Table of Contents
- March through Miyamachi
- The Train to Toba
- Trekking through Toba
- Inbound for Irago
- Two Trucks to Tahara
- The Toyotetsu to Toyohashi
- Toyohashi Treats
- Hurry to Hamamatsu
- Approaching Abekawa
- Straying to Shizuoka
Travel-wise, this is the main event of our Japan-trip: An epic multi-stage journey incorporating walks, trains, a ferry, and buses to take us all the way from Ise to Shizuoka (静岡 "Silent Hill"). As opposed to our other two in-Japan travel segments, this is the only substantial adventure, so I simply like to think of it as "The Great One". It's really a shame that Bea and Brett have chosen to miss out on this, but oh well. Our stops along the way are many: First there's Toba (鳥羽 "Bird Wing") on this and Irago (伊良湖 "That One Good Lake") on the other side of Ise-Wan. After that we take a bus to Tahara (田原 "Field Meadow"), and from there on it's the train, first to Toyohashi (豊橋 "Bountiful Bridge"), then Hamamatsu (浜松 "Beach Pine"), and finally Abekawa (安倍川 "Quiet Multi-River"), which is the last stop before Shizuoka. And from there, we should walk the rest of the way to our accommodation.
Here's the breakdown of our trip today:
- From Miyamachi to Toba with the Kintetsu-Yamada Line
- From Toba to Irago with the Isewan Ferry
- From Irago to Tahara with the Toyotetsu Bus
- From Tahara to Toyohashi with the Toyohashi Tetsudo Atsumi Line
- From Toyohashi to Hamamatsu with the Tokaido Line (for Hamamatsu)
- From Hamamatsu to Abekawa with the Tokaido Line (for Okitsu)
Today, we leave on empty stomachs, gambling on getting an opportunity to grab a bite to eat somewhere along the way. So we pack up our things, leaving another empty room (or double-room) behind...
...but before we leave the house, I still notice this cute little children's book titled "Motto Ooki na Taihou o" ("An even bigger cannon"). This is about a kingdom making an arms race against the local foxes, and comically losing in the end. If you're curious about it, I actually found a video of someone reading the book here (it's in Japanese, but the pictures speak for themselves).
March through Miyamachi
Distance: 700mAscents: 5m
Duration: 15min
This should be a very short walk, both compared to the distances that we already covered in Ise, as well as the strays we have yet ahead of us today. We pretty much head straight north with only a little bit of zig-zag, until we reach the Miyamachi (宮町 "Shrine Town") station. That one is actually closer to the Airbnb than the Ise station, but not all trains stop there, so that's why we didn't get off there on our way here.
We leave the Airbnb at 8:00 in the morning, and even this early it's already uncomfortably warm. The sky is clear, not a cloud in sight, which I suppose is better than rain, but it also means that we're gonna have another hot day ahead of us.
As we make or way towards the station, we notably come across a number of houses that feature little lengths of Shimenawa above their doors. These sacred twisted straw ropes are clearly of similar design, each featuring a red onion, certain red herbs, and a wooden plaque that features the character for "Gate" among others. Now, I am not sure what these signify, but I guess this is a Shinto thing related to the approaching autumn equinox...
...just like the ongoing preparations for what appears to be a Matsuri at Imano Yashiro, which we happen to pass by. Looks like we're just missing that, oh well... but we did have to leave Ise today in order to make it to our next destination in time for a different Matsuri tomorrow.
Before long, we reach Miyamachi station, which is a really small and relatively rural stop. In fact, it doesn't even have an over- or underpass for pedestrians, instead featuring an old-fashioned level crossing.
Having arrived here well in time, we make ourselves comfortable at the little stop and wait...
...until our train arrives, which once again is one of those cute, old-fashioned old trains that is typical for the local lines in Japan. It's actually amazing that these are still in service, which I suppose goes to show how diligent the Japanese are about maintaining their machinery.
At this point in time, Bea and Brett are still in Kyoto, their plan being to ride the Shinkansen straight from there to Shizuoka, which is definitely faster than what we have planned for today. In fact, we, too, could have taken a route around Ise-Wan over Nagoya, which would have been both faster and cheaper than the route we have planned for today. However, we have elected to take the very scenic route, and that beings by taking...
