats across their shoulders and backs. Important not to keep eye contact with people too long in Japanese onsen.<br />
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Some onsen provide a steam room but I haven't tried this out yet.<br />
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Apparently soap was very expensive in the 1600s, so people used bran or rice husks. Also bath houses were considered dodgy (possibly doubling up with brothels) until 1800s when they became popular and acceptable in polite society.<br />
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So you are now squeaky clean and lightly boiled. You want to go and change but WAIT! You must remember to dry off with your little towel (now pretty wet) before heading out to the changing room.<br />
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Only now can you use your big towel to dry properly and get dressed.<br />
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*This is unless it is a mixed bath in which case it appears women should wear the towel even in the water to cover their modesty. Not sure about how this works as you then need two big towels.<br />
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Clean and happy we finished the day with a shioyake fish dinner, delicious ..<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitLLSnKYtWHG_3UB8OJYkQEXVH0d4J2Zn9URWCnqpfzLD1BVhAT0YYep5a8iHGkMskM9lTg0PAiYs2mDXob6dGsS3ts2qPq5BwaG5qlDKuX1WE10OgojzgWToQMEcGTEpaad18X9uCejju/s640/blogger-image-525953942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitLLSnKYtWHG_3UB8OJYkQEXVH0d4J2Zn9URWCnqpfzLD1BVhAT0YYep5a8iHGkMskM9lTg0PAiYs2mDXob6dGsS3ts2qPq5BwaG5qlDKuX1WE10OgojzgWToQMEcGTEpaad18X9uCejju/s640/blogger-image-525953942.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHgrINIIMH4ZqPY1lyxvzWJeHPv0MUJWanAcg86_sSXiXUU9EpW2illW2vYtKCpKdzl3vpyV6ky0-r4k0L5sQW-zf9Dor2Dou1K3H5_sJH2GebcO7D9tNJmbIR57hwD11fP_uFou7PpywH/s640/blogger-image--235349462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIpx9bzAtmXNzfxcAz4Q39jGfVdhV7ee2-gdb4vE2EDBQke2kyb01BfcxtmMUMAdFN_OzAFkhBnCaMw79s7w3s0G_zdzE-FuvhfdAPO0TSWLy8wpurqhsBdn9UqM3YoIrP1nx7f21DNdkP/s640/blogger-image-2125353525.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMEVsoN7QXdHt_Nd7dolyZGjul0OykIuVQEo1QIcvt4Ze22A4Y_q6cZvz0v7RBSRFz3kEHbnP5BScot7EYYKc_t8zPW3HJbRoAX7HUUpOcSg0nhs9KUEHKVkeIv4uOV-TTJ4syDZh4ysZ2/s640/blogger-image--1789841453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMEVsoN7QXdHt_Nd7dolyZGjul0OykIuVQEo1QIcvt4Ze22A4Y_q6cZvz0v7RBSRFz3kEHbnP5BScot7EYYKc_t8zPW3HJbRoAX7HUUpOcSg0nhs9KUEHKVkeIv4uOV-TTJ4syDZh4ysZ2/s640/blogger-image--1789841453.jpg" /></a></div>Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com0Kodate Kodate39.588787 140.561717tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-87500453478479152502013-09-02T07:26:00.000-07:002014-04-05T10:56:50.859-07:00Day 9- Akita to Yokote We left our favourite hotel chain Toyako inn with the intention to cycle to Yakote, after cycling in the rain for an hour in a heavy traffic motorway, we got completely soaked and it did not look like the weather was going to improve so we stopped in what looked like a bus garage, where a couple of guys and a nice lady gave us a coffee and towels and some very helpful directions that we could not understand, after some debate we decided to go back to Akita, dry out, and get the train to Yokote, instead of cycling another 70 miles in the rain. <br />
