A great day for gardening

Our first hotel breakfast – Japanese style – a range of cold meats, cold veggies, miso soup, sardines and a soy bean mix
‘Natto’ that I’m sure is very good for you but I wasn’t a fan.

https://matcha-jp.com/en/3158

There was some bread with jams and yoghurt that I enjoyed.

Easy access out of Minamata and through some small local villages. A beautiful day on the bike – temperature around 16°C when we head off. A heavy hazy again which lifted at 11am. We diverted on local roads to escape the busy main road and shops that go main roads.

It’s a Sunday and the locals in the villages are busy in the garden and tending to their farms both big and small. Large open flat lots surrounded by canals filled with water and divided with mud low walls. Some are dry and others wet or filled with crops.

Meanwhile amongst houses … the sound of brush cutters can be heard. I’m taken back by the lovely spring flowers in front gardens – there must be some green thumbs around. We duck and dive off the main road which sometimes leads us ‘up the garden path’ literally and also up unwarranted climbs. My bad – I chose this route.

Although we are by the coast, we see very little as the road is too far away. Eventually we go closer to the coast and head towards the Izumi Crane ObservationObservation Centre unfortunately it is closed – we have just missed the migratory season by a few weeks there are a few cranes around but nothing like 10,000 between November and March. For more information http://www.izumi-navi.jp/en/feature/tsuru

The last straw as we walked up a 13% hill – (although we did come across a Japanese badger) – the direct route (3) all the way to Satsumasendai despite the traffic and one particular scary tunnel.