Despite the heat in Hakuba over the past couple of weeks, I decided to venture out by bicycle again, over the mountains towards Nagano City and the town of Togakushi which is located in the beautiful Joshinetsu National Park.  

Togakushi is known for a variety of reasons, one of which, even in this area of Japan known for it's soba noodles, is having the best soba around.  It also has an association with the much loved and mythologized "ninja" tradition.

There are a number of shrines in the area, but probably the most well known is the Togakushi Shrine where ancient gigantic cedar trees line up in a stately manner leading past the three component shrines of the site.  I must admit, being on bicycle this time, I decided to forgo most of the 'obvious' attractions, including two of the three sections of Togakushi Shrine, as well as the Ninja Village and Museum.  I did take advantage of an early start on my second day to make it to Kagami-ike, or "mirror pond" early early in the morning before the tourists arrived.  Stunning views and a magical start to the day!

For anyone interested in cycling the same route, it is a very manageable two day trip (though, I would suggest autumn as a more appropriate season).  Setting off from the heart of Happo in late morning after work I cycled along route 406, up by the the Minekata ski hill, up and over the Shirasawa Pass.  A lovely downhill into Kinasa Village takes you to Route 36, where I again ventured up.  I arrived in Togakushi by about 5 PM, which allowed me to take a bit of a look around before washing up and tucking into a delicious dinner.

After the early morning start the next day and a short stop back at the inn for a traditional Japanese breakfast, I was off again retracing my path along route 36 back down into the valley.  At Kinasa I decided to stick with 36 up and over the next set of hills and down into the town of Ogawa.  The climb was a bit stiff in the punishing heat to be certain, but the downhill portion opens up beautifully for speed, with hardly a car to be seen.  Majestic views of the peaks off towards Hakuba are a key attraction to this area, but unfortunately the haziness of the heat foiled my camera for the most part on this particular day.

The final leg back into Hakuba along the Olympic Road is not ideal, with moderately heavy traffic and a couple of longish tunnels, but it is relatively short at least.  Finished the tour off with a jump into Aoki Lake and then slowly glided back to Happo and home.

Looking forward to going back in the fall for a look around at the autumn foliage, and to properly sample the soba!