Vaucluse Dreamer

We woke this morning to the sound of a calmer sea. The waves that had been thumping against the sea-wall just in front of the van, yesterday evening had settled down, and it was now a gentle lapping sound.

The weather forecast was good, so a bike ride beckoned. We spent breakfast watching the fishermen arrive and set up for the day, at what appeared to be their favourite spots, The channel out to sea was busy with little boats heading off for the day too. Fishing is an incredibly popular pastime in Japan.

We got the bikes out of the storage compartment, popped on our kit and set off cycling along the coast, following the route I’d planned yesterday evening, which would take us to the town of Kinosaki, where a natural hot water source feeds a number of onsens there, before following the valley for a while and returning back to where we are parked at Takenocho Takeno.

It was slightly grey and almost a bit chilly as we pedalled out, but we soon warmed up, as the road started to climb out of the bay. We had been looking at the road, when we took an evening walk yesterday and it certainly didn’t look as steep, as our legs told us it was.

The road clings to the steep hills that tumble into the sea, with their forested slopes so different to the stark rocky cliffs of East Devon, or even Izu, where we were staying a couple of weeks ago.

The road climbed, offering us dramatic views across the bay before dropping into the next fishing village, each as pretty as the last.

As we dropped into one, we noticed a Tori Gate set onto a rocky outcrop, behind which was a little shrine, built into a small hole in the rock. It was an incredibly pretty backdrop to the village.

The climbs were sharp, steep, but happily relatively short too, and just as our legs were starting to protest, the road would flatten out a little, giving us some respite before kicking up again. But somehow, it didn’t seem as bad as some of the roads at home in Provence.

There is a simple pleasure in cycling somewhere different, not knowing what is ahead, and having to ride what’s in front of you. And with the incredible views along the coast. we really didn’t have time to consider anything else.

At one point, we stopped and heard noises from the trees above us, wondering if it may be monkeys again, but as we pedalled on, I rounded a bend to find 2 beautifully-antlered stags , in the middle of the road. I yelped, as I was worried I may hit them, only to scare them into leaping up into the woodland at the side of the road. It was a stunning sight, although Andy, who was slightly behind me heard my yell and worried I’d come off the bike. Happily not, but it’s a shame he missed the stags.

Just before dropping down into the fishing village at the head of the valley, we stopped at a viewpoint, with the coast stretching out in layers of muted greys and browns in front of us, But, just out to sea was a small island, with what appeared to be a little palace built on it.

It seemed a strange sight, bringing to mind Burgh Island, with its Art deco Hotel, although this was on a much smaller and less grand scale.

We looked it up and found it was Nochigashima Island, and that according to legend, Urashima Taro, who is a character in a famous Japanese Fairy Tale, opened an  treasure chest on the island and turned into an old man. The palace was built in the 1950s to remind people of the legend and to keep it alive for future generations.

Certainly very different to Burgh Island then.

From here, we swept down the hill, passing Marine Land and stopping in what appeared to be a thriving fishing port, The pristine fishing boats (which all appear to be white here) lined up against the quay, with huge lights strung along their length. We wondered what they could be for, but have since found that the lights attract squid and crabs too, so are part of the equipment needed for the fishing.

After the hills along the coast, we were now pedalling along the wide valley floor, stopping in Kinosaki Onsen for a coffee.

It was a busy and evidently thriving town filled with coffee shops, local produce and crafts and a huge number of fishmongers and crab retailers. Crabs really do seem to be the big thing in town here (apart from the thermal waters), and even at 11am, there was a queue outside one of the restaurants.

Just a quick coffee for us though and on again, crossing the river to pedal past Genbudo Park, with its amazing basalt column rock formations and caves. Cycle shoes aren’t exactly cave-friendly footwear, so we tried to take a look over the fence, before continuing.

The quiet road took us alongside a patchwork of rice fields in various stages of growth, mixed with fields of ‘Golden Rod’, which looks stunning. We saw so many fields of it that we had though it must be a crop plant, but apparently is an invasive plant here.

Then we joined the highway again, which came as a bit of a shock, after the quiet roads, we’d pedalled along until then. It was busy, made even busier by the fact that this is a 3 day weekend in Japan, as it is the  ‘Sports Day’ Public Holiday on Monday.

We put our heads down and pedalled up the hill, before heading through a 1km tunnel, which wasn’t as much fun as the 4km one a few days ago. The noise of the constant vehicles passing us in both directions was deafening at times, and it was a delight to finally emerge and turn back onto the quiet road that took us back up the valley to the van.

Despite the traffic on the highway, it had been a lovely morning’s ride, and we sat on our little chairs, by the sea with Onigiri & Chestnut Mochi for a late lunch, which was just about perfect.

By then the sun had burned the clouds away and it was a hot, bright afternoon & as we’d cycled back in, we’d passed the beach and even to us, the sea had looked quite tempting.

After lunch, we popped our swimming stuff on, and walked over to the beach to test the water.

It was a simply glorious afternoon, and after not even flinching when we stepped into the sea, we were soon bobbing around (much to the amusement of some of the people on the beach, who appeared to be dressed for winter).

We spent 2 hours in the beautifully warm sea (apparently just over 26°c at the moment), which felt warmer than the Mediterranean in summer. It was the perfect way to pass the afternoon and again, we just chatted about our experiences in Japan so far, and what we were learning here. One of the biggest things has been to slow down, but more about that in another post.

After dragging ourselves out, as the sun was starting to get lower in the sky, it was time for a quick visit to the Onsen and then  a walk to the end of the breakwater, where we sat watching the fishermen and their families using the last of the light to add to their catches of the day.

It proved to be a spectacular sunset and we’re sitting now, by the van listening to the water lap against the seawall, just in front of us.

Another superb day, on top of all the other superb days weve had so far. It’s so tempting to stay here, as it is so very lovely, but time is flying, so we’ll head on again tomorrow, hopefully into the mountains.