The day before the trip officially began, the clients, a family of three, flew into Osaka where they spent their first night.

I advised them to take the train to the Dotonbori area, where they could spend their first night in Japan experiencing the loud, lights of the downtown. And yes, it is a well known tourist destination. But considering that we would not be visiting any other places like this for quite a while - if at all - I wanted to get that off the bucket list right from the start.

Just trying to navigate through the crowds from the train station to the hotel was pretty "wow" and a bit overwhelming.

I stayed in the area as well, allowing us to meet breifly that night for a short introduction, orientation, and tie up and loose ends to ensure we could get a smooth, very early start the next day.

Day 1 Begins...

We woke early, and made our way to Shin-Osaka station where we hopped on a bullet train to Kyushu. The three hour ride provided plenty of time to discuss the itinerary and get a preliminary feel for what was in store. There was even time to take a little nap, but I think everyone was too excited for that.

We arrived at Hakata Station just around noon, but a half day is not much to see Fukuoka, and everyone was eager to start riding, so I had booked a hotel near Dazaifu Temple, only about 20 km on the outskirts of the city.

The ride gently transitioned from urban to suburban residential anding with a slightly challenging ride over a small mountain on a tranquil forest road, with short walks to waterfalls.

There were also two ruins to explore, including Ono Castle - Japan's oldest, and one of the 100 Famous Castles. While the site is mostly only the ruins, making it relativly low on morst tourists' must-see list, it's a great destination for castle "collectors", history buffs, and anyone who enjoys a stunning view.

Our next and last brief stop was another set of castle ruins, conveniently located next to the road, offering yet another beautiful view. In addition to the castile ruins, the area has plenty of other small historical sites, but we wanted to make sure we had time to visit the main shrine of Dazaifu Tenmangu.

As the shrine is dedicated to the "God of Learning" it is a popular destination for students hoping to pass their entrance exams. This day was no different. Crowds of students of all ages, perhaps praying here will bestow great powers of memorization, also took the opportunity to practice their English with group of foriegners walking around with bike helmets which we had forgotten to take off.

We parked the bikes near the station and walked up the main road, lined with small souvenir shops, cafes, and street food vendors - a great chance to try the local delicacy, Umegae-mochi. It’s a sweet rice cake filled with beans that everyone else seemed to be buying, so we did too. The name has "plum" (ume) in it, but we later found out that was simply due to the decoration on top. The snack itself contains no plum - only slightly disapointing.

The Kyushu National Museum was so near, but given how close it was to closing time, and considering our already long day, we decided to skip it. It would be good practice, learning to "let it go". Over the next few weeks there would be countless times we have to pass up seeing a place that would be better off as a full day activity.

Day 1 Comes to a close...

The area offers a wide variety of accommodations, and being a prominent tourist destination, the fancier ones were on the pricier side. Knowing we’d have plenty of opportunities to experience traditional inns along the way, I had already made reservations at a smaller, more modern ryokan, just a short ride from the main shrine area. The inn had its own bath, of course, but was near a small sento public bath, which would be their introduction to Japanese public baths.

I'm not tired. I just need a break. I think that bath sounds like a great idea.

The next night's sleeping arrangements were already booked on an overnight ferry, so there wasn't anything special to plan other than browsing the brochures for interesting ideas of what to see the next day. Essentially, we would head back into Fukuoka and play it by ear.

There was no pressure to get an early start, but jet lag and excitement had everyone up and anxious to go, so after a quick breakfast, we were on the bikes headed back toward Fukuoka.

The ride was mostly downhill, so we actually ended up having to take it slow because our first goal, Canal City shopping mall would not open until 10 am. Of course its not hard to find ways to kill some time.

Canal City is a popular destination - especially among foriegn visitors arriving by ferry to Fukuoka Port, coming for the duty free shopping. Surprisingly (?), no one wanted to buy anything they would have to carry around for a month on the bike. Still, it was a great introduction to a modern Japanese mall and a beautiful city that often gets overlooked due to being a bit far from the main tourist hubs. Fukuoka tends to be popular with visitors who come from Korea or repeat visitors who have already seen Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka and are looking for different places to visit.

We spent the rest of the morning taking it easy, visiting Fukuoka Castle Ruins and they wanted to see the Fukuoka Dome, but not sure if we would be able to get inside, we opted instead to spend time riding.

Everyone was in the mood to move their body, so we took an extra 40km ride around the bay to a small peninsula to Shikashima.

From there, after we had ridden all there was to ride, it was just a short ferry ride back to the main Hakata Port where we would later catch an overnight ferry to the Goto Islands.

Looking back, some of it was not the most scenic of rides, but given that it was only the second day, and everything was new and exciting, it was stil a perfect day.

The highlight for me was that old man making the ramen at the street stall. He was so nice. He really knew how to play to his customers. I wish we had places like that back home.

The ferry to our next destination was not departing until later that night, so we had time to go back downtown to the Nakasu Distrcit, known for its nightlife, and Yatai food stalls were we had some famous Halata Ramen and oden, walk along the river, and still make it back to the port with plenty of time to get a hot spring bath at Namiha no Yu spa near the port.

Day 2 Comes to a close...

The ferry is an overnight boat. Because I did not really know the customers well enough to risk going cheap, I had reserved a private cabin for just a little more than the non-reserved free sleeping areas which I used. Had it been later in the trip, I would have known that they would be fine just "roughing it" in the open-class area which is jsut as comfortable.

Thankfully, sea sickness was not an issue, and the ferry was not crowded. The sunrise would be around 5:30, and we wanted to be up on deck (or at least near the window) to watch as we passed through the Goto Island archipeligo, so we after boarding we pretty much let the gentle rocking of the boat put us to sleep.

As the sun was coming up, the ferry was passing through the Goto Island archipeligo, and we were lucky enough to have clear weather, despite a poor weather report for the next two days, making for a wonderful morning view. As we enjoyed the passing islands, local school children and adults were boarding at each of the four stops at smaller islands for their daily commute to the main Island.

We arrived at Fukue Port just past 8 a.m.

Japanese cafés are a bit notorious for not opening until well past the normal morning coffee time, and with no Starbucks in the vicinity, I was afraid we would just have to make do with a hot coffee from the vending machine before starting our day's ride around the island. To our surprise, however, there were a few cafes already open. Presumably thanks to the daily ferry schedule bringing a predictable flow of customers.

This was the most "untouched" of the places we visited, in that foreign tourists are rare. It was the perfect introduction to getting the feel of local hospitality. After a simple mo-ningu setto (morning set) of toast and coffee, we were on the bikes and headed around the island. It didn't take long - all of about 2 km - to escape the tiny metropilain hub of Fukue.

Everyone expected pletny of budhust temples and shinto shrines, but was a bit surprised when, after we had barely begun, when we came across our first or many Christian churches. There are, in fact, over 50 churches across the five islands. It is even the setting of a famous novel Silence, about ther persecution of Japanese Christians in 17th century.

With a few breaks to peek into a church or two, the day was mostly enjoying the beaufitful views of the rugged coast line. Although we actually put in quite a bit of total uphill climbing, it was so spread out that it was all but unnoticable. As it would be getting dark soon we had to make a choice.

Day 3 Comes to a close...

We had the option of powering on to arrive at the main port that night, or stopping to take it easy, enjoy dinner, and make sure to wake up early enough the next morning to catch the morning ferry to Nagasaki - which, if we missed, would mean spending the rest of the day in Fukue City waiting for an afternoon ferry. We weren't too worried, as exploring the tiny town more slowly would be a great way to spend the day anyway so the consensus was that even if we missed the morning ferry, Nagasaki was not going anywhere soon, and I had not yet made a reservation, as a look online showed that there were still a fewopen rooms available near Tomie Machi, so we would not be stuck sleeping on a park bench.

We booked a room and rolled in with plenty of time to shower and grab dinner at a local resteraunt. Another successful day with beautiful weather. But the forecast that had called for rain that day still worried me. I was hoping that if it does rain tomorrow, it will not start until after we are on the boat.

Spoiler alert: A 5 a.m. wakeup "just in case" meant we made it to Fukue port with plenty of time to spare before the ferry which arrived in Nagasaki around noon. Once I was sure we would catch the boat, I was able to make reservations at a great hotel—with a hot spring! for a great deal on a hill overlooking the city and the bay.

When we arrived, we made our way toward the hotel, taking a detour through Nagasaki's China Town district. It was lunch time, so of course we sat down to a bowl of the speciality, Nagasaki Chanpon and sara-udon (dried noodles). As one of the three largest "China Towns" in Japan, it was quite difficult to decide which of the many resteraunts to choose from, but once we had eaten, we all agreed that we chose well.

By the time we made it to the Hotel, it was already check-in time, so we parked the bikes and took a break.

There was so much on our list to see, but the next day's forecast called for very heavy rain as a typhoon was passing off in the distance, and one afternoon is not really enough to see the city and Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, so we extended the stay an extra night.

The family took the afternoon to explore on their own, while I took the opportunity to do some planning for the next few days.

Day 4 Comes to a close...

It is only the fifth night, but it feels like more. This is the first time we do not have a set wakeup time, so it is easy to relax, enjoy the onsen bath, and even take a short walk looking out at the lights of the harbor. Tomorrow will be rain, but we will be leaving the bikes in the hotel garage. All is well. Sweet dreams.

