Honshu Part 1: From Cape Oma to Tokyo

**Saturday, 28.09.2024**

Once again, I was happy to be traveling alone, to be able to make spontaneous decisions and not have a fixed plan that I had to stick to. It was around 11 a.m. when I arrived in Oma.

I actually only wanted to ride the four kilometers up to the cape and then continue on. But then I discovered the small campsite right on the cape, with a shelter, cooking facilities and power sockets! There were no tents yet, as it was still so early, but I made a start.

Of course there was no shower, but not far away I found an onsen, the hot baths. It was a very simple one for the women from the village. The women in the baths are always much more approachable and interested than they usually are on the street. I like this.  It’s a great pity that I don’t speak Japanese.

I came back freshly washed. By now there were already several tents, mainly from motorcyclists.

The next morning it was still beautiful, but later dark clouds gathered. I didn’t care about the weather; I wanted to cycle again today. I cycled along the sea, through small fishing villages. Apart from a little drizzle, it got really warm again. There wasn’t a soul on Yokohama beach, where camping is officially allowed. My last night on the beach for the time being was very quiet.

After Aomori, I headed into the mountains. At first I was very happy to be able to ride through the forests without having to worry about bears – until I read that hiking trails are also closed here because of bears. The man from Tsukimino Forest Park looked and sounded like a bell tree.

It was one of the tougher days from Aomori to Lake Towada. But I wanted to go to the mountains. It’s starting to look more and more Japanese here, especially the houses in the small villages. 

The apple harvest is in full swing. Apparently, cider is also produced here. In the konbini (small supermarkets) I usually only get bananas as fruit.

It went up and up. The road became steeper and narrower; fortunately the traffic also decreased. From 700 meters above sea level, I had a magnificent view of the mountains around the lake.

For me, the descent was 250 meters downhill. This meant that the next day I had to climb quite a bit again. But that was the next day. I had a campsite for the night with a fantastic view over the lake.

I went up while the sun was still shining. However, it was foreseeable that it would rain.

What wasn’t foreseeable was that it wouldn’t stop. It was also getting really cold. Time to treat myself to something special: a ryokan, a traditional Japanese hotel. I was really very lucky. In Takko, the garlic capital, the elderly lady took all my wet clothes off me right at the entrance and hung them up in a drying room. She also stuffed my shoes with newspaper so that they would be dry the next day.

Then I could go into the hotel’s own onsen. I wasn’t dry, but I was warm.

I was dry straight afterwards. All my clothes in the washing machine and in the drying room. A great thing!

I’m starting to feel like I’m only making plans so that I can reject them later on. The cold and the rain have once again put me off going over the mountains to the sea. I’d rather continue along the valley. Some of the roads were big and there was a lot of traffic. I thought that was less of a problem in the rain than in the mountains in the cold and fog.

After a few days, the rain stopped briefly.

At a small campsite, I met a young Japanese man with his two small children who were “test camping”. He spoke very good English. It was really good to have someone to talk to again.

As he comes from Sendai, my next destination, he invited me for dinner the next day. 

It’s always amazing how Komoot, my tour program, leads me along paths. It knows the smallest paths. I mainly went through rice fields.

One of the most beautiful areas I’ve seen so far in Japan so far was Matsushima. Here I was by the sea again. The 260 small islands in the bay are considered to be one of the most scenic places in Japan. The houses are also beautifully renovated. It was Sunday, so there was a lot going on.

I cycled very quickly along the sea with a tailwind, and then on to Sendai. There is a very nice campsite outside the city by the sea, mainly for hikers on the Michinoku Trail. I was also given a very warm welcome with my loaded bike.

The only thing that gives you a strange feeling is when you are shown the evacuation plan right at the start when you check in. The nuclear power plant that was destroyed by the tsunami in 2011 is only 100 kilometers to the south.

As I was invited to the Japanese family’s house the next day, I changed campsites. The other is much closer. What I didn’t know was that Sendai is a city of millions. It took me a very long time to get through the city. Just as I arrived at the other campsite, it started to rain. I still had to set up my tent quickly and get to my date in the pouring rain and in the dark (just after 4pm!). They live in an old Japanese-style house.  Everything is covered with tatami mats and the dining table is very low. We had ramen, a traditional Japanese meal (without fish and mushrooms, because I don’t like them).

It was very interesting for both sides. They were interested in my travels and of course I was interested in everything Japanese: food, customs, traditions…

The ride on to Fukushima was also just in the rain. The city of Fukushima is over a hundred kilometers away from the destroyed nuclear power plant. I didn’tsee any signs of the tsunami disaster. I checked a few hotels here until I finally ended up in a hostel. And I was thrilled. Firstly, it was super clean, quiet and had everything I needed, from face cream to toothbrushes and earplugs. There was also a kettle and everything else you need. I was given a very warm welcome and shared a 4-bed room with a very nice woman from Singapore.

There’s not much to report about the last few days before Tokyo. I was just tired and cycled along the river bike paths towards Tokyo, where I had already booked my hostel. However, I still found it more exciting than the river cycle paths in Europe. The condition of the cycle paths is constantly changing; sometimes I cycle right through the bushes, then they are completely new again. There is also plenty to discover all around.

Then Tokyo! I don’t know how many bridges I cycled over.

It was bright sunshine, Sunday, so there was a lot going on on the cycle paths, but not so much traffic on the roads. Tokyo is simply a fantastic city. Lots of parks, green spaces around the temples and shrines, many rivers with cycle paths. And then the contrast between the modern and the historic buildings – simply very interesting.

Monday, October 14, was a public holiday, sports day. The parks were packed with sports enthusiasts, the famous sights with tourists.

But the streets were empty. I was able to cycle through the whole city, which was really relaxing after the crowds.

Of course, I couldn’t see everything in one day, but I could see a lot. It was enough for me.

I still wasn’t rested, but I still have an invitation waiting for me to stay a few nights.