Heading to the northern tip of Lake Biwa, a special day

May 30, 2023

Nagahama to Makino

We have had a restful stay in Nagahama. The hotel is very comfortable, they have incredible public baths and the included breakfast is delicious. We are ready to explore more of this lake that offers so much.

Barry, either a maître d in training or a man off for a relaxing bath. The hotel offers these lounge outfits instead of the traditional kimanos.

There is a wide assortment of food at the buffet. This is Barry’s selection. Special mention to the French toast at the bottom drizzled with chocolate, the egg omelets, salmon and odon salad (simmered root vegetables).

The bird life around Lake Biwa is incredible. They have a good life here. This heron is on the prowl for lunch and not bothered by our presence. It is fascinating to watch so many kinds (and quantities) of birds co-exist, huge numbers of hawks with smaller groups of heron, egrets, crows, ravens, etc.

Michi-no-eki’s are always a must stop for visitors and locals. We love their focus on the local region’s crafts people and products grown at local farms.

The weekend is the busy time and today, being Tuesday it is pretty quiet, including this coffee Van barista.

We often have sushi when we visit a Mochi-no-eki as we find that the quality is excellent and we can try local specialties.

Our choice for today’s lunch and it does not disappoint. Barry tried the large egg sushi at another place and it is now one of our favourites…so yummy.

Today is proving to be one of our favourite rides so far around Lake Biwa. We started out alongside the lake and then moved inland to a flat lush rural area with rivers and canals separating the fields, small winding roads with traditional houses with ceramic roof tiles creating cosy neighbourhoods, many shrines and so many birds. Here it almost feels like we are riding down the middle of a rice field. You can see that we are on the route by the blue lines on the road…and as usual, we have chosen the slow route.

Wheat and rice fields are often side by side.

Most homes have a cement ramp connecting their driveway to the road.

Egrets (and herons) love to hang out, and feed in the rice fields.

Water management is a big business here.

This man has a beautiful garden…beets, corn, tomatoes….today he is harvesting onions.

Soon there will be plantings in slits in the ground cover. An efficient way to reduce weeds

When we were on Kyushu earlier on this trip, we saw the same method of protecting fruit from the birds. It must be an onerous task wrapping each piece of fruit 8n a paper bag.

Riding alongside a recently planted rice field.

We saw many of these rice planters in driveways today.

We pulled over to visit this shrine….and there are many of them.

The horse is often featured at a shrine. We liked this statue.

And then something happened, that at first seemed a bit strange. After we visited the shrine, Barry was riding ahead and a man pulled up and was very excited to talk to him. It should be noted that he spoke no English. The only thing he could communicate to Barry with gestures….was “photo”. So off they went, the man in his truck, Barry following on his trike and Barry telling me to follow him. This went on for a distance…the man kept leaning out of his truck window smiling and gesturing. Finally we reached the destination….the shrine in his neighbourhood. He was clearly very proud to share this with us and we are glad that we went along with him.

This shrine was tucked away down a side road. We must have made quite a sight as the fellow was calling out to his neighbours as he drove by, and they in turn waved at us with puzzled looks on their faces. Who are these strange people riding strange bikes?

He rushed over to a lever on a building and turned on this fountain. He then instructed us what to do. Two swift claps of your hands, bring your hands to your face as in prayer and bow.

This shrine is in a small enclave surrounded by forest and cliffs.

We have had a special experience being brought here by this fellow. His genuine delight in sharing his shrine with us is something we will not forget. So often, in interacting with strangers we can hold back our spontaneity, yet this man showed us it can be ok to trust.

Before we parted ways, he walked us over to a vending machine and insisted on treating us to a cold drink. A sweet man. As he drove away, he was once again hanging out his window waving and laughing.

Once we left this area, we started to climb…and climb. We are at quite an elevation and looking down at the northern tip of the lake. As well, a fierce headwind is with us.

With the gains in elevation, we rode up some hills, but we also navigated a number of tunnels. What a change from the terrain earlier in the day. Here it is more rugged and untamed.

The roar of the wind, the white caps and watching these guys fight to keep on track. One of the fellows did a flying flip and lost control. However, it was quite beautiful to watch them soar across the water. And the. We tried to ride. It took all we had to ride against the wind.

We came around a corner, battling a fierce wind and we came upon these wind surfers. Amazing.

We are at lake level. There is much snow in this area. Tunnels and shelters help keep the roads open.

Getting to the east side of the lake, we feel like we have entered a different territory. It is more lush and the vegetation is different.

And then we saw a small furry body scampering across the road in front of us. It is a monkey…what a surprise. He scampered up to the top of the tree and watched us. A thrilling development in a day that has already been extraordinary.

Just sitting on high watching us and having a ponder. There was another smaller monkey but it kept its distance.

We are on the flats by the lake again…and of course, we are on the lookout for more monkeys! Our hotel is close and we are ready to relax.

This map shows much of the route we have done today.

Today's ride: 55 km (34 miles)
Total: 1,293 km (803 miles)

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