Day 7 - Sunshine and Seaviews

119.2 km; 5hr 4min; (23.5km/h) Temples 39-40

Yet another perfect day on the road!

Early start for the service at 5:40am. Gaijin friendly couple offer me their rosary beads for the service and show me how to hold them properly between the fingers of both hands, and also point out where we are in reciting the sutras. The sutra is certainly hypnotic especially with the monk chiming the large bell. After the chanting, the head monk gives a long talk in Japanese, which appears to be amusing, but I understand no mor than its about some bloke who walked around Shikoku. So yes, to get the most out of a stay in a Shokubo you'd best understand more than the basic Japanese. But anyone is welcome, and you should stay for the atmosphere as it is certainly very friendly.　

The road north west from Ashizuri Misaki, along the west coast, is tremendous and I'd love to do a few circuits of this section of the ride if I had more time, but it's on to temple 39, Enkoji. Scenic route as any other and with the koinoburi flying in your direction you know you have a good tailwind.

Today seems to have brought the cycle henros out. One over enthusiastic youth is like a slave to the road and pilgrimage, I hope he takes a rest soon. He's carrying everything on his back, including a large trackpump, so I'm guseeing this is his first bike tour.
Another cycling henro is more friendly and we exchange osama fuda. These are the pieces of paper on which you write your name, address and a wish or prayer. You are meant to leave these at every daishido and hondo at all the temples, as a mark that you have visited, but they also seem to be used as business cards between henro.

After visiting the second and final temple of the day, Kanjizaiji, I find a good tourist map of the area at a road service area. These local maps are very useful, and this one leads me to a great camp site by the sea with a fantastic onsen on the opposite side of the road.
Can't get over how convenient it is to have onsen close to camping sites, again I can bathe, drink, eat and watch a bit of TV (mainly for weather reports) and write my diary. After that I head back to the campspot for a few more beers with a friendly retired Danish man and his Filipino "friend", as she was introduced.

Day 6 - South to Cape Ashizuri

116.3 km; 5hr 21min; (21.7km/h) Temples 37-38

Great sunrise this morning over the bay and the pacific ocean, this was a great camp spot and my gamble with the the falling boulder signs at either end of the road payed off. But in this country, falling boulder signs are not to be taken lightly as you would soon find out on any of the disused roads through the mountains. Earthquakes and landslides are common and my tent wouldn't have put up any resistance against rocks falling from above.
The day starts with a 6km climb up 七子峠 and I am guessing it the best time of day to climb up this section of route 56 in light traffic. Again, the climb up is rewarded with a much more gradual descent and I stop for breakfast at a combini with "henro priority" seating outside, I make the most of this with my coffee and pastries.

Only 2 temples today due to the distances in this area of Kochi prefecture. 37, Iwamotoji is the first and is distinctive for its painted ceiling but its otherwise small and I continue on south. I pass through Yokohama tunnel, and the coast appears at the southern end. Back to the ocean after the morning in the hills!

Happen across a pilgrims rest area at a point I need a rest. Beside the rest area a builders/architects temporary shed is in place, they are constructing a henro path from this point onwards. Its here I spot they have internet access and so I manage to ask for 10mins or so to check email etc. I've not seen any or been looking for any internet cafes on the route so far, but you'll find them for sure in any large town. Comic/internet stores are your best bet, and although some people stay over night in these places in Tokyo, I don't think the average henro would spend the night in one.

Cross the Shimanto river which is supposed to be the most beautiful in Japan, but maybe I'm not looking at its best side. I would guess the best region is further up stream, I'm just crossing near the estuary so it looks like many other rivers in Japan.

Up till now I've not been using my iPod touch for music at all, the scenery and finding the next temple has kept my mind busy. I've only used it as a dictionary and for the maps I'd loaded in before leaving Tokyo. I could get the whole way around Shikoku with my preloaded maps, but I've got a 1:50,000 scale road atlas for back up and its better for the overall picture and planning of the next day. Anyway, as theres a distance between the temples and I fancy some music I put on some Stone Roses and and am blissfully riding along that I miss my intended route along the east coast to Cape Ashizuri. Instead I end up with a choice of turning back, or going along the western road which I'll be returning on the next morning, or head over the top. I go for the latter, and its a bad choice. The road rises 450m over 6km, and at the end of the day this is almost too much for my left knee, it really is about to give up. SO much that it coasts up, carried on by my right leg alone. There's no need for this road at all, the route east or west around the coast are in great condition, and this central route doesn't even have a good view point so it is a final painful climb but again the reward of the descent into Ashizuri misaki almost makes up for the pain of the climb.

