Hiraizumi to Kakunodate
June 10, 2023
Today was our longest ride of the tour at 138 kilometers or about 86 miles. It was not a flat route with Ride With GPS (RWGPS) showing about 1650 meters of climb in the route compared with over 2000 meters actual. The reason for the difference could be tunnels. There were four tunnels on then route where GPS was cut off and maybe RWGPS just filled in the missing elevations from the map rather than the actual climb registered. In any event, 138 kilometers with even 1650 meters of climb was enough to satisfy me.
Our route took us above a large dam that creates a massive reservoir to supply drinking a irrigation water as well as hydro electric generation. The route around was a bit of modern engineering so the 420 meters of climbing was spread out over a fairly gentle route. It still took a good and constant effort but was easier than many of the climbs we have had previously.
Along the way were numerous waterfalls that created deep chasms that were spanned by quite a few bridges as we snaked our way around and gradually up and over the surrounding mountain. Tunnels also helped to limit the amount of actual climbing required.
Once out of the mountains we moved into an area of somewhat industrial scale rice plantations fed by a intricate irrigation aqueduct network. One curious addition to this landscape were the billboards and bridge art that were apparently erected by the various local communities. I am not sure what the dogs on the billboard were eating but the ones on the left seem to have ingested hallucinogenics, while the ones on the right appear to be auditioning to become sled dogs. It might also be because they are the Akita breed which originated in this area. As for the narley guy with the beard, your guess is as good as mine.
Our evening town is also home to another group of cyclists doing a tour of Japan. By chance, one of those cyclist is Wallace, a man that two of us know from doing the Trans Europa tour in 2021. As I have said, the long distance cycling community is a small but tightly knit group and you almost always meet someone you know when you venture forth boldly and broadly.
Our town tonight is also know as Samurai City, having once been home to a legion of samurai warriors. Today many of the homes here war still owned by the proud descendants of these skilled and lethal warriors. Some even are maintained in the traditional style and open to the public for a small fee. Unfortunately, I arrived too late and left too early to visit one.
My high point occurred right at the end of the ride when I pulled into the hotel and one of the TDA staff, Chris, handed me a cold beer. Happy endings!