Today we were not cyclists, as such we spent our day being normal tourists, doing normal tourist things.

Most of the time was at Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum.

After that we took the Nagasaki Tram to the end of the line and back in, along the way stopping for The Basilica of the Twenty-Six Holy Martyrs of Japan, a national treasure, as well as the Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum and Monument.

When it came time to think about dinner, it seemed that the highest concentraition of places that eat was back toward China Town, so since we were headed back in that direction we also stopped by Dejima Island, a historic Dutch trading post that was in the process of being renovated as a historic site.

We realized that we had spent the entire day looking at Western churches, and Dutch settlements, and China town, but nothing traditionaly Japanese yet. So, with full bellies, most of the daytime attractions closed, a warm dry room already watiing for us, and no closing time for the bath, we were left with two options to experience some pure Japanese culture - Pachinko or karaoke.

Neither of them were particularly high on their list of things to try, but pachinko was a little easier so we popped into a nearby parlor and sat down for a few rounds. We did not get the full experience, meaning we did not sit there for hours watching the little balls fly around. Instead, we each took turns for a few minutes at one machine. One of the staff even came to show us how by handling the controller while we just sat. I think that is the only time we won. Soon our 2,000 yen limit had been lost and the sound was overwelming so we hit the street and walked the forty minutes or so back to the hotel.

Day 5 Comes to a close...

It was an easy day, and we have a relativly luxury hotel to go to for the night. Tomorrow the typhoon will be past and the plan calls for a long ride. Half will be along some rather unapealing coast line with heavy car traffic, and once that is past, we have a mountain to climb - all with a deadline to catch yet another ferry. Based on what I have seen so far though, I am not worried.

Having spent an extra day being lazy in Nagasaki, we decided to make up some time with a long ride this day. The road from Nagasaki to Unzen National Park, while scenic in some places, is not the most pleasant due to heavy car traffic, so we figured we would not be stopping often and could make good time by keeping our heads down and eyes forward for the first 40 km.

It was clear skies, as it normal after a typhoon, which was great, but clear skies does not mean no wind. We opted to take a small coastal path with no traffic (barely room for a car), which was beautiful, but the wind kicked our butts. In the end it was only 10 km, so can not have made much of a time difference, but it made us more tired than we would have liked to be for the uppcoming 750m climb up Mt Unzen.

We made it to the west side of Mt. Unzen where, although there were few otpions - not even a convenicen store in sight, we decied to take a break for lunch at the only little soba shop we could find to fuel up before the first big climb of the trip. The climb was only 750 meters, but still, this would be the first long uphill and the first small taste of the long hills in store for the next 25 days. Coming after a few hours of riding against the wind did not help.

It was no problem, of course; we made it up with only a few breaks, including a cool little retro toy museum, and sopped to pay a prayer at the "onsen shrine". While I am not sure what exactly other people pray for, I was praying that we can find a hot spring on every night.

If it had been later in the day, this little Unzen Onsen town would have been a great place to spend a night, but we only had a little time to spare before the downhill cruise. By now, we knew we would have no trouble catching a ferry from Shimabara to Kumamoto, but we wanted to make sure we had a few minutes to check out the Onokoba Mudslide Museum, which would be closing soon. The museum, built on the site of a devastating landslide, has preserved houses encased in mud, giving a frightening image of the power of nature.

Luckily, cruising downhill is a lot faster than the ride up, and we had no problem getting to both the museum and even an earlier ferry than we had originally planned. We arrived in Kumamoto port with enough time and energy to continue the last 15 km or so into Kumamoto city center, where we stayed at a rather random hotel selected from those with available rooms and reasonable prices.

Day 6 Comes to a close...

Kumamoto has a lot to offer and see, but everyone was pretty tired, and the next day would have an even longer, higher climb to the top of Mt. Aso, so we decided to put a pin in Kumamoto exploration for a future trip.

We picked the cheapest place with a bed we could find since we would be up at the crack of dawn. We just needed somepalce with a pillow. We grabbed a quick dinner near our hotel, and called it a night. It didn't even bother me that my prayer for an onsen every night had already gone unanswered so soon.

The sun is up at about 6am, so we are too. As I am writing this from notes, after the trip, I see that on the day, although I knew it would be difficult, I underestimated it. Looking back, I think that perhaps today may have been the most difficult day of the entire trip.

Later in the trip, there were days were our total meteres climbed would be more, but today it was all at once - a single continuous 45km push completely uphill. It started gradually, almost unnoticeable, but our legs knew, and our average speed was obviously lower than normal.

To make matters worse, or better, depending on the persepctive, we made the decision to follow side roads. Finding the right direction was no problem. We knew if we were going downhill we were going in the wrong direction. We generally following the winding Shirakwa River. There is no doubt this made the ride more enjoyable than if we had taken a much more direct route along a busier road, but it also slowed us down and we lost time every time we would come to an inevitable dead end, having to turn back finding other routes. Still, even with all the turnbacks, we were in a great mood when we stopped for a break near the base of the moutain.

Not wanting to take a long break, we had been on the lookout for a cafe or convenience store, but because we took the lesser traveled roads, we didn't happen by any. Luckily near the base there was a small noodle shop. It had a nice atmosphere, and looked like failry large meals, so it was an easy decision to take a slightly longer break than planned, making this a full on early lunch break.

From there, it was only seven kilometers until our next stop. We didn't feel like we needed a stop, considering what seems to be a theme of disasters - The Atomic Bomb museum two days ago, mudslide museum yesterday, we felt it would be only natural to stop at hte Kumamoto Earthquake Memorial Museum KIOKU.

After that little break, there was only 9km to an intersection just shy of the top. We had known that if we wanted to, the trip could be wasily cut quite short here, and we could head down to the nights accommodation, but we were feeling great so the obvious choice was to keep going to the crator, even though it would mean backtracking later. Of course, we also were fueled by the knowledge that that the last 15 km or so of the day would be downhill, so we had not hing to lose.

And guess what? We also added the Aso Volcano Museum to our list of disastertainment! Or so we thought. This museum was not about disaster though, it was much more an extremely informative and well put together display well worth a short visit. Go before you go to see the crators, as it give some more context as to what you will be looking at.

From there, we head to the furthest our bikes would take us, which left about a 15 to 20 minute walk to over moo-like terrain to view the crator.

After that, we were almost at a loss of what to do considering the remaining 15km would be such an easy downhill ride. Having felt so smug and superior to all the people who had taken a bus, we now almost felt like we were being lazy. But, there was no were to go but down.

Day 7 Comes to a close...

We had anticipated probably staying in a no-frills business hotel, considering we would be too late to enjoy the meal at a ryokan, so it wouldn't be worth it. However, we were excited to find open rooms at a more quaint place with come character. While our butts are not as saddle sore after a week, they still appreciated it when we left the bikes at the inn as we walked to a nearby onsen within walking distance to a cool little izakaya for dinner.

With yesterday's 65km, 1,500m climb behind us, we were feeling quite confident about today's similar 65 ~ 70km with hopefully slightly less vertical. The major difference is that yesterday was some pretty non-descript riding along semi-urban concrete riverside, but today will be some of what I expect to be some of the most spectacular scenery of the trip in the Aso Kuju National Park.

Day 8 Begins...

We were wasted (as in tired) after our ride the day before, so were passed out pretty much as soon as we got back from dinner. This gave us a full 8 hours to be up by the crack of dawn again. Of course, for some reason, it became my duty to be up earlier and brew the coffee for a quick breakfast of some breads and cakes we picked up at a convenience store the night before.

We had two potential routes. Route A was slightly shorter, and slightly less total climb, but it would be broken up into three separate climbs. For one, we thought maybe the first two climbs would break our spirit and we would not enjoy the last one if we are tired. Route B, while a bit longer, would give us most of the climbing in morning / early afternoon, so that the end of the day would be mostly downhill again.

Another pluss for the longer route, is that it follows the Yamanami Highway trhough Aso Kuju National Park. I wondered out loud if that would make the road more crowded with cars, but since no one felt that would be too much of an issue, it was an easy choice (although I had already decided. I just wanted them to feel some ownership). The Yamanami Highway it was.

This time, not wanting to leave the break timing to chance, we picked up some rice balls and other snacks at a convenience store so we could take them with us. There would, of course, be places to eat along the way, but nothing particularly special, and we wanted flexibility so we would not be forced into an early lunch again. By the time we had our breakfast, looked over the route, packed our thigns and purchased lunch, it was already close to 7am. Not too bad, but later than I had hoped.

The area around Mt Aso is shaped a bit like a crator itself, and we were staying in the bottom of it, so our first task in the morning, was to climb a mere 4km/300m small forested road. Maybe it was a bit too early and our legs had not quite woken up yet, so we did end up walking part of it. This, however, is not a issue. Our walking pace is only slightly slower than our uphill riding, and for such a short distance it would not matter. It was also much more enjoyable to take in the cool damp shaded forest, even a stop for some delicious famous
spring water.

It would have been perfect if we had a support vehicle to transport the bikes to the top so we could just walk, but none of the passing little white pickup trucks stopped to offer.

At the top, the forest road opens into an expansive field, more like rolling pasture, with few trees, only rolling green hills so we can see forever. There was more traffic on this road, but with the wide open scenery, the road somehow felt more spacious, and as it was still morning, the traffic was still rather light.

