Mizumoto Onwards

Again to Kumagaya

dannycycle — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:38:22 +0000

I finally did not get lost and hit all of the points minus the yakitori shops and tori in Higashi Matsuyama noted in the Jitensha Sanpo ride. I finished up early so I took the cycling road back to Omiya. Northerly winds propelled me so it only took 90 minutes to get home from Yoshimi. I will map out the best route through pictures on a separate page sometime soon.

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Forested roads on the way to Jigoku Numa

Jigoku Numa

According to Jitensha Sanpo this spirit protects passing travelers.

Sitting Buddhas at Yoshimi Kanon Temple near Yachoko.

Shio Kofun Tombs

dannycycle — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 13:13:22 +0000

Perhaps at a later point I will contextualize this area located in Konan cho in northern Saitama prefecture so that it does not seem so random, but for the time being I just want to explain briefly what the sign states about Shio Kofun. The sign details the number of graves and their sizes which I am not going to translate because it is too tedious.

It is said that this extremely dense and well-preserved burial site is an important representative of Kita Musashino region’s early burial grounds. These grounds, which include excavated earthenware, date to the second half of the fourth century. Shio Kofun was designated a cultural site on March 1st Showa 35 (1960). The graves point in the direction of Name River from where sand was transported to build the mounds.

Izumo No Iwai Jinja

dannycycle — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:59:40 +0000

An example of the many posts for shrines in and around Kumagaya

In the countryside of Kumagaya there are a number of shrines and historical points that are part of a course mapped out by the local government on roads with wooden posts directing passerby with the next destination. All are in Japanese and seem few and far between for a newcomer. I know many people use GPS to tell them where to go(I have a GPS tracker, but it doesn’t tell me where to go… yet.)but I feel a sense of accomplishment when I follow these posts and actually find something I’m looking for. On my last trip in Kumagaya I printed out nine maps at a scale of 1:8000 and still managed to get lost for part of the time. One of my destinations was Izumo No Iwai Jinja 出雲乃伊波神社. Here are a few pictures of the shrine along with a translation of the sign on the grounds.

This shrine was previously called Kashima Jinja but was changed to Izumo No Iwai Jinja in Meiji 28. The enshrined deity is Take Mika Tsuchino Mikoto(*Herein referred to as Take). It has been enshrined together at a number of precincts including Hikawa Jinja, Yasaka Jinja, Takita Jinja, Inari Jinja, Tenman Jinja, Shinmei Jinja, Yama Jinja, and Fuji Asama Jinja. Take, in the Shinwa Era of Takamagahara (*As written in the Kojiki as the highest place of the gods) was singled out with a task of subjugating the land, but Futsu Nushi No Mikoto had stood up first at that time. Overflowing with confidence Take also aimed for this task and so the two gods worked together to accomplish this goal. Their unequaled bravery and ability to cooperate made a land with beautiful success. Also Wada (*field) across from the temple gate and Taiko bridge which crosses the river was once called Yakumo Bashi. Passing under the bridge many prayers were made for sick children to recover from Measles. Until the beginning of the Showa period many came “Hashika Mairi” to pray for the recovery of children with Measles. On festival days for the gods of the combined precincts (*the shrines stated above) especially that of the Yasaka festival on July 15th known from a long time ago locally as “Itai Emperor,” a mikoshi and the Taiko “Hibaribayashi” yatai has excitedly passed through the Itai ward since Meiji 4.

Kumagaya and Higashi Matsuyama

dannycycle — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:32:25 +0000

In my second attempt to follow the route in Jitensha Sanpo, which highlights beautiful farmland and unique historical points in and around Kumagaya and Higashi Matsuyama, I missed a few turns so a 45 kilometer ride became 61. I will go again next week to find Jigoku Numa. It is offroad in the woods and its the only spot I haven’t found. It looks like I missed it by about 2 or 3 hundred meters. My next map will be less haphazard and perhaps it will be a ride I can recommend. I’ve given up on following the exact route of the guide book and just hit the main spots. My bicycle seems to be handling some of the offroad stuff well enough.

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Here are some shots.

Izumo No Iwai Jinja 出雲乃伊波比神社

Shio Ko Fun 塩古墳

Yoshimi Hyakketsu (Hyakuana) 吉見百穴

January 5, 2011 Ride in Gyoda and Kumagaya

dannycycle — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:24:36 +0000

I pulled out my Jintensha Sanpo guide book and tried to follow some recommended routes in Gyoda and Kumagaya and succeeded in missing a number of important turns and landmarks. I did manage to connect both rides via route 125. I also used my new GPS receiver on a day-long ride for the first time. I plan to go back to Kumagaya next week and take more time to understand the ride which takes in a lot of countryside including the Arakawa and Shinrin Koen in Higashi Matsuyama. Here is the route I took, starting at Gyoda Shi station on the Chichibu Tetsudo line and finishing up at Kumagaya station. Both routes have local historical points that seem worth seeing.

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Here are some pictures.

Atlas ASG-1 GPS Cycling Computer

dannycycle — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:19:45 +0000

Only for use in Japan. Not recommended for people who cannot read Japanese.

