Day 62 — Yuhigaoka Campground to Kochi - Tom and Marilee Retire to the Road

November 3, 2025

Day 62 — Yuhigaoka Campground to Kochi

Marilee here.

What a glorious day! Sunshine and blue sky, temples to visit, beaches and coastlines to explore — oh, and 90kms to cover, and a gusting headwind — but lets focus on the great stuff.

After a leisurely breakfast in camp (its hard to leave a nice campsite on a sunny day) we started our ride with a screaming descent down the hill we’d sweated so hard getting up the previous evening. Midway down we screeched to a stop in order to visit Temple 24, Hotsumisakiji Temple. As it was still relatively early, there were only a few pilgrims at the site and it was peaceful in the morning sunshine.

It doesn’t seem respectful to point out how much this statue looks like Uncle Junior from The Sopranos, but….wow, those glasses.

Behind the temple, a short trail led to the lighthouse that sits high on the cliffs above Cape Muroto, at the southeastern tip of Shikoku.

The lighthouse on the tip of Cape Muroto.

Just a few minute more of zooming around switchbacks brought us back to the highway that we’d been following along the coast the day before, and we entered the Muroto-Anan Kaigan National Park. We stopped again, this time to wander the coastal trails for an hour or so, checking out the rock formations and the tropical jungle. We were surprised to see giant cactuses growing along the trails — especially when we thought back to the 100mm of rain that the area got just a day or two earlier.

We found this guy on the path. He’s not welcome in our tent!

A couple of the switchbacks we rode on our way down from the campground, built out from the hillside.

Looking back at the hills — if you zoom in you can see the observation tower near our campground.

Hey, a beach! If only it was a few degrees warmer…

Taking our time, first at the temple and then exploring the coast, ate up most of the morning — and we still had those 90km to get through. So we had to get serious, put our heads down and pedal. We were highway riding for most of the morning, and while the road was peaceful and quiet at first, the traffic gradually increased through the day — although thanks to the national holiday, there were almost no trucks. Then in the afternoon we found our way onto an old railway line converted into a cycle path, which was amazing — right along the coast, flat, well-paved and gloriously traffic-free. It even included a few tunnels — and it turns out that tunnels without cars are not scary at all!

Approaching a tunnel with no trepidation whatsoever.

The sun was getting low in the sky and we still had more than 25km to cover before getting to Kochi, where we had a hotel reservation waiting. But then this absolutely beautiful beach appeared, and there was nothing to be done but sit down on the grass for a while, eat some candy and drink a Red Bull while watching the families spending this lovely holiday Monday playing in the sand.

Can’t be avoided, a break is necessary here.

Rejuvenated! Either by the beach or the Red Bull.

Shortly after leaving the beach we lost the cycle path and had to get back onto the highway for the final push into Kochi. We had a big surprise coming around a corner to see a jet taxiing down the runway and taking off — we had no idea we were that close to the airport. But we were in a race with the sun, so we didn’t linger to watch the action at the airport. We made it into downtown Kochi just as the light was leaving the sky. Then it was hotel, showers, and a short stroll down the street to a really great neighborhood restaurant, where we ordered up a ton of delicious seafood.

Masamasa, a neighborhood izakaya with wonderful food.

Mmmm, seafood. Each dish arrived sequentially, so we couldn’t get a shot of the whole feast.

Today's ride: 94 km (58 miles)
Total: 3,137 km (1,948 miles)

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