Just past noon we reached the highest point at about 30km about 1,300m altitude (1,000m of climb) at the Makinoto Pass were we took a break to check out the Makino Pass Observatory.

On a long ride with lots of climbing, its good to have some mini goals. and since today there were no stops highlighting disasters, so we decided to make the our mini goals. Two Observatory.

From there it was almost all downhill and on the way down we missed the Tadewara Wetlands, which I would have liked to see but there was just no way to stop the downward momemntum so we just cruised by and by the time we reached the next uphill and no one wanted to backtrack.

From here it was about 10 km of undulating hills with one last observation deck. This would have been a bit of a let-down after the much more spectatcular ones we had stopped at ealier, but it was a good place to break at the top of a hill, and we were collecting them, so it was worth it just for that.

From here, there was no more messing around. We had about 20 km left, and just the thought of getting there quickly was foremost on our minds, so no more stopping for the next hour. It was a well deserved cruise with some nice views to the side with just enough traffic to be a little annoyting, but never felt dangerous.

We pulled in to Yufuin at around 4pm. Yufuin is a quaint little onsen town known for its younger hip and artistic style, boutiques, museums and cafes. We arrived with enough time to check out Yunotobu Street where some of the small shops were almost closing, but it was still a nice walk especially since we do not have place to carry anything even if we were shopping.

Day 8 Comes to a close...

We had decided already to take it easy the next day, leaving time to sleep in, and explore any museums in the morning, and we were tired, so it was enough just to enjoy the walk before heading to out inn. This also worked out well that, due to the late booking, the only available inns fro the night were a bit higher than the budget, but earlier nights had been cheaper, and if we are going to sleep in and relax, we figured this is a great place to do it.

The outdoor bath was very welcome, but what I remember most is that the futons and pillows are some of the softest I have ever used. I am curious to see if they were actually that soft, or if our two days of intense hill clibing is what made them so soft.

We stayed in the inn until checkout time today, partly to enjoy it and partly because our plan was to forgo riding for the most part and spend most of the day in Yufuin, taking it slow in the town. The other option would have been to spend time in Beppu, but based on my judgment, we decided that Yufuin would be better.

Beppu is much more famous but also more crowded, and from my experience, the attractions it is famous for are either full-on tourist traps, like the zoo, or a bit gaudy and overpriced. The "hells" (hot springs) are interesting if you have nothing better to do, but we did have something better to do.

After a morning at the inn and noon and early afternoon in Yufuin enjoying the atmosphere, COMICO Art Museum, to infuse a little "modern culture" into our trip, and Retro Car Museum, we headed off on a short 8 km or so climb, making sure to pass by Kinrin Lake. The lake is a popular destination, and was beautiful, for sure, but not really so special compared to what we had come across randomly on our rides so far.

After the previous two days, the 8km/340m climb felt like nothing, and before we knew it, we were cruising down again to Beppu ferry port, where we caught a ferry to Yawatahama, Shikoku.

Day 9 Comes to a close...

The ferry arrived in Yawatahama, and we went straight to a small inn I had booked based on it having Japanese style rooms and a Japaense style bath. The only other choice was a regular business hotel. When we arrived at the Japanese style inn, however, it turned out that ther were a lot of construction workers staying there at the time, so it seemed more like a dormitory than an inn.

We decided to cancel and move to the Western style business hotel across town. I did not ask for a refund, as it was not really the inn-keepers fault, but he was very understanding and refunded some, and even drobve us across town to the other hotel.

Today was special day. I managed to find a farm-inn that had time in their schedule to accommodate us. Basically, this is a farmer who has a special permit allowing them to have guests stay in their extra room. Guests can see how a regular local lives in the rural areas, offering a much more intimate experience than even a small inn, where the innkeepers are still acting professionally. The farm inn is not in the hospitality business. It is more like staying with a friend or family.

So, today's destination was based on the farmer I could find, rather than finding accommodation at the destination. Luckily, pretty much anywhere on Shikoku is beautiful. The destination, however, was quite far, even compared to what we had been doing—70 km with a 1,500m climb.

To make it worse, there was a long tunnel required. It is only 1km but often in Japan the tunnels are narrow with little to no sidwalk and riding through with two way car traffic would be nerveracking enough even without the super-amplified road of even the tinest car, let alone multiple large trucks.

Usually, there are smaller roads that avoid the tunnels if you are willing to ride up and over the moutnains, but here there were none. The only other way to get to the destination would be to add an extra day and ride along the coast, or pack up the bikes and take the train.

So, we used one of our get out of riding free cards. We packed the bikes into our rinko bags and boarded an early morning train taking a nice scenic 50 minute ride to Shimo Uwa Station.
this cut off about 20km and 340m of climbing.

While the train moves faster than a bike, waiting for the train, packing and unpacking and assembling the bikes it probably only saved us about an hour, but for every hour less we had to ride up the hill in the morning, our legs would be stronger for the rest of the day.

From Shimo Uwa we still had 55km and 1,150m uphill to cover. Weather was not on our side either. While it was not pouring rain, it was overcast and occasional drissle. Not enough to make it miserable, but just enough to dampen our spirits.

The road was normal, non-descript. Following the Hijikawa River, past a dam, and to one of the small highlights - a small but hamlet, Kobutani, on the side of a mountain that we chose to walk our bikes up, giving us more chance to chit chat with the locals who were out in their fields.

Of course, at the top was one of the dreaded tunnels with no sidewalk. This was short enough though that we could see the other end, but it was still pitch dark inside even with our headlamps. We were lucky enough that there was not a lot of traffic so any cars could give us wide bearth.

We made it out of the tunnel alive, and were met with a roughly 10km 2/3 of which were downhill ride through some rice fields, including what is apparently a popular site in the right season, the DOnosako Rice Fields, but it was still too early in the year and nothing had been planted yet.

It was around lunch time, so we stopped to have our Shirokawa Museum of History and Folklore - a little thatch roof house / museum with lots of cool atrifacts from ancient to traditional mountain life in the area. A local was there and seemed super happy to see us and talk about the tiny exhibit, so it took longer than we had anticipated, but well worth it.

From here, though, is where the big climb of the day started. Only 600 meters, but it seemed like a lot. Concious of being a bit behind schedule, and not wanting to lose too much time we decided to just power up the hill as fast as we could, but at out average uphill speed, it would take over two hours.

I phoned the farmer who would be our host for the night to tell him our approximate arrival time. He freaked out when he heard that we were coming by bike. Unthinkable! He excalaimed that he would be on his way to pick us up within a half hour.

I was taken a bit by surprise, and at first declined his offer, but the more he insisted, the more I started to be persuaded, and within a minute or so I had arranged for a pickup. I told him we would continue riding toward him and he would see us easily on the side of the road - four white people with bright yellow jackets on bikes with big bags attached to the side.

Within an half hour we had placed the bikes and bags in the back of his little pickup. When he realized (must have slipped his mind earlier) that we would not all fit in the cab of his two seater truck, he proclaimed that he would call his wife to come pick three of us up in the car while he takes the bikes and one of us in the truck.

This was too much hospitatlity, so I assured him we would be OK riding in the back with the bikes, and that no, we are not too cold, we have our jackets, etc.

No, this is not legal, but I assume he knows how much he can get away with, and probably drinking buddies with the police anyway, so three of us sat in the back with the bikes for the 20km up hill. At the top, he even pulled over asking if we wanted to continue the rest (downhill) on our bikes. The three of us in the back of the truck took him up on that offer. Mom, who was in the front already comfrotable and warm, decided she liked where she was, and the farmer spoke English enough that they seemed to be having a nice conversation.

We finally all arrived by 3:00 - much earlier than we had anticipated. Our host gave us some time to settle into the guest room while he went back about his work.

There was not a lot of farm work to help with, which was fine with us. Instead we just spend the time exploring their property, and helping (watching) the host prepare the homecooked dinner that we would later eat together with them around the traditional irori firepit.

There was an onsen nearby which they offered to drive us to, since we did not have our own car, but I felt that we had taken more than enough of their kindness, so we opted to just use their shower.

Day 10 Comes to a close...

After dinner, we chatted for a while over tea, beer and some sake. They were so enthusiastic to share photos of their farm in more vibrant seasons, and talk about life up here in the middle of the mountains on the smallest of Japan's main islands.

Unsurprisignly, we were not so tired tonight, have barely done any riding for the past two days, but they were early risers, so we said our goodnights. Our hosts left us and I got to work planning for the next few days.

Our ride for today was pretty much determined by where we woke up in relation to where we wanted to be in two days. The best option seemed to be to head back to the coast, this time to Matsuyama - slightly north of where we had arrived on the ferry two days before. Also, Matsuyama is a famous hot spring city and a popular destination, so it would be a shame to skip it.

The issue was that it was 85 km with another 1,700 meters of total climbing. By now, it was clear that this distance was not too far in terms of physical ability—everyone had proven themselves on the hills—but time was the only concern. If we stayed here for the morning to experience some farm life, we would arrive too late and miss seeing much of Matsuyama, as the castle and main attractions would be closed.

We decided that, as fun as it might be to pull some weeds in the field, it would be best to enjoy our homemade breakfast, say our farewells, and head off as early as possible, but without rushing.

