Day 2: Lake Katsurazawa to Biei

Sunday 10 June 2012

Day 2 Lake Katsurazawa to Biei  Distance:  87km  (total 210)

Little known fact: Japan certainly is the Land of the Rising Sun!!  Sun rise is at 4am!!   

After seeing some warning signs for bears on the road yesterday, I had been a little paranoid and hadn't slept too well, so I just rolled over and go back to sleep safely in the knowledge that a bear was not going to eat me in the night!   

Also, old men started arriving at the lake to fish from around 4:30am.  I was only vaguely aware of people walking along the path about 20metres from my tent while I slumbered, but once I poked my head outside at 7am, I realized that there were probably a dozen fishermen down on the lake-front!

Today was notable for epic climbs, breathtaking descents and lots of rain… and tunnels too!  From Lake Katsurazawa to Furano you could really appreciate the scale of the land as forest-clad mountains rose on either side.  There were plenty of hill-climbs, but they were not a problem – just spin away and enjoy the scenery slowly move by… the descents were fantastic too – not too steep which made for a mostly brake-free ride and a chance to make-up some of the time spent ascending!

There were three tunnels today – one was 2.6km, which was far too long for my liking!  I have found that some of the shorter tunnels have wide pedestrian walkways, which can be used to ride up and out of the traffic, but most of the long tunnels do not have any separate bike lane.  Luckily, the roads I am cycling are reasonably quiet and Japanese drivers keep their speed down in tunnels! 

I rode through Furano, which is a recommended overnight-stop on the Cycle Japan itinerary I am following up to Waikkanai, but I seem to be a half-day ahead of schedule.  Furano was okay, but not particularly exciting – it had a McDonalds!  Up the road, at Kamifurano, I had an awesome half rockmelon with soft-serve ice cream for lunch.  It was pretty expensive for some fruit and icecream (¥1050.00/ $12.60) but tasted amazing!  I was really craving fresh fruit J

I arrived in Biei just after 2pm, and went to the information centre to arrange a (cheap) hotel for the night.  Since it had been raining solidly, I was really in the mood for a treat.  The information desk lady was so lovely, even though she didn’t speak any English (“Eego ga hanasimasu ka?”; “iie”).  She telephoned ahead for a single room at Pie Petite Hotel (¥6000, inc breakfast), which was just around the corner, and absolutely perfect!  Lovely, clean and modern.  The receptionist/owner was expecting me, and was super-friendly when I wheeled over. She even let me put my dirty bike on the front porch :) 

I spent the afternoon having a good, long shower and then explored Biei city by foot.  It is super-cute and tiny, like a real little alpine village.  I browsed at a tourist shop selling souvenirs and food (in the hope of finding a fridge-magnet for Elisha and Daniel), scoped out a good restaurant for dinner, and stocked up on biscuits and instant ramen noodles for tomorrow. 

I had dinner at an awesome restaurant near the train station/information centre and they even had a menu in English with illustrations. Happy days for me!  I got a set dinner with Miso, salad, and Katsu pork with rice, Biei asparagus and curry sauce.  Yum!!  I tried a local cider, and it was weird: it tasted like a combination of apple cider and creaming soda.

 Weird Japanese drink (out of a vending machine, of course!).  If one lemon is good for you, just imagine how good 50 would be, right?