The temple at the cape, 38 Kongafukuji has a very tropical feel to it with the plants and landscaped lake in the grounds, plus the many turtle figures around the temple grounds.

I stay overnight at the shukubo here, its 5,800yen for the night plus two meals. Staying at the shukubo is a real opportunity to meet the henro and of course everyone will want to know why the foreigner is cycling around Shikoku. It's very difficult with Japanese who don't know a word of English, more luck if they know a few words, but you would definitely get the most out of the tour knowing more than a few basic phrases. As it is, I still don't know much after being here 2 years, but still they will all say 日本語わ上手ですね。But its a lie.

Set the alarm for 5:40am morning service, breakfast 6am!

Day 5 - Views of the Pacific Coast

87.9 km; 4hr 10min; (21.1km/h) Temples 32-36

This was another amazing day on the road. Wake up around 6am from the idyllic camping spot and make the short journey up to temple 32. Another henro is stirring from his shelter below the temple. Generally retired folk will be staying in minshuku and shukubo, but younger henro are camping or sleeping out in the open every night of their pilgrimage. Its very accepted here and as long as you set up camp late and leave early then no one will complain.

The temple of my year, 34, is Tanemaji. Its set amidst the flooded rice fields and I arrive amidst the incense and a very tuneful henro bus crowd. I buy a manga comic of the life of Kobo Daishi at this temple, I know that trying to read this will be a much more challenging adventure for me than cycling around the island and all its temples.

Temple 35, Kiyotakiji is the toughest climb of the day, but as it only rises 200m its not a big one - just steep, and that's after leaving my bags at the bottom of the climb. This temple is really attractive with a large buddha statue and a wide vista of the countryside you've just climbed out of.

After the sweet descent and a stop at Mos Burger (Japanese burger chain, really tasty and I needed the salt) it was south to one of the most attractive regions of Shikoku for me. There is a small peninsula which you arrive by bridge at the eastern end. The bridge is not so old and you used to need a boat to get the short distance across the water and on to 36, Shoryuji. The peninsula is a ridge about 10km long and about 250m in height but with steep cliffs and amazing views over the ocean. Shoryuji, the temple of the green dragon, is a very attractive with its waterfalls, pagodas and steep steps. In fact the aged henros climbing the steps seem to make more noise going up the steps than when they start chanting at the temple.

Very close to this temple is the Meitoku Gijuku International Boarding School. I saw all the signs in English, welcoming all nationalities etc and as I had been without an English guide book to this point I had the idea that they just might have some guide to the 88 temples in English. Why not, they are next door, it is part of the culture of Shikoku and it would help them learn English? Well that was my plan. Instead, I met the deputy headmaster Junichi Yoshida san, and then his nephew the headmaster of this prestigious school and of course its not every day that an Englishman arrives on the doorstep of such a school in the outer regions of Shikoku so I was dutifully shown around the campus. I was invited to talk briefly with all the best English speaking students and they were very impressive. I am sure this is one of the best schools in Japan, they have famouse baseball and sumo stars as their alumnee, but I was struck at how well behaved the children were and how polite they are to their headmaster. World apart form a school in Manchester, and also, what would happen to me if I turned up inside a school in Manchester in tight lycra clothing? Not worth thinking about.
Anyway, I then find out they have a second campus, which today is having an opening day for the new foreign (mainly Chinese) students and I am to sit through this ceremony in the guest seating area. Again, I am struck by how organised the whole procedure is and how precisely each student jumps up and says "hai" when their name is read out. Also I am aware that I am smelling a bit after the days cycling yet the kind teacher who is translating the events to me (perfect English) is pretending not to notice.
Of course all this time I am thinking "but what about temple 37?" but in reality its much nicer to accept the hospitality of the staff and appreciate their efforts. Also I am reminded that Junichi san is trying to teach me about the word en, 縁 I think thats correct, which means fate or the mysterious force that binds two people together. So on this day "en" had brought me to this amazing corner of the world, I am happy with that.