The Train to Toba
Ride Duration: 20minApproximate Distance: 15km
Average Speed: 45km/h
This short ride takes us east to Toba through the mountains. Notably, there's also a JR line to Toba which by contrast runs more along the coast. However, the Kintetsu line fits our schedule better, so we're using that one. Since this is only a relatively short ride and we've really gotten around Ise in the last three days, this ride actually takes us past a lot of familiar stations. First, there's the Ise central station, followed by my seventh and final visit to the apparently magnetic Ujiyamada station. The next stop after that is Isuzugawa, which is the closest train stop to the Naiku, and after that comes Asama, from which Robert embarked on his hike up the mountain. It is only after that that we come across an unknown stop by the name of Ikenoura (池の浦 "Bay of the Pond"), and the next stop past that is already Toba.
Inside the train, there's an advertisement for the Ketta Cycle Train, a special type of train where you're allowed to bring bicycles along for a fee of 1000¥, and which runs on certain days of the year. Now, I know I say a lot of good things about railways in Japan, and a lot of bad things about the German railway system, but this is one of the things where Germany is definitely better. For starters, you can bring bikes on pretty much all local and regional trains all the time (except maybe during rush hour), and the tickets for doing so are cheaper too.
Anyway, this ride takes us first through the urban parts of Ise, which notably also includes a number of green areas. We pass beneath first the road bridge that we walked across two days ago on our Stray to the Naiku, and then also the Ise Jidoushado which we also crossed back then. After that we pass a thin belt of fields before crossing Isuzugawa and then continuing into the forested hills. After that there's not much of a view until after Ikenoura, when we get two very short glimpses of the sea before already arriving in Toba. Incidentally, by now, the sky has clouded over a bit, but it's still quite bright and hot outside. Fortunately the trains here all have AC.
(Click here to view the video if the website fails to load it)
Before long we reach Toba, which is also where this train terminates. Unfortunately, the ferry terminal is actually one stop further down the line, but that's only a relatively short distance away that is also perfectly walkable.
So, Robert and I briefly debate whether we should wait for the connecting
train or walk, and since we're not in a hurry or anything and the ferry
also has a regular hourly schedule, we quickly agree that we want to use
this opportunity to go...
Trekking through Toba
Distance: 2.6kmAscents: 30m
Duration: 1:00h
1/1🎁︎
Our stray in Toba should proceed more or less parallel to the railway tracks. Since the entire town is pinned between the hills and the sea that's also pretty much the only way there is. However, along the way we also climb a little hill by the name of Shiroyama (城山 "Castle Mountain"), which as the name suggests was once the site of a local Samurai castle. Today, the castle is long gone and only its foundations remain. In its place, however, there's a little Geocache for me to find.
But the fun actually already starts before we even leave the Toba station. For one, there's a Halloween display welcoming people to Toba, never mind that Halloween is still 6 weeks away.
Halloween not your style? Then try Pokémon! In fact, it turns out that Oshawott (or Mijumaru, as it is called in Japan) is the official mascot of Toba. How cool is that? I want a Pokémon mascot for my city too!
Upon leaving the station I immediately go "Eeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!" as I note a big Torii conveniently located in the very direction that we need to go.Sadly it turns out that this is only a very outer gate to a Shrine that is located somewhat out of the way and on top of a 100m-tall hill, which is significantly more than either of us is willing to scale while carrying our entire luggage. Oh well.
Conveniently, there's also a stylized city map embedded in the sidewalk just outside the station, and incredibly the place names are all also written in English.
As we make our way through Toba, we pass by the former residence of famous poet Irako Seihaku... yes, the, Irako Seihaku (伊良子清白 "That One Good Child Pure White")! What, never heard of him? Me neither. Apparently, he was born in the prefecture of Tottori (鳥取 "Bird Fetching"), which is roughly 300km northwest of here, and then later moved here, ostensibly because he wanted to live in a different bird place. Anyway, here's his old house.
