Finding Dory Fuji

I don’t think John ever believed that today was going to be so rainy – I had been following the weather pattern since we got here and check weather reports daily. I hate a wasted day so was waking up all night listening if it was raining …

It was raining and very steady and heavy … our hotel is only 3 weeks old everything is nice and new … rooms and foyers have nice artwork. The floors are shiny porcelain tiles. A spa/sauna great spacious dining room for breakfasts and a separate bar area with comfy lounges and tables and chairs … there could be worse places to be held up in wet weather.

Breakfast this morning was amazing; miso soup, rice, several salads, small frankfurters, amazing vegie curry sauce, fried noodles, scrambled eggs, bread, good coffee and plenty of it all.

By 1pm the rain stopped and we ventured to the station … the bus to Mt Fuji is not operating today due to the weather … the sky is clearing in patches and we look up and see a glimpse of the mountain but not for long before it disappears.

The sky continues to clear but heavy clouds hang around Fuji we get on the bikes and cross the bridge – the sun eliminates the hills with various shades of green. The lake is stunning and tranquil … we watch a lake tour boat. The clouds break through to tease us with a small glimpse of Mt Fuji. All good I’m sure tomorrow will see a good view of the mountain as we head towards Tokyo.

Finding Nemo Fuji …

I’m loving the Japanese breakfast – we have became members of a hotel chain ‘Toyoko Inn’ it’s reasonably priced and includes breakfast and early check in of 3pm … normally 4pm. The breakfast today was sooo nice … miso soup, salads, vegie curry and rice, croissants and pain au chocolat … all that I needed for the ride today.

Komoot did a sterling job on back streets … it’s Monday 8:20am lots of kids on bikes going to school …

Then through the ‘burbs … small vineyards popping up … the further we went … less houses and a serious wine growing region. The vines grown on horizontal trellises to minimise wind damage from typhoons. They look very cool. There are also lots of peach orchards.

Absolutely lovely country a change from rice paddies, which I like!

Then a good 2 plus hour climb – lovely scenery and mountains … no valley’s today just good hard yakka. A rewarding 2.8km tunnel … no dedicated cyclepath but traffic well behaved. Then 2 more shorter tunnels and the lake was in view.

There are 5 lakes at the base of Mt Fuji – we went around Lake Kawaguchiko and Saiko. A lovely ride and wonderful views of the lake and mountains.

We are stationed here for 2 nights as we are expecting a lot of rain tonight and tomorrow 33mm this evening and 53mm tomorrow. It will be a nice break.

Mt Fuji is not social at the moment … heres hoping for a viewing before we leave.

I think you will struggle to get photos today … (says John)

A comfortable stay in our hilltop digs … very quiet … morning view of the lake was lovely – blue skies and what appeared quite still while enjoying pineapple, strawberries and banana for breakfast.

A detour by the lake before heading off … my assumption of still was wrong … that strong headwind is again with us. Luckily a slight incline for 20km then dowhill for 50km … it that possible … yes apparently.

The landscape and road quality was ordinary to start with then a tunnel and down we went … some great descents … mountains were lit by the sun, terraced rice paddies for many kilometres, despite the wind the ride was great.

We met John from Ireland, living in Korea as he was going in the opposite direction. I felt for him with some climbs ahead, however he had a tailwind to assist.

We are now enveloped in mountains as we ride through the valley. Lots of groups of fancy motorcycles out for a Sunday ride.

The rice paddies gave way to some vineyards … not big, however this area is known for it’s wine … roads going in all directions … we are getting close to Tokyo.

The towns just joined together and before we knew it, we were in Kofu, a bakery lunch at the station – great french bakery, our hotel was ready for our room … the afternoon spent planning for the next week. The joys of touring …

It’s good when you don’t have to rush …

A quick look around the old town of Matsumoto and the Castle before heading off. A nice little neat precinct.

On our way – not a long ride about 40kms, however a very strong headwind as we climbed over the mountains – no valley today!

We are in the backroads passing through rice paddies, a lot of planting today as we watch the tractors in action planting the trays of seedlings.

Then about 7km of very steep climbs – we hear a lot of drums coming from above … after a very steep climb a small wine festival … Sun Sun Winery has attracted a crowd and a group of traditional Japanese taiko drummers are entertaining in the carpark … it is only ramping up as food stalls look ready to begin cooking. The carpark is a great spot for a view of the city and surrounds.