Unfortunately, being in a bit of a hurry meant passing through a particularilly scary 3.5km tunnel - all uphill with very tiny sidewalk - instead of taking the smaller road that goes over the Jiyoshi Pass, which would have added considerable time to the ride. It was good practice for later when we would be riding more inland through larger mountains. Traffic wasn’t so bad, so we could stop when cars came by, which made it feel safer, even though there was a narrow sidewalk—it can be nerve-wracking.

Speaking of nerve-wracking, there were also a lot of tiny, narrow bridges across the river with no guardrails. The bridges are made to withstand high water in the river, so they won’t be washed away. On a bike, they are plenty wide, but I would guess that driving a car would take some getting used to. Aside from that, there wasn’t much to stop for, so we didn’t feel as if we were missing anything by being in a hurry.

Climbing 750 meters over 30 km was not fun and this time there were no trains or kind farmers to rescue us. It feels much harder than a short, steep climb, and halfway up, we were wishing for the scary tunnels again, but we persevered.

This did make for a fun cruise later, but the downhill was only about 12 km and steep, so it wasn’t enough to make us completely forget the climb. Close, but we couldn’t help thinking that it would have been more enjoyable to do it in the other direction.

The final 15 km into Matsuyama were fine. City roads didn’t bother anyone by this time, and everyone was just eager to get to the end. We had already given up on making it with enough time to get into the Matsuyama Castle, thinking that even if we did push hard enough, we would be too tired to enjoy it anyway, so we took it easy, not worried about time.

Still, our hotel was in the area, and while the actual castle was closed, the park below the castle was still walkable, and that seemed to be satisfying. Matsuyama Castle is one of the "must-see" castles in Japan, but we missed it. Oh well, I guess. So we made it a point to see another "must-see" castle somewhere else along the trip.

Day 11 Comes to a close...

Today was probably the "worst" day of the trip so far. Despite the great downhills, and still beuatiful scenerey, it was the first time we felt really rushed and failed to make it on time.

Not wanting to make it a loss, we ignored what our bodies might have been telling us and, after visiting the Dogo Onsen bathhouses (one of the things Matsuyama is famous for), made it a point to check out the Botchan Clock (a famous literary spot) and wander the streets at night before heading back to the hotel, which was once again a simple, but clean, comfortable, and affordable business hotel.

Despite getting to sleep relatively late, everyone was up early for a quick breakfast and ride to Matsuyama Station, where we would take the train to our bicycle starting point for the day. Riding along the coast was quickly ruled out as an option as it is a particularily terrible ride ride with only a single road along much of the coast that we would be sharing with all the car traffic. Besides, any coastal views we would miss do not compare to the seaside views on the Shimanami Kaido where we were headed.

The Shimanami Kaido is a bicycle route that connects Shikoku to the main island of Honshu. In recent years, it has become quite popular and has been further developed, making it even better. At the time we visited, it was still relatively unknown outside of cycling enthusiast circles, but it was well-kept enough to make it a must-ride section of the trip.

Hashihama Station - the closest to the bike path - was only a 1-hour train ride from Matsuyama, so we were on our bikes and on the road by 9:00. The forecast had called for rain, and there was a light rain when we left Matsuyama, but by the time we started riding, it was just overcast. Not the best for enjoying the beautiful views, but better than riding in rain.

Our destination for the day was chosen based on the most appealing accommodation available for that night on Oshima Island, so the ride itself was a bit short—about 40 km, but that was fine. It was a good changeup to take it slow with no major climbs and no rush.

We stopped often to enjoy the views from the many lookout points, and took some detours to walk through the small fishing hamlets and short hikes to shrines and temples in the forest. Leisurly walks were something we hadn’t really been able to do most days when we were more conscious of time.

We visited the Murakami KAIZOKU (pirate) Museum. There was even a little lookout point where we could gaze out across the waves to see what are apparently castle ruins on another island. This made us feel better about missing Matsuyama Castle the day before.

It was also nice to know that if it started raining again, we were relatively close to a dry futon if we wanted, or there were plenty of places to extend the ride if we wanted that instead.

In fact, as we neared our destination, we found ourselves quite early, so we decided to extend the ride an extra 10 km and take a longer route that passed by a nice new Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture and a small Tokoro Museum Ōmishima sculpture museum.

There was also a public onsen a short walk from the inn, which helped pass the time. Since we reserved so late, we the inn did not have enough heads up to prepare a meal, but that was fine. After watching the sunset from the beach, we found a really cool little seafood diner with a dive-bar feeling and a good atmosphere. It was filled with locals and the owner was exceptionally talkative and nice.

Day 12 Comes to a close...

After dinner the customers went for a late walk, while I checked some emails and plot more for the next day. It had been a very slow, relaxing day, and the next day would be the same. Not particular rush, so we could sleep easy.

We woke, and I had still not decided where to spend the night. The only thing we knew was that we would finish the Shimanami Kaido ending up near Onomichi or possibly Mihara, which would be fine.

Onomichi was on the list of potential places we wanted to stop at, and I highly recommend it however, having missed out on Matsuyama Castle when we were there, I would like to make sure we had time to visit Himeji Castle. The weather forecast was calling for rain for the next few days as well, so spending a rest day in Himeji might make sense.

Given this, we decided our best plan of action would be to get to Onomichi that evening and catch a train to Himeji. We would arrive late and spend two nights, leaving the next day completely open to explore Himeji Castle and rest, with no need to check in or out of a hotel.

The catch was that, for some reason, despite it being a big city, I was having trouble finding a place that day for two nights in a row. Not being able to find a room day-of is usually something I only worry about in small out-of-the-way places or when it’s a very specific accommodation I want, so I was surprised for this. Perhaps there is a fun festival in town - that would be a bonus.

A second option would be to stay someplace in the Onomichi area that night and take a morning train to Himeji. This was obviously not ideal since it would mean waking up early to catch the train.

Rather than waste time worrying about it in the morning, we decided to get on the road, and I would take some time when we stopped for lunch, a rest break, or while waiting for a ferry along the way.

We set out, again under overcast skies, but it did clear up and give us a little bit of sun by midday before clouding up again in the evening. It was enough sun, though, to enjoy the blue Seto Inland Sea views. It was enough to make me want to perhaps move there one day to live.

Midway through, I had success finding hotels in Himeji - one where the customers could stay for two nights in a row. I would be staying one night in a nearby hotel and moving to the same hotel the next night, so it wasn’t a problem.

Our next decision was whether to go to Onomichi, which would mean taking a local train and switching to the bullet train in Fukuyama or Mihara—which is just a hassle when carrying bikes and luggage in bike bags between trains - or instead, catch a ferry directly to Mihara where we could catch a single direct train.

In the end, going to Mihara would mean cutting off 15 km from the ride, and while that may not seem like much, we agreed that it would feel somewhat "incomplete" and that we had somehow "cheated" and we didn't want to risk getting lazy, so we rode the full 60 km to the ferry port that would take us to Onomichi station, thus being able to confidently claim that we rode the entire Shimanami Kaido course.

We took our time again, knowing there was plenty of time to catch the last ferry + train combo to Himeji, and also we had no particular plans in Himeji for the night other than just checking in. Given the abundance of time, we took the long route. While it is possible to ride from Honshu to Shikoku in one day by taking the shortest, most direct route, having more time allowed us to hit more islands and ride some more ferries (ferry rides never get old), and even though the scenery is pretty similar, it did not grow monotonous. Especially knowing that the next few days would be inland, we savored the last few hours of coastal views.

The riding course itself is great, but to add a little bit we decided to seek out some smaller highlights. One we saw on the map was Koumi Castle Ruins. To tell the truth, I am not sure if we even found it. There are many castle ruins in Japan that are little more than overgrown foundation, but at least it got us off the main path, and unto a nice little side street, and it certainly did not cost us any time or effort.

A ride across the Tatara Bridge offers some nice unobstructed views of the islands and Seto Inland Sea coast. For me, this was a bit nostalgic as this is where I first lived and worked when I moved to Japan in 1995. A lot had changed over the years, but the views have not.

At Sunoe we had our first mini-ferry ride of the day. Ferries run regularly here, just a small boat for less than 1km to Iwagi Island. I offered the option to visit the Mt. Sekizen Observation Deck, but I was pretty sure it be a pass. No need to climb up a mountain just to see a view we are already getting from bridges.

Instead, we just continued on to Ikina, Kamijima, and Yuge Islands. These are all connected by bridges, and then another short ferry ride to Innoshima Island. The little town of Kamiyuge was the perfect place to sit and eat our bento lunches while we wait for the ferry. Thankfully we had stopped a bit earlier at what may be the only supermarket on the island. We weren't sure, but did not want to risk it.

The rest of the afternoon was nice, but nothing particularly exciting happened. The Shimanami Kaido is a great place to go if you only have two days to ride, but for us, on day 13, maybe we had seen too many small shrines and castle ruins, so we just rode to enjoy the scenery.

When we arrived at Onomichi Station right near the last ferry, we decided to catch the local train all the way to Himeji. Taking the bullet train would have been half the time, but it would also mean a train change and carrying our bikes and bags across the station from one train to the other, and with no assurance that we would have a seat. Since we were in no rush, we felt it more prudent to just sit in a comfortable seat and enjoy the scenery for an extra hour and a half. It was about 3 hrs to Himeji.

