Japan Kii Peninsula 2023 Part II

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 Hongu day ride 30km  (350m ascent).  Two onsen day.

On our first full day in Hongu, we got off to an early start and rode the main road into town. It was quiet around the giant Tori gate. Then we rode a steep back road to Yunomine onsen. It was not busy at the public onsen, so we both went for soaks in the modernized bath house. Even in Golden Week, the roads were not busy, so we took the tunnel route down to the Ota River and Kawayu onsen. We stopped at an outside hot pool for another soak.  I traded text messages on Whatsapp back and forth with our host, as he had offered to drive us to the Yunomine onsen and he was impressed that we had a double onsen morning.

We took the back roads back into Hongu town and ate at our favourite Shimoji Restaurant . We opted for a route on the east side of the Kumano River to return to our rental house. We hit a road closed sign but gambled that it would be passable (it was a holiday, so no one was working) and made it through without issue. We picked up a few more groceries from the nearby shop.

Hongu day rides , 45km (700m ascent). 

This was our second full day in Hongu; we had rented a house to carry us through Golden Week.

Glenn went for a 20km ride to see the reservoir to the north on the side roads of #168 to the Futatsuno Dam and Reservoir. The clouds were low, but rain held off. We then rode into Hongu itself for a second visit of the Kumano Hongu Taisha Temple and lunch at our preferred restaurant. Later, Glenn went for a spin up the nearby Mitsukoshi River including on a section of rare Japanese gravel road. I was surprised to encounter a couple of vehicles on my return, still on gravel, but it was the week-end and people often visit grave sites on weekends.

Hongu to Hosoharo, by vehicle.

It was forecast to rain all day (50mm), which it did, so we arranged for transport to our next destination and I was generous with payment. A big storm had been moving towards us for a number of days; it had soaked Kyushu and South Korea for days but we escaped with a relatively minor full day of rain. We could have managed to ride the section, but it would have involved either paying double for accommodation (I had already paid for the house we were staying in) or skipping Koyasan. It would have been a long ride with elevation gain and tunnels, so Sheila was particularly happy to miss that stage.

We stayed a lovely inn in Hosoharo ("Unkai no Sato no Yado") with an engaging host, who welcomed us well before our scheduled check-in. She introduced us to local foods, we wandered the village and in the evening a TV journalist who was also staying at the inn filmed us and interacted with us. It was an all-round enjoyable evening.

Hosoharo to Koyasan, 20km (550m ascent). 

After breakfast, we bid our friends goodbye and pressed on towards Tenguki Pass. As soon as we left the village, the road cranked up and we pushed our bikes up to the misty pass. Parts of the descent were as steep as the ascent and it wasn’t long before we were shivering. We quickly reached eastern Koyasan where we found a coffee shop to warm up in.

We parked the bikes and wandered the atmospheric Oku-no-In  cemetery. We stumbled on the daily 10:00am small procession to feed Kobo Daishi who has been in blissful meditation for the last 1400 years or so. 

Riding into town, we stopped for lunch at Kotobuki Restaurant for a splendid daily set meal (¥1000) and then worked our way through a couple of the major temple complexes (Danjō-garan  & Kongobu-ji), and over to the western Daimon gate before presenting ourselves at the Hachi Hachi Guesthouse. Our host spoke English and Chinese, but we stuck with English. He had worked at a Kyoto guesthouse before he and his wife had purchased a monk’s residence and converted it to a sparkling guesthouse catering to foreign and domestic visitors.

In the evening, our first choice restaurant was closed so we went down side streets to a sushi house where had had large chunks of raw fish on rice (nigiri sushi).  Afterwards, we had a wander around the Danjō-garan Temple complex that was lit up at night.

Koyasan to Dorogawa, 60km (1300m ascent).

Although the day’s distance was modest, it involved three big descents and ascents, bringing us from 820m to 850m. Once we reached the edge of Koyasan and passed through a short tunnel, we didn’t waste any time with a steep descent down the #371 above the  a branch of the Nyu River. Once we crossed the bridge, we headed up the main Nyu River, then along #733 past the edge of Higashifuki, a small up and then more descending. There were a few cement mixer trucks milling about and when we reached the junction of #168 and our intended un-numbered route, a non-talkative flagman signalled trouble. He was in no mood to enter into negotiations with foreign cyclists. The road closure schedule was posted and rather than wait another hour for the lunch time opening, we took the main road , #168, and we were fortunate that we had less than a handful of vehicles pass us on the long descent to a hamlet on the Mune River.

We then passed through a village and beyond it on the ride up on #49 that was splendid with mostly modest gradients after an initial steep pitch.  Once we reached #309, we opted to avoid a multi kilometre tunnel, and rode up the old #309 ( with an old tunnel up top). We went down to the outskirts of Tenkawa,to begin what we thought would be a short climb but it went on for longer than expected.

