Japan - Togi

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Kanazawa to Togi
The news all cyclists dread. Rain and strong winds as we wake and as we look out at breakfast time things are swirling in the air. Stoke up with food the get the metabolism generating heat. Eventually we were off at 8.20 into the headwind, on the cycleway by the river, until we hit the sea. Joy, the wind is on our tail and the rain eases a little as we fly north along the coast. Passing by plastic litter and old small boats on the tidal line swept up by a violent sea. The cycle path was in very good condition with smooth Tarmac and concrete with the occasional sandbar across our way, which on one occasion brought Tim down who immediately got up before I had time to photograph him - next time. Tea break was taken at a service point at the end of the beach, which was hard packed sand and could be ridden at speed. Unfortunately it was still raining lightly as we came out after our noodles which were as thick as earthworms and fortunately tastier, I presume, but maybe not if you have feathers and a beak. As we progressed north we encountered a more rugged coast with sharp hills and rocky outcrops. Three punctures later, caused by glass, our group arrived in Togi where we went to our first Ryokan, which is a traditional Japanese hostel with Katami mats on the floor and a thin mattress on which to sleep. Luckily the wardrobe had an extra layer to soften the pain a little. Once I got instruction on how to operate the air conditioning I was able to dry out my cycling clothes and gloves ready for another day. Meanwhile a trip to the local Onsen for a dip in the hot spring until our skin went a deeper shade of red. First of all we had to have a lesson in Onsen etiquette where we have two towels, one for drying and a smaller one for keeping your modesty in company.
Following our body roasting we had a Japanese banquet in the Ryokan with all manner of fish , cooked, battered and raw plus many unusual vegetables with the highlight of three sea snails in soy sauce. Ken gave us a talk on the three types of ’sake’ and made us imbibe the same against our wishes and out better judgement. The landlady gave us two accompanied songs on a traditional Japanese Koto - very nice. We followed this with a bit of singing and monologues by the group to round up a brilliant day in Japan before retiring you our luxury beds.

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