I woke up and did my usual stretch and research before heading out. Today my destination is Itoigawa, about a 50 mile ride up along the coast. As I went downstairs and outside to where my bike was parked, another guy was there with touring gear saddled up on his road bike. Since we are a rather small and looney group, it was only proper to introduce each other and talk. Wake-san is from Matsuyama, Shikoku Island; the same town my cousin is currently living in and where I got to stay for a night. He rode his bike from there, ferried over to Osaka, then headed along the northern shore of Lake Biwa, and we've followed the same route from there to Toyama. He was taking a few days off the saddle here because the hotel was so cheap. He is also planning to head north towards Hokkaido and then ride down the Pacific side all the way back home. He is going at a more leisurely pace because he has an extra month more than I do and he is hiking along the way at various spots.
I was surprised because he smokes, but it didn’t seem to slow him down at all. He already had reservations made at a hostel a town before where I was headed so we decided to ride together up to that area. He had a much better map than me so I followed him as he took me along the Toyama Bay to the Shinriko Cycling Course. I don’t know if I would’ve found it on my own so I was glad Wake-san was there and it was nice to ride with another touring cyclist again. There is a section of the road where you’re surrounded by pine trees like you’re in a tunnel, it was awesome. We stopped at a seaside rest area restaurant and ate some lunch, I had ama-ebi (shrimp) tempura soba.
Wake-san rode at a pretty fast pace so I had to work to keep up with him, but we covered a lot of miles in a hurry. We arrived to where he was staying for the night so we said our farewells and parted ways. Once again, I was on my own until the next encounter. It was a pretty crappy ride after riding a nice cycling road all the way along the Toyama Bay area. The road eventually climbs up a cliff area and there are several tunnel passes. The afternoon wind was blowing in as well. The route along this area used to be very dangerous before the age of highways; there were some signs talking about the perils of crossing this section. I believe it, the road that goes through it now is carved into a cliff side and the sea below was white capped from the strong winds. The expressway that runs parallel to the highway heads into the ocean a bit before turning back to land. After that intimidating section though, the road flattened out and it was smooth sailing into Itoigawa where I was staying for the night. The town is pretty small and there isn’t much going on here. The business hotel I'm staying at charges a bit more than what I want to pay and the room is below average. As long as I have a warm bed to sleep in though, I can't really compain.