Entering the Urban Sprawl of the Kanto Plains

Today I begin the last 3 days of my journey - my 100km ride into the heart of the Tokyo metropolis spread out over the Kanto Plains. First stop, Kumagaya City in Saitama Prefecture, northwest of central Tokyo.

Leaving at around 8am this morning was a huge mistake. Due to the heavy rush hour traffic, I had to ride on the pavements all the way from Kiryu City to Isesaki City on my way to Kumagaya. But that wasn`t the worst of it!

Somehow, I guess all the schools in the area are located in Kiryu City because even as I was riding south out of Kiryu, there were throngs of teenaged school kids riding their bicycles in the opposite direction, going into Kiryu. Of course, this meant that they took up most of the pavement and every few minutes, I had to get off my bikes to let them pass through! This made my journey to Isesaki City rather draggy but as everyone went off to work/school, the streets became less crowded and the ride more pleasant.

Entering Saitama Prefecture

Crossing the bridge into Saitama

Finally, after more than 30 days since I left Fukuoka in the beginning of May, I see directions for `Tokyo` on the street signs!

The rest of the way was rather uneventful except that it started to drizzle a bit just as I entered Kumagaya City. According to the weather agencies, Japan is officially entering its rainy season now, so I guess the next few days are gonna be wet ones!

Goodbye to the Japanese いなか （Ｃｏｕｎｔｒｙｓｉｄｅ）

Leaving Nikko at 7am today, I head for the final pass of my journey - Hosoo Pass. Compared to the other passes, this one was more like a hill, at 964m above sea level. Taking national highway #122 through the top of the pass, I leave Nikko City and head for Kiryu City, my stop for the night.

The way to Kiryu was a nice countryside road along the side of the mountains. Very pretty and probably my last chance to cycle on such roads!

Downhill from Hosoo Pass

Below is the entrance to Ashio Town, which was along national highway #122.

Taking a break at Kusagi Lake and Kusagi Bridge

The Road, the Rail and the River

My last glimpse of the Japanese countryside

As I rounded this final curve in the road, the urban sprawl of the Kanto Plains greeted me even as I said goodbye to the beautiful Japanese countryside.

Nikko National Park

Today is my 3rd day on the Japan Romantic Road and it brings me to the city of Nikko. The way to Nikko from Katashina Village goes through the Nikko mountains and crosses Konsei Pass. The roads are quiet, there is greenery on both sides and this route also traces the banks of a few lakes, including the famous Lake Chuzenji.

The road to Konsei Pass (1,850m above sea level)

As I clear Konsei Pass, the serene Lake Yunoko with emerald green waters come into view. From here, it would be a downhill coast straight into the heart of Nikko City.

Clearing Konsei Pass and entering Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture

Lake Yunoko

Further downhill, I pass by the marshlands of Senjogahara (Plains of the Battlefield). I guess quite a few battles must have been fought here in the past, thus the name of Senjogahara. Pity I was a little too early as these marshlands are supposed to be filled with flowers in the summer!

In front of Senjogahara

A glimpse of Lake Chuzenji from the mountains

The ride into Nikko City was effortless. I went down slope after downhill slope as I covered almost 30km without even pedalling. The scenery was great, and with all the trees and lakes in view, it was like cycling through one huge park!

Nikko City - surrounded by mountains

Entering Nikko City, I checked into the Nikko Park Lodge owned by the friendly Sakamoto-san. Leaving my stuff at the lodge, I went to take a walk around the city. Most of the area`s attractions were out of the city, so I guess I`ll visit them again when I come back next week with Eugene and the others.

I did take a photo of the lovely Shinkyo Bridge though. Like the Kintaikyo Bridge in Iwakuni, this bridge is a designated national treasure. Its a beautiful red, and in winter it turns white with snow.

I spent 2 nights in Nikko to rest my legs before I start on the final leg of my journey towards Tokyo. Didn`t see much of Nikko though, cause I`ll be back again in about a week`s time!

