Day 34: Takarazuka to Himeji

October 29, 2024

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I had my doubts about the inland route to Himeji. It didn't have spectacular scenery or big attractions, but the combination of amenities and light traffic made for a very pleasant ride. Based on what locals tell me, it's much better than riding the coast. Shorter, too!

We started at 7:30 today. The main goal was to beat the incoming rainstorm.

The parking / loading dock staff were super nice to us, and watched over our bikes while we slept soundly.

Farewell to Takarazuka. Such a pretty city!

We felt lucky to get the big climb out of the way first thing in the morning, when it was guaranteed to be cool, and our legs were fresh. As usual, we followed a stream for a ways until the road switched back on itself several times, leading us to even higher ground. What follows is a winding, steeper ascent to the peak. Maybe this pattern isn't a rule, but it's certainly a trend among the climbs we've done here so far.

I'm going to take a minute to talk trash about Japan, er, I mean, talk about Japan's trash. Bike tourists get to observe both the best and the worst an area has to offer. We've seen huge mounds of trash, dumped debris, abandoned vehicles, graffiti, derelict trailers and shanties, you name it, in every country we've traveled. Here is no exception, except -- I have yet to see any graffiti whatsoever.

You can tell that Japan has tried to create a "pack it in, pack it out" culture, which is pretty admirable. But is it practical? No one believes that every, or even any roadside turnout has surveillance cameras installed. Are many people tossing trash out of their cars willy-nilly, as was the custom in the U.S. up until the famous Italian-American actor Iron Eyes Cody guilted citizens into caring about polluting public spaces? I don't think so. I imagine it's a few people who just don't care, along with a few people who would gladly put their waste in a trash bin if they could find one. We tend to amass two to three times the waste here as we do in Europe or America, and even considerably more than we do in Korea. At some point, you simply can't contain it any more. Luckily, our mode of travel is such that it's easy and practical for us to visit several konbinis a day, where we can deposit our trash in its proper places.

I just hope this stuff is mostly limited to the roadsides. So far it seems to be the case.

A lot of today's ride looked like the photo below. Nothing to gawk at, but good, carefree riding. A few rollers, lots of mild descents, wind at our backs. Little drops of rain here and there; at other times, a hint of sunshine peeking through the clouds.

A previous journal entry included a custom "tobidashi" (warning of children running out into the street) sign. There have been many others, most of them not worth stopping for. I thought I should at least document the cookie-cutter version here:

He has a female counterpart, who one sees less often. This particular one happens to be hand-painted:

As we rode in to Himeji, we were happy to encounter a new graphic, which we like a lot. Bikers unite!

I can't imagine these signs are very effective. After a while they blend into the background of life on the road. It's not like a driver ever says, "Hey, that's the 45th tobidashi sign I've seen in the past five minutes. Maybe I should pay attention to it!" It's safety theater at its finest. Or maybe I'm just a cynic.

Thus Lawson has a lawn! We couldn't resist stopping for a latte. And I happen to be perfectly color-coordinated with it!

We also couldn't pass up the lone michi no eki of the day. It made for the perfect lunch spot. The ladies running the place were fantastic, as was the food.

There was one small climb towards the end of the day, which turned out to be very easy. Otherwise, we just cranked out the kilometers. From the main highway, we turned left on to a crooked country lane, which gradually became wider and straighter, leading us into the city, with all its stoplights and traffic. That slowed us down quite a bit. The occasional raindrops became more steady. We reached the hotel in a nick of time.

We've passed a few of these fields of pink flowers. I finally stopped and snapped a photo for posterity.

There was nowhere to park our bikes on site, but we found a row of paid bike parking slots just down the street. We had used this system in Kyoto. We're seasoned pros now!

We'll visit the castle tomorrow morning. For now, the only pressing matter was finding a place to eat dinner. I had my heart set on okonomiyaki, and I wasn't going to let anything get in the way of it. To that end, I did a Very Smart Thing™ by making an online reservation at a joint just a few minutes' walk from the hotel.

The food was great, but we were most impressed by the owner, who speaks English and was thrilled to provide a couple of foreigners their first taste of okonomiyaki. I don't mind plugging it. If you happen to be in Himeji some time, please stop by Okonomiyaki Teppanyaki Sou while you're in town!

As thanks for reading, please enjoy a couple of bonus manhole covers:

Today's ride: 72 km (45 miles)
Total: 2,053 km (1,275 miles)

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Ron SeguinCheck out Okonomimura when you’re in Hiroshima . Three floors of nothing but okonomiyaki restaurants.
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