October 7, 2024
Day 12: Yurihonjo to Sakata
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If we weren't so stubborn, we wouldn't have even gone outside, let alone rode an "official" segment of our route today. This looked to be our easiest ride to date, so we really just had to do it and get it over with. It wasn't all bad. We had the wind at our backs most of the time. The rain was manageable. Traffic wasn't too bad. We had a reservation for a place in Sakata. So it was just a matter of getting from point A to point B.
We purposely left late, around 9:15, so that we wouldn't reach our destination too early. I'm wondering if leaving early, say 7am, would have been a better strategy. We probably could have made the entire trip before the rain really picked up. But then we'd be killing time until checkin, and honestly, we'd done more than enough of that yesterday.
I feel like we missed out on some good stuff by mostly just grinding out the kilometers, but that's OK. The coast looked mostly like I had expected it to look like: jack-like tetrapods as far as the eye can see, along with assorted flotsam, mostly styrofoam from fishing operations. Makes you not want to support the fishing industry. Perhaps I shouldn't be saying that in a country that relies so heavily on seafood for its diet.
We lunched at a covered table in a park that seemed solely dedicated to the town's sister city of Shawnee, Oklahoma. I hope that Shawnee also has a nice park in honor of Nikaho, or that they at least appreciate the effort their sibling has put into the relationship.
Taking photos was a pain, as was just about everything else. If there was something worthy at a place we just happened to stop at momentarily, off came the "waterproof" gloves and click went the virtual shutter of the phone.
The route meandered off and on National Route 7. At first I tried to figure out whether each detour was worth the effort of crossing the busy highway. After a while I simply gave up and followed the directions, come hell or high water.
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The only truly sad routing choice of the day was this monster of an overgrown hillside path.
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After leaving the national road for good, we spent what seemed like hours riding through nondescript villages and along nondescript canals. It was really only about 45 minutes. I think.
I could hardly tell we were in a city, when we arrived at our destination in Sakata, aka Point B. We somehow found ourselves in a narrow alley and had to wander around a bit to find the hotel, which is pretty well hidden. We were wet as muskrats, but the staff treated us kindly and hooked us up with a room and bike parking. Luckily this is not a place that puts on airs. We were even greeted with this sign, which I'll take as a good omen:
After hanging our soggy clothes to dry, we changed and went to a nearby Korean restaurant. If this was any indication of what Korean food is like in Japan, I'd recommend skipping the experience. It wasn't terrible, but it was nowhere near authentic. We then checked out the library, which is just across the street, and the train station, which is just down the street. Our evening stroll in the rain ended with a trip to the konbini for a beer, and some pastries that'll be tomorrow's breakfast. Ah, the joy of a well-placed comma.
It may or may not rain tomorrow, but if it does, it will likely be showers versus rain. Then a long dry stretch is forecast. That would sure be sweet!
Today's ride: 66 km (41 miles)
Total: 816 km (507 miles)
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