Back up the hairpin bends and onto the ridge, the remainder of the peninsul is a joy to cycle. Definitely one of the best roads on the island.

Soon stop for ramen at a michi no eki (roadside service area) and pick up a tourist map, and more importantly discover theres a great onsen not far away in Kuroshio, Nakatosa town. Its the perfect end to a great days cycling, the onsen is set on a 100m cliff top above the ocean with views over the bay and lighthouse. Perfect temperature as well so its an onsen to spend some time in, but quite pricey for a nights stay so roll down the hill to a road which has been closed for long enough that a good layer of moss has grown on around the verges - perfect for a soft nights camping.

Day 4 - Confused in Kochi

124.7 km; 6hr 18min; (19.7km/h) Temples 24-31

Very clear skies at Cape Murato this morning as they were last night. It was the first time in a long while since I had seen the milky way so clearly, and that was through the window from my room in the minshuku as it was too chilly to go outside. Might not have seen this were it not for Junichi san,in the room next door to mine, being called several times through the night by his office Sumitomo with some system admin type questions - the paper thin walls don't mask the phone ringing at all. He didn't seem bothered about being on call 24hr even on his holiday, laughing at how simple the questions were.
Short & sweet & steep up to temple 24, Hotsu-Misakiji up a raised road full of hairpins which gradually rewarded us with a larger vista over the ocean. Junichi san joined in the pilgrimage to temples 24 & 25 as they are no major diversion from the main road. But he did find that walking to 24 in cycling shoes was more tiring than the ride up the hill, due to the hard cleat road shoes he had on. So at temple 25, Shinsojo, in the very scenic fishing port of Murato, he changed his footwear to trainers as its another temple with a long, long set of steps up from the main gate to the hondo and daishido.

After that, Junichi san set sail off towards Kochi along route 55 once more as I took out and back diversions to temples 26 & 27. At temple 26, Kongōchōji, I give a short interview to a journalist for the Sanyo Shimbun who is himself walking the entire meguri. I am able to answer a few basic questions in Japanese, but at least he seems genuinely happy to have reported a gaijin henro. Don't know if I made the paper, but I make it onto his blog at least.

I give the prize to the steepest road climb of the meguri to temple 27, Konomineji. The sign at the bottom says only 4km, but as its over 400m and we're starting from sea level, plus the first section is a easy rise through some terraced rice fields, its only going to get steeper. The hairpin bends at the top just below the car park bring back memories of Hardnot and Wrynose pass in the lake district, but with much tighter hairpins. Still I've a triple chainring and it gets up anything even if it quite slowly. The relief at arriving at temples on mountain tops always means you can appreciate the grounds and setting more, and its nice to relax and have a walk, pay your respects and the stamp in the nokyocho feels well earned.

Feels like a longish ride along the coast to temple 28, might be the fair headwind but the warm conditions make it enjoyable. Some sections along route 55 have a decent cyclepath which is appreciated as the road is getting busier towards Kochi city.

For some reason reason I have the mistaken belief that I can get to temple 34 at this point and stay at an onsen nearby. Its clear at this point, on the outskirts of the city that temple signage in Kochi ken is far from the comprehensive signage of Tokushima ken. I make a small U turn on the way to 29 after missing a junction but not a major error. Its clear on the way to 30 which I completely understimated the distance to, that the target end point for the day will need to be reduced. I think its due to the scale in my road atlas changing between pages.

In the end, after cycling off road through the paddy fields, I arrive not lost or off course, just bewildered at the distance and time it took to get there. Also here I visit the adjacent shinto shrine which is huge and mighty impressive. Its quite refreshing to see the different architecture in the buildings here. Its clear that nobody is around, all the pilgrims are at the Zenrakuji which is very small and unremarkable. Its a bug business being on the henro circuit, and almost feels a shame that the shops of the shinto shrine here are deserted.