Fukiwari Falls - The Niagara Falls of Japan

It was raining again as I left Numata City. Today, I had 1 pass to clear - Shiizaka Pass. Good thing, it wasn`t as steep as expected, and I got over it without too much trouble.

As I approached Katashina Village, where I would be staying for the night, I passed by the Fukiwari Falls. This waterfall is rather interesting in that instead of looking at it from the bottom up, you stood at the top and looked down.

Fukiwari Falls is actually a fast flowing whitewater river that caused certain parts of the riverbed to be drastically eroded. This erosion resulted in sudden drops in the riverbed, thereby causing the water to fall too. Here it is known as the Niagara Falls of Japan.

The fast flowing river before the falls

A bridge that connected the hiking trail around the area

The sudden drop-off causing the waterfall

Huge amounts of water - I could feel the spray from where I was standing

After the water drops down to the lower riverbed, it continues its flow

Until there is another drop-off

By the time I got to Katashina Village, it had been raining throughout the day so all my clothes were soaked. Lucky for me, the rain wasn`t that heavy when I was at Fukiwari Falls, otherwise it would have been difficult to take photographs.

Anyways, spent most of the afternoon drying my stuff and preparing for the one of the last mountain passes of my trip - Konsei Pass into the Nikko region.

Japan Romantic Road

Today, I leave Kusatsu Onsen and head for Numata on my way to Nikko. The route that I will be taking is called the Japan Romantic Road, a 230km stretch of national highway that starts from Ueda City in the west and ends in Uchinomiya City in the east.

Leaving Kusatsu Onsen, it is mainly a downhill ride of about 20km to the small town of Nakanojo. As I left Kusatsu, the clouds were looking rather threatening, and by the time I reached Nakanojo, it had started to drizzle lightly. I was still around 40km from Numata City, where I was supposed to stay for the night.

From Nakanojo, it was a gradual uphill ride to towards the city of Numata. The slopes weren`t very steep, but it was rather uncomfortable riding in my rainjacket. Furthermore, the roads to Numata were rather narrow and many times, there were no pavements to ride on at all!

All in all, my ride from Kusatsu to Numata wasn`t very romantic at all, save for the couple of `intimate` moments that I had with the 18 wheeler trucks that were passing me by..... hahaha...

Map of the Japan Romantic Road

Risking getting my N95 wet for a picture of the `Romantic` Road

Kusatsu Onsen - #1 in Japan

Shibu Pass Hotel is located right at the top of Shibu Pass and according to the owner, this spot is the highest point of Japan`s National Highways. Apparently, Norikura Skyline Road is a prefectural road and not a national highway.

Anyways, the owner said the sunrise from Shibu Pass was beautiful and and that on a clear day, you could even see the peak of Mount Fuji from the pass. So, I set my alarm for 4am in the morning.

Unfortunately, as you can see below, it was a foggy morning. As I strolled 10 minutes to the lookout point, I could barely see 10m in front of me. But still, I presevered in the hope that the fog would clear in the next few minutes.... I was wrong... haha...

A walk in the fog

Shibu Pass Lookout Point at 0430hrs

Shibu Pass Lookout Point at 0930hrs

The couple who owned Shibu Pass Hotel had a 12 year old golden retriever named Indy. She wanted to follow me for my 430am walk to Shibu Pass Lookout Point, but I didn`t know how to undo the chain that tied her to her little doghouse...

Indy

Breakfast by the fireplace

Another interesting point of Shibu Pass Hotel is that its built on the prefectural border of Nagano Prefecture and Gunma Prefecture. The white line that I`m standing on below is the prefectural boundary and the dark brown part of the building is Nagano Prefecture while the light brown part of the building is in Gunma Prefecture. Just in case you were wondering, I slept in Nagano Prefecture that night and had my meals in Gunma Prefecture....

The only guest for the night - ME

Leaving Shibu Pass Hotel at around 9 plus, I start the downhill ride towards Kusatsu Onsen. Along the way, I go through Yamada Pass. Since Shibu Pass is at a higher altitude than Yamada Pass, this is the only time in my entire journey that I got to go through a mountain pass without having to climb up to it first!