We stopped in the local bicycle shop and got some bicycle bags and after an super speedy dismantling bikes we jumped into the local train to Yokote. Phew we made it! <br />
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The local train remains us to the tube. <br />
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From the train we were surrounded by montains and the rice fields and lots of water...<br />
Dinner at Yakote was a very tasty yakisoba with an egg on top. <div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjZttZjBBQcyeBr281vwAOFhmVmHfhq5YcD9g-wo1cEUO7huJAzmRsinN7FOYeq6ZRoLp5Vwj-W13RfFwQbX6DlzoPpVnHYwca0XfR6rVf7oSduBwyUxy2cV-cw6H-or6OoMIbG4UJGBp/s640/blogger-image-807139485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrjZttZjBBQcyeBr281vwAOFhmVmHfhq5YcD9g-wo1cEUO7huJAzmRsinN7FOYeq6ZRoLp5Vwj-W13RfFwQbX6DlzoPpVnHYwca0XfR6rVf7oSduBwyUxy2cV-cw6H-or6OoMIbG4UJGBp/s640/blogger-image-807139485.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCdMooLm_g2FCdJE3MD24PssiLmQlDIJoomKgQJAysBHbN-NfTSfCdMbJWx8iEA_-cD1jjMp2xVEURTTS-7NOmO9OaX70xwCBUiKZUODvJYzy_THZdp8QqwcsriT0wrj1c7Yj89eeKvPD/s640/blogger-image--530420805.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCdMooLm_g2FCdJE3MD24PssiLmQlDIJoomKgQJAysBHbN-NfTSfCdMbJWx8iEA_-cD1jjMp2xVEURTTS-7NOmO9OaX70xwCBUiKZUODvJYzy_THZdp8QqwcsriT0wrj1c7Yj89eeKvPD/s640/blogger-image--530420805.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCAPHzvvGzSq-Yt3O05anGDtP4ENQVC3Ro1gz25xG5aBE6SEEXknlqSC8-z_-7V54QFoRKd4h-43rcW51WbgQ3KTFRjTPsL-pqjI5AgZpO5vq6PqrPNezL6S6-2JdO8dKSkNpdxKa0gN7r/s640/blogger-image-151531427.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCAPHzvvGzSq-Yt3O05anGDtP4ENQVC3Ro1gz25xG5aBE6SEEXknlqSC8-z_-7V54QFoRKd4h-43rcW51WbgQ3KTFRjTPsL-pqjI5AgZpO5vq6PqrPNezL6S6-2JdO8dKSkNpdxKa0gN7r/s640/blogger-image-151531427.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvWlT6sK1KP0pqZ5uEQ2jOBdCjKl4rADjT1nWSVT6w-f_e_pD_FFyOboH2eWbPeve-doKo5rNnR6NHyY_p4oJnKJ7Y4kzODy6SyNMiPvTosCzdIkxyWjiScRPXWHJv4pMPfotOgaejh2z/s640/blogger-image-639313777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvWlT6sK1KP0pqZ5uEQ2jOBdCjKl4rADjT1nWSVT6w-f_e_pD_FFyOboH2eWbPeve-doKo5rNnR6NHyY_p4oJnKJ7Y4kzODy6SyNMiPvTosCzdIkxyWjiScRPXWHJv4pMPfotOgaejh2z/s640/blogger-image-639313777.jpg" /></a></div>Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com0Akita, Japan39.7200079 140.1025641999999639.3288199 139.45711719999997 40.1111959 140.74801119999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-81730684577459424302013-09-01T05:58:00.000-07:002014-04-05T10:54:29.608-07:00Day 8-Fukaura via Lake Juniko to and bus to AkitaLake Juniko> Akita <br />
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We left the hot salted bath Onsen resort in Fukaura with dark brooding grey clouds above us in the direction of lake Juni-ko National park on Route 101 again.<br />
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About 6 miles (10km) out of Fukaura along the coast road, the turn to Juni-ko takes you up increasingly steep bends, and the rain from yesterday had flooded the drains and streams along the roadside.<br />
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The area up the mountain is incredibly pretty, with lakes and hot volcanic springs and lots of waterfalls. <br />
