I left Komatsu and decided to make Toyama my next stopover. I downed breakfast which these days consists of two bread roll sandwiches stuffed with margarine and fruit jam. The calorie count is pretty high on these and they are cheap. It holds me over until lunch. The weather was a bit gloomy and cold as I left. On the way I passed a Komatsu building with a bunch of tractors out front, and then it hit me that Komatsu was probably founded in this town. After a wiki search, it turned out to be true. The ride started to get tough as the wind started to blow and then light rainfall. I rode in the rain for a little bit, but eventually decided to give up and wait it out at a McDonalds. After eating a Big Mac combo and lounging for an hour or so inside, the rain stopped so I headed out again. In the meantime, I had my dad look for hotels in Toyama, am I being spoiled? Probably...
Although the rain was gone for the day, the headwinds from the coast got stronger and it was making for a horribly slow ride. As I pushed on against the wind I started to cuss at it and shout out loud like a maniac out of frustration. After a while, I realized that I had gone past the road I was supposed to turn at. All that energy riding into the wind for nothing, well at least it pushed me all the way back to where I was supposed to turn. After getting back on track, I headed over a mountain pass and then found a nice alternate route through some towns. I have been on the main highway route the past few days because it’s easy to follow and it takes you through the bigger towns. However, it’s a lot nicer to ride through quiet areas when you can find alternate routes. It also gives me a closeup view of each small town along the way and a little insight into the lives of the townspeople.
My dad found me a super cheap hotel near the Toyama train station for 2900 yen a night. When I checked into the hotel I was surprised at how nice it was…for that kind of price I was expecting a dump. To save money, I bought an instant yakisoba dinner and ate it in my room. After I took a shower I headed outside and realized that I am no longer in the warm region of Japan. It gets cold up here! I went to the conbini and bought a small carton Toyama Milk drink for dessert. The milk in Japan is delicious, I think because of the pasteurization process difference. It tastes like real milk, creamy and whole…makes American milk taste like water.
I spent the rest of the night catching up on my blog, although I’m behind uploading pictures into the gallery…I will try to do that in the next couple of days. It’s really hard to do anything after a long day of riding. Usually my routine these days is to check into the hotel, take a shower, rest a bit, and then find some dinner. Afterwards, I do research for where I’m going next and a place to stay. I am trying to call one day in advance now since the cheaper places fill up quickly I’ve noticed. Then if I have time I will update my blog…if I’m too tired to do that, I at least write down some main points in Word so I don’t forget. I’m starting to confuse certain things these days so it’s best to write down something before I go to sleep for the night.