We continue climbing for a short while and then over the hill with Lake Suwa and lakeside towns of Okaya and Suwa. A long descent and headwinds have not relented … we find the lakeside path … it’s probably not at its best today … a little overcast and very windy. There is a lovely running/walking track, grassed areas and boats for water activities all on offer but not today.

We read the fine print ‘after’ confirming our accommodation … oops ‘access only by foot – no car access – 150 steps … not suitable for walking impaired people’

An email to the host and it is possible to store our bikes … we find the closest road access which was easier than what we have done today and an 80 step down. We are the only guests today … bought ready made food from the supermarket … just need the microwave and dinner taken care of ‘takeaway’ Noodles and chicken for John; tempura vegies, rice and chicken for me … fresh pineapple and strawberries. The supermarkets have the most amazing prepacked meals here … hotels and guesthouses have a microwave. My view is the lake … sadly due to the overcast conditions our sunset will not be very good … I can only imagine …

A lovely tree change at the base of the mountains.

Spring has sprung in the valley – tulips are featured in the gardens along with many other colourful spring flowers.
Hakuba was host of the 1998 Winter Olympics. A winter sports hub, Hakuba encompasses mountain resorts with terrain for skiing, snowboarding and hiking. The Hakuba Ski Jumping Stadium, built for the 1998 games, is at the base of the Happo-one resort.

Our guesthouse was a 10 minute walk to the Goryu ski lift. We enjoyed a quiet stay in K’s House Hakuba Alps Backpackers Hostel. Lovely hosts – a couple full of knowledge and English speaking. Lots of accommodation in the area but most closed. It would be a sight to see in winter.

It was an easy ride mostly downhill through the valley. Great views of the mountains on both sides, splashes of snow in the high alps. 3 small lakes equally as scenic. Rice paddies, agricultural and hot houses were all part of our great downhill run.

Back into a big city, Matsumoto with tall buildings the station looks to be the hub of activity. Too early to check in – the Shinshu Flower Festival is advertised, in flags along the street poles – a free shuttle service and free entry.

The highlight of my day.

A huge Japanese delicious breakfast prepared by the guesthouse, would it weigh me down or give me the energy for the continuous climbing today.

A welcome tailwind as we left the coast and headed inland – scattered snow covered mountains before us … we were a little tentative yet excited.

Lovely scenery, rice paddies, the raging river and the alps.

Before we knew it a tunnel, in our favour a lot of tunnel roadworks so traffic controllers are directing traffic one direction only … I’m sure they were keeping a eye on us through their two-ways.

Running on adrenaline with the thundering sound of the trucks, the river is equally thundering.

We seem to be in tunnels more than the open road … one tunnel was 5.777km … scary stuff. I’m thankful for the drivers.

Between the tunnels we have amazing views of the mountains, waterfalls and river.

Our day is somewhat a surprise as I had imagined a lot more climbing – the tunnels took that away.

We are staying in a nice tree change … very wooded area … a 10 minute walk to the start of a ski lift. As it is off season most places/restaurants are closed but we venture to the ski lift area … beautiful views. A pinch yourself moment.

There’s a lot if sea out there …

A bright and sunny day as we left our comfortable hotel in Toyama. Such a tidy town … the streets were adorned in flower pots on street poles … funny – I didn’t even notice them yesterday in the sopping rain.

We are minutes from the castle so a wander with the bikes through the very attractive gardens, with a backdrop of tall modern buildings.

Back towards the coast we are on a cyclepath by the river, it’s a little underwhelming although the river beds have been put to good use with what appears to be a community garden, many garden plots – a few people around … there are a lot of green thumbs in Japan.

We combine the Toyama Bay Coastal cycle path with Komoot today.

The coastal path is intermittent between seaside and fishing villages.

We turn towards a town. A shopping centre has a bakery with the most amazing strawberry cream croissant and pain au chocolat.

We are facing strong headwinds today, fishing ports are interesting to see boats of many sizes, nets drying and all things that go with high end fishing.

We head a little off the coast … rice paddies for kilometres take my attention along with the snow capped mountains ahead to my right.