The rain got steadily worse until it became so heavy we had to stop at the first of the lakes to shelter and inspect the map to decide if we continued up the hill or turned back the way we'd come. The small cafe by the lake was closed but the owner came out, let us in and gave us a cup of green tea. He then brought us a map of the area which he spread over the table and some very helpful instructions in Japanese, which Richard swears he understood perfectly.<br />
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We decided to cycle on, and after a string of lakes and streams, we arrived finally at the blue lake- an incredible cobalt coloured pool with a number of trees eerily suspended under the surface.<br />
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The rain had picked up and we rode back down, spray from the streams crossing the road whipping up behind us, and we were back onto Route 101 headed for Akita, still 60 miles or so away.<br />
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After another 20 miles pedalling, most of them in heavy rain, we arrived in Noshiro and took stock. It was already past 3 and with our speed limited to 10mph with the rain and hills we weren't going to make it to Akita till after dark. We still had nowhere to stay and the rain had soaked us to the socks.<br />
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Plan B was achieved by asking directions to the bus station where, after some negotiation, we dismantled the bikes, tied the wheels by the sides of the frames and got the bus to Akita with the bikes stored below. We saw the famous Fukaura sunset from the bus, rather than the hot onsen, arriving in time to find a hotel with hot shower and comfy bed.<br />
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Dinner added new excitement- the tiny noodle restaurant had a machine where you selected what you wanted from the menu, a bit like a cigarette machine with lots of buttons, but all in Japanese text and no pictures! Luckily a friendly man at the bar explained that this button was ramen noodle soup, this one was a bigger portion, this was beer, and so on until we had ordered ourselves a small feast. Giving the tickets to the waiter we sat and waited hopefully. By looking at the price Coca managed to get the house special, a very dense egg fried rice with an egg on top. <br />
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Luckily it was very tasty (oishii) and we paid about 11 pounds for the whole dinner. <div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0VwvLRY5vyziTNFAKY5SrS61fb_-4kjk2LSralJEDMrOv36vDrZOifflxelI4MFF6Gso1ajYYjToR9cqDCfi887k7NFL8BAhtAI8ICyzBphsMf-D8f8Wyx6fr6fdmIm7O0dNVyN7RkHU/s640/blogger-image-780564676.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0VwvLRY5vyziTNFAKY5SrS61fb_-4kjk2LSralJEDMrOv36vDrZOifflxelI4MFF6Gso1ajYYjToR9cqDCfi887k7NFL8BAhtAI8ICyzBphsMf-D8f8Wyx6fr6fdmIm7O0dNVyN7RkHU/s640/blogger-image-780564676.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGo3QYkkpdS3DOStdcdwZQcKHqxLn3hg0sDNPkq1VEiGQpUHRh7uu69GRT3rGdmieWJTKunZaK42TevFqJ1pKXOTSMau1vohU3kYoFPKBNeHox7I-4pWCbfphdOclg9hCU9ShMs-71Xxk/s640/blogger-image-1919481923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNGo3QYkkpdS3DOStdcdwZQcKHqxLn3hg0sDNPkq1VEiGQpUHRh7uu69GRT3rGdmieWJTKunZaK42TevFqJ1pKXOTSMau1vohU3kYoFPKBNeHox7I-4pWCbfphdOclg9hCU9ShMs-71Xxk/s640/blogger-image-1919481923.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglFnSwLi-xHjZ8nkScwzIa0GyieBHV2AFWFkuf_4b9LmEa9-blBhbh4NJjgBudoNfEX7VDicpn2XRcYFuu6iLFAV0MYtkJhHcohFuSKtobai-3ygVzRKY8HeAnm4sBYqGcduGak3mIzP2J/s640/blogger-image--95791703.