A Day of There and Back - Six wheels through Japan - CycleBlaze

May 28, 2023

A Day of There and Back

 

We awoke to a wonderful view from our room of where we are. It is always odd to arrive in the dark with no sense of context and wake up to this view with familiar hills and mountains in the background.
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Across the way is a school and their playing field.
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We are staying at Hotel Route Inn in Hokine. This older hotel is a chain with many others throughout Japan. They offer a lot for a modest charge…..on-site public bath, free buffet breakfast.
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Ready for another day of touring Lake Biwa after a therapeutic bath and a good sleep.
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We see these happy and cute characters wherever there is roadwork or construction. A construction company began producing fun characters in conjunction with a zoo to act as road barriers. The theory is that they will calm frustration where inconvenient work is in progress. They are so successful that they have spread all over Japan and are a common sight. Many animals are represented including Hello Kitty.
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Pocari Sweat has become a staple for us on this trip and even more so now as the heat and humidity of summer has hit.
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We liked this image as we often see names on buildings that have nothing to do with the business or product they are selling.
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We decided to ride through the grounds of Hikone Castle and saw the boat tour around the moats starting..
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Hikone Castle is perched up very high and is surrounded by 3 moats.
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It was too hot for us to consider doing the walk around and in the Castle. Instead we opted to visit the Castle’s Genkyuen Garden.
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These gardens are exquisite and were built in 1677 by the local lord and were based on a palace garden in Tang China. This Japanese landscape garden has a central pond with a circular walking trail and four islands connected by bridges. As you walk around the garden, you can appreciate the design as  new perspectives appear as you go . On this very hot sultry day we found the experience to be a good way to get a sense of castle life as it might have been.

An image of a dragonfly who was very busy in the garden.
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This beautiful dragonfly is looking right at us.
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Enjoy…I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

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Charmaine RuppoltPretty and peaceful. :)
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8 months ago
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This building on the edge of the garden was the Rakurakuen Palace which served as the residence of the lord and his family. Renovations to this building are ongoing until 2026. It is a testament to the beauty of the gardens that the lack of access to the Palace has not impacted attendance at the garden.
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Serene and beautiful, a place to spend time
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Charmaine RuppoltNice reflection photo!
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8 months ago
We see these signs periodically, but we have yet to find where they are located.
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We were riding along and without any warning we saw this immense Buddha alongside the road. Barry went to investigate.
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The iconic profile of a lone heron on the lake.
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Such a beautiful bird.
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We have been astounded at the number of birds we are seeing on the lake…egrets, herons, crows and hawks. Herons seem to be less solitary than those we know at home. But the large groups of hawks together in the trees or flying overhead is quite a sight.    None of these birds are bothered by our presence. They carry on, often in mixed groups. 

Hawks coming in for a landing.
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Just hanging out with a watchful eye on their territory.
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As as we approached, there must have been about 20 hawks in this tree, and then they all dispersed. Fascinating bird watching here.
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We are headed north of here to reach our accommodation for the next few nights, so we didn’t stop to visit the Castle….perhaps next time. With the build up of humidity, we have heard reports that it will rain hard for the next few days so we have booked a small Japanese house for 2 nights to take shelter.
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There was some construction by the bike route, so in keeping with the blue colour scheme marking the route, these barriers were blue.
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This feral cat was curious but wary. He kept his eye on me from a distance.
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We got to our booked destination for tonight, and the owner was not there.  In fact, he hadn’t  responded to our emails that he had initiated. We looked inside and the place was quite dirty and not ready for guests. We waited for awhile and heard from booking.com  that the reservation had been cancelled by the owner. Oh no, the closest place where we can get accommodation is 24 Km back to where we have just come from…and we have to hurry because it will be dark soon and rain is coming…..and that is why we called today’s entry…A Day of There and Back.

Today's ride: 70 km (43 miles)
Total: 1,238 km (769 miles)

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Charmaine RuppoltOh bummer!! To have cycled all that way and have to turn around and go back because no hotel available! :/
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8 months ago