After that, it is time for us to begin our ascent up Shiroyama, which conveniently also serves as a Tsunami evacuation point. Well, here's hoping we won't be experiencing a Tsunami anytime soon. As it is, climbing all those stairs in full gear is already enough of an ordeal.
But the climb is worth it, for it grants us a view of the amazing islandscape surrounding Toba. In fact, with so many ferries going to one island or another around, it was actually a bit of a challenge for me to identify the one that would take us across to Irago - as well as its departure times and fares - and doing so required me to navigate some Japanese web sites, but I managed to do it. This colorful ferry, for example, goes only to one of the surrounding islands (but don't ask me which one). Also note the mermaids on its roof, as well as the seagull-shaped crossbar.
Up here, there's also a meadow where dozens, if not hundreds of actually kinda big dragonflies are dancing up a storm to the tune of cicadas loudly chirping in the background.
(Click here to view the video if the website fails to load it)
Eventually, we reach the mighty foundation's of Toba's samurai castle...
...and shortly thereafter we reach the top and find ourselves standing in front of Toba's amazing invisible castle!
Also, we get a nice panorama of the surrounding islandscape from up here.
After that, we take a zig-zag road down the far side of Shiroyama, and along the way pass by a mysterious old schoolhouse, which disappointingly does not re-arrange its layout each month. However, I do find a Geocache in the mailbox, so, score!
Once at the bottom, we cross the railroad tracks just south of the Nakanogou (中之郷 "Middle Town") station, which also marks the definite end of the double-tracked railway line of the Kintetsu railway. By the way, the JR line actually already terminated at the Toba station.
From here, we need to get to the ferry terminal, the large building of which is easily found.
However, while the building is easy to find, the entrance is anything but. As such, we end up wandering around for a while, looking for something that looks like a public entrance and not a car accessway or employee entrance, and eventually end up at the nearby Toba Aquarium. There, my Japanese skills come in handy again as I can ask one of the attendants there for directions. Following these directions subsequently leads us through a ground-level carpark beneath the buildings...
...in the middle of which we finally find the entrance, which could hardly be any better concealed. I assume the architect of this building was forced to commit Seppuku as part of the inauguration ceremony. For the record, the correct way to get inside would be to walk through the big gate that looks like it is made for car access only, and then to the left.
Yet even with this detour, we still arrive comfortable in the middle of
two departure times. The inside of the terminal actually looks a bit like
a mall, with lots and lots of souvenir stalls, which is actually something
I predicted when Robert told me he wanted to get some typical snacks from
Ise to take home. That is a universal truth wherever you are in Japan: Any
reasonably large station will have edible or drinkable regional
specialties for sale, because it is customary to bring back souvenirs to
those who had to stay at home whenever you get to make a trip, and
naturally, with space coming at a premium in Japan, the best souvenirs are
those that don't take up space because they're consumable.
Of course, there's always exceptions to this rule, such as the marbled Matsusaka (松阪 "Pine Slope") beef cushions that they sell here - with Matsusaka beef being one of the three most famous (and expensive) types of Japanese beef, the other two being Kobe (神戸 "Divine Door") beef and Oomi (近江 "Nearby Bay") beef. Now you've finally got a good excuse for eating your pillow! Incidentally, one such pillow is cheaper than even a small serving of Matsusaka beef.
And another notable thing in this terminal is the bathroom with a view
33.5
Anyway, time to buy a ticket. And once again my Japanese skills come in handy as I learn that the ferry company offers a discount ticket that will take us all the way to Toyohashi! Calculating in this discount, our scenic trip suddenly becomes just a tiny bit cheaper than taking the train all the way. Benri desu ne (便利ですね "How convenient")!
The ferry terminal also features a little cafe, which is our cue to finally get some... uhh... breakfast. Yes, I know, it's already 10:00 by now, but since we haven't had anything to eat yet we're technically breaking our nightly fast now. Anyway, since this is my last chance to do so in the foreseeable future, and since I've really taken a liking to it, I once again go for the Ise Udon.
