After finally making it past the rain to our lovely ryokan in Yoshinoyama, we decided to spend the final day of our great bike trip leisurely exploring its hiking trails before heading back to Tokyo. The summit of Mt. Yoshino is quite easy to reach from the hotel area, only taking around 20 mins of climbing. From here you can get a great view of Nara and there are a number of old shrines you can visit too. Obviously the best time of year to visit is during spring when the sakura trees are in bloom, but coming during summer was probably the second best choice. Staying here made me feel refreshed and closer with nature. I never would have known about this place have it not been for my driver! With a positive attitude, we set off to the summit to begin the last day of our grand adventure…
For the introduction and full context of this trip, please see Day 1 (From Tokyo to Ise), Day 2 (From Mihama Beach to Kawayu Onsen), and Day 3 (From Kawayu Onsen to Yoshinoyama). This article will cover the final day of our great bike trip.
Departure
The 4th day began on August 4th at 7:00am. I woke up at 6:30 to go for a run around the mountain paths of Yoshinoyama and also wander through the garden in the backyard of our ryokan. Our original plan was to depart early explore places around Takayama, but since I already did a pilgrimage to the town from Your Name, I wanted to see more of the mountains of Nara. I have actually only been to Nara during my study abroad trip to Japan in 2013. Seeing the rare areas by motorbike was a grand opportunity I didn’t want to pass up. We planned to return to Tokyo at dusk and I was to ride the shinkansen home from Nagoya so my driver’s load would be lighter on the busiest highways.
Our updated map travel map looked like this (of course we were stopping at many places in between the 3 hour ride):
Chikurin-in Gumpeon Road
One reason I’m happy we took our time at our ryokan is because there’s so much to see around it! Additionally our reservation included a hearty breakfast that consisted of fish, salad, vegetables, egg, rice, tea and water mochi for dessert. This set was so filling and delicious:
After checking out, we strolled down the road to the summit. Along the way we saw a restaurant with a Shiba Inu, a workshop labeled “Mad Garage”, and a shrine guarded by tengu statues called Sakuramotobou. This street is extremely narrow but has a lot of interesting things to see. Due to the pandemic some stores were closing early, but everyone here was friendly and did their best to make us feel welcome.
Yoshinoyama Shrines
The main shrine of Yoshinoyama is called Yoshino Jingu and is located to the north of the hotel area, but there are dozens of others that you can see on the way. Some of my favorites were Kinpusenji due to its old wooden architecture, and the smaller inner shrines of the because they had variety in their design. What I liked most about Yoshino Jingu was it was adorned with wind chimes during this time of year:
After walking around for a while and soaking up the atmosphere, we decided to pay to have our fortune told… but there was only one fortune remaining! So we did what two responsible adults would do and shared it. And in return the fortune rewarded us with the best luck possible! I really hope this helps me with future trips and job interviews!!
Here is a video we took of the wind chimes dancing in the breeze. Up in the mountains there are few other noises to drown them out so their sound resonates beautifully:
When we reached the summit of Mt. Yoshino I had my first encounter with a Japanese Murder Hornet. I could guess what it was immediately due to its immense size. My driver confirmed my suspicions and told me to stand still and act as naturally as possible. Their behavior is quite similar to that of normal bees so it’s best to not run from them as that will make them more defensive. Fortunately these creatures are not vehement and even then it’s hard to die unless you’re stung by a group of them. I managed to take one super-zoomed in photo to commemorate my survival:
After we saw the shrines and took pictures at the summit, we road back towards Tokyo while stopping at some viewpoints in the hills along the way.
Soni Highlands
While riding through Nara, we decided to take a pit-stop and try the famous blueberry ice cream made with Hokkaido Milk here. I was not expecting that much, but the taste was actually creamy and delicious. Plus seeing the deer/human mascot of this area was hilarious! My driver thought it was an atrocity though.
Since the Soni Highlands were on our way back, we decided to ride up the plateau and see the pampas grass. Though there wasn’t much to see at the top, the breeze sure did feel nice. If we would have had more time and preparation, I would have loved to have a picnic here!
The Sonikogenonsen Okame Hot Spring is conveniently located next to the highlands, so we stopped there on our way back. Due to being in the hills this onsen is extremely sunny. What I liked the most is that there were straw hats in the outdoor onsen area you could wear to keep the sun out of your face. The entrance fee is only 750 yen so it’s a good deal.
Returning Home
Feeling completely satisfied by this enthralling experience, I was finally ready to head home. We drove from Nara to Nagoya where my driver dropped me off on the Meitetsu Line so I could take the shinkansen back to Tokyo. Since I was sunburned and feeling quite tired, I could sleep off the exhaustion versus ride back on the highway. This also gave me some time to reflect on trip and made the baggage on the bike lighter (I carried my helmet and clothes back with me) so it was a smart move. We had succeeded in the great bike trip. I’ll never forget this feeling for the rest of my life!
Day 4 Itinerary: 80% Completion
Though our original plan changed when we reached Yoshinoyama because decided to explore the mountains more, I’m happy things turned out this way. Our ryokan stay would have been rushed if we drove to another prefecture so quickly and we would have missed out on the breakfast and lovely hikes that we took. After getting to know the area of Yoshinoyama, I would really like to come back here during sakura season and see how beautiful it is! This day was definitely slower-paced compared to the rest, but the hikes gave me a good workout. 4 days of biking was the perfect amount and I was lucky to be accompanied with such an experienced driver. If you ever have the chance to go motorbiking through Japan (both as a driver or passenger) please do it! It will open up a whole new world and take you to places that you can’t reach by public transportation. Many people have been road tripping and camping during the pandemic to avoid public places and it is a much safer way to travel.
Future Opportunities
My sponsor and I both agreed that this trip went extremely well and we would like to plan more in the future. Though we both normally travel solo, we learned a lot of new things through one another and agreed the trip was more fun together. For example, they enjoyed guiding me through ancient places like Koyasan and I was grateful for their history lecture and taste in ryokan. The only con was they don’t nearly enjoy the beach as much as I do, and I don’t like to camp when rain is forecasted. Fortunately we were able to compromise on these things and got along quite well. That is a vital skill we need to learn to live a happy life.
Future Destinations
Some of our potential destinations this year include camping sites in Nagano and Shikoku. We would also like to travel around Tohoku because I haven’t explored much of it yet. Our departure date will depend on my work schedule, but I am doing my best to balance work and play!
Please look forward to future road trip articles from me or share your own experience in the comments~