I sold my Nintendo dsi and software, ipod nano, and headphones so I could buy a GPS device for cycling. Most of the receivers were over 10000 yen, but I found the pink Atlas ASG-1 made by Yupiteru on Amazon for 7480 yen. The black version goes for 14800 yen, double the price. It is bizarre that color has such an incredible influence on the cost of products that are the same exact thing. This product tracks your current speed, average speed, elevation, and calories burned. If you input longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates of your ride it will give you the remaining distance and general direction of your destination. If no coordinates are entered then the computer automatically tracks you from your current location. Connecting the device via USB to a computer the stored information from a ride can be transferred to Yupiteru’s AtlasTour program which needs to be downloaded from their website. There is an update for the program so that it can be run on Windows 7, which is the OS I am using now. When I downloaded the program a notice appeared that it did not download every part of the program, so I tried downloading it again and I got the same message. However I haven’t had any problems in the actual use of AtlasTour. The trip info is converted into the map as a purple line and pictures taken on the ride can be uploaded and are automically posted to the points of the ride where they were taken. The device has settings for cycling, walking, running and driving. It also has settings for English and a 24 hour clock. In addition to the computer itself, a usb cable, bicycle mount, power chord, and one page instruction comes included. With a full charge (4 hours) the ASG-1 can last for 12 hours (as stated on the website).

The ASG-1 does not track cadence and speed/distance is not as exact as a conventional cycling computer, but I’ve been pleased by its functions, especially since I can carry it around for walks.

Also this device does not display a map, nor does it tell you specific directions, only a general direction (N, NE, NW, S, SE, SW, E, W).

I saw some other GPS receivers with a similar price made by i-gotU that had some positive reviews on Amazon, but unlike the Atlas receivers, I have not seen them sold in cycling shops in the Tokyo area. Perhaps there are shops that carry them, I just haven’t seen any.

So far the ASG-1 does everything the way I thought it would.

The next step is to figure out how to post my mapped rides on the blog.

A loop around Chiba, Tokyo and Saitama

dannycycle — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 01:41:36 +0000

Yesterday I took a ride from Kawama station on the Tobu Noda Line. From there I used the Edogawa CR to Mizumoto Koen and pushed onward through Adachi Ku via Kan nana dori and route 4 up to the Arakawa. Dropped into Kawaguchi and took the Shibakawa CR and Minumadai You Sui Chi back home.

Shimanami Kaido and the Seto Inland Sea

dannycycle — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 07:00:11 +0000

Over the three day holiday, which included Christmas this year, my wife and I went to the Seto Inland Sea and cycled a course called the Shimanami Kaido which has its starting point in Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture, and finishes in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture. The shortest route is 70 kilometers, but there are a variety of routes that can be taken to extend the ride to more than a hundred kilometers. This is the second trip I have taken that I read about in the Cycling Japan Guide. It is an incredible journey that allows for intimate views of Mandarin Orchard farmers toiling away on their orange-dotted hillsides and factory shipbuilding activities where tall red cranes move large steel bars and girders into place. It is fun to catch a glimpse of mundane scenes of workers riding their forklifts into factories that have all of these enormous darkened steels hooks hanging from ceilings and cement floors cluttered with what looks to be shrapnel of every size and shape. There are also sleepy little towns such as Setoda with delicious restaurants serving up Octopus and Red Snapper as well as cultural points of interest such as old temple grounds and museums. However, the main draw to this ride are the bridges which in effect connect Honshu to Shikoku and allow for such a course to be made. I will go into more detail at a later point in the multiple day ride page, but here are a few pictures that give a feel for the course.

Quiet country roads in Mukaishima, the closest island to Onomichi

Pristine waters even December, with Innoshima Ohashi Bridge in the distance

All of the bridges you cross have designated cycling roads safely divided from car traffic.

Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge stands in the distance as the longest and final bridge on the Journey.

Watarase Ride

dannycycle — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:15:26 +0000

Searching for a new place to cycle after a long dormant period, I found this site http://edogawacr.com/edo_wata.html which shows a route that goes north along the Edogawa cycling road past Seki Yado, a white castle-like structure that stands at the confluence of the Edo and Tone rivers, to a huge park called Watarase Koen. The information is very useful in the site even if you cannot understand Japanese because the accompanying pictures are methodically laid out with inserted red arrows kindly pointing you in the right direction along the route. I took the Tobu Noda line to Shimizu Koen in Chiba prefecture and then rode up to Nogi town which borders Watarase Koen in Ibaraki. Watarase gawa junctions about 15 kilometers north of Seki Yado which then leads into Watarase Koen. The wind was blowing hard towards the ocean that day which made every lazy bone in my body cry for the warm glow of my television screen and the toasty confines of a kotatsu, but I was nowhere near home so I pedaled onward with periodic episodes of spastic cussing. The cussing diminished as I entered a new place I had never been to or heard of before.

I will definitely visit the route again and venture deeper into Watarase.

Here are some pictures.

Foliage in Shimizu Koen

All is quiet at the obstacle course

Mt Fuji has a question

The start of the Watarase gawa cycling road

I braved the cold to look at this. Is this good? I don't know.

I returned via Koga station, a shadow of my former self.

Hikawa Torii

dannycycle — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 11:37:50 +0000

P1010245, a photo by dannycycle on Flickr.

Preparations for New Years at Hikawa Jinja in Omiya