In the end, it turns out we've had really good timing with everything thus far, because it is only a few minutes after we've finished our "breakfast" that the gate to the ferry opens...
...and we're able to board the ferry by a pier which looks simultaneously rustic but also really well-maintained.
With that, we're saying our final goodbyes to the Mie prefecture, and with it Kansai, for crossing the Ise-Wan at this point means crossing over into Chuubu. It's been a fun few days over here, but now, we've finally stepped of the shore and are...
Inbound for Irago
Ride Duration: 1:00hApproximate Distance: 22km
Average Speed: 22km/h
This should be one of my shortest ferry rides in all of Japan. In fact, the "open water" distance is so short that it could easily be bridged or tunneled, as they already did with the Seikan Tunnel between Honshu and Hokkaido or the Tokyo Aqua line. In fact, by strategically using the conveniently placed islands here, it would be possible to connect Toba with Irago with a system of four bridges, the longest of which would only have to be a little over 5km in length. But oh well, I suppose a ferry ride is nice too. Anyway, this ride should take us out between Toshijima (答志島 "Solution Plan Island") and Sugashima (菅島 "Sedge Island") before reaching the open water. There, we pass the island of Kamishima (神島 "God Island") shortly before crossing over into Chuubu and subsequently arriving at Irago.
But first, we've got a ferry to explore! The main cabin is big and not very crowded. It has seats for roughly 200 people, of which maybe two dozen are occupied.
In addition to that, there's also an outdoor area with wooden seats that should remain pretty empty throughout the crossing on account of the hot and humid temperatures outside, which starkly contrast the ferry's air-conditioned interior.
There's also a special room which costs extra to enter, so I assume it is some sort of "first class", and tickets for that can be bought at a Jidouhanbaiki next to the stairs.
Much more importantly for me, however, is the outside walkway, from where I should shoot most of my pictures and videos on this leg. Again, it's pretty hot out there, so I end up commuting between the cool indoors and the hot outside walkway quite frequently.
That's yours truly busy fox for you. Robert meanwhile takes a considerably more relaxed approach to out crossing.
Meanwhile I am up and about, taking in as much of this sea trip as I can. Despite the hot temperatures, it is actually quite a good day for crossing. There's little wind, and the ocean is calm, allowing us to have a relaxed time on board. First we turn the corner of Sakatejima (坂手島 "Slope Hand Island"), which features a hotel at its corner, and then we gradually pass by Sugashima. After that, there's the first stretch of open ocean before we pass by Kamishima with its 171m tall Toumeiyama (灯明山 "Lamp Light Mountain"), before making our way across another expanse of water. Approaching Irago Misaki (伊良湖岬 "That One Good Lake Cape"), we can clearly see its lighthouse - which I suppose is the whole point - and as the ferry circles the cape to enter the harbor on the far side, we get a last good look of Kamishima, and behind it the coast of Mie.
(Click here to view the video if the website fails to load it)
Meanwhile, looking the other way while we enter the port of Irago, I can spy the Azumi Fuuryoku Hatsudensho (渥美風力発電所 "Moist Beauty Wind Power Station") on the beach in the far distance.
Disembarking in Irago is actually quite exciting again: Since the Irago port does not feature a bridge for boarding, us pedestrians have to exit through the hold together with the cars. Fortunately, there's a yellow pedestrians' strip that is almost a full meter in width. The car bridge, meanwhile, has a properly separated sidewalk again.
From here, our journey should proceed by bus. However, since there's a bit of a layover we spend the wait in the air-conditioned terminal building, which naturally again features souvenir stores. Robert gets himself a bottle of Calpis while I go for something that has trace amounts of fruit inside. Curiously, a random old Japanese man eventually engages me and we have a bit of a chat where I tell him about our exciting journey.
Eventually, as the scheduled departure time approaches, we head out to the bus stop and wait in the shade together with a number of Japanese people who also were on the ferry. Unsurprisingly, we're the only foreigners taking this basically straight, yet still somewhat unusual route.
