【Day2】Fukui to Lake Biwa(E-1)⭐⭐⭐ ‘21.14th,Nov
This route(E-1) is in Area-E “Chubu-Hokuriku". See Area-E map/ See Japan map
Sight & Entertainment ⭐⭐⭐
Foods & Drinks ⭐⭐⭐ *Due to my condition. Sea foods must be good.
Easiness ⭐
Road Condition ⭐⭐⭐
Safety ⭐⭐
I knew it would be tough day, then I asked the landlady to give me early breakfast at 7:00AM. I regret not taking any picture of the breakfast, but it was very delicious and voluminous. Especially Hatahata(Sailfin sandfish) which is landed mainly in Japanese sea shore from this season was very soft and rich in flavor, completely different from what we eat in Tokyo. And other dishes, rice as well are also delicious, so I ate too much, which caused my stomach breaking in the long cycling.
Starting at 8:00AM, I rode toward West in a bit cool air. The seasonal west wind was not blowing, so I thought I could reach Biwa lake smoothly, but that was lenient. The coast road was relatively wide(pic.2), its traffic was not so busy and coast landscape was interesting(pic.3), but it had many small ups and downs along its terrain, which deprive me of stamina. And there were many tunnels in this route, some of them didn’t have pedestrian way, so I had to be very careful about a big truck coming in the tunnel. Around 2 hrs after starting, I reached Road side market where people crowded to buy crabs at lower price(pic.4). I drank a canned coffee there, which was the trigger of my stomach breaking.
After that market there was no rest point over 30km till Tsuruga city. So I had to find a good point to stop my bike and take a rest on the road(Pic5, 6). Fortunately the weather was very fine and the Wakasa bay view was nice. But gradually my pace was down, which made me afraid of reaching late at my hotel, so I started within 5min in each rest.
Just around noon, I reached Tsuruga city which prospered as a strategic port in Japanese sea side. The red brick warehouse(pic.7) which was built in 1905 for oil stock was the first spot for my route. I could not find any other good point for lunch, I entered the warehouse and took a brief one to ease my stomach(pic.8), honestly I didn’t want to eat anything but forced myself for stamina..
After lunch I dropped in Kehi Matsubara(pine trees area) (pic.9) which is counted as 3 major Japanese pine trees area (Pls refer to my article of Miho Matsubara, another 3 major ones). I didn’t know if I was tired, but I was not so impressed by the sight.
Still the tough way was waiting for me. To reach Biwa lake, I had to cross the hill which gave me fatal blow. Though the width of road was enough, many big trucks passed by at high speed, and some training riders as well.. Somehow I crossed the pass and reached the shore of Lake Biwa(pic.11). But there was still over 30km to go. I didn’t have any room to enjoy the view of lake, solely prayed to reach soon. It was around 5:00PM when I reached the hotel in Hikone. I gave up taking an Ohmi beef dinner due to excessive fatigue in stomach and bought a cup soup at convenience store.
<Other recommended spots near my route>
North Lake Biwa area & Nagahama city
＜Connection routes>
E-1: Kanazawa to Fukui