Day 1

Posted on by kymdt

A short 46 km from Hodatsu to Togo on the Noto peninsula.
Day 1
Helen insisted on doing the 8km leg on the beach. We had to find enough compact sand to make sure that we didn’t fall off. Fortunately, there was a pleasant beach stand that manage to sell beer and very fresh seafood. The clams and squid were awesome. We then continued on a specialised bicycle path, which at some point, we thought had been completely forgotten. For weeks I have been looking forward to visiting Sucre Plage patisserie. But when we got there we learnt it will shut every Wednesday. We were very disappointed. Perhaps, next time. From there we rode through a number of cute little fishing villages. As you might expect, this involves some climbs and some descents. By about 4:30pm we arrived at our destination.
Day 1
Dinner was fantastic at the family run ryokan. I can only show you the dessert perhaps Helen can show you more.

Day 1

Official Start of the slow tour of Noto.

Posted on by kymdt

This tour started at Tokyo station. Our bikes are fully loaded with one S-bag each and two panniers. We will spend seven days riding around 300 km. This is the first time we’ve taken Bromptons on a multi day tour. It will be interesting to see how we cope with each other, the bikes, and the lack of clothes.

Here is Helen jumping for joy at the thought of riding 300 km with me.

Repeating history, but with a different cast

Books

Posted on by helenhmk

The only downside about Japan, is I don’t know enough of the language to read the books. There are so many amazing book shops – and the books and magazines themselves look really interesting – nevertheless I’m working on the language! However, if you are in Tokyo one of thee best bookshops is in a store called Ginza6. Apart from the food available in the basement – oh ichigo (strawberry) ice cream which was about $4..

Tokyo - day 2

….head up to the top floor and check out the bookstore. The central event space in the centre of the shop is surrounded with wooden shelves stacked with books. Spend enough time there and you can find a book on almost anything. I could of bought a book on hospital design, but thought the better for it!

Tokyo - day 2

Food can be cheap…

Posted on by helenhmk

In Tokyo you can find food at all prices. From the very cheap to expensive.

Sunday night a couple of friends were kind enough to take us to a fabulous restaurant on the 41(?) floor. Amazing view… and we enjoyed a variety of dishes. The sashimi in this photo was only 2,000 (Yen)… yes you did read that price correctly. It was the chefs special. The taste was even better! It was a great meal which we really enjoyed.

Tokyo - day 1

Landed

Posted on by helenhmk

The flight was delayed leaving by an hour, and the landing was bumpy. However how often can you say within an hour of landing at an international airport , you are on a train speeding towards the city.

Tokyo - day 1

The only down side of this efficiency is not being able to get a can of coffee from a vending machine at the train platform.