As we reached the outskirts of Dorogawa, a van cheered us on, then pulled over and the van guy insisted to give me ¥1000 "for tea". In Dorogawa, we looked for a lunch spot and the van guy came to help us find somewhere open for a late lunch, then he stuffed ¥5,000 in my pocket to cover lunch!

We stayed in a lovely onsen inn (Kanpuso Nishigi) with a bubbly young woman showing us around and later serving dinner in a private dining room, The elaborate meal and ryokan experience was memorable. Dorogawa was a classic charming onsen town that was nicely lit up in the evening.

Dorogawa to Yoshino, 37km (600m ascent).

The elaborate breakfast at the ryokan didn’t quite measure up to the quality of the dinner but it provided us with the energy to tackle the next climb. It started gently but the old road (#48) was a tiger, especially near the pass. We climbed (hike-a-bike) up 300m and down 700m in less than 10km. The pass at 1100m had a tunnel with a height limit of 2.3m. It felt more like a footpath than a road. We did encounter one slow moving vehicle along the #48.

We made a detour, out and back through Kurotaki and to Niu-kawakami Lower Shrine (yawn). The only obvious dining option in Kurotaki was a heated bento box from a Yamazaki convenience store. Convenience stores were few and far between  (we saw just two in a week). We had a natter with a Hawaiian-Japanese guy whose family was in the lumber business.

Heading further north on #48, traffic disappeared as we rode through forest. A steep and then easing #257 brought us into Yoshino. Other than a school group, Yoshino was sleepy and we parked the bikes on the main road to visit the main hall at Kimpsen-ji Temple . The 2nd largest wooden building in Japan had an ancient feeling (photos were not permitted of the massive statues within). 

We rode up to the Hounkan onsen hotel and we were served welcome tea and mochis. Our booking did not include dinner and the staff organized our evening meal, but the nearby soba restaurant closed at 4:00pm, so we ate early.  One of the staff accompanied us to make sure we didn't get lost. We enjoyed handmade soba served in a traditional setting. Then we walked down to the village and had ice cream and pie for dessert at a coffee shop. There were only a few guests at the inn so we had private soaks at the onsen.

Yoshino to Kashihara , 40km (500m ascent). 

The marvellous breakfast at the Houkan involved loads of little plates, then we returned to Kimpsen-ji Temple in morning light. We dropped down from the hills, through urbanization and across the Yoshino river, but quickly returned to a rindo (forest road). #15 was very quiet (except for croaking frogs); we encountered one road cyclist and no vehicles. It was the last steep forest road of the trip and then we entered a rolling hills area. We stopped at an ancient burial mound and then onto dense urbanization in search of lunch.

We enjoyed Tsukamen (ramen that you dip in accompanying broth)), then proceeded to the expansive Shinto Kashihara Jingu Shrine. Thereafter, we scooted around the Fujiwara Palace ruins , picked a few food items and then checked into the Candeo Hotel. The accommodation featured a splendid rooftop onsen. It took us a while to sort out our dinner venue, but we  finally ate pizza. Bike parking was a little awkward with the best option at the train station, so we hauled the bikes up the hotel elevator and kept them in the room overnight, so we could make an easier start the following morning.

Kashihara to Nara, 40km 

We self catered breakfast and made our way to the nearby Imai (early Edo period) neighborhood. We stayed close to a recognized pathway system, across the Nara Plain to extraordinary Horyu-ji. The stiff 1500¥ entry fee was well worth it. Some of the buildings date back to 600AD. We made a small detour for a tasty stop at a Rairaitei ramen restaurant (part of a chain),; a staff member hurried out the door to assist with parking our bicycles. After lunch, we rode onto Hokiji Temple, one of our favourites as it was atmospheric and quiet.

We rode to Koriyama Town and Castle. It was warm and sunny, and by the time we reached  the impressive Yakushiji-Ji complex, Sheila opted to sit it out in the shade. The temple tour continued at the less impressive Toshodai-Ji before heading into central Nara. We checked into the Daiwa Roynet and went for a dip in the onsen. The hotel had an non-secure bike parking lot behind the building, where we felt comfortable leaving the bikes overnight.

Central Nara is quite pleasant and we had a pleasant walk through the streets near the central train station. We opted for low cost Japanese curry meals at a Matsunoya  restaurant for dinner. 

Nara, 10km. 

We had a half day of sightseeing, followed by an afternoon rest.  We rode up the hill to Tōdai-ji and visited the Great Hall with the Great Buddha.  We rode through Nara Park, past deer and tourists over to Kasuga Taisha Shinto shrine. 

The volume of tourists increased and we dropped down into town, walked a couple of shopping streets and waited in a short line for a Tsukamen lunch. Nara was the first tourist city of our 7 week tour and it would be followed by Kyoto, shortly thereafter. 

