September 20, 2025
Day 18 — Okishi to Yakumo
Well spoiler alert from the last post, but the trains did indeed run through the night, with the tunnel alarms preceding the train by a few minutes. It was like having a clock radio go off at irregular intervals through the night. Oh well, it was a beautiful spot and only cost ¥500 (not quite five bucks Canadian), so it’s hard to really complain.
We had booked accommodation in Yakumo, 60 km down the coast. Weather apps were telling us heavy rains were in the forecast, and we did not want to repeat our experience in Rumoi. This time Agoda seemed to accept our reservation, so we were hoping it all worked and were looking forward to sleeping indoors.
The ride to Yakumo was essentially two phases: a long climb up along the highway to cross a series of headlands, with spectacular bridges and views, and, sadly, tunnels; then a slog along the flats along the shoreline. The first bit, though spectacular, was not amenable to photography given the general hairiness of the riding. The second was also not too amenable to photography, as it passed through fairly unlovely country — mostly on a busy highway paralleling the construction of a new divided highway (there must be endless work for civil engineers here), and passing through towns whose best years were probably not that great and were now 25 years behind them, made all the more bleak by the approaching storm. We put our heads down and pedaled and got to Yokuma by early afternoon.
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We found our accommodation well before checkin time, but the automated system seemed able to check us in early. It just needed retinal scans, DNA samples and a full and complete CV with references. But let us in it did, and jackpot! It was lovely! New and clean and cozy, with a common eating area and kitchen, laundry and lounge area. And as the afternoon wore on, it seemed we had it to ourselves — which we did, at least until late evening, when a couple roommates showed up and quietly went to their rooms.
Seeing as we could cook ourselves a full meal, we hustled out to a nearby grocery store before the rain started. We were rewarded by stumbling across a classical Japanese garden, centred by what might have been a kindergarten. We had a brief wander around — it was truly lovely — before hitting the grocery store.
For some people there are few things more fun than figuring out a meal in a strange grocery store in a foreign country. I am definitely one of those people. We probably spent twice as much as if we had gone out, but how could we pass up a home cooked meal in on a rainy night?
It wasn’t long after our return that the rain started in earnest and the wind really picked up. Recalling our evening in Rumoi a week ago, we were pretty pleased at our fate this evening.
Today's ride: 62 km (39 miles)
Total: 926 km (575 miles)
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