John is very quiet … I’m sure he is thinking ‘under 20kph is not acceptable’.

‘Would you like to go in front for a while?’ I say …

But, but, but ….

‘No buts!’

A nice cruisey ride drafting behind John in the headwind. I think I proved a point …

More coastline then a serious of tunnels as we rounded the bay. We were fortunate that there are roadworks in this section so traffic was restricted to one lane only … at least the traffic was a little more forgiving. Amazing views from the half covered tunnels … dare I stop!

Somewhere in the day, I realised that my brakepads were a little undesirable … I was lucky to find a bike shop near our guesthouse to replace the front and back pads while we waited (they were extremely worn) … he seems like he knows his stuff … all fixed … more air in the tyres and ready to hit the hills tomorrow.

We are a 5 minute walk from the coast … we sit upon a concrete ledge with beer and wine at the ready … trying to ignore the traffic at our back and watch the sunset.

A meal has been ordered at the guesthouse … life’s good.

It always rains on a Tuesday …

A bakery before we get up a sweat … 400m away … are we becoming bakery snobs? 7 weeks ago we were happy with a coffee and pastry at Lawsons, 7/11 or Family Mart … now I’m searching ‘bakery near me’ and reading reviews before we leave our accommodation.

The weather forecast ‘rain at 9.45am’ oh dear.

It is overcast but high clouds with patches of sun … we went by the coast then hit inland for a few kms before touching the coast again. There were ports and industry – up some inclines through large pine forests and into rice paddies.

It was very still, rice paddies on both sides bordered by forests on the right and the sea on the left. I just love looking at the reflections in the paddies and lining up the rows. What else do you do when you are cycling … apart from the very nice manhole covers around … they really deserve a pic.

Undulations by the coast where the hills met the sea … great views and interesting to see the other side – we pass by serious fishing ports – men checking fish nets and women repairing them. What a tedious job and how fast they work, sitting hunch over working; knotting the yarn to repair.

We had a coffee in Hini (at Family Mart) and pastry just as the town music chimed through speakers 12 noon … such a tidy town … leaving onto the coast and a flash of lightning in the distance … the sea was looking wondrous … very still and scattered clouds … we thought we would outride the storm but a few drops …

‘When do we call … put on our rain jackets, John?’

We found a shelter and I prepped for rain … top only, meanwhile John showerproofed his backpack. The small shower increased then John relented and grabbed his rain jacket on a bridge. By the time we were over the bridge the rain was very heavy and the path was a river. We sheltered in a factory unit for a while then rode some more, then rain increased; another factory unit until it decreased significantly. Still raining – we were following a cyclepath ‘Toyama Bay Cycling Route’ a no brainer … just follow the blue signs on the wet road. A great cycle path then we went around a bend, there was a mighty bridge ahead (Shinminato Bridge) – the cyclepath lead us to the halfway support of the bridge and before us is a lift … we went up the lift then an enclosed bike/pedestrian path – with amazing distorted views … at least we were not being rained on!!

Back on land the cyclepath lead us through more rice paddy areas – they were even looking a little sodden with all the rain.

We finally headed towards Toyama through the backroads as only Komoot would do … civilisation – a big city – haven’t seen that for a few days. We extended ourselves with this stay … I insisted I wanted to stay at the Dormy Inn – the onsite spa was my attraction in a very expensive market place tonight. I’m very thankful … we turned up like drowned rats … the reception gave is towels and hot towels while we filled in the paperwork, I had just got cold.

All done …

‘okay John I’ll see you later’ … in my sodden cycling gear with fresh clean clothes and a towel, to the spa I went … shower to get clean, wash hair, then the warm tub, sauna, warm tub … bliss – I knew there was a reason to book this hotel.

We are in the centre of town … across the road a huge multi story shopping mall at the basement a large gourmet food area.

‘John – I can do takeaway tonight’

We buy an Okonomiyaki from a stall, some bakery items, wine, beer. The hotel has a microwave – perfect! The hotel also has complimentary ramen from 9.30pm … I just might indulge and another spa …

To sum it up … this is what bike touring is all about!

A 102km day … early start 7:15am snuck out from our guesthouse after 2 bananas and a coffee.

