November 10, 2024
Day 47: Iwakuni to Tsuwano
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Wow, what a day! Perfect riding conditions, low traffic, beautiful scenery, chance encounters, tasty food. And to think we seriously considered ditching the "official" route in favor of the industrial coast!
Komoot had us anticipating 1370 meters of climbing. As you can see above, in reality, it was less than half that. I have no single explanation for this discrepancy. Some small part of it could be that it doesn't account for tunnels. We rode through about a dozen today, but they were all short. What seems more likely is that OpenStreetmaps (the open-source maps both Komoot and Hammerhead use) has terrible elevation data for Japan. I'm not sure why that would be the case, but my experience bears it out.
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The rain subsided while we slept, and by the time we started riding, the only evidence remaining was wet pavement and a bit of fog. I had mentioned that Iwakuni is pretty small as cities go, but it was quite a while before we got to the point where our surroundings felt "rural".
The route looked really nice, and what little research I did indicated that we were in for a good ride. For whatever reason, I had my pessimist hat on, thinking that there had to be a catch, that every store was going to be closed, or there'd be an awful detour, or some impossibly steep climbs, or something. It didn't start out so beautifully, but it really got better and better with each kilometer.
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A michi no eki appeared at just the right time for our first sit-down break at, oh my gods, 2 1/2 hours into the ride.
Very soon afterwards, we left the Nishiki River behind, and the big climb of the day started. It wasn't really that big, maybe 250 meters of elevation gain at 4 to 6 percent grade. There were lots of tunnels in this section, but they were all short.
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At the crest of the climb, we encountered a bunch of flags and poles and lanterns. We thought it might be a shrine, but it instead appeared to be a cluster of restaurants. It was like Japan's answer to Wall Drug.
Our goal was to have lunch in Yoshika, the first town of any reasonable size along today's route. Don't get me wrong -- there are tiny villages scattered all along the highway. Most of them are on the other side of the river, along with the passenger train service. As far as I can tell, these villages offer few amenities, and the train seems to run very infrequently. We didn't see a train running in either direction all morning.
I had stumbled across an "organic" restaurant while searching, and the photos looked really good. It was out of the way, but we decided to take a gamble. It turned out to be a major highlight of the day. As we approached the building, it looked pretty run down, but a sign hiding behind the big cloth covering the entryway (those things must have a name) said that it was open. Taking a chance, we parked our bikes and opened the door. We were instantly greeted by the owner like we were old friends, and showed us to what was basically the only table in the place, right in front of an upright piano and behind a wood-burning stove (which had a fire in it!) It had to be the coziest restaurant I've ever been in. There were a few other people there, seated in chairs and barstools. Apparently we had arrived during an art event, in which the artist had her work hanging, and she herself was hanging out. The owner introduced us, and she and my wife had a long conversation while we waited for our meals. Three of her pieces were displayed in an even cozier and more rustic room next door.
The set meal below may look like rabbit food (it's the carrot), but it was pretty filling, and very delicious. All for 1100 yen, or about $7USD. I can't even get a decent lunch for twice that price in Seattle these days, which is why we don't eat out any more. But here it's a no-brainer. We could scrape a few things together at the konbini for about 800 yen, and we often do, but it's just feeding the touring tiger. A sit-down meal is a different beast.
They sell bread and other baked goods, so we bought a small boule for the road, thanked everyone for their hospitality, and coasted down the little country road that leads back to the highway.
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We were now following the Takatsu River downstream, which made for some fine and easy riding despite a slight headwind. An hour later, right on schedule, another michi no echi appeared. We bought some yogurt, and ate it along with more than half the bread.
We were captivated by the clarity of the water in the calm sections of the river, and by the deep emerald hue in the more turgid spots.
At Nichihara, we switched to Highway 9, and to the Tsuwano River. We were now wending our way upstream again. For the last couple of kilometers, we worked our way high above the water, only to ride through a tunnel and be dropped back down into the town of Tsuwano.
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Our hotel was super easy to find. They gave us a great spot in which to park our bikes. We feel very comfortable here. We ended up with a tatami room with no shower or bath. The onsen is the floor above, so we put on our yukata and scrubbed scrubbed scrubbed the road grime off, then soaked soaked soaked our tired bodies. Still tired, but it should help us feel better tomorrow.
Speaking of which, we have a short day tomorrow, so we will wander around Tsuwano (aka "little Kyoto") in the morning. Looking forward to it!
Today's ride: 96 km (60 miles)
Total: 2,723 km (1,691 miles)
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