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglFnSwLi-xHjZ8nkScwzIa0GyieBHV2AFWFkuf_4b9LmEa9-blBhbh4NJjgBudoNfEX7VDicpn2XRcYFuu6iLFAV0MYtkJhHcohFuSKtobai-3ygVzRKY8HeAnm4sBYqGcduGak3mIzP2J/s640/blogger-image--95791703.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMb3KmJGNLBEUVVs68Z_RQxF0voNh8WNk93_eyLd8_ffvHnIEF37B58sb5snUX2J2YkiUEABXeucvPEjdpsUp7_BErdTDFLT_CBdJZa0Djm7UsO6X_2WrzDzXrYRx70DaAR9LZvvzq2D_V/s640/blogger-image-1095234038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMb3KmJGNLBEUVVs68Z_RQxF0voNh8WNk93_eyLd8_ffvHnIEF37B58sb5snUX2J2YkiUEABXeucvPEjdpsUp7_BErdTDFLT_CBdJZa0Djm7UsO6X_2WrzDzXrYRx70DaAR9LZvvzq2D_V/s640/blogger-image-1095234038.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJX6ZCjmGev9c_rqyP6T2tm9JC2hupkX6mm4PdAtEAD5XlBnZcOEUB1GIg9lQ9wOhDmJv5G0bNHhhrwaLx5WfszOY2-n61DSpBCQSTMutbAk7pSVxou4LlGGeUfZNKb-WL8J_aPYpQ7mG/s640/blogger-image--640672969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbJX6ZCjmGev9c_rqyP6T2tm9JC2hupkX6mm4PdAtEAD5XlBnZcOEUB1GIg9lQ9wOhDmJv5G0bNHhhrwaLx5WfszOY2-n61DSpBCQSTMutbAk7pSVxou4LlGGeUfZNKb-WL8J_aPYpQ7mG/s640/blogger-image--640672969.jpg" /></a></div>Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com0Fukaura, Nishitsugaru District, Aomori, Japan40.647895299999988 139.9273749999999840.262066299999987 139.281928 41.033724299999989 140.57282199999997tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-56690528476335091812013-08-31T17:18:00.001-07:002014-04-05T10:49:56.861-07:00Day 7 -Ajigasawa to FukauraIt does rain a lot in Japan! After waiting for a couple of hours at the Ryokan lobby, and checking the weather forecasts, we established that it was not going to get better, so we decided to leave the comfort of the hotel and get on the road to Fukaura. <br />
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We cycled past signs saying 'Welcome to Fukaura' but it was much smaller than we'd expected and no signs (in English) for an Onsen or Ryokan, and by the third small village with welcome to Fukaura signs we realised this was more a welcome to Nottinghamshire than Nottingham and we were still in Lowdham! We stopped at some Japanese signs of what turned out to be an old people's home. Soaking wet and sitting in pools of water in their entrance lobby, they gave us a hot coffee to warm up and provided directions to the hotel, and then made a phone call for us to check they could accommodate us. How lovely! <br />
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The hotel is an Onsen by the sea, where you can bathe in orange hot and salted medicinal water. Mix bathing is aloud, so I went in, following the Onsen protocols naked, I must have been using the incorrect protocol as a man came and gave me a towel to cover my modesty .<br />
After a super hot bath, both now with pink feet, we had a 16 course meal, including an abalone that was still eating the side vegetables in its bowl until it was poached in sake. What a way to die...<br />