It’s still fresh … I love early starts … it’s Monday and people are starting to move in this little village … it must be bin day – people are carrying large plastic bags to deposit in central locations on the main street. This is how they do it here, no individual house rubbish collection.

The streets are narrow, a few people in cars … the odd old folk walking down the road ‘konichiwa’ gives a warning someone is behind.

We are by the coast and it’s very calm and a slight tailwind … perfect conditions.

Stopping to take pics … a small island looks great against the calm sea … a few campers … I wish!!! I too would be here if I was camping.

As the coast meanders there are coves with fishing villages then a small hill to discover another fishing village. This is our day … but far from boring … the small hills are lined with large pine plantations and rice paddies, followed by majestic views of the coast.

There are no convenience stores this is Japan at is best … on the coast road we see ‘Noto Pain’ stop!!!! A bakery … it’s 10am … technically no breakfast … Yes!! The best french almond croissant and pain au chocolat ... Am I in France??

John says, ‘can we find a bakery like that every day?’

We are killing the kilometres and see a Family Mart just after noon … I just love the sushi rolls …

Recharged and more amazing rice paddies, pine forests and coastline … we turn a corner and the bridge to Noto Island – more spectacular views as we cross and the bush and rice paddies as we go along the coastal road for about 10km before we cross a second bridge to the mainland.

Komoot directs us to our digs … a guesthouse – an old hotel in it’s early days but converted [loosely] into a guesthouse. The room is big – has everything we want, clean and just a short walk to the hub of town.

Check in at 4pm we arrive at 3pm and it’s okay we are the only guests … a public onsen 350m away.

What better way to finish a 102km day … donned with fresh clothes and towel in my backpack and ¥440. There are 2 x 42.8°C baths inside and 1 outside, a sauna and a tub 17°C. Hot tub first, sauna, cold, hot, cold the last rinse with warm water – dress in fresh clothes and hairdryer… I feel a million dollars.

A walk downtown – a small 300ml bottle of Californian White wine hits the spot back in our digs.

A nice meal … John loves his dumplings for starters and ramen and shrimp rice.

We giggle as we sit with our pants rolled up to our knees in a free foot spa in the middle of town at 8pm.

Goodnight …

An early start … down to see the morning markets … it was 7.30am and they officially open at 8am. A few people milling around and some stalls were set up – a wooden frame, table and a tarp attached with rope; umbrellas.

A mixture of fresh and dried seafood, lacquerware … John was quietly hoping for a bakery. We had a banana, orange juice and coffee (I had some yoghurt) for breakfast.

“We’ll get a top up at a convenience store”

We strolled back past the foot bath … amazing – a room with a small thermal pool to rest your feet … free of charge and closes at 10pm.

Meanwhile checking out of the guesthouse and on the road a clear fresh day with a strong headwind . Of course a small hill to start with only 11km and the Senmaida Rice Terraces

It’s 9am on a Sunday and the tourist buses are rolling in. It’s a very attractive site and a great focal point, there is an option to walk amongst the paddies which a lot of tourist are taking. There are trays if rice seedlings being carried – they must be the volunteers ready for a day’s work of planting by hand.

We push on and the beauty of the coast is somewhat in the back of my mind as we struggle with the headwinds … I can see a long day out here. As we go hillward the wind calms … weird – it’s actually nice climbing hills. This behaviour continues with some very steep climbs 10 and 11% roadsigns. The coast is very rocky and it’s lovely to see the small rock pools … I’d love to be down there. Every bend has it’s own fishing village.

We are now bemused at the small flat square areas … it turns out they are salt farms … we follow them for quite a while.

More hills and two mega climbs as we head to the northern point of the penninsula – Sanctuary Cape 54km.

The downhill was like a breath of fresh air through pine forests … oh that aroma … and a tailwind. Back to the coast and open beaches and seaside/fishing villages. Just feeling like a holiday seaside feeling when a hotel arose, traffic lights and civilisation.

Best of all was the sight of a Family Mart … it was 2.30pm we hadn’t seen a convenience store for 70km a late morning tea/lunch … that sushi and cream pastry went down well.

We ended up at a Soba noodle bar for dinner – we were the only customers … no English so Google Translate offline and a bit of charades. Japanese dim sims … prawn tempura and soba noodles. Lovely lady … shame there was a language barrier.