Today’s breakfast
I just love Japanese style breakfast… thanks for finding this for today Kym!
Cycling
What you experience when cycling…
Watching Japanese movies, TV and anime often there there shots of train crossings.. so on our ride to breakfast this was perfect timing…
… additionally if you’ve ever wondered what it’s like cycling through Yoyogi Park… here is the view from the cycle path..
Just in case…
you thought this was looking like Weekend at Bernies – the rumours are not true. I am indeed alive and well in Tokyo. I too am enjoying the posts by the most excellent social media manager.
This picture is from an excellent little spot we happened across this morning. A wonderful breakfast with very yummmy rice.
If you are in the area then Tanbo Yoyogi Main Store 田んぼ 代々木本店 is the place to go.
Thank-you Brompton friends!
There are many things which go into making holidays great. Often it’s a combination of deciding where to go, what to experience with the time you have available, navigating your way around and being prepared to be opened minded for what you might experience. This is often our experience in Japan.
We recognise we are fortunate to have Brompton cycling friends in Japan – it was really great to see them again – and we have a very enjoyable time in their company.
These holidays we got to spend time with them –
- Cycling Oshima island over the first weekend- off the coast of Honshu, Japan
- Catching up over a couple of dinners in their city (Tokyo & Kobe) – which were great experiences (…it’s not all about the Bromptons)
- Spending the day cycling the Tama and Arakawa river in Tokyo and going to the summit of Mt Takao
- Attending the ‘Brompton In Palace’ Christmas event (inc. food and all you can drink) in Tokyo
Because we have known them since 2016.. we have learnt more about them, their culture, and as a bonus it’s helped us learn the best ways to get around Japan by Brompton. Through this friendship we also hope what we experience inspires them to visit the places in Japan we visit with our Bromptons – as they inspire us to cycle different places in Japan.
Mayumi, the leader of Brompton in Palace also does her own blog of cycling with her Brompton and about the events. If you are interested in reading the blog – I recommend you take a look. If you don’t read Japanese, don’t panic as there is a translate button in your internet browser.
ありがとうご座います… and we look forward to seeing you again next holiday.
Last full day..
… so there is time for one last bike ride before we pack the bike away.
We used our free breakfast tickets this morning, which were due to staying at the hotel previously… and it was quite enjoyable.
The weather is going to be a very cool 12 degrees, but the sky is perfectly blue. Great cycling conditions… looking forward to seeing what today brings.
Back in Tokyo
We made it back..!
Nothing like the feeling of arriving back… knowing you successfully navigated all trains and ferries! Yeah.. us! after this photo we cycled a short 5km back to the hotel – just in time for Friday night shopping.
In case you are wondering – what you see in the picture is everything weve had with us for the past 12 days. Cycling with it is easier than carrying through train stations. A post will be written on how we get around – eventually 😉
Shimabara cycling
Did we enjoy our riding in Shimabara? The answer is a big yes.
It might have been because Shimabara is making an effort to support cycling tourism. The Goigoi Ikomon website ( in Japanese) has a a lot of useful information and routes (in GPX form).
But that’s not the reason.
We were planning to do part of the Shimabara Peninsula 1 Lap Route. We were took the train to from Nagasaki to Kobe and planned to ride the route to Shimabara City.
When we had a look at the route we could say that it followed the national road route 251. It also implied that there some bike infrastructure maintained.
This route is not the Shimanami Kaido. It was a busy truck route and so we rode a kilometre or two and decided to abandon the original plan. I was looking for a photo of the busy road – but we didn’t take any. You’ll just have to trust is that there were a lot of cars and trucks. So I have included a picture of the cute train instead.
We used our Beeline App to place a few points along the route they were off the main truck route and let it work its magic. Within a few minutes we had a route of quiet byways. Much more fun and interesting.
The route is 25km and mostly flat. Riding through fishing and farming communities. The route we took is on Strava.
Here is an important piece of advice. Just because someone promotes a route as suitable for cycling doesn’t mean it is. At least in Japan there usually is a nearby quiet route that you can take instead. So if it doesn’t feel right then change your plans – either do another route or take the train instead.
I am certainmy glad we stopped and opted for plan B. I still think checking out the Goigoi Ikomon website especially for the hill climbers who want some more challenging and less busy routes.
Here are some more photos from this ride.
We also plotted out a loop ride for the next day. This route is just over 20km with 219 metres of climbing. It is also available on Strava.
It took in many of the interesting spots around Shimabara. Here are some photos from this bike route to whet your appetite.
Another great day on the Brompton…
Today was for wandering around Shimabara by bikes. We managed to cycle between 28-31km (depending on who’s Strava account you want to believe).
In addition to the castle we also came across
- Relaxing time at old Japanese house and morning tea
- Old Samurai warrior street
- Location where the Castella cake is made (Kym bought $5 bargain pack – who needs fancy packaging..)
- Shimabara library
- Views of the mountains surrounding Shimabara
- Buried houses from the eruption in 1990
- Statue for Samurai Blue (Japan soccer team)
- Sea wall
- Cat cake shop
The morning was a little warmer than yesterday- but around 2pm it began to get colder.
Kym designed the route before we left the hotel this morning… but it is interesting what you find that is unplanned. Here is what the route looked like:
Due to the mountains, it is a hilly area… so yes there were more hills in today’s ride.
Fukue Island, Goto – last ride…
Today our brief time on Fukue Island ends, as we catch the ferry back to Nagasaki. In the last three days we cycled approximately 109km. Here is the map of the three routes:
The last ride today occurred in very wintry conditions. Imagine if you can (in Australia this might be hard with current temperatures) 9 degrees in the wind. On the up side there was not as much climbing as it was only 297meters.
The scenery was very different, as we cycled through some very small villages, farms and along the sea wall. it was lovely to have a nice flat surface for awhile instead of continuously going up or down.
We were cycling around Mt Onidake which was a volcano having last erupted 18,000+ years ago and created the Abunze Lava Coast which can also be walked.
Surprisingly the patisserie location was amazing – not surprisingly really given they use Echire butter. But it was also a welcome stop out of the cold. We had a brief stop at the Geo-Centre which contains information about the formation of the islands and a look out point.
The route back was up and down between farms and small roads, alongside the airport (it was not flat as suggested) back through the top of town and zipped down to a lunch place Kym had found before it closed at 2pm.
Certainly a great little ride (26km+ or 30km depending on who’s Strava account you want to believe) and fabulous water views.
There is always a patisserie…
Yes.. even in remote spots they can and WILL be found. Demonstrating there is always a reward in cycling.