Day 13 Comes to a close...

It was a non descript evening. We were in different hotels, both in downtown Himeji, for this night, there are plenty of places to eat in the area so I helped them checkin to theirs and left them to their own devices. Tomorrow is the Castle.

Today is a no ride day. We have a full day to explore Himeji Castle.

I had some bike issues and needed parts, so I went to the only bike shop I could find while the guests went to the castle. The grounds were beautiful considering the weather, but they were not really impressed with the interior. The exact words were, "There is nothing in there." At the time, the castle interior had been recently remodeled, so perhaps it was still not up to its peak, or perhaps it was just a case of not meeting high expectations of what the inside of a castle would be like.

Either way, it was not a terrible way to spend a rainy day. It also served as a good rest for the next day, which would involve another unavoidable long uphill ride.

This was also the first time in almost two weeks that they really had time to spend just shopping and looking around. The only other urban areas we had been in were Nagasaki, which was spent on sightseeing, and Matsuyama, which was only at night and after we were exhausted.

Himeji is certainly not a large city, but it is one of the more urban areas of our trip and a chance to see non-rural life in Japan.

"Oh no. Is it time to get on the bikes again already?"

Yes, I'm afraid so. Keep in mind, I am not forcing anyone to ride against their will. The course and options have been discussed.

With a special place already booked ahead for two nights from now, we have two days to somehow make it there. The night before, I slowly revealed the options:

A) Climbing a total of 1,650m—all gradual uphill over 80km into the middle of Honshu, or

B) Climbing a total of 1,250m—all gradual uphill over 70km into the middle of Honshu and doing the remaining uphill before sunrise the next morning.

C) Climbing a total of 700m over a gradual uphill of 40km followed by only 25km of downhill.

I know it seems obvious. But even though the easy route follows the train line, so there will be some more traffic in some places, it is not as remote, and we would be deprived of the exciting 750m downhill cruise in two days, option C was quickly chosen.

We had a quick buffet-style typical Japanese business hotel continental breakfast and set off as early as possible. Our average speed so far is about 7-8 km/h including breaks. Today's ride was pretty straightforward - around 70km—but trying to avoid the main road and stick to quieter side roads can add an extra 15km, so we set off with the goal of arriving by 5pm. Despite it being last minute, I managed to make a reservation at a more traditional minshuku inn, and this time they were fine to prepare a traditional dinner for us on short notice as there are not many other places to eat in the area.

We decided not to even try staying on the side roads on the way out of town. It would not have been impossible, but it was much better to put up with some traffic for the first 15km or so until it was easier to start following the smaller roads without having to check the map every few minutes.

Following small roads inevitably ends up with some dead ends, leading back to the main road until another promising side road appears, which eventually ends up on the main road again, and the cycle repeats. However, with the terrain, it was impossible to get lost. If we were going downhill, we were going the wrong direction; if we were going up a steep winding mountain road, we were going the wrong direction. Some places had sidewalks we could ride on as well, but there wasn't enough traffic to make it feel necessary.

There was also not a whole lot of stopping needed in terms of sightseeing. One place that I thought would be interesting was the Japan Toy Museum. Unfortunatly, it was not opened yet when we passed, and we decided not to wait.

We powered on to Tsurui Station, which would be the last station before we leave the train tracks. Now knowing what lay ahaead, we decided it was a good place to finally take a break and grab some coffee. Instead, we ended up at a cool little egg cafe, adjacent to poultry farm. I love a steaming bowl of hot rice with fresh raw egg, so that is what I had. The others were not so keen on the idea of raw egg, but there was plenty of other unuique items on the menu.

After that break, there was a short stop to check out a reconstruction of a straw hut where remains of Japan's earliest civilization have been found. Shrines, which we might have stopped at before, had become commonplace, so there was no urgency to stop at every one.

Before we knew it, we were at the top of the main climb. The chart on the map looked intimidating, but compared to previous days, it was nothing. Just as we started our anticipated downhill, though, we came across the small but interesting historic mining town of Ikuno, and the museum warranted a stop. We were making excellent time, so no problems.

After that, it was more downhill through small rural neighborhoods with empty rice fields and mountains flanking us on both sides. As we were getting close to the destination, we were so far ahead of our plan that we decided to add an extra 5km (and 200m climb) detour, which would take us up a hill to see the very impressive Takeda Castle ruins. There is only the stone wall remaining, but the view is amazing, and apparently, they felt it was more impressive than Himeji Castle.

Ten downhill kilometers later, and we were checking in to the inn with time to spare to change into our yukata robes, enjoy some green tea and traditional snacks, and take a bath before the elaborate dinner.

Day 15 Comes to a close...

It struck me that we had already been riding for two weeks, and this was the first traditional ryokan/minshuku meal we had had. It was a welcome treat.

The next day would be an early morning - not to ride, but to catch another train.

An elaborate Japanese-style breakfast was also included in the stay, so we happily put off departure preparation until afterward.

The day started again with a 1-hour train ride that took us 50 km from Wadayama Station to Ayabe where we would start riding another 50 km to Kayabuki No Sato - a small hamlet where many of the houses still have the traditional thatch roof. It wasn’t a long ride, but it was important to get there early enough to visit the small Miyama Folk Museum before it closed, as we might not have time to wait for it to open in the morning.

As seems always the case in Japan, the road was mostly uphill, with a total of 950m climbing. It was gradual enough that it was barely noticeable. Following the beautiful Yura River, we were able to strategically weave between the larger road with cars where necessary, but mostly stick to the smaller roads.

As we got closer, some thatch roofs began to appear here and there along the road. We decided not to make any long stops, however, as the main attraction would be the small town at the end.

We had a reservation to stay in one of the old thatch-roofed houses, with a shabu-shabu dinner of fresh chicken and eggs from a local poultry farm. This is one of the few places I specifically tried to ensure we visited, as many people want to see the famous Shirakawago village with its thatch roofs, but personally, I prefer this quiet town much more, compared to the almost Disneyland-like feeling of the more famous World Heritage site.

We arrived with well over an hour before the museum closed and also after most tour buses had already left for the day. Over the years, it has become a little more popular as a day trip from Kyoto by tour bus, but even with that, the streets are usually relatively quiet.

Today was no different. We stopped at the accommodation to let them know we had arrived and set off straight away to wander through the museum and a small indigo dye artist's workshop. The entire town is easy to walk across in just a few minutes—if you aren’t stopping every few steps for photos.

We still had one last adventure before dinner—riding to the hot spring with our yukata robes flapping in the wind. The inn has a small bath, but there is also a local onsen a five-minute bike ride away, so we opted for that. Bringing our yukata robes to change into after the bath, we found out how awkward it is to ride in such a robe.

Dinner was a special very local shabu shabu featureing local chicken, local sake, local vegetables, and local desert. The house is private, so we were the only guests. There is literally nothing open in the area after the bussses close, so aside from a moonlight walk amongh the thatch roofs, there was nothing to do other than catch up with notes on what we had seen along the way, answer questions, and just take stock of the halfway point, and discuss where we would be going from now.

I was up extra early today, so I could take a walk around the hamlet before any tourists showed up. Once the parking lot closes, there are only a few houses that guests can stay at, so there is really no one else. I could easily spend two hours just walking around, but breakfast would be ready soon.

After breakfast, we headed back about 7 km on the road we had ridden up the previous afternoon, but for all we knew, it was just another beautiful country road. Maybe because we were seeing it from the opposite direction, maybe because we had fresh rested eyes, or maybe because all beautiful country roads start to look alike.

By now, we’ve sort of found our sweet spot in terms of distances. While riding 80+ km is certainly possible, when planning routes, everyone seems a bit happier with the shorter options.

Of course, by shorter options, it means making sure the destination is close, but there are always ways to make it longer. With that in mind, it came time to pick a good place for the next day’s destination. We knew only that we wanted to be on the coast at Wakasa Bay - one of Japan’s Quasi-National Parks / seashores.

Our other semi-set-in-stone plan is to be in Kanazawa in two days where we plan to spend a full day exploring the city, and some activities may require reservations, so we have to make sure we make it there by the night before.

We could have headed in the direction toward Kanazawa, but that would mean that the next day, most of our riding would be along the coast of Fukui, where, while beautiful, there is a single road that all car traffic would also be taking.

Instead, we opted to head a little bit northwest, which would give us a longer ride along the coast the next day, where we knew there were smaller, car-free roads, as well as long stretches of beach, with generally the same view of the National Shoreline, just from a different angle.

We settled on a general area to search for open accommodation and found what looked like a great little place in the small fishing town of Takahama. It was only 50 km away (1,000m total climb, with 1,250m descent), but if we arrived early and still, for some reason, wanted to ride, there was a small peninsula to explore. But more likely, if anyone had any extra energy, it would be just a long walk along the beach.

It didn’t take long to get to the climbing portion of the day - 13 km up - but this time it did look different from other country roads. Thanks to a larger road to the west that followed the train tracks, there was really little reason for non-local traffic to use this road, so we had it all to ourselves. There were hardly any cars, despite a wide, well-paved road passing through only small hamlets, rice fields, and foothills. Even the long tunnel at the pass wasn’t scary as there were no cars. There were no obivous places to take a break, so we stopped at a calendar museum because, why not? The Koyomi Museum of Calendar actually turned out to be a little interesting. Worth stopping if you somehow find yourself on this road.