31, Chikurunji temple with its large 5 storied pagoda is on a hill with panoramic views of Kochi city, and so is an impressive temple to end the day.

So after temples close at 5pm, its very tempting to cycle as close to the next temple as possible in order to maximise the next days henro time. No minshuku or shukubo here, but find a fantastic spot just 400m below temple 32 with views towards the ocean. Tonights meal is just down the hill in an izakaya, soba and beer is enough to fill me up. Chef is utterly amazed that a foreigner has arrived in his establishment. As I am seated by the serving counter, he sits the other side and unnervingly watches me eat and write my diary.

Time to buy breakfast from close Lawson on the other side of the lake, and its back to tonights campsite for a good nights sleep, made easier by the soft sandy base and the warmer conditions.

The lesson of the day is to take each temple as it comes, and enjoy the moment at each temple without thinking about the one 5 down the road.

Day 3 - Road South to Cape Murato

137.9.0 km; 6hr 4min; (22.6km/h) Temples 20-23

This was an amazing days cycling! Ive never taken so many photos and videos in a day, I could have filmed the whole day and watched it again.

Early start 6am for breakfast, its a wonderful experience to roll the bike out of the temples porch area and walk through the grounds back through the main gate to Tatsueji. Its a chilly start but this does not last long as we're soon on the slopes up to Kakurinji, temple 20. The first 2km are steady, but the final 3km is the real tough part of this climb, I would say 14-15% in places. This section is an out and back road from the the main road and this is a pattern for most of the bigger climbs. This means you can leave your panniers and tent at the bottom of the climb, go visit the temple, then descend back to your luggage and reload. I would be very surprised if you have any problems doing this yourself, I would think it more likely a wild animal might have a sniff at your bags rather than anything be stolen by humans in Japan. If you're concerned, just leave a message marking them as henro luggage to be sure.

Great to get a first view of the distant ocean from Kakurinji, only a few hours away now. Beautiful roads along a wide river in a deep valley on the way to Tairyuji, temple 21. This is the first cable car of the route, theres another one at 66 and 85. Of course you can walk to them all, and its possible to cycle to all the temples as well, but this one and 66 I'll enjoy the lift. Here I buy a one way ticket and take my bike up the cable car, but be warned its a steep descent down the east side and the road is very broken plus sticks, leaves and stones litter the surface.

More great scenery, koinoburi (large carp shaped windsocks, flown around this time for families sons ) flying high above and between houses and rice fields on the route. I head to route 55 which is the road south, it goes all the way from Tokushima to Murato Misaki as far as Kochi. For a main road, its sooo quiet! The distance can really be eaten up on this road, long gradual climbs and the descents just go on forever.
I hadnt planned on cycling much further than Byodoji, temple 22, but I end up teaming up with Junichi san who is trying to cycle around the island in 5 days! Hes one day delayed now because of the heavy rain on Saturday, so its a massive 200km down to Murato Misaki for him today. So with a tail wind from the storm still blowing and help from Junichi san, we make rapid progress along the pacific coastline.

Some nice surf beaches here, I think Uchizuma is one of the best. Not a surf town at all, so if you want to reach the waves here you'll need some transport as I dont see any surf rental shops around. Nice to watch, but no real desire to get into the ocean at this point, the cycling is too good at the moment.

Just route 55 skirting the eastern side of the cape, virtually no traffic, and the sea to our left, powered by Family Mart energy gels it feels great to speed down the coastline southwards.

We arrive at Cape Murato just after 5pm and find a minshuku (B&B) absolutely on the southerly point of the cape, again 6000yen is the cost here. The minshuku has a nice bath, good to get cleaned up then explore the shoreline of the cape.
Later the minshuku owner shows us her 88 temple scroll which is incredibly expensive and we are honoured to be shown the scroll, but I dont understand much else about what she is telling us about it.

Minshuku have sentaku (washing facilities) by the way, so a very useful place to wash and dry all your clothes after the first few days. I recommend this pattern of camping a few nights then use minshuku for washing clothes, better nights sleep every few days and I'll do that again in the future. There are still many coin operated laundries by the side of the road, especially in larger towns, so its no problem to wash clothes.

