Tokyo to Suwa
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Up early, and a very good run down the highway to Dangozaka SA on the E20 where I met up with Ben. Another hour on the highway to Hokuto where we got off to take the 141 north. After a quick combini stop it was off to play on the local roads.
We made our way up towards Tateshina, but then took some very tiny and twisty local roads across to the 40, which we then took back down south to Shirakaba lake where we were only last weekend.. it’s a small world!
We had a ramen lunch to warm up after which Ben headed off to our hotel in Okaya and I went off to explore the Venus line and other roads in the area in the cold and rain. Despite the miserable conditions I quite enjoyed the ride up and back down, with the bike reaching the Schnappszahl 22222 km.. Unfortunately it was so foggy and rainy that there was absolutely no view from the top. At 1995m altitude it was raining and 5C… brr!
Due to various road closures I ended up back on the 142 to get to the hotel – and the last half was absolutely frustrating following a very long queue of cars at 30-40kmh. But overall it was a good run and my confidence riding this bike in the rain increased a lot.
Finally at the hotel, first thing after check-in was a hot bath. My gear had kept me partially dry which is pretty good considering the conditions. The boots, unfortunately, proved to be not quite as waterproof as advertised.. Also, the nature of the gear means that the outer layers get completely soaked as the waterproofs are on the inside.
After the bath, Ben and I met up for dinner. After a few false starts we found a great local sushi place where we had the seafood bowls “chirashi”, some hot soup, and I had some local nihonshu (sake).
Time for bed – tomorrow we’re planning to leave quite early for a run around the the Venus line before doing the rest of the planned tour. But first, some drying of gear with the hair dryer..
All up a successful, albeit cool and damp, start to the tour!