Midway down the hill, we were supposed to turn off onto an even smaller, more remote road that would take us over another small mountain pass. Apparently, the guests had something they wanted to see further down, so they just kept on going. Either that or they didn’t hear my calls from behind for them to "STOP!! TURN LEFT!!!!". Luckily, I was able to get their attention before they had gone too far off course. Being happy about not going too far off course is good to counteract the feeling right before having to climb another hill.

This was short though—8 km and only 300m—and the reward was a great windy downhill cruise with a few spectacular views unobstructed by trees, one more little tunnel, and before we knew it, the mountains opened up into a wide swath of rice fields, and we could smell the sea air even before the ocean came into view.

There had been little in the way of resting areas, so we stopped at the first convenience store we came across and assessed our time and physical status. Time-wise, we were fine, and after a bathroom break and some electrolytes, everyone was in agreement that rather than head right to the inn, where we might succumb to our laziness, we should check out whatever is close by. So we took a short detour to check out a lighthouse that involved a (very short) welcomed hike to give our saddle-sore butts a rest, to a small shrine and some rocky seashore.

We then headed on to our inn for the night—more of a small fisherman’s house right across the road from the beach. We had booked late, and it seemed asking a bit too much to have the host prepare meals for us on such short notice, so it was also the perfect opportunity to have fresh sushi at a local sushi bar.

After we had all had a chance to shower, the innkeeper offered to drive us the 5 km to the place he recommended, an offer we gladly took him up on. He also offered to come pick us up, but it was a beautiful night, so we told him we would walk back along the beach.

The sushi was great, of course, and the chef/owner was happy to have foreigners, especially in the non-busy summer season, so he had time to practice his English. It’s hard to tell how much of the meal was "sa-bisu" (free) and how much we were billed for, as the sushi kept coming out and he excitedly explained each one, yet it magically cost much less than we expected. We almost felt like thieves.

Day 17 Comes to a close...

The next day’s route was already planned, so no need for a meeting, and after a short walk in the moonlight on the beach, we all enjoyed the softest futon of the trip (actually, they all feel like the softest once you get in them at night).

Up bright and early. Although we did not have breakfast included in our stay, the innkeeper had gotten up early to prepare some for us anyway. Nothing as elaborate as the set breakfast, but a cup of coffee and toast with jam goes a long way. She also had some freshly made onigiri rice balls all wrapped up for us in case we got hungry on the ride.

We were late to start because it took twenty minutes to say our goodbyes, thank-yous, bowing, photos, more bowing, more thank-yous, and finally, eventually, we were on our way.

The route for today was very straightforward. Keep the coast on the left and the mountains on the right. For much of it, there was a bicycle path along the beach, but we soon found that it was not well attended to, and portions were covered with sand, making it impossible to ride. Not a problem though. Thankfully, we had that long walk on the beach the night before, so it was not too disappointing to ride on small roads through the town.

The coast was beautiful, as expected since it is a National Park known for its beauty. There were plenty of small roads hugging the actual coastline profile that we could stick to and avoid the main thoroughfare where all the busy people in cars were driving.

Despite being mostly flat, making small turns and some dead ends kept our pace slow, so that we arrived at the midway point just around noon. Here is a cool little Miketsukuni Wakasa Obama Food Culture Museum about seafood and the fishing/mackerel culture, and the "mackerel road," which was the main path between the coast and the old capital of Kyoto, used to transport seafood. The museum is small, only one floor, but interesting enough that we spent about an hour looking at it.

In the same building is a nice restaurant with basics—curry, soba, udon, and of course, ice cream, so we had a relaxed lunch there.

There was still another 30 km left, and our inn for the night is a pricier-than-we-were-used-to hot spring ryokan on the coast of Suigetsu Lake that includes a special seafood dinner, so we did not want to be too late, but we were feeling confident and strong.

From here, there was no more beach, rather roads that hug the rocky shores with a little bit of up and down (550m climb total), but the highest point was only 100 meters above sea level (thanks to two tunnels), and the last 10 km was pretty much flat, following a very narrow bicycle path around a scenic Suigetsu Lake.

Along the way, we also passed the Fukui Prefectural Seaside Nature Center. We could have spent an hour there, but we were a bit concious of time, so made a quick pass through. The highlight was a pool where the fish nibble you.

The ryokan was a traditional hot spring inn that overlooks the lake. Being much larger than we have been used to, a proper ryokan, I was expecting a bit more "professional," cold, service-oriented staff, but was very happy to find that while they did not skimp on service and attention to detail, they were also warm and talkative as well. Once again, we changed into the yukata, soaked in the bath. There was a small lakeside hamlet that we passed through slowly on the way in, so no one felt the need to explore outside other than to go onto the balcony to enjoy the lake.

The indoor and outdoor baths were especially nice here, especially because they were just down the hall from the rooms.

Day 18 Comes to a close...

The ryokan's main customers are usually overnight sightseeing bus tour groups of Japanese people who come mainly for the meal and the hot spring, so while all meals until now had been great, this one was a little bit of luxury—a multi-course ryokan meal with little bits of everything, primarily seafood, a small nabe cooking pot, and dessert made from plums this region is famous for - the small road around the lake was lined with plum orchards.

There was even fugu—the poisonous pufferfish. This was not new, as we had had it in Kyushu as well, but every time you eat it there is always that sense of adventure and risk.

Our goal for the day was to get to Kanazawa. We would be doing that by train because we did not want to spend time on the busy, high-traffic coastal road.

The only thing we needed to discuss the night before was where to get on. There was a train station just a few minutes from the ryokan, which would give us almost two full days in Kanazawa, as we would be spending two nights there. Alternatively, we could enjoy the last of the traffic-free coast, following the rocky peninsula, and catch a train from a larger station.

Everyone opted for a 45 km morning ride, mostly flat, along the coast. This would fill our morning and get us to Kanazawa by the afternoon without feeling guilty and lazy. This was absolutely the correct choice, I believe.

At mostly sea level, looking back across to where we had ridden the previous day, that area seemed even more beautiful than when we were riding it. Even the nuclear power plant (there are three, but we were only able to see one from the road) added to the landscape. The main highlight, though, was a couple of small fishing hamlets. Because this peninsula is a bit further from the main road, it somehow felt like the hamlets were more "traditional," although in reality, it is only a short drive to the nearest supermarket in a rather large city. It felt remote while we passed through.

Luckily, when we stopped for a drink from the vending machine, an old local man highly (very adamantly) recommended that we visit the Tsuruga Red Brick Warehouse in town and the Tsuruga Railway Museum. It was so small we would have missed it, but it had a really cool little diorama model of the area, focusing on its role as a center of transportation between the Japanese Sea coast, Kyoto, and the eastern coast.

Although it was already past noon, the breakfast was big and no one was particularly hungry yet, so we decided to wait and have a late lunch or early dinner in the big city where there would be a lot more variety and options. Instead, we picked up a light snack at the convenience store to tide us over on the two-and-a-half-hour train ride, packed up the bikes—which used to be a bit of a pain, but by now we were used to it—and got on the train for Kanazawa.

When we arrived in Kanazawa, we checked into our hotel. Our place for the next two nights was a regular business hotel - comfortable, clean, and convenient. Because Kanazawa is a relatively popular tourist destination, more traditional inns tend to be a bit more expensive and completely booked on short notice, and considering that we had been staying in traditional inns along the way, including the proper ryokan the night before, we wouldn’t be missing anything. Also, we would be spending most of the time out in the town and eating in the wide variety of restaurants, so a clean place with a bed and shower was good enough.

Day 19 Comes to a close...

After checking in, we parted ways—they explored, did some window shopping, and had dinner on their own—while I caught up with emails, organized receipts, and took care of other work in the hotel, meeting up later (by accident) while wandering the streets of Katamachi, near the river.

The customers were sick of me. Or maybe they just wanted some time to explore on their own without me pushing them harder, faster, further... or, more likely, they were pretty used to Japan by now and felt comfortable enough to explore on their own and took this opportunity.

There were plenty of English materials about things to see and do in Kanazawa, so I made sure they knew to visit the Omicho Market in the morning before it closed. After that, they took their bikes to visit the main attractions—the Kanazawa Castle, Kanazawa Castle Park, and of course the Kenrokuen Garden, and the tea district - at their own pace. They even managed to use some of the Japanese they had picked up in the past three weeks.

I had a bit of a day off, I guess. I had been to Kanazawa many times, so I didn't have any urge to sightsee. I just checked in on some of my favorite places and said hello to a few people, then spent the rest of the day tuning my bike, and then back to the hotel to refine the plans for the next - and last - week

It was time to say goodbye to Kanazawa. Being well-rested, it was easy enough to wake up early, and the hotel had a business breakfast buffet that was plenty to get us started. The first stop of the day was just a few blocks away at the train station, where we caught the new bullet train to the brand new Iiyama Station in Nagano.

Iiyama is where One Life Japan is based and the area where the majority of our trips are run, so it is also the area I know the best and am eager to show off so I was happy I was able to sell them on spending a few days there. It also moved us away from the coast and into true mountain culture, which we had only experienced for a few days so far.

We arrived in Iiyama by 10 a.m. with an appointment for a local guide to show us around the temples of the city. Iiyama is known as the Kyoto of Shinshu (Northern Nagano) because there are so many small temples in the area. The major difference between this little Kyoto and the real Kyoto is that there are no crowds. None.

