Our 54-mile route today began with a 27-mile ride along the
Sea of Japan. We went through a number of fishing villages and towns, as well
as considerable stretches on an excellent, well-maintained bike path.
Our route then turned inland, beginning our 6-day crossing
of the island of Honshu to reach Tokyo. Almost immediately, we began our ascent
into the Japanese Alps, a mountain range that occupies a substantial portion of
central Honshu. The highest peaks are above 10,000 feet, one of which is an
active volcano near our route that erupted most recently in 1980. We saw
numerous snow-covered peaks as we cycled, and even biked right by some patches
of snow when we hit our day's high point of 2000 feet.
The endpoint of our ride today was the town of Iiyama, which
is 20 miles from Nagano, the site of the 1998 winter Olympics. There are 4 ski
mountains in Iiyama, and many more ski resorts nearby.
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| Biking along the sea |
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| Interesting mix of the old Japan (a shrine) & the new Japan (a cellphone tower) on this small island |
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| A terrific bike path along the coast |
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| Cycling along the coastal bike path |
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| Cycling through a fishing village |
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| Fishing boats and gear |
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| Roadside stall selling large crabs |
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| Cycling in the Japanese Alps |
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| Ascending further into the Alps |
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| Patches of snow (partly covered by dirt) by the roadside near the high point of our ride today |