Day 2 - Spring / a nameless hill / shrouded in mist.

50.0 km; 2hr 14min; (22.4km/h) Temples 13-19

The predicted rain arrived just before midnight, and thankfully my tent is under shelter as the owner of the campsite recommended. Its near typhoon rain, hitting the shelter hard and later the wind picks up to gale force. No way was I going out in that, so its sit around the campsite reading all morning. The rain continued till after midday, and I had given up hope of any cycling this day and was busy packing for a day in the onsen when the rain stopped at 1pm as suddenly as it had started. The best thing about storms like this in Japan is that generally the next few days will be warm and dry, and in fact the great weather lasted the next 12 days.

Kamiyama onsen is still a few hundred meters above sea level, so the ride was all downhill back to temples around Tokushima. Great scenery, clouds clearing away from the mountains and mist rising off the forests, it was a great feeling descending beside the surging rivers.

Temple 13 was crowded and my first experience of the henro bus tours. My greatest fear, this is what could slow the whole pilgrimage right down. Most pilgrims travel by car or bus, but when the bus tours turn up the tour guide takes a sack load of nokyochos/scrolls/clothing to be stamped and signed. Its only at times like this that several monks are enlisted to stamp the seals of the temple, and the only time the peace and tranquility of the temple is more distant.

The road from 17-18 was fantastic - route 203 climbing steadily for 3km over a hill which means you can avoid any heavily developed areas of Tokushima city. More wisteria in bloom, mist really clearing away and the skies becoming bluer by this time. Surprised not to see the sea from the top of this climb and descending the east side, more hills and buildings obscure the not too distant coastline.

Onzanji, Temple 18, was a great setting tooked away up a small hill again in dense forest. Nearly all the temples which are off the flat have many steps leading away from the car/bus parks. I think this is great for the long cycle tourist, it means you get to use other muscles and have many breaks from cycling during the day. The bus henro might not agree - they all tend to be pensioners, so any number of steps leading to temples leaves them out of breath.
At the nokyocho I ask how far it is to temple 19. I worked out it was around 5km away, but the nuns said it was impossible to get there before 5pm (when the temple closes) as it was now 4:40pm. So my first race challenge is on! Across more rice fields, around 38kph and memories of training with Tokyo Cycling Club come flooding back as I keep the pace going and keep looking up for the small red henro signs, or any other signposts pointing the right irection. In fact, Tokushima is so well signposted you really dont need a map. Not so in Kochi ken, but that is later. I could have made a wrong turn at the last section, but my judgment is good and my choice at a junction leads me to the honmon, main gate of the temple.
Just before 5pm I get to the temple grounds and even have to excuse myself from over friendly monk trying his English as I get to the Nokyo to sign my book. Once its done, its a great feeling to relax and fully absorb the setting knowing its the end of the day and its been another great day.

Tatsueji, temple 19 is my first stay at a shukubo (temple lodging). And its a really nice place to stay. Big room, it even has tv, and dinner is vegetarian in a communal area so I meet the others staying at the temple. Only 5 others tonight, 2 are walking and the other 3 travel by car. Also, good to find out that beer and alcohol is not taboo in the shukubo! The cost is 6000yen to stay here, evening meal and breakfast. This temple has an evening service, and Im just too late to attend, so its eat, bathe and relax after a short days cycling, but thats good as there are big hills and a long way to travel the next day.

Day 1 - Journey to Burning Mountain Temple

98.0 km; 4hr 59min; (19.6km/h) Temples 1-12

The night bus from Yokohama to Matsushige was remarkably comfortable, 3 single seats in a row and even enough leg room for me to recline and get a decent nights sleep. Night buses always involve stopping at service stations, but still I arrive on Shikoku island just after 6am and ready to peddle off to temple 1 to start the meguri.

