Ichinomiya to Asahi

May 15, 2025

Following a small road along the ocean

Well, it’s pretty uncomplicated to check out when staying in a container hotel. There aren’t any distractions, there is no space to unpack anything, so it makes for a quick departure. Barry is pretty tall so it can be a bit of a challenge for him. Nonetheless, it is clean,affordable and gives us what we need. We just wouldn’t want to stay in one every night.

Some of the homes in this area have interesting murals on their exterior. Here are a few photos of some we found interesting.

This hotel/dog groomer/rv park has got everything covered.

Usually we see fishermen with fishing rods. These fellows with their mesh bags and digging tool were catching shellfish. It looks like hard work and depending on the tide, they can be standing in water up to their knees.

These fellows dig for shellfish for hours, rain or shine irregardless of the winds

The parking lot is full of cars and the surfers are here. It is such an interesting lifestyle and community they have.

The Pacific Ocean offers so much. It satisfies passions like surfing, livelihoods like fishing and continuous entertainment and joy for 2 cyclists from Canada

Barry in his happy place….discovering great places by trike.

We finally figured out that inside these bamboo fences, pine trees have been planted.

We figure these trees are being grown to be planted to prevent soil erosion near the shore.

Ichinomiya area is known as a beautiful coastal area with great surfing.

Note the cute mascot on top of the sign. Everything in Japan seems to have a mascot. A town, area, tourist attraction and some businesses, etc have mascots in Japan. As well as being cute and giving a place a recognizable identity, these mascots are money makers. Stuffed bears, small ones to put on your bag, stationery, etc all bear this image.

Every day is different…sometimes we have to do a lot of road riding, but in this area we are enjoying being on a dedicated path close to the ocean. It is never boring along the coast as there is so much to take in, just from the beauty alone, but also the activities, birds, flora and fauna….we love it.

This is one of the times when it is handy to be on a trike.

It is getting pretty crowded on the path. We may have to hit the road if it gets worse.

Everybody has a job here…two guys are getting the shellfish and the other guys catch the shellfish as they are tossed to them and put their catch in the bins. These fellows work really fast and keep ahead of the incoming tide.

It is great being by the ocean throughout this trip. Like at home on Saltspring, our days can follow the ebb and flow of the tides and the beauty it brings.

Lovely to have signage to keep us on the right track.

It is good when our destination for the day, Kujukuri, appears on the road sign.

We saw this car front of a funky guesthouse.

We have seen a few homes in this area with a pair of Okinawan Shisas in front of the home providing protection. Typically one shisa has its mouth open to absorb the bad stuff and the other shisa mouth is closed to keep the good in. The shisa are the dark coloured animal figures on the white stands.

This manhole really captured the lifestyle and a sense of the beauty here.

Fishing boats in port. We have certainly been consuming our share of seafood on this trip.

Note the large mesh sac loaded with ice. It will be put on the fishing boat to keep their catch fresh.

Fishing ports are always interesting place to explore…so much to see and a lot happening.

Iceman…this is where the ice comes from for the fishing boats.

The winds are gearing up but it is worth it to have an unobstructed view of the sea. It has been very humid lately and being close to the sea is always cooler.

Okay, this looks challenging. No fear, Barry discovered that the right side was packed a bit better, so we powered through it.

But some areas require walking our trikes.

Fishing is a sport that is all consuming here. Interesting to see how one can customize your scooter or motorcycle with a bin for a tackle box and whatever you need plus a safe way to pack fishing rods

Fishing is a passion for all ages from the very young to the elderly. Clearly it is a beloved pastime for most.

A pheasant walking in the grass. A bit of luck goes in to capturing them in a photo as they are so skittish.

It was a fabulous day of riding to reach our destination. We booked this hotel for two nights as the prediction for Saturday is for heavy rain and winds starting early in the morning and through the night. The only problem is that we have arrived a day early. Who knew that it is just Thursday? Honestly, some days we can’t remember where we were the previous day or as in this case, what day it is. Thankfully the hotel has room for us to stay tonight, so it will be an unplanned holiday for 3 nights.

We are staying at the Kamenoi Hotel Kujukuri for 3nights. We are so lucky as this hotel sits on the sea with great views and they offer breakfast and dinner with each day booked. We have read that the food is top notch, the Onsen is fabulous and our room is quite beautiful with a wall of windows overlooking the sea. It will be a shock to return to Canada where we could not afford a hotel like this.

A facsimile of the founder of the Kamenoi Hotel chain, Aburaya Kumahachi. The previous photo has interesting information about this fellow.

Every day at 3 pm when check in begins, the chef is in the lobby serving a clam soup. The clams are from this shoreline.

Barry is always the first to try something new….and he likes it!

These are Japanese Little Neck clams (we think), but we do know that they are fresh from the sea in front of the hotel caught by the gentleman in the previous photos.

There is a “cult” that we have happily joined in Japan. We think of it as the Onsen Cult. Typically in a hotel with an Onsen, you wear the provided Yukata inside the hotel, for breakfast and dinner (if you like) and when heading to the Onsen. These fellows are on a mission.

Today's ride: 53 km (33 miles)
Total: 1,258 km (781 miles)

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