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Day 56: Shirasuka to Nagoya
Shiomizaka Roadside Station is technically located on a national highway where bikes are not allowed, but thankfully there are agricultural pathways that provide alternate access. Soon after our arrival, we…
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Day 55: Utsunoya to Shirasuka
Today’s ride took us out of Shimada City, up into the hills and through several quiet, historical sites. One stop was the entrance to the Suwa-no-hara Castle Ruins (諬訪原城跡), an old mountaintop fortress. We…
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Day 54: Hakone to Utsunoya
We were blessed with clear skies this morning — which, for me, meant only one thing: time to grab my camera for another solo sunrise shoot. While my friend continued snoozing peacefully in the tent, I hopped…
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Day 53: Gora to Hakone
Still not recovered from yesterday’s exhaustion, we were in no rush to get moving. We didn’t check out of the hotel until around noon — a remarkably late start by our usual standards. Our plan for the day was…
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Day 52: Fujisawa to Gora
While my companion was still sound asleep, I rose at dawn and biked to the beach overlooking Enoshima Island to catch the first ray of the sunrise on camera. Dozens of surfers were already in the water or…
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Day 51: Shibuya and Mitaka by Train
We chose to stay in Fujisawa last evening, largely due to a scheduling misstep. During our 3-day stay in Tokyo, we had failed to secure tickets to the Ghibli Museum where reservations must now be made well in…
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Day 50: Yokohama to Fujisawa
At just past 5 a.m., we hopped on our bikes to catch the sunrise over Yokohama Port (横浜港), aiming to photograph the early light spilling across the Bay Bridge (横浜ベイブリッジ) and illuminating the iconic Red Brick…
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Day 49: Mitaka to Yokohama
In the morning, we had another chat with Diana and Sasha. Given their foreign background, we couldn’t help but ask what they thought of Japan — more specifically, if they like living here. Diana burst out…
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Day 46-48: Chofu to Mitaka (Tokyo)
After 45 days of cycling, we finally arrived in the mega-city where we dropped by briefly in October: Tokyo! We scheduled 3 rest days to experience all the sights and sounds of this metropolis. It is generally…
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Day 45: Utsunomiya to Chofu (Tokyo)
At 6am, the same guardian came to our tent again to urge us to leave, stating, in a much more impatient manner, that it’s 6 am, people have started to arrive on the site. In fact, the shops at Romantic…