Dinner was in the pleasant Yayoiken Nara Station Restaurant.

Nara to Fushimi district of Kyoto, 15km. Train assisted. 

We were looking down the barrel of a horrendous weather forecast of 50mm rain, with much expected in the afternoon. The original plan was to ride through the hills and tea farms, but the clouds were hanging low. We opted to take a train to Uji (8:37 Rapid Miyakoji), without incident, arriving at 9:14. Once we had reassembled the bikes, we rolled over to the Byodin Temple and paid the ¥600 admission fee. We were surprised by how busy it was, and later by the school groups (on a Sunday). The temple was enchanting. The museum was busy, so we moved quickly through it, but it did have some marvellous well presented pieces. At the entrance to the Byodin Temple museum, there was an attendant assisting people with putting their wet umbrellas into plastic bags but we were only wearing raincoats, so she wiped our jackets down so we wouldn't drip in the museum. We made a point of having matcha (powdered green tea) ice cream in the tea town of Uji. 

It was a flat ride along the Uji River to the outskirts of Southern Kyoto. The rain held off, permitting a visit to the Fushimi Castle ( very few other visitors). Then we rode down into town, through parkland and along the JR train line. We wandered the covered Fushimi arcade, ate a cheap lunch (we had promised to arrive at our house at 2:00pm). Our rental house turned out to be modern on the inside. We picked up groceries and then wandered the Fushimi ward streets, first on foot which seemed silly, so we went back to the house and completed our tour on bikes.

We had a full kitchen and self catered dinner.

Kyoto, 40km of temple bingeing.

We rode north on pathways and roads towards Kyoto, taking in 5 Shrines/Temples in the morning. We stopped for lunch at a wacky  okonomiyaki restaurant. That was followed by riding and walking through central Kyoto including the Nishiki market. We entered the eastern end of the market pushing our bikes, and it gradually became busier and busier, but somehow we managed to get through the length of the market with our bikes in hand. We visited two more temples in the afternoon, then headed for a mall for some groceries and we bought a number of items at a Japanese outdoor store (Montbell). We made it home and self-catered dinner. 

Was it too many temples in one day? Probably, yes. 

Fushimi/Kyoto to Osaka, 60km.

We got off to an early start with a forecast of warm temperatures. We largely kept to the east bank of the Yodo River on pathway. It was much better than riding on busy roads and more often development was not visible, but wasn’t the most exciting of riding. We turned left into Osaka and rode around Osaka Castle.

We lunched at a Nikusoba restaurant and then continued on to our hotel. Check-in wasn’t till 3:00 pm but helpful hotel  staff organized our bike parking and we left our panniers at the cloakroom and wandered the immediate area. We then rode over to the Road Bike Rental Japan office for 4:00 and collected cardboard boxes to package our bikes for their return home.

 The Osaka Station area is busy and sometimes bewildering with the multi-levels. It might have been me, but Google Maps didn't seem to work too well in the 3D world of Umeda, Osaka. I bought a few items at a central supermarket and we dined in the impressive food court.

Osaka, 25km tour. 

We started the day with a visit to a hardware store for packing materials.

We then did a 20km loop through Dotonburi, sometimes walking where it was congested. Dotonburi is a colourful, busy district and we would like to have wandered it in the evening, but we didn't make the effort. We had soups at a Uyghur restaurant for lunch. There are plenty of no parking bicycle signs around Osaka and the paid places are often full, so we didn't leave our bikes alone for long. By mid afternoon, we had recovered from our morning tour and did some shopping at Montbell and Daiso. We had Osaka style tempura for dinner.

I reckon that in a day and a half, that I had seen more people than in the previous ten years of my life combined. 

Osaka. 

Bike packaging took most of the morning. We walked to a Malaysian restaurant for a delicious lunch (¥950) and went up the Umeda Sky Building. In the afternoon, we had time for a little more Daiso & Montbell top-ups  followed by a visit to a material store. We spotted a popular yakitori restaurant that was closing at 5:00pm, so we had an early dinner.

In the early evening, we rode the Ferris wheel and wandered about with the weekday Umeda crowds. Initially, we had found the people numbers almost overwhelming but by our second full day in Osaka, we started to feel comfortable with the buzz and enjoyed going with the flow of people.

Transfer Day (Osaka-Vancouver Island).

We hauled the bike boxes a short distance to the Airport Bus stand and then checked the boxes in for the 3 flights home. The bicycle box process went as smooth as could be expected. We spent the balance of our cash in the airport and had a delicious lunch before loading on the ANA flight to Narita, connecting to Vancouver and then to Comox. The bikes and ourselves arrived without incident. Sheila found a Y10,000 note in her wallet when we got home.