Day 9. Myoko to Nozawa Onsen. 114km 6.5 hours. Day 10: Nozawa to Aizuwakamatsu 187km 8 hours

Sometimes I think of you

Waiting to read my blog

Other times I think Dick is doing a great job so I’ll take a back seat.

Sometimes I experience so many new things

That it takes a while

To sort out.

Sometimes each day is a complete

Story of people and smiles and food

That I want to savour for a while.

Sometimes I think that riding in Japan

Is different from riding anywhere else

People are calm and considerate on the roads

Sometimes I think how good it would be if

We drove this way at home

Where the death rate from car crashes is double that of Japan

Sometimes I realise how blessed I am to 

Be on the back of the bike

Seeing such glorious landscapes 

Sometimes I stop thinking

And rest in the moment

The bliss of the ride.

Myoko to Nosazwa Onsen - plus we added a side trip to swee if we could go over the mountain to Kusatsu.

Special people become Team Kiwi members. here is Kenneth Bushman at Arai resort Hotel. 

Kenneth gave us a wonderful welcome and then went above and beyond to help me find the SD card in its adaptor that we had left behind in the morning. 

The panels in the background remind me of Sue Wademan’s textile panels of the seasons of home in the Wakatipu, New Zealand.

We ride up the mountain road. Some local riders are on the road today.

Skiers, too. Making the most of the remainder of the season.

We ride on. 

These gentlemen look familiar. 

They recognise us from yesterday when we approached from the Kusatsu side of the mountain.

We get turned back today. We are not surprised. We have had a marvellous ride on the winding mountain roads.

The snow monkeys who like to sit in hot pools. There are also bears and foxes in these woods.

Blossom carpet at Nozawa.

Chicken Yakitori, grilled mushrooms, bass and perch for dinner.

The bill was tallied on an abacus and paid for via a smart phone with a banking dongle. 

We rode this route in reverse. 

Early morning start. The sun rises at around 4.30am. Breakfast is available around 7am. 

The ski season is over here and restaurants and cafes are closed for now.

There  is extensive moulded protection of hill sides like this along the roads, along the river banks and where there are landslides up in the hills.

Time to check if we are heading in the ‘right’ direction.

Rice paddies everywhere. In various stages of preparation.  Some are planted.

Who is the fairest maiden of them all?

Fern tips on the menu. Asparagus, mountain greens, bamboo shoots, cabbage and onions. We have see them growing in the gardens along the way.

Aki and her mother served us some curry, pizza and coffee for a late lunch.

Delightful, friendly women.

We agreed we weren’t very hungry.

We went out for a walk 

Then we stepped inside a restaurant.

Next thing we are cooking beef, chicken, pork, squid, scalp, prawns, beef entrails (liver and ...) in our private room. 

Barbecuing over a gas fired grill set into the table top.

Delicious. 

We weren’t hungry any more.