The Lake Biwa Ichi Cycling Route

May 27, 2023

Otsu to Hikone

Our hosts Miyu and her husband at Koke Musu, very hospitable and thoughtful people.

We admire that they have taken their passions and interests and incorporated them into their home, while also opening up this space to visitors. The space is unique and imaginative with a high standard of quality in the workmanship.

Architecture and design come together in these moss installations while providing a home for the fish.

Intricate imaginative dioramas are everywhere.

Proud fans of paint ball. These soft spoken people are also avid fans of Walking Dead. The baseball bat image is on many things.

What a surprise. Across the road is a German restaurant and they originate from a place we have enjoyed visiting, Wurzburg on the Main River. It looked like a very good restaurant, but we will save ourselves for our next visit to Germany and our friends, the Reitz family.

There are three bridges across the lake at the south end. We crossed this one.

Lake Biwa is beautiful and ever changing with lots to see

Fishing is a big deal here for sport and commercial.

We love the blue line. The creators of this bicycle route have created a route that is simple to follow…just follow the blue lines. They have this painted on the sidewalks and blue arrows on the roadway. One can’t get lost here. Locals welcome cyclists here…we love it!

As well as painting the lines, there is great signage for mileage, local interest spots to visit, etc. it is very well done. Highly recommended.

Along the water, we see locals who have come for the day and pitched tarps or tents, brought extensive picnics, barbq’s and toys to enjoy the day. As we keep mentioning, there is a heat and humid wave, so it is good to be by the water.

This building, The Utopia Project caught our eye from across the lake. It’s silver and shines in the sunlight.

As we approached this building..we couldn’t believe our eyes - a log building with American and Canadian flags out front. It is a campground.

We are riding through a rural area with wheat fields.

The beautiful forested mountains surround the lake.

These Chrysthanthemums bloom everywhere here and line the roadways. They are used for many things..for tempura and as garnish with sashimi.

Lovely new asphalt and good signage. If there is a shorter route to take, the sign will say the Fast Route…otherwise it is called the Slow Route. This is one of the few hills on this day.

We never tire of the sight of a bamboo forest.

We are back alongside the river and the marshes vibrant with turtles and bird life.

We are pulling into one of our favourite stops in Japan, a Mochi non Ecki and we see this project that has been abandoned. We like the image of the man upside down. We feel like that some days.

Lunch at the Michi non Eki. A set meal featuring Tonkatsu chicken for under $10 and very good.

Matcha/vanilla soft ice cream for dessert.

I love this turtle, living his best life in the sun on Lake Biwa and enjoying a bit of a stretch.

Lake Biwa is a good place to unwind. Also a stress free way to cycle…see the blue arrows?

It feels like fishing is a national sport as we see people fishing wherever we go.

Hikone is our destination for today…only 28 Km to go. That is if we go there directly, which is unlikely. Fast route…on the road and slow route is a cycle lane on the paved path.

It is mostly Japanese people who are enjoying the lake with just a few tourists like us. We are surprised not to see more travellers as Lake Biwa is the largest lake in Japan. Thanks to Barry’s thorough researching, it was on our radar.

We reached our hotel in Hikone late and in the dark. We have had such a full day with many stops and things to see. Dinner in our room and off to bed. Tired but, a good day.

Today's ride: 65 km (40 miles)
Total: 1,168 km (725 miles)

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