As cyclists, we love a hotel which understands that our trikes deserve a safe place to spend the night. When we pulled up to the Marriott and saw how nice it is, we thought, oh no….this could be a problem. But as you can see, the staff at the hotel were great. They quickly ushered us in with our trikes and sectioned off an area near the front desk for their storage. Arigato gozaimasu!
We loved it here and as a result we stayed on for a second night.
We want to visit the Toyotama Shinto Shrine before we head out of town. Toyotamahime-jinja is famous as the goddess of beautiful skin and being located in Ureshino, it is one of Japan’s 3 major hot springs connected to beautiful skin.
There are many shrines in the area. We really enjoyed visiting this one as its significance is unique. The entrance to the shrine is the length of a city block with pink lanterns lining the path.
Since the Shrine is devoted to Toyotahamine, a woman…the lanterns are pink and note the white catfish. The presence of the catfish throughout will be explained below.
The white catfish that is seen frequently throughout the shrine and is said to be Toyotamahime’s messenger. Since ancient times, people have been praying at this Shrine for the recovery of skin diseases.
Ginkgo trees, in all their fall splendour. The ginkgo and Japanese maple trees will be a wonderful memory for us as their colourful foliage has been spectacular.
A most necessary stop after touring a shrine is to find a Conbini and enjoy coffee and a sweet. Life is good. Barry is having his favourite treat…red bean and cream pancake and I am trying a new treat…a Madeline cookie with chocolate inside. Both were delicious.
The photo below is at a Conbini (convenience store) and we appreciate the work done by the staff to make their location special and festive.
It is fun to be in Japan during the Christmas season. Everywhere we go, it is festive with decorations, Christmas music and colourful lights. However, unlike at home, gift giving is not part of their custom. The focus is on food and decor - fun without the stress.
This lovely traditional Japanese home is what a farm house looks like in this part of Japan. We see most local people riding bikes to do errands in their daily life.
This is a relatively new tunnel. Note how quickly nature is taking over the structure. Some areas we ride through resemble a jungle with the lush growth of plants taking over everything in their path.
We madeup a route from Ureshiro to Kashima to connect with a Ride with GPS route Barry has created. We are getting better at making up routes which is quite liberating. We prefer not to ride on big roads with cars and trucks. It makes for a better day to explore quiet and less buys roads and villages.
Many of the breweries like Kirin and Sapporo make non alcoholic beverages like this lemon drink thais loaded with vitamin c. Lately I have been loved a hot tea with milk made by Kirin. Vending machines sell cold and hot beverages.
Seeing this Buddha statue alongside the road, we couldn’t just ride on by. What a happy sight it is to see this Buddha with his infectious smile. It would be hard to be in a bad mood when faced with this guy.
This sign is welcoming people to their “ Harvest Town”. The land here is flat as a board and is producing vast crops of rice, garlic, cabbage and other vegetables.
We have been riding for some time in this flat, wide open rural area…not a tree or bush to be found. This was a problem for us. We both desperately needed a bathroom. We finally found a Conbini on google maps a few km in a different direction. We flew. But unlike other Conbinis, this one was a bit of a Fawlty Towers. The clerk was pretty off beat and the bathroom was a broken down piece of plumbing history. Nothing worked. We visited and made a hasty retreat.
This farmer had the smart idea of using bicycle wheels for the cart that is used to pull up and down the rows collecting crops. The height allows for clearance.
