Walking to Fukushima

 OK, not entirely, but it kinda felt like it.

Had a less than auspicious start to the day this morning. First, we were awoken by kids screaming and running up and down the hallway. At 6:45. Luckily we were going to be getting up anyway, but it was not the alarm I would have chosen. We packed up and hit the road before 8 and made it about a mile or so before Sumi got another flat tire. Upon further inspection she ran over a tiny metal piece that lodged into the tire and punctured the tube. So, using the second (and last) spare we had with us (the rest were shipped to Fukushima with our luggage), we finally got back on the road and started making our way north.

After a quick stop at Lawson to buy food for the day, as we were going to be in the middle of forest for most of today, we set out towards Fukushima. The biking was decent for the first few miles, but the ascent had already begun. We had 2500 feet to climb (we were already at about 2000 feet), and it was all in the first 15 miles. To put this in perspective, the Sears/Willis Tower in Chicago is 1450 feet. So there was a LOT of slow cycling/walking up the mountain. For hours. This is basically what we saw all day:

Really pretty scenery and I loved being in the forest, but we didn't have the presence of mind to take a lot of pictures. At about 11 we stopped for a snack break at a roadside rest area that had a ramen shop and outdoor seating. There was no way we were eating ramen with how hot and sweaty we were, but we were able to sit at a shaded table and have some apple juice.

For some of the way up, there were resorts along the way, most of the functioning, some of them deserted. There was a big hotel boom in the 80's and many of them failed. You can see them dotting the countryside all over the country. The ones we saw have likely been deserted for over 20 years.

Fabulous fixer upper in a secluded neighborhood

Hwy 115, the main (and sometimes only) road between the two towns was very busy with often very little shoulder for us to stay out of the way of traffic. Occasionally we would get a short bike path along the side of the road, when there were active resorts. 

So...run over pedestrians. Got it.

Since 115 was so bad, we spent most of the day slowly climbing up winding paths on back roads. It meant a lot less traffic, which was good, but almost always meant riding OVER mountains rather than around or through them. But finally, after 5 hours of climbing,

What a view.

we finally made it to the top of the mountain. Now the fun part begins. We had spent the last two days climbing up to an elevation of 4400 feet. After a quick lunch break were now about to coast down all of it. Over the next 15 miles, we didn't pedal. With all the sharp turns and debris on the forest roads (branches, etc) we had to ride the brakes, but it was quite exhilarating letting gravity pull us down. It was quite a mental switch from the slogging, one foot in front of the other, pace for most of the day to the hyper-focused speeding down the mountain, watching the ground for obstacles and keeping turns under control.

After a very fast and less pleasant few miles back on 115 to get into the city, we took a bunch of back roads and snaked our way through the suburbs to finally arrive in Fukushima city. We booked a place right next to the train station in case we want to do some exploring tomorrow, a chain hotel Toyoko. The rooms are decent size, breakfast is included, and it has covered parking. This is important because there is a big storm blowing up from down south tonight and we're getting rain tomorrow. We had already planned for a day off, so we'll be sheltering for a day and figure out our plans to get to Sendai.

Again our dinner plans were thwarted. Practically nothing is open in downtown Fukushima on Sundays. This makes sense, but we had totally lost track of the day. Being too tired to walk or take a train away from downtown to get a meal, we ended up at the 7-11 Bistro.

"Homemade" sandwiches on whole wheat bread!

A main priority tomorrow will be to find some real food. There are a number of Thai and Indian restaurants in the downtown area, as well as the fantastically named "Italian Kitchen Mugibatake". I have never seen less Italian-looking Italian food in my life. Imagine Japanese food on spaghetti.

Oh, they have Margherita Piz...Why? Just, why?

Also the first 4 dollar sign gyoza restaurant I've ever seen, though I think it may be an error on Trip Advisor. Gyoza Terui is open 5pm-9pm each evening and serves Enban-gyoza, or as I like to call it, The Wheel of Gyoza.

Enban-Gyoza

This isn't something Sumi and I could eat ourselves, but I'm certainly curious.