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Music was provided in the reception by a traditional Japanese musician playing a long guitar-style instrument which plinked and dinked to all the local guests enjoyment, many who sang along. A little beyond our musical appreciation, but clearly a skilled artist.<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-_3IVc7G1ODLI31gBeLHmovPuDn7Tw0FpNwGrI5uA2F003gYHE4zk2MaYCjDPsnuLR2RPfoXww6_Uj-nqBTlDbW-I2cSF99JuSAZkK79rHEsJlF2qvaPxyRvoOwrlOWI1stxefOuZeMQ/s640/blogger-image--176751248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-_3IVc7G1ODLI31gBeLHmovPuDn7Tw0FpNwGrI5uA2F003gYHE4zk2MaYCjDPsnuLR2RPfoXww6_Uj-nqBTlDbW-I2cSF99JuSAZkK79rHEsJlF2qvaPxyRvoOwrlOWI1stxefOuZeMQ/s640/blogger-image--176751248.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrkcs_tfQPn6XyPBWDhC66GCJSZQuqvOYYrs8T9UHjABfMFprff3z67D7E3kvrkCtf7-f46NcAZQ_NTFxqfwVVXPl0FF8Pkbm4_yIOxsR8fO2LJsJFij4Owu2QjriJH3kUvt_TTvBCMIgo/s640/blogger-image--565575325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrkcs_tfQPn6XyPBWDhC66GCJSZQuqvOYYrs8T9UHjABfMFprff3z67D7E3kvrkCtf7-f46NcAZQ_NTFxqfwVVXPl0FF8Pkbm4_yIOxsR8fO2LJsJFij4Owu2QjriJH3kUvt_TTvBCMIgo/s640/blogger-image--565575325.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDFSi7T0cWQgu2H9Y5-jvhn_uoyeXxfMnovrNUowpFq-APBQnLy3nO3WmzM6wo4c3oclK0zli1pNqDvdifgYmUOQ6vQGKqdlBg-50i-ic3rJiLIAW5e6UirajMf5qy7aHC3vxCR80MLNbx/s640/blogger-image-326545327.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDFSi7T0cWQgu2H9Y5-jvhn_uoyeXxfMnovrNUowpFq-APBQnLy3nO3WmzM6wo4c3oclK0zli1pNqDvdifgYmUOQ6vQGKqdlBg-50i-ic3rJiLIAW5e6UirajMf5qy7aHC3vxCR80MLNbx/s640/blogger-image-326545327.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNJ6Ze8dYoVWRB_Qw-YnqpRikMM_Zr5INCRX-f4rbcsaAYHud-AdowwRwRMJxr9Tg5sadTZITS2uy7EzUVRxwSEf7QrBNY2NIc-6UfuuVIBMQflry2EzGhaY5ncOyWEK9zgySmFDFLWkMk/s640/blogger-image-1559809520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNJ6Ze8dYoVWRB_Qw-YnqpRikMM_Zr5INCRX-f4rbcsaAYHud-AdowwRwRMJxr9Tg5sadTZITS2uy7EzUVRxwSEf7QrBNY2NIc-6UfuuVIBMQflry2EzGhaY5ncOyWEK9zgySmFDFLWkMk/s640/blogger-image-1559809520.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvd2WR6UmmLpwL9sD4txmuzLUPWeKPVWl3txSkOyjmZW4dqqui5MTslBi_l8kL4USwQ-zO2kGvUNL_7ztsDHT2zzrWnlqbOKEfV3mU2cyyf1MIAFHmrF0B_zDLY2f0debq4vtzt5CElyYk/s640/blogger-image--487565755.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvd2WR6UmmLpwL9sD4txmuzLUPWeKPVWl3txSkOyjmZW4dqqui5MTslBi_l8kL4USwQ-zO2kGvUNL_7ztsDHT2zzrWnlqbOKEfV3mU2cyyf1MIAFHmrF0B_zDLY2f0debq4vtzt5CElyYk/s640/blogger-image--487565755.jpg" /></a></div>Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com1Ajigasawa, Nishitsugaru District, Aomori, Japan40.779913 140.2086951999999740.3942175 139.56324819999998 41.1656085 140.85414219999996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-8462941620906214162013-08-30T06:40:00.000-07:002014-04-05T10:52:26.261-07:00Day 6- Hirosaki to Ajigasawa<br />
After a quick dip on the Onsen bath and a traditional Japanese breakfast, sad to leave Ishibura Ryokan. <br />
Soichiro was extremely helpful, he treated us to a welcome drink and drove us to the restaurant the night we arrive (his radio was playing Rosario Flores!). In the morning after breackfast and greetings, we left. Soichiri drew the route in a map and marked all the landmarks on the way to our destination and they given us a good bye gift. A lovely book that becomes a scarf. What a treat! Thanks again Ishiba Soichiro. <br />
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We left Hirosaki direction to the coast, stoping in Iwaki Shrine, after a visit to the shrine to refill our water bottles with sacred water we were on the way. <br />
We circle along apples orchards with mount ... On our right. <br />
