日本夏2026年 - Day 5 Ikeshiricho to Irago

June 3, 2026
Day 5 Yaizu to Irago -  18Km
Start 9:20AM
Finish 10:58AM
Total Duration 1:38
Moving Time 
Stopped Time 
Ascent 174m
Descent 199m
Tour Total 593Km

Sometime in the middle of the night, I woke to the sound of wind violently shaking my tent. The gusts came in hard, snapping the fabric and flexing the poles. I lay there for a moment, wondering if the whole thing might rip apart. There was no waiting it out—I had to move.

The tent, fly, and groundsheet had turned into giant sails, as I tried to disassemble everything without breaking or losing anything. I was genuinely worried the wind might catch the sheets, tear them free, and send them tumbling into the sea. 

In the rain and chaos, I broke everything down as methodically as I could, forcing wet fabric into my panniers while the wind fought me the whole way. By the time I finished, everything I owned was soaked.

I pushed through the howling wind and stinging rain toward the nearby michi-no-eki. Inside the large public restroom, I set my tent up again, just to get out of the elements. The lights were on a motion sensor—bright at first, then plunging into darkness once I stopped moving. It took a long time to fall back asleep. I was drenched, exhausted, and still rattled from the ordeal.

Around 8 a.m., I woke to the sound of men using the toilets—probably staff arriving for the day. The cleaning attendant needed access, so I packed up quickly, apologizing profusely as I cleared out.

Outside, the wind had eased. A light drizzle remained, but it felt manageable. I got back on the bike. The ferry was about an hour and a half away.

Along the way, I passed roadside stands selling melons and strawberries, bright spots against the gray morning. I stopped at a FamilyMart for a mocha latte and a chocolate brownie—simple comfort after a rough night.

I reached the ferry terminal at 11 a.m., only to be told that all sailings had been canceled for the day.

So I sat down at a table inside the terminal and began editing this entry. The small village around me has a few hotels and restaurants—options, at least. For now, I wait.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction

Image
Greetings, friends! Summer is here—which means it’s time for another bike tour… back to Japan. I actually rode around Okinawa and Amami this past January—904 km over 10 days—but the effort didn't seem blog worthy. This tour will focus on parts of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu that I haven’t yet explored. Along the way, I’ll meet up with friends and even team up with a cycling partner for a stretch across Shikoku. The journey begins with an ambitious goal: attempting to ride up Mount Fuji via the Fujinomiya Line, the most difficult road bike climb in Japan. From there, I’ll follow the Pacific Coast route all the way to Wakayama. In Shikoku, I’m trading coastlines for climbs, focusing on the rugged mountainous interior. Then it’s back to Honshu, heading west to Hiroshima and Yamaguchi Prefecture, before crossing over to Kyushu and making my way to Fukuoka. From there, I plan to loop around Kyushu’s western coast. The bike is tuned, the bags are (almost) packed—and I’m ready to roll. Th...
Read more

日本夏2026年 - Tokyo Bigger Loop

Image
May 29, 2026 Tokyo Bigger Loop - 88 Km Start 7:24 AM Finish 2:31 PM Total Duration 7:09 Moving Time 5:21 Stopped Time 1:48 Ascent 560m Descent 573m Tour Total  142 Km Details at: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/386637790 I slept well in my hotel room in Tokyo and woke early, the city already humming. My first stop was Saison—cappuccino and a pan au chocolat—before rolling out into the heat. The night before, I’d mapped a wide loop to conserve phone battery and push into neighborhoods I hadn’t yet seen. Heading toward the harbor, I passed through Shinagawa and the shrine where I’d welcomed the New Year back in January. From there, the route slipped into a cluster of sleek, sterile office towers before opening onto the waterfront, where artificial islands stitched together by elevated expressways form a kind of concrete archipelago. I traced the shoreline as best I could. In Ginza, I rode past the Kabukiza Theatre and Tsukiji Hongwan-ji Temple, then crossed the sweeping Tatsumisakura B...
Read more

Tokyo Loop

Image
日本夏2026年 - Tokyo Loop May 28, 2026 Tokyo Loop-  53.8 Km Start 8:40 AM Finish 3:13 PM Total Duration 6:32 Moving Time 3:35 Stopped Time 2:57 Ascent 285m Descent 290m Tour Total  54 Km Details at:  https://ridewithgps.com/trips/386412914 The long overnight flight to Tokyo was uneventful—always a small victory. I landed at 5 a.m., bleary but energized, and took a taxi to the hotel where I reassembled my bike, piece by piece, easing back into the rhythm of the road. My first stop was my favorite café called Saison, where I ordered a cappuccino and a flaky pain au chocolat. The morning had already turned hot and bright. I was in shorts and a short-sleeve jersey, quickly realizing that Tokyo’s summer doesn’t wait for you to catch up. Sunscreen became essential armor. From there, I rode to the Arimasuton—better known as the “Zombie Fish Building”—a surreal, hand-built concrete structure created over two decades by architect Keisuke Oka. It feels less like architecture and more l...
Read more