The bus is then soon to arrive, and as usual everybody enters through the back door, taking a Seiriken (整理券 "Sorting Ticket") from the dispenser at the machine. These are normally used to determine the fare, so since we already have our tickets, I'm not sure if we need one. However, since I see all the people in front of us take one I figure it's better to take one and not need it than the other way around.
Now that we're back on solid ground once again, our trip today continues by means of...
Two Trucks to Tahara
Ride Duration: 55minApproximate Distance: 33km
Average Speed: 36km/h
This ride should again not be too long, yet it still turns out to be interesting. For starters, the bus starts with a pointless detour to a place called Kyukamura (休暇村 "Holiday Village"), where no one boards or exits. Then we proceed past Kameyama (亀山 "Turtle Mountain") and to Hobi (保美 "Sustained Beauty"), where we have to change buses because clearly it would have been asking too much for a bus to go all the way. And with "we" I mean literally every single person on the bus except for the driver. Anyway, moving on we get close to the sea two more times at Takaki (高木 "Tall Tree") and Utsue (宇津江 "Eaves Harbor Bay") before turning inland towards Ookubo (大久保 "Large Old Preserve"), and finally, Tahara.
The bus itself is not too busy. Apart from us there's only aforementioned half a dozen Japanese people who sit in the front while Robert and I make use of the back bench to drop our luggage.
As mentioned before, we have to change in Hobi, and for whatever strange reason, the bus driver also collects the Seiriken from everyone there, even though no one who has a ferry ticket actually has to pay. Maybe they need that for statistical purposes? Anyway, it's a good thing that we pulled a Seiriken each after all. Also, it's a good thing that the bus stop in Hobi features a tarp that we can take shelter under, because by now it's just past noon, and Radian is burning down quite mercilessly.
For the most part, the ride takes us alternatingly across already harvested fields and through towns and villages. Every once and so often, there's also a bit of woodland, though on account of this being a peninsula, none of these woodlands feature particularly tall trees. That reminds me a little bit of the vegetation on the Aupōuri Peninsula at the northernmost tip of New Zealand, which is roughly as wide as the Atsumi Hantou (渥美半島 "Moist Beauty Peninsula"), and about twice as long (see Book 1 ~ Chapter 30 ~ Navigating Northland).
(Click here to view the video if the website fails to load it)
As we approach Tahara, my Japanese skills once again come in handy. Originally, Robert and I were a bit confused since our ticket to Toyohashi was designated as a bus ticket and the bus we're currently sitting in says it's going to Toyohashi, so one would assume that we'd stay in that bus until Toyohashi. And while that is certainly an option, I do overhear the driver telling the passengers in the front something that sounds like that it'll be faster if they switch to the train there, and the ticket is also valid for that. And since my track record for mimicking the locals has been pretty good thus far, Robert and I subsequently also get off and follow them into the station...
...where we certainly enough are able to pass through the ticket gates with our tickets and reach the train to Toyohashi just a few minutes before its scheduled departure. Talk about convenient!
And so it happens that instead of riding the bus all across the Atsumi
Hantou, we would be taking...
The Toyotetsu to Toyohashi
Ride Duration: 35minApproximate Distance: 18km
Average Speed: 31km/h
This ride should take us down the entire length of the Toyohashi Tetsudou Atsumi Sen (豊橋鉄道渥美線 "Bountiful Bridge Railway Moist Beauty Line"), which is actually not all that long. As a matter of fact, it is only about half as long as each of Munich's S-Bahn line branches (measured from the central station), so it's more of a local train experience. Along the way we pass stations such as Toshima (豊島 "Bountiful Island"), Sugiyama (杉山 "Cedar Mountain"), Ooshimizu (大清水 "Great Pure Water"), Ueta (植田 "Plant Field"), Minami-Sakae (南栄 "South Flourish") and Koike (小池 "Small Pond"). Did one of them sound familiar? Well, it should, because I actually did ride this line partway once already during my last visit to Toyohashi (see Book II ~ Chapter 21 ~ The Twofold Toyo Thuggery).