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After quite a thought up and down journey we stop in Ajigasawa, our first unscheduled stop. We found a lovely Ryokan next to the town Onsen where we has the most incredible of at least 20 courses! <br />
<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4xleDm5ZhfbWHSO2OSUjlPuWVbssY2bUOiFwoio6Byw31AfEuBSrQKNdnD80OM32wha4uE4fhkURefpzamjf9nwE8yRMhSryAa1EMb4829PYV5w8v7_HZbRw122s2U02jd6U99LesV4dF/s640/blogger-image-770606335.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4xleDm5ZhfbWHSO2OSUjlPuWVbssY2bUOiFwoio6Byw31AfEuBSrQKNdnD80OM32wha4uE4fhkURefpzamjf9nwE8yRMhSryAa1EMb4829PYV5w8v7_HZbRw122s2U02jd6U99LesV4dF/s640/blogger-image-770606335.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvtv8HpsIrUFG1iPuKmmCBnRozjloCnuyqpwMCfoHW2sPeSoe98dh2oJ1RnrQjEBuFNJcrykPEpBviZqQ4BQ2JY3I_cUtvaIMLsjjPLEluu5GEwVcMyRBm_N3BiDyNX29wEfW9l0lVwid/s640/blogger-image-1662367219.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvtv8HpsIrUFG1iPuKmmCBnRozjloCnuyqpwMCfoHW2sPeSoe98dh2oJ1RnrQjEBuFNJcrykPEpBviZqQ4BQ2JY3I_cUtvaIMLsjjPLEluu5GEwVcMyRBm_N3BiDyNX29wEfW9l0lVwid/s640/blogger-image-1662367219.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdb2P9Vj9THjO70TC_0c6cdmXIwUR7FFqqk_R2Tu4vEjh1iKmjopX-9bKsh1xNUtqa_e7bkFNt37fzNzXc8Q5_dQU_CnGwz5-EnR02yT6p0FikSbVSp-ICW3f2wnAJJKSy_aHRmU_kLIP/s640/blogger-image-762390831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJdb2P9Vj9THjO70TC_0c6cdmXIwUR7FFqqk_R2Tu4vEjh1iKmjopX-9bKsh1xNUtqa_e7bkFNt37fzNzXc8Q5_dQU_CnGwz5-EnR02yT6p0FikSbVSp-ICW3f2wnAJJKSy_aHRmU_kLIP/s640/blogger-image-762390831.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cN2cSjcX6NEYMiTmHb8wPf0DZzEbffE5KRbA274Rhuxthw24gC4r_7hlrGbmMteIC-c9Y8hEnBj-gJ5dkUguTINpsWOJTW7EHRJd0E_PXdZ2Ykt0aeeEJYQQJGcDsiV311G4omaZ4o81/s640/blogger-image-4089166.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1cN2cSjcX6NEYMiTmHb8wPf0DZzEbffE5KRbA274Rhuxthw24gC4r_7hlrGbmMteIC-c9Y8hEnBj-gJ5dkUguTINpsWOJTW7EHRJd0E_PXdZ2Ykt0aeeEJYQQJGcDsiV311G4omaZ4o81/s640/blogger-image-4089166.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv1AlC4_tMpF3MCzgysydQOu2duDH-YrlRxHkmUDbU0QQ35bFxyF5SluEekppI3498W8nqhO2MjR_0FnnGg5Q6zRIiOyN6BFXLuE2UE0U-C7MTn5m_KZiNdvmb449lytdHywQnFTkT2UwE/s640/blogger-image--936253918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv1AlC4_tMpF3MCzgysydQOu2duDH-YrlRxHkmUDbU0QQ35bFxyF5SluEekppI3498W8nqhO2MjR_0FnnGg5Q6zRIiOyN6BFXLuE2UE0U-C7MTn5m_KZiNdvmb449lytdHywQnFTkT2UwE/s640/blogger-image--936253918.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsBV51MkVH48er5WQ9FPW5x9SIZFv5ExyslBSaCIuMjzxjYOSVIz2mYMO2NUhdeTzIhSFAcak_egHJnE9lDAp-wBsRN9tCEj0WZth290HI5hsUNrNoBUXll654o6LejCXdiBIORCnxvoq3/s640/blogger-image--1558488652.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsBV51MkVH48er5WQ9FPW5x9SIZFv5ExyslBSaCIuMjzxjYOSVIz2mYMO2NUhdeTzIhSFAcak_egHJnE9lDAp-wBsRN9tCEj0WZth290HI5hsUNrNoBUXll654o6LejCXdiBIORCnxvoq3/s640/blogger-image--1558488652.jpg" /></a></div>Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com4Hirosaki, Aomori, Japan40.6031243 140.4639223000000440.2174073 139.81847530000005 40.9888413 141.10936930000003tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-57194265204627439272013-08-29T10:46:00.000-07:002014-04-05T10:51:18.809-07:00Day 5- Aomori city to Hirosaki Left Washington hotel in Aomori stoping for a take away coffee at Coffee Colors, it could easily have been a London coffee shop, we drunk our coffee looking at the Aomori Wan Bay and headed inland towards Hirosaki.
