We know that today, we have a complicated ride ahead of us, but it was far worse than we had expected. Ideally, it should be good as there is a dedicated bike trail along the river to Kyoto from Osaka. We have read that cyclists avoid the first half as there are nasty barriers every few kms that make it impossible for touring bikes, and they were right. But that information understates the real situation.
#!* says it all. What scoundrel thought this up? For once it is not just recumbent riders who can sing the blues about access. Any loaded touring bike would have trouble. The gates are so frequent that the repetitive need to remove your panniers and lift your bike over would grind you down.
Steve Miller/GrampiesLooks like touring in England. There were barriers like this and other fiendish designs none of which were passable without contortions and much rude language. We feel your pain! Reply to this comment 10 months ago
Keith AdamsThe graffiti on the gate is quite jarring, when compared to the rest of what you've shown us. Reply to this comment 10 months ago
Panasonic has a large presence in Japan and is a big employer. For quite a distance, huge buildings on both sides of the road were Panasonic offices and factories.
We have yet to visit one of these stores. Don Quijote is a massive discount chain here in Japan and has now brached our into other Asian countries. Our first look at this guy was at Dotombori in Osaka and he was huge.
Hey, we read that the barriers stopped after Hirakata, but no such luck. Sadly we will have to head back to the urban sprawl and gridlock of this relentlessly busy road. Sidewalk riding is pretty bad too. We will have to tough it out.
Well, this is grand…a wider sidewalk which doesn’t last long. However, increasingly there are more barriers on the sidewalk and it gets tricky when there are pedestrians.
I think I am missing something. We understand that the Japanese smartly cover up in the sun, but it is a super hot day and I don’t understand how she is coping with winter boots and such heavy clothing.
Oh crap, the barriers are “finished” but then we find this. We unloaded our trikes and lifted them over. Enough already. At least we could navigate on the left.
Scott AndersonAmazing. We couldn’t believe it fifteen years ago, but it looks like nothing has changed: https://www.cycleblaze.com/journals/japan2007/day-22-nara-to-kobe-traversing-the-endless-city/#2973_1148698_Osakabikepath Reply to this comment 10 months ago
Barry BartlettThat’s amazing. I think it really got to us that day as our trikes, which we love, really are not adaptable in this situation. Barry was having a painful day and this didn’t help. No matter, it’s is must a memory now. Glad you found your glasses! Reply to this comment 10 months ago
Finally we get to see the River and feel the breeze. It is good not to be sucking in exhaust fumes anymore. But sadly we are only getting a few Km of this.
This could have been what our day was like if only this trail had been accessible. We had asked Yoshi about this route and he said that it wasn’t a good idea as friends had told him that the barriers made the route too difficult. Give it a miss.
We are both done for the day. So far we have been riding non stop on urban roads with no space for us and the issues that come with it, such as regular traffic lights and crosswalks interrupting our progress. We have ridden close to 70 Km and only a few Km were on the bike trail. We are searching for accommodation and we are in the middle of nowhere. The only possibility is a Love Hotel and it is not too far away, just across the river. We booked and we are off to have a new experience.
Our optimism with doing this detour to the hotel was a mistake that we couldn’t get out of once we had started. On the map, it looked simple. It turns out that the bridge across to the hotel spanned 3 rivers and with each river crossed it got more complicated. The final bridge was pretty scary. We had to feed in to heavy traffic in order to access the bridge. The road was narrow and so we had to fight for space.
Here we are in no man’s land fighting for our spot and chance to merge with the bridge traffic once we get off this access road. Throughout Japan, we have found the drivers incredibly considerate and patient and this was the case here as well
Charmaine RuppoltOh my God....that looks like a deathtrap!!! Especially when there are bushes in the lane like up ahead! You'd have to ride in the road!! Reply to this comment 9 months ago
We safely got off the bridge, yeah! It is now dark and we find ourselves in an industrial wasteland. The road is one way and full of big trucks. How do we get to the other road? Google maps is not helping, so we proceed slowly and then start seeking out alleyways parallel to the road in order to access our hotel. Finally we make it. We have never been happier to get off our trikes and call it a day.
What did we learn? Never ride to Kyoto by bike, but if you must…find yourself a Love Hotel.
W
It was the best sight you can imagine. The garage door of our unit was open with a sandwich board “Reserved for Mary B” welcoming us.
As is often the case with Love Hotels, there is no reception and discretion is the goal in the service they provide. Customers arrive and enter their suite with complete privacy. We will be served breakfast and it will be delivered through this little door to us at the requested time.
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