10/13 - Day 9

 Tuesday, October 13, 2026

We had another custom breakfast.





We left the hotel and rode to meet the van in a park somewhere near a little town called Tsuruga. Any time we get off our bikes and we're near the van, it becomes a snack stop. It seems like Romain goes shopping every other day.

The next 8 miles or so were on a busy, narrow road with a lot of truck traffic. We opted to skip that section and get in the van. (That's the straight line on the Strava map.) While the van has a roof rack, it is a very tall vehicle and a pain to load and unload, so Romain squeezed the bikes into the van and there were still seats for us and all our luggage. Whether it was impossible to get another bike in the van or because Peter was up for the challenge, he rode off to meet us at the next stop.

The rest of the ride to lunch was along coastal highway with a tailwind. (Really.) It was very pleasant.

Notice the little shrine even on this little outcropping.


We finally saw some usable beach, but the Japanese are not a beach people, so there was no one there.


Japan relies heavily on nuclear power.


Here's where we stopped for lunch. The entrance is on the left of this picture. It was part of a museum that demonstrated life in the past for a wealthy family. The museum is straight ahead. Apparently it is enough of a local attraction that a tour bus arrived while we were there.


The place where we stopped for lunch was open only for us. 


The restaurant was billed as "Italian", and some of the dished showed the influence.



There was a piece of warm onion foccacia to go along with the soup.


Mike has been an adventurous good sport, but he was getting tired of fish, so he got the vegetable plate too.


Everything was prepared in this tiny little kitchen.


The next part of the ride involved some climbing. We rode along the coast a little further and then turned inland and straight up. Unfortunately, my Garmin froze at the bottom of the climb so I happily continued down the coast until I realized I had missed the turn. Peter chased me down and brought me back to the turn. Walter also missed the turn but he realized his mistake sooner and when I got back to the base of the climb, he was already gone.

The climb was actually pleasant: shaded and cool and mostly under 10%.

Since Mike is faster than the rest of us, he will often stop to wait for us and take pictures. I try to return the favor when I am riding my ebike at home.


Here we are going through another little village.


We arrived at the hotel tucked away in another little village. It only has four rooms. And there are no staff on duty on the premises.


The village is known for making paper from the bark of Mulberry trees. Here she is giving us a demonstration. We ran into her later around town.


And here is Walter trying it out. He has the product as a souvenier.


The hotel itself was brand new and looked like as Walter said: a Japanese Ikea.

The rooms were set up like a suite. You in the front door and the stairs take you to the bedroom. Downstairs is a dining area and bathroom. Mike and I were a little concerned about making multiple trips down stairs while half asleep.




Upstairs there's a little platform. Very Japanese.


This little decoration hides a fire extinguisher.


We went to dinner at a little hole in the wall that Romain had never tried before. It was a little family operation and while it suited us just fine, it would probably not go over as well with guests who were expecting something more polished.

Here's the woman who probably ran the place.


The grandma sitting at the bar handled the drinks.

This guy seemed to be the main chef. And that's our guide, Romain, waving around 10000 yen notes.


Later, a kid came around with his wife and toddler for a kiss from grandma.

There was a festival going on that evening so we swung by to take a look.

There was a band playing traditional wind instruments. 


The ceremony seemed to be centered on an item that looked like a carriage that was carried by porters. Eigth to ten guys carried it down from the shrine and started to leave the park when they starting chanting and jogging. You had to be pretty fit to be one of these guys.




Stats for the day: https://www.strava.com/activities/20564415749

43.5 miles, 2461' of climbing

Skipping the 8 miles of heavy traffic shortened a 50-mile day to 40+, a little more for me since I missed a turn

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