[Hikone Castle]
Not on a mamachari anyhow, and doubly so
with a fixed gear one. I admit, I seriously considered saying "Stuff
it" and taking the shortcut across Biwako Ohashi Bridge on Day 2 which
would have cut 3-hours off of my journey back to Hikone, but perseverance won
through, especially knowing that I would regret it and berate myself afterwards
for giving up on completing the circuit.
Otherwise, the locals are really
friendly, and if one would overlook the rubbish along some of the shores, it
was a very beautiful and scenic route. And was quite easy to navigate, even
when the route winded inland onto country roads and around expressways.
GPS-less and making do with just a paper map, I managed to not get myself
completely lost.
Meals were bought from Michi-no-Eki,
stores which sell local produce. And for accommodation, I pitched tent on a
nice green spot by the lake side. Public campgrounds charge 4000yen (about
GBP20) for a night's use of a tent site which covers washing facilities, but
not car parking, equipment rentals etc...
Arriving back at Hikone was a bit of a
rush with a 15-minute visit to a sentou (public bathhouse), before grabbing a
hoard of bread to munch on the shinkansen, which actually, also happened to be
my first time riding a shinkansen, the station attendant had a face of amused
bemusement when I couldn't figure out why my tickets wouldn't let me through
the gates... Well, better late than never ;)
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