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Onsen Explorer Day 8. Saturday
Shimamaki
Another dry sunny day. We could get used to this. Heading north up the coast again with an east wind which helped occasionally. The scenery was very pleasant as it nearly always is on the coast. Rugged rocky outcrops and small islands out at sea where there must have been many shipwrecks in the past as indicated by the small lighthouses everywhere. Lunch was had at a small fishing village called Esashi. It is famous for a 17th century 3 masted Dutch steam ship which once ran aground here in a storm. After salvaging many items 40 years ago a 30 yr old replica was built and it is moored alongside the dock, a mighty beast painted black with the masts reaching up to the sky. It is now used as a museum and surrounded by artefacts recovered from the deep such as canons and old timber beams. I had delicious pork curry and rice for lunch at the adjoining restaurant since I am rather fished up at the moment. The old town was amazing with some lovely old timber houses and sheds reminiscent of the Hanseatic League warehouses in Bergen, Norway. Unfortunately upon
leaving town the wind turned more to the north and west, which made the riding a bit tougher, but was still enjoyable. Rob was enjoying pacing some of the tailenders up the road into the windy, not knowing that to them it was a serious workout/spinning class. Gasps of delight could be heard as they approached the sag wagon waiting in a lay-by. Along the varied coastline of volcanic rock and chalk and again many lighthouses.
Today saw us ride through many tunnels, mostly just a few hundred metres long and reasonably well lit, but one stretched for over a kilometre and seemed quite dark. Two vehicles were behind, which is a worry as a cyclist as you hope they have seen you. Luckily they held back until it was safe to pass. The sound echos in the tunnels and it is difficult to establish if it is a car behind or in front.
Whilst we climbed 750 metres today ,in 65 miles, it consisted of short hills which were easy enough to tackle making for a pleasant day.
Did I eve mention the manhole covers in Japan? Well we saw several new ones today and a photo of one
is attached. I would have photographed some of the many wind turbines as well but I don’t want to put you to sleep yet.
The Ryokan was very remote and tranquil with no internet so no groups (me included) sat over their phones tonight. The Outside onsen was hot and soothing for the muscles but the inside onsen was ferociously hot and I only got in as far as my knees and made a hasty retreat. I am writing this 15 minutes later and droplets are still falling from my forehead onto the screen in a torrent. The evening meal was good and a bit more western with salad, grilled onions, grilled pork, grilled bean sprouts and mushrooms. Mashed potato, rice and salmon. Ken gave us a talk on how Sake is made and had three different bottles for us to taste - very nice. Bring in some more. The sleeping was not too clever though with a very thin mattress and an overfilled bean pillow which could have been a piece of wood. My back was killing me.
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