A short 12km peddle to Temple 1, and the first stop is the shops to the front of the temple. All the henro needs are found in this shop including the Henro kasa (straw hat), white robes and the walking stick to symbolize Kobo Daishi. If you haven't bought an English guide to the temples yet, buy one here as you won't find another one until temple 42 as I discovered.
You can buy everything else at almost all the temples, so topping up your incense stick supply or candles or even if you lose your nokyocho (book to collect stamps/seals) its no problem.

I spent a long time trying to decide on which Nokyocho to buy, as I knew this would soon become one of the most treasured items of the pilgrimage. More than a book of stamps, at each temple a monk or nun will stamp the book with the name and mantra of the temple, and then write the same very skilfully with large calligraphy brushes. There are many sizes of nokyocho, all surprisingly at the same price. I went for one with the images of the 88 temples lightly printed on each page, the adjacent page being empty ready for the ink and stamps of each temple.

Be aware that theres another shop inside temple 1 which has a better ambiance so you might prefer to buy your goods here rather than the more supermarket style first shops you see when approaching Ryozenji.

The first few temples are close together, barely 4-5km apart and although unspectacular they are still atmospheric and in good condition.

Dainichiji (Temple 4) is a in an attractive setting and its clear that this is a great time to visit the area. The forest and valleys are lush green and are frequently coloured in purple patches by the flowering wisteria.
At this time of year the rice fields are being irrigated for the first time of the year, if not already flooded. This brings the frogs out as well, they start croaking with glee with the return of the water and the noise although not deafening is as constant as the sound of the cicadas, the sound of hotter more humid times.

I soon make progress to Kirihataji (temple 10) and its very nice to sit and listen to the story of the temple by an old man who seems to be a caretaker of the grounds. Hes sweeping away leaves from the many steps up to the temple area but takes time to write in perfect English the story in my diary. While hes writing, a delivery van descends the very steep hill close to where we are sitting, and over cooks the hairpin bend till hes stuck in the trees. No chance of reversing, the road is too steep. So it takes 5 henros including myself to sit at the back of the truck to put weight on the rear wheels until the driver gets traction and he can navigate the tight bend back down the hill.

I make a big blunder whilst getting my nokyocho stamped and signed by taking a photo without permission. The nun is very old, and she is utterly offended by having her photo taken, I am really embarrassed and delete the photos and can only say sorry. I was really surprised, as there is generally no restrictions on taking photos around any of the temples. So after this point, I make sure I ask permission before taking a photo when people are the subject.

Around these early temples which are tightly packed its far faster travelling by bike than car. This means I keep seeing the same car henros, they are amazed how fast I travel, and even more so at the top of burning mountain temple, number 12 and the second highest temple of the 88 temples.

The route to temple 12 is perhaps the best climb of the meguri. I approached it from Kamiyama so it rises gradually for 5-6km along a large river, but the final 5km average 10%. The road winds up through thick bamboo forest then dense pine dotted with more flowering wisteria and eventually the temple complex after a short walk.

Its really great to relax at the temples and climbing the big mountains to arrive at such scenic locations and seal it with a stamp in the nokyocho makes the ride all the more enjoyable.

Great descent as well, then I make my way to Kamiyama Onsen which has a camp site behind the baths. Onsen are going to feature heavily on the pilgrimage. Not only a bath at the ned of the day, but you can always relax in the rest areas, write a diary and recharge the camera/ipod batteries. Plus they all have great food so you dont need to leave the building till it closes, then its back to the campsite.

Great first day - I had thought the early temples around Tokushima would be a built up area, but it turned out to be very scenic rolling hills and rice fields.

Pilgrim eve

Bags are just about packed, now just waiting to take the bike to Yokohama and get on the night bus to Matsushige, near Tokushima and the start of the Shikoku pilgrimage. The pilgrimage starts in Tokushima as its the closest point on Shikoku to Koya san in Wakayama prefecture. Koya san is the headquarters of the Shingon sect of buddhism and is the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi, and many of the pilgrims (known as o henro) will visit this temple complex before or after the Shikoku 88 temple tour.

Weather looks decent tomorrow, terrible on Saturday but after that its going to be a great temperature for cycling. So lets hope the bike (and me) make it to the island in one piece for an early start tomorrow morning. Little chance of a good nights sleep though, these night buses can be a real pain, but its half the price of the train, and gets me there nice and early instead of wasting half a day.