Leaving Aomori was not easy, it is a welcoming city, where you could cycle on the pavement and has really poor road signals. It took about an hour to find the road out of the city. And went up the hill to mount Hakkoda, and super-fast downhill towards Hirosaki city. Hirosaki is famous for the 3 storey pagoda shape castle.Purple Hazehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16379127271763322817noreply@blogger.com0Aomori, Japan40.822072 140.7473646999999340.4373615 140.10191769999994 41.206782499999996 141.39281169999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6069625613912021813.post-81585301780243657282013-08-28T06:38:00.000-07:002014-04-05T10:39:41.567-07:00Day 4- Hakodate to Aomori<br />
Sayonara Hokkaido island! <br />
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Hakodate, a very large industrial port, looking at the map, the shape is similar to la Corunha, my home town. <br />
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Hakodate is famous international for the tuna and the scallops. It is a city of low density with not many tall buildings, extending miles along the coast. There are a few landmarks, the Red brick Houses (old port warehouses) converted into a shopping area and the ropeway. <br />
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After noodles and rice balls breakfast with Yoel and his lovely wife ( they were on their second honey moon) we left our hotel (toyako inn, a Japanese version of a holiday inn) located next to the fish market and headed towards the star shape castle/fort in Hakkodate, where we had our morning ice-coffee (Richard's discovery competing with Monmouth coffee) and made a quick sketch of the fort. <br />
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At lunch time we got the ferry towards Aomori, main island of Japan.<br />
The ferry takes about 3:40 hours to cross the Tsugaru channel , giving us enough time during the journey to enjoy pot noodles and siesta and take a few photos. Instead of seats or benches you go into main carpeted area were you take off your shoes and seat on the floor, they provide you with small cube shaped pillows where you could rest your arms or head. <br />
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We arrived in Aomori on the afternoon, and immediately felt more like Japan, big avenues with medium tall buildings, according to Richard a bit like Sidney. <br />
We headed to the tourist office were lovely RIKA IWAKE who gave us all sort of recommendations about what to do in the region and where to eat good food in the city. <br />
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We also found the coolest bicycle shop in Japan NARIFURI ! We wanted to buy everything but couldn't as we would have to carry it on, Tomoro the shop manager gave us some dried calamari snacks, with very string flavour, not enough for dinner thought, so we went to a place near by with great food, and amongst other delicious local food we tried, scallop with spring onion soup and egg! Delicious! <br />
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Thanks for this Yakitori menu to our honey moon sponsors! <br />
<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSBsRw3pOVnnh6ri5CgDHvXDi3O0CYr5j-D6YRAtC5RqMF5hcJOoUA2aVUt0MCFG57zUw8NVG7zvH35SlEKelejna3flej8ZCxgjF368raJnDAnPvl3m-cYbhWr0w7_yquYNGr2PLusW0/s640/blogger-image-398104708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSBsRw3pOVnnh6ri5CgDHvXDi3O0CYr5j-D6YRAtC5RqMF5hcJOoUA2aVUt0MCFG57zUw8NVG7zvH35SlEKelejna3flej8ZCxgjF368raJnDAnPvl3m-cYbhWr0w7_yquYNGr2PLusW0/s640/blogger-image-398104708.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcskkyhAly3y4yBKGLNrlxsqU71HimsWDWtP8xGu2kn05aQaCnblGNBDAVlA23FaQTCX2PnOQfpenu2UKIYXzow3Wi1Uc6yMgNiJf6qaXozF0Dc-6ESl5VelpdRaUyeKACdJqBXi1sthP/s640/blogger-image--401841697.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfcskkyhAly3y4yBKGLNrlxsqU71HimsWDWtP8xGu2kn05aQaCnblGNBDAVlA23FaQTCX2PnOQfpenu2UKIYXzow3Wi1Uc6yMgNiJf6qaXozF0Dc-6ESl5VelpdRaUyeKACdJqBXi1sthP/s640/blogger-image--401841697.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; 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Another onsen before breakfast and we were ready to carry on. Skirting the lake at Onuma, a truly beautiful setting with small mound-shaped islands littered across it, we headed east to Shikabe and the coast instead of the direct way on Route 5.<br />
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Leaving the lake we cycled between Komamga Toge at 1131m and Yokotsu Dake at 1167m. Both dwarfs in comparison with Fuji-San at a whopping 3776m, but still imposing on the skyline.<br />
