October 8, 2007
Days 1 and 2: Narita to Ashikaga: Easing in gradually: cycle paths and river basins
We had booked all of our accommodations in advance over the internet, so we could be assured of having a space and being able to find it when we got to town. Our intent was to get a balanced experience, spending some of our nights in business/western-style hotels for economy and familiarity, and others in traditional inns so we could experience Japanese culture first-hand. Something went slightly awry on the planning board though, and as Rachael pointed out at various points in the trip, we missed the balance point a bit and spent something like 70% of the tour sleeping on the floor in futons, eating Japanese breakfasts, and wearing yukatas and slippers to supper. It was terrific.
We jumped in with both feet, landing at Wakamatsu ryokan (a ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn) for our first night.
It was a fine place to start because the owners spoke a fair amount of English and were able to help orient us to the basics - footware management (street shoes left at the front door; house slippers for use in the halls, but to be removed in the room; bathroom slippers for use in the bathrooms); guestroom procedures (tea service; use of yukatas (kimonos); the laying of the futon), and so on. We were delighted and surprised by our first Japanese meal, served to us in our room on the central table (the only furniture).. Traditional dinners consist of 10-20 different small servings, stylishly presented in colorful and carefully arranged crockery. Visually it's quite beautiful, and it's enjoyable to watch things unfold piecemeal as the table is laid out in front of you. Afterwards, the meal is cleared, the table is moved to the side, and the futons and quilts are hauled out of the closet to prepare for the night.
In the morning, I woke at dawn and walked across the street to wander a bit around Narita-san, a major Buddhist temple (one of the most important in western Japan). Everything was of course very foreign, new and mysterious - but it was also wonderful to see it at dawn, as monks and worshipers arrived for the morning service, and gongs and drums sounded from the various points in the grounds.
After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel, bidding our hosts goodbye and hoping that our cycle bags would be waiting for us a month down the road in Fukuoka. Once on the road, we quickly proved the value of our GPS's - at first we were unable to access the maps for some reason (the storage card was ajar) and set off using only our paper map instead. A mile later, we were surprised and chagrined to find ourselves back at the hotel again! Fortunately, we resolved our GPS problem; and for the remainder of the trip navigation gave us no problems.
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Finally on the road in the right direction, we escaped Narita and soon found a cycle path that took us much of the way west to Noda, a business town on the Edo river. This day and the next day's ride up the Edo to Ashikaga were wet, but among the easiest cycling we were to find in Japan: almost pancake flat, and mostly sheltered by some of the only dedicated cycle routes we were to encounter.
Today's ride: 90 miles (145 km)
Total: 90 miles (145 km)
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