Here goes...

Final Hanami Ride of 09

The peak of cherry blossom in Tokyo was around Tuesday, 7th April so by now the flowers have all but blown away into the rivers leaving pink river banks in the intertidal regions. You don't have to go too far into the hills to find the blossom again, as its a few degrees cooler further inland, but this will be the final ride in the cherry blossom for this year.

Getting wamer now, the sign above the road at the start of the climb behind Takao san was 23 degrees at 10am, some areas of Tokyo were up to 27 yesterday. Spring is a very brief period indeed in Japan, passing from the snow and ice to hot and humid almost with the 2 week period of the cherry blossom.
For us, it made for a very pleasant day in the sunshine with the cherry blossom gently falling like snow. If it wasn't for the 161km and ascent of Wado Touge, it would have been a very pleasant ride.

The route was the same as my Return to Wado Touge route, plus a very nice extension south of Sagamiko lake. Very quiet roads to the south of the lake, most traffic continues on to Yamanaka ko and towards Fuji san.

With the return of Thomas and Sergey this week, the pace is faster but thats OK as the main section of the ride from Takao station and back is only 75km.

Thinking that would be the toughest part of the day over, we head along the still in bloom Asagawa before linking up with the Tamagawa for the run home, only to find a strong headwind which is going to bring the pace right down again. At least it means its safer cycling through the prams, roller bladers, backwards walkers and toy dogs which are constant obstacles along the riverbank cyclepaths every weekend.

This is my final long ride before the tour starts in 2 weeks, I wont be doing anything like this distance in Shikoku. Nice to relax on a Sunday morning as well, glad I don't have to go out and do another 100km today....

Is it possible?

Is it physically possible to complete the pilgrimage in 2 weeks? I'm now having doubts, having read through more accounts and meeting up with an experienced Henro san in Shibuya last week. Its going to be Golden Week, the busiest time for bus loads of henro. Even if it takes a minimum 10 mins to get the nokyocho signed with calligraphy and stamped, thats still going to be 880 min or 14hrs 40min, even if I find the temples on time!

I think the mileage is doable, but delays locating temples, climbing up to them and general faff, its going to be a tough challenge to complete in 14 days.

Okumasushi Madness

This weeks tour of the mountains north west of Tokyo took involved another train ride out to the start and finish point, Ome, just over half an hour from Tachikawa.
From studying the route using terrain view on Google maps, its very hard to spot any flat in this ride at all. And in fact there was none. Even the supposed "ridge" after the main climb of the day was undulating to say the least.
This week the usual suspects were Alan & Naomi, Dave and Patrick. New faces (at least to me) were Deej on his new bike "Black Thunder" and Brett. On a scale of 1-10, the gears on Deejs new steed go to 11 - I didnt know they went that far, and that means my triple chain ring only gave me a 2 gear advantage on him.
His first ride on the new bike, and he rode out to Ome and back - a massive 228km for the day !!

It was the first day of spring for the bikers, with the arrival of cherry blossom means we can now cycle in shorts without fear of blizzard conditions on the mountain tops.

Too many passes and climbs today, but the big one is called Sadaminetoge. Its a small winding track through great scenery, gradually rising 650m climb over 12km, except the final 2km which must have taken the majority of the ascent. When you start seeing the circles in the concrete road, to prevent ice and such in winter, you know you're on the steepest sections. Couldnt imagine doing this climb in summer.
Descent was fun due to aggressive speed bumps across the road as well as rock slides, but it was possible to weave your way down without hitting them too hard. Although Alan learnt this after the first few, his water going flying after he was launched into the air by one of the bumps. Still, it keeps the roads clear of racing motorbike gangs.
Other than that one, the descents were fantastic, and speeding through the 2km tunnel downhill before the start of the final climb was exhilarating to say the least. I really dont like these long tunnels, its always best to stick to the middle of the road to prevent any vehicles from even thinking about passing on the way down. As it was, we were on the breaks due to the traffic on this occasion.

Anyway, its a tough ride. A long day in the saddle, and good training for whats to come in only 3 weeks time now.