It’s always refreshing to be back on the road, even after only two days in Niigata I felt like it has been a month since I was in the saddle. Cycling out of the city was a lot easier than cycling into it. No sooner had left the last of the sprawl behind, I found myself cycling through the dunes that surround Route 402. The sun was out and the wind was calm, it was perfect.

Not long after leaving the dunes behind I saw this sign

Anyone who knows where I work back home will understand why I had to go on a detour. It was sort of an odd complex of about three small vineyards, one large vineyard with a big gift shop and cafe and fancy spa.

Perhaps the most unusual part of the whole experience was finding this small vineyard and winery run by a man who had loved his trips to Ireland so much he themed his vineyard after it. It was a bizarre experience, stepping out of the heat of the Japanese summer into a winery with The Chieftains playing.

After this not-so-short break the road continued along the coast. It passed by a host of beach that were packed with Japanese people enjoying their national holiday week. It was very hot and the roads were very busy the riding wasn’t quite as enjoyable as it had been in the morning. My path did take me through some nice old fashioned villages however.

I got to Kashiwaki and was on the hunt for a campground when I noticed a good number of tents set up on the beach at the end of the city. I set my tent up and went for a refreshing swim. The sunset here on the west coast was beautiful.

The was a building up near the end of the beach where I went in hopes of filling my water bottles. It turns out it was an impromptu bar/restaurant open during the day. Shut now in the evening it’s staff and friends were enjoying a BBQ on the deck. Katzuo, one of the chefs invited me up and I got to spend the evening eating BBQ and attempting to understand Japanese. On of the best nights I’ve had here no doubt.

The last day of the second leg of the tour. The riding on this day was by far the easiest, flat and with a comfortable tailwind pushing me along the last 100 -odd km to Niigata city.

It also had the most impressive views, especially early in the morning as the rising sun picked put the jagged sea stacks that dotted the shore next to route 345. The rocky coast fell straight into the sea, and with little flat ground by the shore there were numerous tunnels cut into the rock face.

Passing through the sprawling coastal town of Murakami was my halfway point, where the road turned back inland for a spell to cross the flat plains between sea and mountain. It wasn’t long, however, before it rejoined the coast, although a much straighter and sandier coast.

Getting into Niigata was a bit of a chore that added an extra hour or so that I had t planned on cycling. The most direct route was motorway where bicycles aren’t allowed, so I had to cycle around most of the city and then follow the road that led to the centre.

It feels good to have another leg of the tour complete. This one I took a lot slower and easier than the trip through Hokkaido, and I enjoyed it much more for it.

Now that I was back by the sea where the road was mostly flat, I was ready to start cycling proper distances again. Hurrying the journey, I suppose, but being able to mark off a good chunk of the map after a long day of riding brings its own satisfaction. It was a about 230km to Niigata, consider to mark the end of the Tohoku region and the end of this leg of north Honshu for me. I could make it on two days, and I had heard that Fuya, which was about 130km away was a good place to camp.

The road was pleasantly flat most of the time. I followed route 7, but deviated where I could in order to avoid the traffic and get a better view.

Sakata was my halfway point, but I got a bit losses navigating through it. It was only about 20 minute, but nevertheless frustrating, especially when you want to put in a good distance that day.

The coast became a lot more wild after Sakata, more jagged and rocky shores than beaches and some impressive sea stacks to boot. There was also this small cave right by the road.

I saw a sign for an onsen when I arrived at Fuya so went for a refreshing bath before heading to the campground. I set my tent up right on the beach, along with numerous other campers who had flocked here for the school summer holidays. I was the only one who hadn’t driven there, however, and this gave me a very self congratulatory sense of satisfaction.

Kakunodate was good to me. I found a really nice guest house on the first night. That evening, as I said in the last post, I ran into some English teachers. The next night I crashed at one of their places, so I got to stay in Kakunode an extra day!

Mike, an American who had been living in Kakunodate for over two years took me around the historic part of the Town, where a whole neighbourhood of Samurai houses have been preserved.

We then went back out to the lake to take a look at the other side, the shore I didn’t get to. Certainly worth the trip, the shrine and statue out there I had missed before and the weather was perfect.

That night we went out and ran into some older past pupils from the school the guys were teaching at, who I think were having a reunion or something. It was good times. I’m going to miss Kakunodate, I didn’t expect to grow so attached to a place I was only going to pass through quickly.

Alex, me and Mike up by the lake.

110km is a good distance to cover in a day of touring, about the average distance I want to do. Maybe a little short, but over the mountains makes it a bit tougher. Getting out of Lake Towadameant climbing out of the crater some, some about thirty minutes of switchbacks left me with this view looking back over the lake.

After this the rest of the morning was easy riding through the valley, a long descent out of the mountains. The road the whole way through was lined with spectators ready to watch an upcoming relay race that would follow the same route I was cycling! The spectators would cheer me on sometimes as I passed, and when I passed a group of school kids they pretty much roared at me when I waved at them. It was great.

I stopped for some lunch from my pack at a transfer spot for the race and let it pass me.

After this break I left the valley, I had crossed all the way to the other side and had to now climb up the mountains again in order to reach the next lake of Tazawako .

This climb was long and difficult but once I got a hustle going the gradient was smooth enough that I could keep up a steady rhythm and got over in a bit over two hours. The long descent from the top was once again an exhilarating reward for a long climb.

It was pretty much downhill all the way from there to Tazawako, but I still had about 60km to cover. The sun was setting by the time I finally reached the shores of the lake. Seeing the sun dip behind the mountains that ringed the lake made the hard climb all worth it, much like the journey to
Towadako.

My campsite at Tozawako

It was time to start making some progress through Tohoku, my time touring the festivals with Albert had been great, but I hadn’t actually made any southerly progress.

My plan was to cycle from Aomori up to the crater lakes of Towadako and Tazawako, back across to the Japan Sea coast and down to Niigata exiting Tohoku and finishing this next leg.

Getting to the lakes, however, required crossing the northern mountains known as the Japanese alps. The climb out of Aomori was long, I started in the clouds but as I got higher and the sun got hotter the clouds started to part then I could see the progress I had made.

There was a plateau about halfway up the climb where I took a rest. They had water and tea you could drink, a welcome break.

Eventually reached the top of the climb, not without difficulty but it was certainly rewarding. I could see the peak of the mountain I was climbing the majority of just before the descent began through the trees.

Once the descent ended I was in a gorge where the fast running water kept the air nice and cool. I spotted a waterfall a little ways off the road and stopped to go for a quick, refreshing swim under it.

I passed an American hiker on the road who had been living in Japan for forty years. He gave me a bit of advice about the road ahead and a a fruit energy bar which got me the rest of the way to the lake. The journey had only been about 70km but the climb had really tired me. Seeing the lake did make it all worth it.

I cycled around the lake and found a campsite where I set up for the night.

Sunset over Towadako.