This is my journey from Toyama, the coast of the Sea of Japan, back to Noda, near Tokyo. The whole journey was about 380 Km and took me 4 days going from the coast over the Northern Japanese Alps and back into flatland. Starting out from Toyama was a challenge as it rained hard throughout the night and drizzled in the morning when i got up at around 7am. I used the morning rain to check the Internet in Toyama eki (train station) for an hour and also to fill up on drinks here for free. I got back to the tent at 10am, packed up and got ready to leave. By now the drizzle had become rain again and I had to put on my `wet-suit` which is at least keeping me dry for a while. The road out from Toyama (R8) was pretty dense with traffic and it didn`t make it any better that it rained. I had to cycle on the road as the cycle paths were really challenging due to the many interruptions and unneccessary bents. These all sap of my energy so I prefer riding on the main road where there are less interruptions but one has to deal with cars who aim to overtake with as little distance as possible. The R8 then became more quiet and turned into a beautiful road along the coast (see picture).
After 30 Km the rain stopped and I really enjoyed the steep rises of the road and the curvy downhills through tunnels and past spectacular coastal scenery. I stopped many times to do video or to take pictures. By now I rode with the Kamikaze (holy wind) and on straights was able to do 40 Km/h - this was amazing and I set my target for doing as many Km today as possible. I got to Joetsu and was still on the coast where i put up my tent by the beach. I did 120 Km in 6h cycling and now needed a bath and food. The Hideki family (picture) let me have a bath in their home after they explained to me that the local public bath was closed for a few weeks and the one in the city was prohibitively expensive. They gave me also some packed lunch and we chatted a little while.
The next day I went onto R253 which lead me into the mountains and onto the R17 whiich I was going to follow almost all the way back to Tokyo. The R253 was not for the faint hearted as there were many steep climbs, quite a few lorries and no cycle path whatsoever. This road must have gone up to about 1000m above sea level and the last tunnel before going to Minamiounuma (phew...what a name) provided a really breathtaking view into the valley and the promise for a good and long downhill section (picture). Just what I needed now! With my adrenalin pumping through my venes I raced down at top speed, overtaking the occasional car, and into Minamiounuma where I had a nice bath, put up my tent near the river, washed my clothes in the river, had dinner and went to bed around 10pm pretty exhausted.
The next day was a hard day all along the R17 and through one of Japan`s winter sports resorts at over 2000m high (Naeda). The towns I cycled through seemd like ghost town with huge hotels, closed restaurants and sight of the lift stations and nice but green slopes. These towns only come alive in winter but in summer a few walkers and hikers make the climbs up the many mountains. This day`s ride took me through really narrow, slippery tunnels and I decided to put myself in the middle of my side of the road to stop lorries from overtaking me inside the tunnel if there was oncoming traffic. Inside the tunnels it seemed like cycling through streams of water running down and the dim light didn`t help either. Out of last tunnel, finally. Another really breathtaking view into the Numata valley signalled the end of the mountains (just small hills). The downhill into Numata was the longest of the whole journey and I did 20Km going down all the way into flatland. Making good progress I went onto the R354 to Isesaki. A small shrine was quickly found to put up my tent, have dinner, no bath and sleep. I got up feeling dirty from the last day`s ride but packed up being very excited as this was my final push to Noda. I followed the R354 to the R4 which would then take me to the R16 and to Noda. This was THE most annying cycling day ever. Some cars seemed to completely disregard me as a fellow traffic participant and it felt they aimed at overtaking with a max. distance of 25cm. At the traffic lights I would catch up with some and made wild gestures whilst cursing them in English. Whether it helped I am not sure but I made my point... The cycle paths were almost unusable for me due to their intelligent design ;) (see picture).
Today I did 80Km and got to Noda around 4pm. I was soo relieved, put up my tent in the temple again, found the local sento, a really huge one with different baths and saunas for only Yen 550. I bought some food and fell into a deep and long sleep having done almost 400 Km in the 4 days. The next days will be spent training here in Noda and recovering from the exciting but physically draining last 4 days. I am now at 71 Kg and need to eat my way back up again having nice fish and finding new ways of grilling and frying it. I am sooo happy that this whole journey passed without any accidents. My prayers at the different shrines and temples for a save and exciting journey must have worked. I feel really connected now also spiritually as I am kind of exhausted but in very high spirits and full of energy despite the `little` weight loss. I am looking forward to my last week here before returning home to loved ones, family and creating the life I have intended to have.
There will be one or two more posts concluding my adventure and before completing the 1000 Miles Challenge. In terms of distance I am now at 1630 Km (1012 miles - yeh) but will rake up a few more before the end of the week exploring the local neighbourhood.
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