Ride Coordinator: Judith Ashby
Report by: Ellen Cohen
Veteran BAC trip leaders Harold and Judy Ashby conceived of this tour as an immersive cultural experience for first-time visitors to Japan. The eight day cycle tour, relatively short for an overseas BAC trip, left ample time for participants to expand their exploration of this beautiful and engaging country. Superb support was provided by Cycling Japan, including two vans and three guides – company owner Kenichi (Ken) Kawamura ably assisted by Saori Kouda and Kevin Smith.
Most of the group, comprised of 17 Americans and three Canadians, arrived early to acclimatize in Kanazawa, a small city near the Sea of Japan in the west of the country. Kanazawa’s attractions include the magnificent Kenrokuen gardens, one of Japan’s three most famous gardens, where the azaleas and Japanese irises were in full bloom, and the Ohmichi market with its arrays of local seafood.
For the first four days of the cycle trip we journeyed around the rugged Noto peninsula. Soon after leaving Kanazawa we were in bucolic countryside, with its traditional tile-roofed houses, small-scale farming and fishing, flower gardens and rice fields. At the end of the first day’s ride we stayed at the first of several ryokans – a traditional family-run guesthouse where we learned about slipper protocol, communal onsen bathing, lounging in our cotton yukata robes, and sleeping on futons on the floor of tatami-mat rooms. Dinner was an elaborate multi-course feast complemented by a sake tasting and traditional Japanese harp recital.
The second day’s ride en route to Wajima, famous for its laquerware, included spectacular coastal scenery, lunch at a restaurant specializing in soba noodles and tofu, and a visit to the century-old house museum of a wealthy shipping magnate. Mid-morning each day we were directed to the “tea stop,” where Ken and his crew set out tea, excellent coffee, fruit and snacks. After breakfast at our comfortable western-style hotel (beds and private bathrooms!) in Wajima we strolled through the daily morning market before visiting a laquerware workshop where we each decorated a set of chopsticks as a souvenir. The next two days continued along the rugged coast and included stops at the dazzling Senmaida rice fields and time-honored salt processing facilities. Our final stay on the Noto peninsula was at a ryokan in Wakura Onsen, a popular natural hot spring town. The following day a shuttle to Shirakawa-ko began the mountain portion of the trip.
Shirakawa-ko, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a picturesque village of traditional farmhouses with steep A-shaped thatched roofs nestled in a river valley surrounded by mountains. The next day’s ride from there to Takayama through the mountains was an interesting uphill journey on small forest roads alongside rushing water, dams and engineering works. In Takayama, a popular tourist destination, we explored streets lined with traditional wooden houses and wandered the riverside morning market. We then set out on a gorgeous ride through the mountains culminating in a thrilling long downhill to the quaint riverside town of Gujyohachiman.
The final day’s ride was a leisurely descent on mostly back roads through forests and farmland along the beautiful Nagara River to a riverside hotel on the outskirts of Gifu city. The grand finale of our fantastic cycling tour was a cormorant-fishing dinner cruise on the river – a fascinating, fiery spectacle that had to be seen to be believed!
Ken’s company, Cycling Japan, was superb. They could not have done more to enhance our experience of this beautiful country with its gracious people. And Harold and Judy deserve our gratitude for settling on this trip and, with their hard work and attention for detail, making it happen.
Bicycle Adventure Club
PO BOX 23998 San Diego, CA 92193
Telephone (858) 715-9510 office@bicycleadventureclub.org