Day 17: back to Osaka.

The bad weather we had yesterday is gone, and today the sun will shine, according to the weather forecasts. However when we leave the hotel the sky is still gray.

We have decided that we will reach Osaka not from the North, along the rivers Kizu and Yodo, but first going West and then, after the pass, going North. First we reach road 105 in Kashihara and then start following it. While we are on it, we notice a suggested cycle route, and we immediately deviate on it.

It goes in our same direction, but hops from temple to temple along canals and trees, way better than a busy city road. All the three temples we visit are practically deserted, except the last one, where an old woman is praying when we arrive cycling through the high grass growing in the back of the temple. Finding the entrance is not immediate, since the cycle path has a small detour leading into the precinct, and it goes hopping above the small moat surrounding it.

As a pleasant intermezzo, while we are in the parking lot of a combini, we see a white mini car with a car on its dashboard, busy fighting a fierce battle against a fly, while its driver is inside the shop to buy something.

We stop for lunch in the park along the Yamato river where, while we are eating our onigiri, a couple of youngsters are practicing sprinting.

From there we take route 25 to reach Osaka. Apart from a bridge over the railway which is forbidden to bikes and that we take extra care to avoid, the road is not that bad as it might look on the map. There is not too much traffic, the lane are spacious enough that the traffic can avoid squeezing us on the side and also the slope is not bad.

We discount it when we reach the crossing between the 25 and the 165: we manage to take the right path on the pedestrian walking only at the second attempt, and after a loop that takes us back to were we starting from!

After a short section next on the bank of Yamato river, we head North on the 170: for a good length it is a pretty anonymous, semi-rural road, not too crowded but also not that panoramic, though on our right side we have the hills bordering Osaka. At a certain moment we reach a very large building, which we learn is a recently built temple.

It doesn't have the vibe of an old temple, but it surely stands out in the neighborhood.
Immediately after a rail crossing, the road turns into a commercial road: pedestrians all around, shops and their goods on the sidewalk, music coming out from the speakers. And as suddenly as it appeared, as suddenly it vanishes, returning back to the road we were on before.

At the end of our route on the 170 we pay visit to the 2600 years old Ishikiri Tsurugiya Shrine. After a short climb, we reach the road were the temple stands, surrounded by small shops selling sweets, amulets and where fortune tellers make their days with the money of the visitors.

The temple is a refreshing variation to the menu of the day, and we indulge in the visit for quite some time. The place is really relaxing, and the buildings are really impressive.

After leaving the temple we head West: on a straight line we should end up to the castle, and from there to the shop to return our bikes. The surroundings are all but fascinating: the road is packed with traffic and has no decent shoulder nor sidewalk for us, so we try, as much as possible, to zig zag in the neighborhood on the banks of the Daini Neya river, which however are full of small industries. We rush just to get out of it as soon as possible.

Nevertheless we manage to reach the pedestrian bridge on the O river (which Google maps hides), where we have started our trip 17 days ago. A quick stop at Tenma Itoya , the same guest house where we have slept at the beginning and where we leave our panniers, and then to Globalwheels to return our bikes.

We exchange some impressions about our trip with Gareth, change our shoes and walk back to the guest house, where we can finally take a relaxing shower before going out for dinner.

The tenant is happy to see two returning guests, and considering how nice was our stay the other time, we really had no reason to not return here.

We have our dinner at a tonkatsu restaurant not too far from the guest house. On the way back to the lodging, we savor the satisfaction of having completed the trip.

Day 1: from Osaka to Omihachiman

Finally today we start cycling.

After the usual good breakfast we take our luggage with us, drop the key of the house and walk to the pick up place, where Gareth from Globalwheels has prepared our bikes.

It's at walking distance from the guest house, and in few minutes we are there. Gareth has the bike ready for us, and we need just few adjustments to fit them: saddle height, panniers, installation of the handlebar bag and deposit of the baggage, gently agreed by Globalwheels.

Gareth guides us to the bridge on the O river, from where we start our trip. The sun is shining in the sky, and the river banks are full of people doing any type of sport: baseball, running, football, badminton and of course also cycling. We find out that today is something like the national sport day, and of course the Japanese are celebrating it.

The cycling path following the O and then the Yodo river is nice, away from the traffic of the city which is just in the background after the river banks. The only annoyance comes from the way too frequent barriers installed to prevent devices other than bicycles to access the path. They are made in such a way that we have to get down and lift our bikes to pass them, since our panniers prevent us from bunny hopping them.

When we reach the panoramic terrace on the Uji river we leave the cycle path and move into the city to reach lake Biwa. We stop for lunch in a small park, where we eat our onigiri with the only company of several mosquitoes and a little boy on a small bike who try to catch something in the grass while not giving away his curiosity toward us.

We get back on the bike and move on. Until now the road has been pleasant, but as soon as we leave the river we have to find our way among cars, trucks, roads not allowed to bikes and quite unpleasant landscapes. There are not so many path we can take, therefore we cannot be picky.

We somehow manage to reach route 1 to Otsu, but there we have no choice than share the road with the traffic. There is an accident ahead, and the vehicles are almost still. Since we have to go uphill for us it is almost a blessing, not having to worry about cars and trucks speeding few cm from our elbows. On the other hand we get to breathe the exhaust from the queue.

When we finally descend to Otsu we are glad we can fill our lungs with fresh air. We have got a first impression of Lake Biwa by watching the NHK episode of Cycling around Japan, but being there in person is another story.

For a while we proceed along the coast, where there are a lot of people either fishing or barbecuing, then we head inland when the sun is starting to set. Since we had told the hostel that we would have arrived around 6 p.m. we try to find someone who can call them for us.

We stop at a combini and I try to nail the few words of Japanese I know to ask if they can call the place and tell we are late. If only I had reached the part of the Japanese class where they taught that the Japanese word for telling 6 p.m. is not the same 6 as in the number, I would have been quicker. But at the end the guy at the counter manages to understand me, and calls the place.

The landlord tells us it is ok, and just wants to be sure we know the way. It's still 15 km to reach there, and we will arrive with darkness. We reassure him and get back on the saddle.

The road now goes mostly straight through an infinite theory of fields, with here and there some large buildings. The last few kilometers are again on the coast, the dark lake on one side, the countryside on the other with just few cars driving by. When we finally reach the place, the hostel is on the side of the hill, enveloped into complete darkness and with only crickets and frogs filling the night.

We park our bikes and get a shower just in time for dinner: the dishes are freshly prepared with local ingredients and everything is really tasty, and together with us there are three other guests.

The building of Hachiman Youth Hostel is more than one century old, and the wooden frame seems to be breathing memories of a distant past. After dinner we take a walk to the combini close by, where we buy an ice cream, a beer and the necessary for tomorrow breakfast. Then, while the chilled beer relaxes our legs, we sit on the patio, enjoying the fresh air of the night with our eyes wandering in the darkness, broken here and there by some distant light.

We then head upstairs and sink into the futons, getting some rest for tomorrow. The crickets outside quickly fade away into our sleep.