Day 13: the oceanside from Susami to Gobo

With still in the eyes the sunset we have seen yesterday, when we look outside the window of our room in the morning we are blinded by the clear sky and the light already flooding the coast. Today we will reach Gobo and will try, as much as possible, to take the small roads siding route 42.

The first chance to do it comes immediatly out of Susami, where the main road goes through two tunnels while the side road we take goes (and climb) around the cliff, giving us a good view on the sea and also an early warm up for our legs. From the cliffs the view on the ocean is wonderful, and the clear sky makes the water look dark blue, with just some waves in the distance breaking the color with touches of white.

Further on we are forced to rejoin route 42, and when we reach Tsubaki we see that the city has a lot of natural hot springs on the coast. Too bad that, so early in the morning, there is no way to use them. As very partial compensation, we use the post office to withdraw some cash. Then we reach Shirahama, were our plan would be to visit Toretore village, a place famous for having panda shaped houses. But we don't know that the place is a residence and it's not open to public visits, as the gatekeeper explains us with a grumpy face when he stops us. Shortly after moving away from there, when we are stopping at a vending machine to buy something to drink, a group of motorcyclists greets us with great enthusiasm.

We stop for lunch in a park next to a temple, where, together with us, there are a couple of moms playing with their kids, and a group of elderly people talking among themselves. As soon as we park our bikes, two of them begin examining them, judging the gears, the panniers, the saddle and all the equipment, then they decide that is time to inquiry us about our trip. Once received the needed information, they start over discussing among them.

After our lunch break we have to move on, and we climb again on the cliffs, where the road goes parallel to the coast. We stop in a service station to have an ice cream, much needed considered the hot temperature, and there we are greeted once again by another group of motorcyclists. They ask us about our trip, and to me this is quite surprising: I am used to motorcyclists looking down on their motorless cousins 😄.

When we descend again around sea level we are almost in Gobo, and we are welcomed by a small traffic jam, due to a car accident on the road. We go around it and rapidly reach our destination: Gobo Forest Inn.

It's a business hotel, so we do not expect anything excessively fancy. However, to our disappointment, they have a male only onsen (so, if you are a woman, settle down for a shower), and when we ask them if we can fill our bottles with water from the dispenser, they answer with a "Yes, but just a little". But at least they have a restaurant where we can have a good dinner, so we just take the good things, preparing for the next day.