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Then, following the coast road, we cycled past small fishing villages, nets neatly stacked and recycled clothes softener bottles used as floats. Racks of seaweed hung drying between timber and corrugated tin sheds.<br />
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We continued on till next village where we bought iced coffee and sat on beer crates in the shop entrance chatting to the owner (neither speaking the other's language) till the rain lifted and we pressed inland and up into the hills. The countryside here is deep green and steam drifts off the water courses hidden beneath the undergrowth.<br />
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The rain picked up again and we stood under a tree till it stopped as water was running down the sides of the road making it difficult to cycle.<br />
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Eventually we broke through to the other side of the hills and took a long enjoyable freewheel into the outskirts of Hakodate, and then another half an hour through the traffic, dodging storm drains and pedestrians until we found the centre of the city and the hotel.<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQSUV0Pc1XhA6JuOpNzgEiVEjJpkjHboQLfkWzr8El54kzVkayvtaprThz_k0RBxUkmAHNfH6EP7NHej0Ds_egnb65LOi5GwmKnfnTDsJC7A6FzjlkTL39R7MhZXeBdc_7R7vG3cCq1mf/s640/blogger-image-1923529008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQSUV0Pc1XhA6JuOpNzgEiVEjJpkjHboQLfkWzr8El54kzVkayvtaprThz_k0RBxUkmAHNfH6EP7NHej0Ds_egnb65LOi5GwmKnfnTDsJC7A6FzjlkTL39R7MhZXeBdc_7R7vG3cCq1mf/s640/blogger-image-1923529008.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXDUJRNtZXHqEIjZpBqJr3dLwstKA23N-b68obojt6bJkKS5ayO4msZERawMXIzdV2YSYIUFcrWmlPQNNH141zmUj-Sy958PjC04xGIxIiZTw-n_vWH_XIVGxN0UjeBmKido5Mz__Lefbh/s640/blogger-image-255381259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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Taking the main road through town heading west, we joined Route 230 towards Date on the coast. This crossed the approach road to the main express motorway, but traffic lights and pedestrian crossings allowed a safe transfer and we cycled on the wide pavement out to Abuta. <br />
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Before Abuta, we met one of a string of road tunnels which seem to be the main hurdle to cycling Hokkaido safely. Route 37 hugs the coast from Abuta to Oshamanbe but is cut into and through the limestone and granite hills which fall steeply down to meet the water.<br />
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Cycling this road, you are forced to share narrow tunnels, some a kilometre or two long and many without pavements, with large lorries which rocket along at high speed.<br />
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Even approaching cars sound like low-flying 747s in the confines of a concrete tube below a mountain.<br />
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By the time we reached Oshamanbe where Route 37 joined with and became Route 5, we were wondering if we could do much more of this tunnel travelling.<br />
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Luckily, the road opened up onto the coast here with wide sandy beaches and a string of small towns built on the local clam farming industry.<br />
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We stopped at Kikonai for lunch in a tiny local cafe where the old ladies served us ramen with high amusement and then, refuelled, we set off towards Mori.<br />
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We were doubting if we would make Onuma by nightfall and given the previous nocturnal nightmare, started to discuss alternatives. Stitching wild rhubarb leaves and bamboo into a shelter came bottom of the list. <br />
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Coca phoned the hotel from Yakumo to check trains, buses or taxis which might collect us with our two 'baiku'.<br />
<br />
The coast road to Mori was smooth running and flat and we picked up pace, reaching the town by 17.30. Lake Onuma and the hotel were only another 25-30km along Route 5 so we agreed to push on, arriving at dusk, but in time to use the hot onsen with outside bathing area overlooking a pool full of carp. An elaborate dinner rounded off the evening and we slept like Hokkaido bears.<br />
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