Now, in case you're wondering why the Atsumi line spans less than half of the length of the Atsumi Hantou, it was, as a matter of fact, once planned to extend it all the way to Irago, but financial difficulties put an end to that. The line actually once extended two stops further west until Kurogawabara (黒川原 "Black River Meadow"), but that segment (along with a number of other stops) was decommissioned in 1944, and eventually deconstructed altogether in 1954. Which is a shame really, because I would have loved to ride the train all the way. Interestingly, there was even a plan for branching lines, so here's a map of how that might have looked. Turns out at least the one we would have taken does not look all that different from the route that the buses took.
Anyway, the train is not terribly busy, but at least there's a few more people in there than on the bus ride.
As we approach Toyohashi, the landscape gradually grows more urban, though there's still a good number of fields in between. We pass beneath the Toyohashi Bypass and across Umedagawa (梅田川 "Plum Field River"), and by the time we pass through Takashi Ryokuchi (高師緑地 "Great Master Green Space") we are already in the middle of Toyohashi. Also, I think there's fewer of those bright blue shingled roofs around these parts than we saw in Ise, but there's definitely still a few of those around.
(Click here to view the video if the website fails to load it)
Getting off at Shin-Toyohashi Eki (新豊橋駅 "New Bountiful Bridge Station") feels nostalgic, even though this is technically still the first time that I'm arriving at this station and not departing. And yet, Toyohashi holds many memories for me. Anyway, the last thing that is a bit exciting on this trip is seeing if we can really get through the ticket gate with the tickets we bought on the other side of the bay, but since there's actual employees there that check the tickets at the exit and not just some stupid machine, we manage to get through without so much as a moment's delay.
So, here I am, back in Toyohashi again. With this, a circle covering almost 9000km² closes, and the entire Ise-Wan enters the territory circumnavigated by me. So far, so good, and since it's already a few hours after noon by now and trains from here run with astounding regularity on account of us now being at the Tokaido Line - which is pretty much the heartline of the Japanese railway network - we figure we might take this opportunity to go looking for some...
Toyohashi Treats
Distance: 1kmAscents: 5m
Duration: 30min
Since we've still got a ways to go today, we don't want to spend too much time here in Toyohashi (otherwise I would have dragged Robert aboard the Iida line for Toyokawa Inari by now). As such, we limit our search to the area near the station. In the end, we should still walk a few blocks, turn back in frustration, and then head for one of the easy food places.
But one thing at a time. First, we're here at the Toyohashi station square, which just like the Ujiyamada station of Ise has become somewhat of a linchpin in my travels in this area: I'm now here for the 9th time in total.
As for finding a food place, while there's plenty of places around - such as the Ne-Ne-Ya (寧々家 "Tranquil Tranquil House"), the challenge comes in finding one that is both open at 14:00 and also offers something that Robert will be happy with.
That search eventually leads us back and forth through another Shoutengai by the name of Tokiwadori (ときわ道り "Evergreen Road")...
...after which I am finally hungry enough to backtrack and make for the Sukiya (すき家 "Like House") that I committed to memory as a fallback option on the way there.
Now, I think I already mentioned this in book two, but there's a few chains where you can get easy food in Japan. You might also call them Japanese fast food chains, but I am reasonably certain that the quality of the food there is so much better than in what qualifies as a western fast food place, hence, easy food. Those chains include Sukiya, Nakau, CoCo and Matsuya, and they all have in common that you can go in there and get some tasty food both fast and cheap. To achieve that, each of these chains specializes in certain kinds of dishes that they prepare in bulk and thus can serve quickly. Sukiya specializes in Donburi (丼 "bowl" = rice bowl dishes), Nakau in Udon, and CoCo in Japanese-style curry rice. Matsuya offers all three, but personally I think the quality suffers a little bit from that.
Most of those places also allow for convenient ordering at machines where you can conveniently select English as a language. The last time I visited those machines were located in the lobby, but apparently the technical progress did not stop there in these last few years, and nowadays you can order from your seat by means of a tablet, just like in the Famires in Ise.
As for the lunch, I go for a bowl of Unadon (うな丼 "Eel Bowl"), while Robert picks another type of fish with some condiments. Also, Sukiya always features complimentary chilled Mugicha, which as I surely mentioned before is not my favorite, but any ice tea in this heat is fine.
