Vaucluse Dreamer

Where have the last nearly 6 weeks gone. At the start of this adventure, it felt as if we had all the time in the world, yet the days have slipped by so easily, and tomorrow morning we will say goodbye to the van that has been such a comfortable home for our time here.

We are so happy that we made the decision to drive through Tokyo ysterday morning, as we have spent today doing what we love best, heading out on the bikes for a good ride.

I know it may seem hard to believe, but when we picked this park-up, we had no idea that it was one of the main access points for the cycle path around Lake Kasumigaura , which runs along the lakeside, doing a full 126km loop of this beautiful lake.

So after breakfast, we hopped on the bikes and set off, following the well-marked, tarmac route that literally runs by the water for almost the whole distance.

It was a calm and tranquil morning, with the surface of the water appearing glass-like, and giving us postcard-perfect views at every turn

With Mount Tsukuba playing a starring role

We passed fishermen, pottered through small towns and villages & simply enjoyed every turn of the pedal.

It is an excellent route and one that we were totally unaware of, but being able to spend the day on the bikes today has rounded this part of the holiday off perfectly.

It was a full day’s ride, and as we pedalled back towards the van, at just after 3, the low winter light made it feel more like dusk than mid-afternoon.

We loaded the bikes back into the van,

Headed off for our last onsen of the trip

And then settled down to watch the most spectacular sunset that i think i have ever seen.

It really was a stunning end to a rather wonderful day, and as the 6pm chimes rang out across the water, all we could so was smile and reflect on an adventure that has surpassed every expectation we had.

You can Watch a little video postcard from today here

Sorry it’s a short post tonight, but we have to pack everything up, and get ready to return the van in the morning. It feels as if the trip is over, but we still have 2 nights in Tokyo, so we’ll do our best to pick ourselves up and enjoy our time there too.

But thank you for following us on this incredible trip. It’s been lovely sharing our time here with you and hopefully opening your eyes to the Japan that sits outside the cities.

It’s utterly charming and has definitely captured a piece of our hearts.