We had booked a two-hour walking tour that would cover a few of the temples, as well as the bhutsudan* street. The guide was a local volunteer from the area, very knowledgeable about Buddhism and eager to share the history of the area. As we were her first-ever group of foreigners, so she was a bit nervous, but she quickly got into her groove and became comfortable fielding the types of questions that she said she had never been asked, nor even thought of. It takes a foreigner’s perspective, and since we had been seeing temples and shrines for the past three weeks, there were a lot of questions regarding religion that had been building up and waiting to be asked.

The two hours flew by, and we spent a short time at a popular little Mayumi Takahashi Doll Museum depicting very traditional Japanese life scenes with dolls by a local artist. No one was particularly hungry (nor tired, as we had not yet ridden), so we opted for just some rice balls for lunch, which we picked up at a supermarket where we also did some exploring and shopping for the night's dinner and anything interesting they wanted to try, which would be a BBQ at a local’s house.

Since this was my normal area, I had better access to support, so I had an assistant meet us at the supermarket to take any food we bought, and our heavy pannier bags, to the house we would be staying at that night.

From there, free from the heavy bags, we rode. The goal was just to get to a nearby hot spring, which, if we went directly, would be less than an hour’s ride, so there was no rush. But we wanted to ride and enjoy the view, so we went first to an Olympic training ski jump where we could walk to the top and not only see a great view of the valley but also what it looks like staring down the run for the jumpers.

After that, it was about 20 km with only a 350m climb before we ended at one of my favorite outdoor hot springs.

The accommodation for the night was pretty much in the middle of nowhere on the side of a mountain. Since we had already taken a bath, and we also wanted to get there while it is still light to have an outdoor babrbecue, while we were in the bath, my assistant loaded the bikes into the van and we opted to hitch a ride to the inn.

Our host had prepared lawn chairs and a BBQ set outside her refurbished farmhouse. Because there is nothing else around, no light pollution, night gets very dark, and the stars were amazing, but it made us a little worried as we realized how almost perfect our weather had been so far, hoping that it doesn’t mean torrential rain for the rest of the trip.

Our host speaks English quite well and enjoyed spending time chatting with the guests, but as she is also focused on being a good host, offering to help in the kitchen was a good way to get more chat time so dinner prep was part of our boarding fee this evening.

Day 21 Comes to a close...

As this was not an inn, rather a refurbished private house, the guests stayed in the spacious living area with large picture window overlooking the mountains. I recommended they wake up early for the sunrise, and to take a walk around. I would not be hard as our host would most likely be preparing breakfast in the kitchen long before the un came up.

Our worries about the weather looked like they might come true, as the morning was a bit overcast. The forecast called for some light sprinkles (it had the closed umbrella icon, which means keep your umbrella with you just in case).

Of all places on the trip, though, this might be the best time to have rain, as we once again had access to the assist van if needed. The route had two options to get to the same place:

A) Hard: 50 km over a mountain with a 1,500-meter climb (and 1,200 m descent).

B) Scenic and easier: 45 km with a 900-meter climb along a scenic Chikuma river.

Of course, I let them know that the next day would involve a long climb over a mountain with no alternative, so everyone agreed to take the easier route today and save their energy for the next day.

We rode along the river on a small, unused road that connects the hamlets, before a short uphill into an area famous for its traditional Japanese paper. There, we stopped at Kamisukiya, a paper maker's studio/factory to learn a little bit about the history of paper making as well as make our own paper. We also refilled our water bottles with some of the fresh spring water, which is ranked among the 100 famous pure water sources of Japan.

After this, it was another short uphill to our inn for the night. This was also a private house, once a minshuku inn, owned by a soba noodle instructor. Perhaps the most "rustic" of the entire trip so far, with only simple rooms and a shared bathroom (old Japanese-style squat toilet) and sink in the main entrance.

After dropping our luggage and bikes at the inn. We somehow managed to squeeze into the inn-keepers car, and the soba instructor's daughter drove us down the road to the nearest hot spring, where there was an outdoor bath overlooking the town and lights below.

The bath was a bit quick because Soba Yoda (as I refer to her because she is the master soba maker who teachers the other masters) was waiting for us. Although she did not seem in a rush, we felt a little pressure not to keep her waiting too long. Also, we wanted to get to the main event—making soba.

We returned to the inn and jumped right into making soba from scratch. Although the teacher does not speak English, she was used to teaching foreigners, and haleping my guests, and is not shy about pulling out her dictionary to communicate through pointing.

Day 22 Comes to a close...

After dinner, they joined us around the table to play some traditional Japanese games, learn some origami, and she pulled out the map to make conversation about where the guests were from.

Despite all the fun, we made sure to get to bed early enough for a good rest because the next day would be a long, hard ride.

We woke up at sunrise as early as possible; our host was already up preparing a simple breakfast. Not spending too much time on sentimental goodbyes, we got on the bikes and headed out for our first destination - the famous snow monkeys. Of course, there was no snow, but they come out year-round to a special park with a hot spring built specifically for them - to keep them from coming down into the nearby hot spring resort town to use the human baths.

We managed pass through Shibu Onsen town with time for a few photos, and arrive at the monekeys just before the park opened, which was good for both our timing and because there were fewer people. The snow monkey park is a bit on the touristy side, with people even making day trips from Tokyo just to see the monkeys, but we felt superior having ridden (mostly walked because it is so steep) all the way to see them.

Unfortunately, the monkeys were not informed of our schedule, so they weren’t down from the mountain yet. We set a time limit for waiting before giving up, and luckily, they came down before we did. They are cute and interesting for a bit, but we didn’t spend a whole lot of time looking at them - a brief look, just to check it off the list, was enough.

So far, we had ridden only 13 km and climbed 400 meters, and already felt a bit tired. We had 45 km left and 1,700 meters of total altitude gain. This was by far the longest, highest day so far. I was beginning to think this was my first failure of planning.

The first 24 kilometers and 1,550-meter climb took us up to 2,170 meters above sea level—the highest point on any of Japan’s national highways. Along the way, we passed by ski resorts and one of the highlights that made the climb all worth it.

The road, which reaches an elevation of 2,172 meters, making it the highest national highway in Japan. had only been open for a few days after having been closed all winter. Riding between several meter deep walls of snow prevents views of the scenery, but has its own charms.

We had budgeted five hours for this, and that was about right. We arrived at the top of active volcano Mt. Shirane’s visitor center around 3:00. Despite the snow, it may have been possible to walk to the crator, but signs for potentially dangerous fumes made it not even tempting to try. There were also signs along the road warning of fumes, so that was a bit scary, but we passed other cyclists along the way who hadn’t passed out, so we felt safe.

From the volcano visitor center, it’s literally all downhill—15 km (900 meters)—to Kusatsu village, so we were down in less than a very cold hour.

As a tourist spot centered around the hot springs, more traditional accommodations and those with their own hot springs can be in high demand and thus pricey. But in terms of atmosphere, they didn’t really add anything that we hadn’t already experienced in less touristy areas, so we tried to find a more basic place that didn’t have its own hot spring and without dinner.

Luckily, it was hard to find someplace that wasn’t at least a bit quaint but still reasonably priced. It had its own tiny hot spring even, but the main draw is the large public hot spring in town and the huge yubatake (“hot water field”) - a cascading thermal water fountain in the middle of town where the water passes through to cool off. So, we arrived at the inn, changed into yukata robes, and set out walking around the town with our towels and bath kits.

Dinner was simple yakitori at a little shop right in the busy main square, watching everyone walk around in their yukata through the steam from the hot water.

Day 23 Comes to a close...

After dinner, we split up for some more walking, and more bathing, before heading back to the inn for the night.

The route for today was a difficult decision. We knew that no matter what, we would have to go over a mountain. The main difference would be distance (give or take 15 km) and how far we would be from Matsumoto, where we wanted to arrive in two days.

The shortest routes would save about 30 km in total over the two days, but they would likely involve busier roads. On the other hand, there was no guarantee that the longer route would be much better in terms of traffic.

Considering that we were already nearing the end of the trip - a long trip - and some (most) of the magic of the long uphill rides and downhill cruises had worn off, we decided to focus less on the ride portion and more on the destination. As such, taking the shortest route to Matsumoto and allowing for the most time there seemed prudent.

We opted for the possibly more crowded road that would take us 55 km to a Tomi, small city with just a bed and a good place to start the next day to Matsumoto.

Once we had decided that, however, we looked just a little further along that route and realized that if we pushed it an extra 20 km up the hill, we would be that much closer to Matsumoto the next day, and once again, we would be in the middle of a smaller hot-spring town.

We made sure there were openings at a business hotel at the 55 km mark, just in case we decided to change our minds midway, but we set our goal to go for the 70 km (1,300 m) route.

The ride was as expected, but not as bad in terms of traffic as our worst-case scenarios had considered. Quite a few cars were continuously passing, but the road was not so crowded that they couldn’t give us a wide berth, and they were not as much of a distraction from the scenery as the uphill pedaling was.

There wasn’t much along the way that stood out as exceptional places to stop, so we powered on to the pass and the waiting 25 km downhill, which was 5 km longer than the uphill! In fact, all in all, the day was a net loss of about 500 meters, despite the short climb at the very end when we were least looking forward to it.

