Through much of this trip, we have had the pleasure of being surrounded by nature and beautiful views. It is an adjustment for us to be riding and staying in the middle of a vast industrial area with endless numbers of huge trucks and heavy traffic. Looking out the window of our hotel room, we see chemical plants, thermal electricity and towers with billowing smoke and steam. This area is distinguished by having the tallest industrial chimney tower in Japan.
Barry has read about a cycle route around the Kasumigaura Lake. It is Japan’s second largest lake. On a previous trip we rode around Lake Biwa which is Japan’s largest lake. The Lake Biwa cycle route is great but it has a lot of traffic. The newer route around Lake Kasumiguara promises to have very little traffic. It sounds incredible with a great infrastructure for cyclists, dedicated riding paths, bathrooms etc. Hopefully we will be able to find it as we a use it it to take us to our destination today.
Route Inn offered us an oasis in the middle of urban blight and heavy industry. The provided breakfast was very good, the Onsen restored us and we liked our room. We have stayed in so many Route Inn Hotels in Japan, and they have been older with a dingy feeling due to the decor being predominately dark brown. This hotel is quite new and a refreshing change. 👍
It is time to find a better route. There are way too many big trucks screaming by us! As you can see, riding on the sidewalk or the road have significant challenges. There is no room for us on the road when trucks go by, yet the sidewalks are hard on us and our trikes. Lake route….here we come.
We are now able to ride on the road as we move farther away from the industrial area. We appreciate the effort they are making to make the area more bike friendly with proactive, supportive signage and a bike lane to keep us safe.
We were cycling through this small town and stopped on a bridge to take a photo. Barry decided to explore up the river a little ways as he saw some people taking photos from a smaller bridge. His explorations resulted in a remarkable experience for both of us…and it just got better and better. You never know what amazing things are lurking around the corner.
It is called the Suigo Samara Ayame Park. This is an historic district within Katerina City in Chiba Prefecture. It was established to celebrate and preserve the natural beautify of the region’s waterways and wetlands. The park’s name Ayame refers to the Japanese iris. The park is best known for its stunning iris gardens. Over 1.5 million iris plants of around 450 different varieties are planted in these gardens.
One of the Park’s charming features is the traditional boat rides along the canals that weave through the iris fields.These boats are known as Sappa-Bune.
More gardens stretch along the river as well as another traditional and pretty arched bridge. It would be great to have an aerial view of the area as it is hard to imagine the size of the gardens
During May and June, wedding ceremonies called Yomeirifune take place on the water in this area. Boats carrying the bride and groom weave along the river with the iris fields as a backdrop.
A statue celebrating the brides who come to the river for their weddings
We sense that something special is happening. This fellow is waiting for the bride and groom to arrive by boat. He will then escort the bride and groom in his rickshaw to the shrine
It took 25 kilometres of big and small roads to eventually get to the start of the lake cycling route. We now have 45 kilometres of riding right beside the lake before we get to our hotel. The next day we will ride another 20 or 30 kilometres before we head back to the Pacific coast. The complete lake route is 180 kilometres. It would be a great experience to circumnavigate the lake.
On one side of the route are rice fields and on the other side is a massive lake. The bird life is amazing as you have ducks and water fowl on one side and herons and egrets on the other side
Our hotel is located inside the train station. The hotel and all the businesses in the station have a bicycle theme. When you first enter you are met with an outstanding bike shop
Before checking in we parked our trikes and had a coffee. Even Mary Ellen was able to have a pour over decaf cup of coffee. One of her first of the trip….we rarely see decaf available.
Our hotel is a cycling hotel. Everything in the hotel caters to the needs of cyclists.
It is an incredibly small world. This is Antonio from Spain. He is staying in the room next to us. He was really excited when he saw our trikes parked outside our room. He owns three trikes. His newest trike is an Azub Ti-Fly. The same as ours. We chatted for about 40 minutes about trikes and travel.
Wow, what a day we have had. Something we love about travelling independently on our trikes is that we never know what the day may bring. Today was full of awesome experiences and unexpected encounters.
Today's ride: 71 km (44 miles) Total: 1,385 km (860 miles)
