Onsen Explorer. Day 10 Rankoshi. 100km. 1030m ascent. We love the sun and are getting plenty of it. Japanese breakfast at our Ryokan at Shimomaki on Sea and, as usual, a very nutritious affair. As I waited for breakfast I sauntered down to the docks and watched the locals gutting fish from the overnight catch with some black birds, maybe ravens, waiting for their breakfast. The wind was very strong and against us for 40km but it did not detract from the spectacular coastline of ruggedness and the many fishing villages and ports, despite many being run down and bedraggled. The owner of the Ryokan had her son and husband out at sea fishing and she said they were doing ok. I saw five herons fishing in the shallow water along the way and one even ... read more

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 ... read more

Onsen Explorer. Day 6 6th June. Apologies. We were at Henashi yesterday not the Hirosaki Grand hotel. The start today was back up the hill onto the main road to follow the coast northwards alongside rocky outcrops and between many more rice fields. The weather was overcast for part of the day with some sun and cooler at 19 degrees, opposed to the mid 20’s of previous days. Lunch was at a supermarket in a small fishing town before we went to see a famous dog called Waseo. Apparently, it was found abandoned in the supermarket car park and a local shopkeeper took it in and it is now famous all over Japan. It is a breed of Japanese fighting dog which is put into competitions where gambling takes place. Say no more. We were promised ... read more

Onsen Explorer Day 4 Another great sunny day started off with a nice Japanese breakfast with rice, miso soup, tofu, fish, fish plus some fish. We cycled together for most of the day and I mean together in a rather loose way but this helped the traffic pass us safely. As yesterday afternoon we saw a lot of Japanese knotweed along the roadside. We also entered serious rice production with vast expanses of planted crops but in the early stages of growth. Tractors were cultivating the submerged soil and others were planting mechanically. It is a shame we are a little early to see the small rice combine harvesters in action. The cicadas were out in force again, especially in the large forested areas we passed. Needless to say I have been photographing manhole covers (well ... read more

Day 1&2 Arrival at Sakura Onsen Early rise today with taxi to Manchester Airport at 4am. to start a 4 week stay in Japan going on an 11 1/2 hr flight to Tokyo airport. The next flight was to Aomori and a shuttle bus to Sakura Onsen, our resting place for the night. We arrived at the Sakura Onsen at 1530. That is 28 hrs, 3 flights and 2 bus journeys after leaving home in Clitheroe. We met Kenichi and Daisuke upon arrival and set out on fixing our hire bikes up for the days ahead. The smell of sulphur is pretty strong and some would say offensive to the olfactory organs others may say, ’What a pong’. Excited to get closer to the source of this stink made us get ready for a soak in ... read more