Once we got out of the forest and into the more residential area, there were some options for off-the-main-road rides, which was nice. There was a small historic castle ruins site with a nice-looking walking trail that would probably be nice if that was the only thing on the list that day, but no one was really in the mood to do extra walking just for the sake of it. However, we did go a little out of the way to pass through Unno Jyuku, a Nakasendo post town on the bike and enjoy with just a quick water break.

We arrived at the lowest point on the ride, along the river, in the late afternoon. With 20 km left, we thought we might be riding in the dark. If so, it would be the first time we needed our lights, other than for tunnels. We made a brief stop at a supermarket, which had a better selection than the convenience store, and each grabbed something quick. I think no one was really super hungry, but we wanted to be prepared for the uphill to come.

Day 24 Comes to a close...

The accommodation was actually very nice. An older building, but clean and, as we had grown accustomed to, a big beautiful bath. I think the beds were a welcomed change form the futons on the floor the past few days. It would have been nice to arrive a bit earlier to walk around while it was still light, but we had achieved our goal. The ride the next day would be a mere 24 km to Matsumoto and Matsumoto Castle. What could go wrong?

What could go wrong? What could go wrong... What could go wrong... The words echoed in my head as if I were speaking them out loud all the way through the 3 km long hell-tunnel passing under the Mt. Misa Pass I somehow failed to notice when I made the plan.

I’m glad I missed it, though, because as bad as it was (terrifyingly narrow with lots of traffic), if I had noticed, we might have chosen a longer route. At least this way, we had no other choice, and once it was done, and we were out safely, we had only 13 km downhill to Matsumoto and the rest of the day to do as we pleased there.

Of course, Matsumoto Castle was first on the list. I was determined to make up for the bad experiene they had in Himeji Castle, and I knew Matsumoto Castle was nice, and one of my favorites.

I was right. Survey says that if you have a choice between Matsumoto Castle or Himeji Castle, Matsumoto Castle is the hands-down winner. Once the castle was checked off the list, we still had time to visit the Matsumoto Museum of Modern Art and see the Yayoi Kusama exhibition.

Matsumoto also has a nice Old Town and pletny or resteraunts. We got a hotel near the castle, and they set off on their own for dinner and night exploring.

Day 25 Comes to a close...

Aside from Matsumoto city, the rest of the plain is a bit semi-urban and not the most interesting ride, so the next day would be another train in the morning taking into a moutnain valley where we would follow the old Nakasendo road.

There was no special rush so I told them to feel free to paint the town. I think everyone was back by 9pm.

After Matsumoto, the original plan was to ride along the Nakasendo road to Narai-juku. Starting from Matsumoto, this would include an easy, but unspectacular compared to what we had already seen, ride along the Matsumoto plains, followed by a continuous uphill on a rather crowded road to Narai-juku.

After discussion, the decision was made to cut out one day (we were about a day behind anyway because of the initial rain in Nagasaki). Instead of riding from Matsumoto to Narai, we decided to take the train, get off in Narai for a brief look around, and perhaps catch the train again because of the large mountain with a busy tunnel in the way.

The problem was that trains are few and far between on this line, so our options were to skip Narai and take the train to the next stop past the tunnel or check out Narai and ride through the tunnel—after all, it couldn’t be any worse than the one before Matsumoto.

When we got on the train in the morning, our intent was to do the latter: get off in Narai, look around, and ride through the tunnel. However, as we got closer to Narai, we just weren’t feeling it. Narai is a nice historic road, but there are two similar Nakasendo post towns along the way, so we decided to spend more time at those rather than split our time among three.

Did I forget to mention that it was lightly raining, with occasional heavy rain?

We stayed on the train, bypassing the tunnel to the next Yubuhara Station which was the next stop after the tunnel. From there, we would cruise downhill.

Luckily, the reservation I had made in Tsumago-jyuku post town was able to be moved a day earlier as it was the innkeeper's regular day off, so she had no bookings. She allowed us to switch it, and she would take the day we were originally booked off. Somehow, all the reservation kami (gods) were working in my favor this entire trip.

The decision was 100% the right choice. In fact, we took the train one extra station, cutting out a further not-so-special-looking short distance. Every kilometer counted now, as we were trying to get to Tsumago-jyuku before the Waki-honjin museum and shops in town closed down for the evening, and we had managed to cut it down to 50 km at most, with the possibility to make it even shorter if we found it getting late and decided to stick to the main road instead of following the smaller actual Nakasendo.

By now, we were quite fast at setting up the bikes, and we were on the road by just after 9 a.m., giving us at least seven hours to cover 50 km, mostly downhill—shouldn’t be a problem given our average of 7 km/hr, which includes uphills.

We stopped freely along the way at post towns such as Kiso Fukushima, and the Fukushima Sekisho Museum sharing the history post towns. We rarely had to get onto the main road where all the through traffic drives, so it was a beautiful ride despite—or maybe because of—the rain. While we thought we were lucky to not have rain until now, this was a great place to have the rain and the beautiful mist and deeper colors.

We arrived at Tsumago-jyuku post town with plenty of time before the museum closed. Thanks to the rain, the town was relatively empty as well compared to other days.

Our inn was a small, very rustic old farmhouse 2 km from the main strip of the post town. With nothing to do in the area once the museum closed, there was no special rush to get to the inn either. The only thing left to do was shower and enjoy the simple dinner provided.

Day 26 Comes to a close...

The next day would involve walking in the morning, following the Nakasendo, which includes hiking trails and cobblestone paths that the bikes can’t ride on and I did not envision carrying the bikes on our shoulders, so while they slept, I intended to hire a taxi to help me take the bikes to the end of the walking portion. But when the innkeeper heard my plan, she offered me the use of her little farm truck.

Since we had already seen Tsumago-Juku the day before, we did not really need to wake up at the crack of dawn, but our inn keeper is an early riser, so even if we wanted to sleep in, I think it would have been impossible. She was knocking before our alarm, urging us to get up and have breakfast, worried, I think that we would miss the entire day.

Since I had already moved the bikes further along the Nakasendo the night before, we wuld be setting out on foot today. We each had only a light backpack with rain gear and the onigiri rice balls, pickles and a mikan orange each that the in keeper insisted we find room for.

The post towns of Magome and Tsumago get all the attention, but this section of the trail is one of the best, in my opinion. It is far from the bus crowds and parking lots. There are still plenty of people walking the trail, but it is far from crowded. The road is wide enough for a small farmer's truck, so only local traffic will be passing - and iwth only a few houses that is not much traffic. The larger road is nearby, but behind a forest.

Before too long though, that one car road also disapears and we are walking on well kept cobblestone.

As we walk past the occasional row of houses faceing the path, it is easy to imagine what it would have been like back when people were walking it for real - when there was no option for a car or bus.

After about an hour we come to Odaki and Medaki Waterfalls. A female waterfall and a male, falls of passion where, legend has it, a golden chicken fell in and can still be heard crowing. We listened, but are not sure if we heard it, or if it was just the wind.

Another 45 minutes to Magome Pass, and we are already at the highest point, and finsihed with the hardest part of the day. Form here it is a quick downhill trot to the top of the steep street that makes up Magome-juku post town.

This is the most popular of all the post towns, and also one of the most crowded, so we budget an hour at least to make the way through stopping at at the small shops or to have a cup of coffee. The main draw is the old style buildings. There is a small museum dedicated to an author, but given that no one knows him, and the museum is mostly filled with Japanese texts, we decided to skip it. Aside from that, it is mostly gift shops, soba noodles, confectionaries, etc.

We didn't even use the entire hour, so now we are ahead of schedule. It will be another 2 hours perhaps along more relativly empty path before we reach the place I had parked the bikes for us at Ochiai Juku.

We reached the bikes slightly ahead of schedule and rode to a popular little cafe in the area, Cafe Echizenya. Had a cup of the proprieter's excelent coffee, and luckily we were the only people there at the time, so she had time to chat. Her English is excelent which makes her cafe one of the highlights for foreign walkers.

The next post town was Nakatsugawa Jyuku. This one is in the middle of a larger town, so it is quite built up, but still retains some more traditional look and feel at parts.

By now, we are really just in exporation mode. Taking small streets if anything catches our eye. We have so much time left before our goal, the Hiroshige Museum of Art closes.

Wake up. Breakfast buffet, and to the train station. We caught a two-hour train to Maibara Station on Lake Biwa—Japan's biggest lake. We could have gone directly to Hikone, where we visited Hikone Castle—another castle that some say is better than Himeji—but we felt it would be more of an accomplishment to ride in.

In reality, that 5 km did nothing to make us feel any less lazy for taking the train, but Hikone is a nice castle. We spent two hours there and could have spent more. The plan from here was simply 40 km around the southern part of the lake to Katata Station, where we caught our final train-with-bikes into Kyoto.

The ride to get there wouldn’t have been bad, but it was too long to make it to Kyoto by night and too short to justify staying in a hotel there when we could go to Kyoto—plus, I had already booked a room in Kyoto, and it would be too late to cancel without a penalty.

We debated getting a taxi from Kyoto station to the hotel, but it seemed like more work to just try to fit the bikes into the trunk than it would be to assemble them again. Plus, there was a chance we would use them the next day to ride around Kyoto.