Speaking of the heat, on the way back to the station we manage to dodge a bit of it by making use of the underground walkways. It's nowhere near as extensive as back in Kyoto, but it still saves us from a few minutes in the merciless sun.
At the end of said walkway we ascend a kinda narrow escalator...
...and then we arrive at the Toyohashi station, where we promptly board the next eastwards-bound train. Fun fact here: Normally, it's the Shinkansen stations that are prefixed with Shin-, but in this case the Shinkansen simply stops at a separately gated area of this station, because the Shin-Toyohashi name was already taken by the Toyohashi Tetsudo Atsumi Line, which is really just a two-track appendix to the main station building
Incidentally, did it occur to anyone that the trip today took the two of us through quite a few towns starting with "T"? Well, no more of that, because now we're going to...
Hurry to Hamamatsu
Ride Duration: 34minApproximate Distance: 37km
Average Speed: 65km/h
From here on out, our rides is pretty much a rehash of my previous travel from Toyokawa to Numazu (沼津 "Swamp Harbor"). However, back then I didn't go into so much detail, so let's catch up on that now. This right passes south of a mountain range near Futagawa (二川 "Two Rivers"), continues east past Shinjohara (新所原 "New Place Meadow"), and eventually reaches the shore of Hamanako (浜名湖 "Distinguished Beach Lake") near Washizu (鷲津 "Eagle Harbor"). From there on, the train follows the shoreline and eventually hops across Bentenjima (弁天島 "Benzaiten Island") to get across the mouth of Hamanako, before proceeding past Takatsuka (高塚 "Burial Mound") and onwards to Hamamatsu.
Since we're now on the Tokaido Line, the train is reasonably full, but we've still got enough space for both ourselves and our backpacks, which I'm afraid are a bit too massive to safely fit on the overhead racks. Also, this train has those fancy crosswise seats where you can invert the facing again.
The ride itself takes us through a mix of fields and towns with some forests, though notably the balance leads much more towards settled areas than on the Atsumi Hantou, with this being next to the Tokaido Main Line and all. One of the rice fields that we pass by is, in fact, presently in the process of being harvested, though the cure little rice field harvesting truck is out of sight again almost as soon as it appears. The track also runs more or less parallel to the Shinkansen track, which crosses over us a couple of times, and runs parallel as we cross the mouth of Hamanako. At one point I even manage to catch a train of the Shinkansen on video as it rapidly zooms past us. I wonder if Bea and Brett are aboard one of the Shinkansen trains that overtook us on the way here. And once past the bridges leading across Hamanako, it's pretty much town and city all the way to Hamamatsu.
(Click here to view the video if the website fails to load it)
Eventually, we arrive at Hamamatsu station, which is also considerably more busy than the stations before. By the way, remember how Robert and I had been planning to do our Japan trip back in 2020 originally (see Book IV ~ Prologue ~ Of Chains and Chances)? For that trip, Hamamatsu was one of our planned stations, with us intending to attend the Hamamatsu Matsuri.
However, since this is held in May and now it's September, Hamamatsu is only a transfer stop for us now, and so we get in line to wait for the next train (yes, by now it's so busy there's actually a line, and Japanese are very orderly and have designated queuing areas painted on the platform, since the trains always stop at exactly the right position).
Soon enough the train arrives, and we board, beginning the final train
segment of our trip today, which means we're now officially...
Approaching Abekawa
Ride Duration: 1:08hApproximate Distance: 73km
Average Speed: 64km/h
This final train ride should be the longest leg on today's ride by a factor of two. First we cross mighty Tenryuugawa (天竜川 "Sky Dragon River") before passing through Iwata (磐田 "Crag Field"), Fukuroi (袋井 "Bag Well") and Kakegawa (掛川 "Hanging River") in turn. After that, the track gets a little bit zig-zaggy as it navigates through the mountains here, emerging near Shimada (島田 "Island Field") on the other side of great Ooigawa (大井川 "Great Well River"). Past that, the tracks run straight to Yaizu (焼津 "Baking Harbor"), and from there more or less along the coast to Abekawa.