The Eastern Shiga Highlands

These slopes become a beautiful montage of red, orange, green and yellow in the autumn

The long winding downhill roads - Reward for climbing a mountain pass

About 5km downhill from Shibu Pass, I come across Mount Shirane. Interestingly, there are 2 Mount Shirane`s in Japan, only 1 prefecture apart. Here, in Gunma Prefecture is Mount Shirane of Kusatsu. Further east, in Tochigi Prefecture, is Mount Shirane of Nikko. The propietors of Shibu Pass Hotel said it would be worth the stop to take a look at Mount Shirane of Kusatsu, so I park my bike at the carpark in the area and hike up to the top of the mountain.

A small onsen pool at the top of Mount Shirane

A view of the carpark and Mount Shirane from a neighboring peak

Below, you see the 2 delicious pieces of bread the owners of the Shibu Pass Hotel gave me before I left. Apparently, the bread is so delicious that people come from all over the prefecture to their hotel to buy it in bulk!

After tasting the bread, I concur!

A small pond in the Mount Shirane area

This place is also beautiful in the autumn

After Mount Shirane, it was a simple downhill coast all the way to the onsen town of Kusatsu. Kusatsu onsen is known throughout Japan as the onsen having the largest amount of onsen water flowing from its origin. Its water is also one of the richest in minerals!

The `Yu-Batake` or onsen source in the middle of Kusatsu Onsen street

The streets of Kusatsu are lined with various onsen houses, ryokans and high class hotels. Within the town, there are even a few public onsen houses where you can soak in the hot spring water at no charge! Everywhere you go in town, you will see people of all ages walking around in their `yutakas` either returning or going to their favorite onsen spots.

`Jizo No Yu` - One of the FOC onsen houses in Kusatsu

Killer Slopes

I left Nagano City at around 6am today expecting a hard ride up the Shiga Highlands. In 1998, during the Nagano Winter Olympics, most of the outdoor events such as alpine skiing and cross country skiing were held in the Shiga Highlands.

By around 9am, I had already covered 30km which was about a third of the distance to Kusatsu Onsen, across the Shiga Highlands region. Unfortunately, right after the 30km mark, as I entered the Shiga Highlands, the steepness of the slopes increased dramatically!

Little did I know that this ride up the Shiga Highlands towards the highest point of Shibu Pass, would be THE hardest climb of my entire journey!

Entering the Shiga Highlands

Before I left Nagano City, I took down the telephone numbers of a couple of hotels in the Hasuike area within the highlands. However, almost all of these hotels were either not operational in the summer, or were under renovation! So, in the end I had to book a room at Shibu Pass Hotel, about 10km from Hasuike. And like the name of the hotel suggests, it sits right at the top of the pass, at 2,172m above sea level! Getting there wasn`t easy at all....

A huge treetop freeway that led up the highlands

Probably built in 1998 to impress the international visitors

Taking a break about 10km up the slope when I still had strength to smile

After lunch and a short 10minute nap at the Hasuike area, I continued on to cover the last 12km to Shibu Pass. Along the way I saw quite a few derelict hotels and ski resorts - probably the result of the sudden boom in tourism just after 1998 and as the novelty of the Nagano ski slopes wore off, the scores of hotels closed down one after another...

An onsen source spewing steam

One of the many ski slopes in the area

About 4 more kilometers to Shibu Pass - This was worse than the Norikura Skyline Road

When I entered the Shiga Highlands and started the 25km uphill climb, it was curve #1. Almost 6 hours later, I met curve #47 and by the time I reached Shibu Pass, I had climbed 54 curves! haha....

A great view of the Shiga Highlands

The final 2km up to Shibu Pass

At around 4pm, I finally rounded my last curve and as the Shibu Pass Hotel and the little wooden post marking the top of the pass came into view, you can imagine my happiness!! hahaha....

Today`s ride was the only time during my trip so far that I have finished all the water I was carrying! Luckily I had 3 full bottles, as there wasn`t anywhere to refill up here in the mountains.

A tribute to the 3 lifesavers