This last train for today is once again of the more common type with the lengthwise benches. It is also actually kinda full, with not everyone being able to find a place to sit.
Now this ride should take us mostly through cities and towns, with a few green patches in between, most notably aforementioned mountain range. We also got these two great rivers to cross, and as a result of the recently overall pretty dry weather, they presently don't carry a lot of water. However, during the rainy season, all that gravel is flooded. And speaking of which, those little pools of water we get to see along the way are actually recently harvested rice fields.
(Click here to view the video if the website fails to load it)
Eventually, we reach Abekawa station. Now, one incentive for me to get off here was to give Robert a great view of Mt. Fuji. But alas, luck is not with us, and the mighty mountain is all shrouded in clouds today.
Oh well, nothing to be done about that now. Anyway, that was the last
railway segment, which means that from here on out, the two of us should
be...
Straying to Shizuoka
Distance: 3kmAscents: 10m
Duration: 45min
This last stray, much like our first one today, turns out to be pretty straightforward: We follow the train line until we reach Abekawa, then turn left along the riverbank for a bit, cross the next bridge over, and after that we're already almost at the Airbnb.
So, as the sun is in the process of setting, we walk right next to the railroad tracks on this lazy town street where a car only appears once every few minutes, and the only parked cars are standing in little parking lots to the side of the road.
At the point where the Shinkansen tracks cross over the Tokaido Main Line, we walk into this kinda pointless zebra crossing, which only leads into a fence behind which the railroad tracks lie on the other side. I wonder what the point of that is/was.
Following that, we are now walking parallel to the Shinkansen tracks, which are notably better fortified, with a fence roughly 3m in height and a noise barrier beyond that.
As we approach the river, was pass first beneath the Shinkansen line and then the Tokaido Main Line via two underpasses. Interestingly, there's a sign here that reads "182k897m from Shindenbashi", which would approximately fit the distance from a Shindenbashi (新田橋 "New Field Bridge") in Tokyo. In Japan, it has historically been a custom to measure distances in relation to certain bridges, though most typically such measurements use Nihonbashi (日本橋 "Sun Origin Bridge") as a point of reference.
We finally reach the side of the river...
...just as Radian's rays recede behind the horizon.
And again, here at the riverbank would have another great chance for us to see Mt. Fuji, if not for these accursed clouds. We could have gotten a wonderful view of the might mountain illuminated by the setting sun, but it seems we're fresh out of luck regarding that today.
The only thing we get to see is this weird ground palm. Does anyone happen to know what kind of plant this is?
Anyway, as dusk slowly falls, we proceed to make our way up the riverbank towards the next bridge.
That bridge across Abekawa bears the very creative name of Abekawabashi (安倍川橋 "Quiet Multi-River Bridge"), and as a matter of fact just celebrated its centennial two months ago! Before that, there was only a wooden bridge at this site. The sidewalk that we should use to cross is a little younger, by the way: It was only added in 1968. Eventually, it was also registered as a national civil engineering heritage site. Also note how the name of the bridge is written right-to-left, as can sometimes be seen in older places like this one.
It takes us a couple of minutes to walk across the 490m-long bridge, during which we note that just like the other big rivers we crossed today, Abekawa is not carrying a lot of water right now. However, the name of the river suddenly becomes more meaningful, as we witness a multitude of little quiet rivers snaking their ways through the gravel riverbed.
Shizuoka begins right on the other side of that bridge, without the need for a city sign or any lavish garnish like that. It does, however, feature an interesting two-way cycling road.
From here, it's only a short walk until we reach our stay place for the next two nights.
Thus ends our exciting and varied trip today. Altogether, we've been on the road for just over 9 hours today, which is over twice as long as the fastest possible connection. However, I daresay our way was more fun, and with that mindset I am looking forward to an interesting two days in and around Shizuoka. Meanwhile you get to look forward to me writing about that in the next chapter of the Travelling Fox Blog, so stay tuned and be of great cheer! =^,^=
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