{"id":2787,"date":"2017-03-31T01:50:13","date_gmt":"2017-03-30T16:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2017-03-31\/2787"},"modified":"2017-03-31T01:50:13","modified_gmt":"2017-03-30T16:50:13","slug":"visiting-that-temple-i-saw-from-the-bullet-train-last-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2017-03-31\/2787","title":{"rendered":"Visiting That Temple I Saw From The Bullet Train Last Week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 72mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nThe Day's Riding Partners<\/span>\nHatano-san, Okabe-san, Yano-san\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

In my previous post about a visit<\/span> to Tokyo last weekend<\/a>, I mentioned<\/span> that\non the bullet-train ride there I'd passed by a mountain<\/span> with a temple<\/span> nestled at the top, and thought it might be nice to\ninvestigate the presumably steep road up there. It turns<\/span> out that it was.<\/p>\n\n

The mountain in question is one of a pair<\/span> of monadnocks in an area that's otherwise flat as a pancake.<\/span> Here's the view from\nGoogle Earth (with elevation exaggerated for effect):<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>Google Earth view\n<\/div>\n\n

The taller of the two rises about 350m (1,165') above the surrounding plain, which isn't all that tall, but\nat least on the map the roads looked to be “<\/span>interesting”<\/span>. So, I made a<\/span> plan to investigate some of the roads on them. It turns<\/span> out that a couple<\/span> of friends could join me, so we made a plan<\/span> to meet yesterday morning on the other side of\nLake Biwa, nearer to the mountains.<\/p>\n\n

On the way there, I passed by the entrance to a short<\/span> but steep side road up to a mountain<\/span>-top golf course. I had done<\/span> the 1.1km @ 11% climb<\/a> only once before, and hadn't planned on doing it on this\nride except that I'd lost the KOM (“<\/span>King of the Mountain”<\/span> — the fastest registered attempt) when someone rode it faster the\nprevious day, so why not? I tried<\/span> it again and regained my KOM. It's a hollow<\/span> crown, though, because, inexplicably, only two other\nfolks have ever attempted it. \ud83d\ude42 If someone even remotely strong gives it a try,<\/span> it'll be out of my range.<\/p>\n\n

I was looking forward to the nice decent from Tochu Pass toward Lake Biwa<\/a>,\nwhich I think<\/span> I could<\/span> KOM easily if I got<\/span> lucky with traffic, but the blast of a headwind<\/span> the moment I started<\/span> told me not to bother.\nLuckily, the wind turned out not to be much of an issue for the rest of the ride.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 72mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBig Crab<\/span>\nand, at far right, a big bridge over Lake Biwa\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 38mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\u300c\u266a\u30ed\u30fc\u30c9\u300d<\/span>\n“<\/span>\u266a Road”<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

One lane of this bridge has groves cut in the pavement that cause music to be heard (presumably only when traveling about the\nspeed limit). You can hear<\/span> it as cars go by, with the same strong drop in pitch as when an ambulance\npasses. (Here's a video with an example of what it sound like in a car<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nChange in Note<\/span>\nthe spacing to the right is wider than at the center and left\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nTop of the Bridge<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 62mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nStill Snow<\/span>\nin the mountains to the northwest\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nStill Hazy<\/span>\nin the view to the northeast\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nChance Meeting<\/span>\nYano-san, at left, just happened by and decided to join us\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I'd met Yano-san briefly at the Moriyama Criterium<\/a> the other day.\nWe've seen Okabe-san on last year's post about cyclocross<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>800 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOn the Way<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nI Love<\/span> The Backdrop<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nA Bit<\/span> Windy<\/span>\nbut we kept up a steady 30kph (19 mph) on the long flat ride to get there\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 33mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nApproaching a Minor<\/span> Mountain<\/span>\nthat has no roads, just foot paths up to a temple<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nUnique Tobidashi-kun<\/i><\/span>\nthe silhouette is common to the area, but this one is painted quite different\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 41mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAnother Unique Tobidashi-kun<\/i><\/span>\nit turns out that the town we were passing through, Omi Hachiman, had tons of them\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBridge with a View<\/span><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nView<\/span>\nthis area is apparently popular for period dramas to be filmed in\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAnother Cute Tobidashi-kun<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nNarrow Alley<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n? ? ?<\/span>\nIt seems to be a standard pachinko parlor with styling dating back to the 80s,\nbut I don't know what “<\/span>bicycle”<\/span> has to do with it\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Finally we got to the first climb, 1.8km @ 9.2% up to the Kawarayazen\nTemple<\/a>. As is my<\/span> habit with new climbs, I took it<\/span> easy. The KOM earlier<\/span>, on the way to the meeting spot, was my one hard\neffort for the day.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1000 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHatano-san Climbing<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1250 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nArriving at the Top<\/span>\nto the Kawarayazen Temple (\u74e6\u5c4b\u7985\u5bfa)<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 47mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 58mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nI've Just Explained my Plan<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The road at the top is fed by two approaches, the easier of which we'd just taken. My plan was<\/span> now to descend halfway down the\nway we came, turn off to the other approach and descend all the way down, turn around, and climb it right back up to where we\nwere now.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 62mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHeading Down<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The other approach brought us down past a shrine,<\/span> so we stopped for a bit.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHairpin at the Shrine<\/span>\nthe road falling away at a preciptious rate\n( the shrine is behind me )\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 44mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nPhoto Op<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nView from the Shrine<\/span>\neven though it's halfway down the mountain, it still feels quite high\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nZooming Down<\/span>\nsending chills up our spine that we'll be turning right around to climb this\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 38mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>400 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAforementioned Shrine<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1000 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nGrinding Up<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1250 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

After reaching the temple at the top again, we descended back down the way we'd come the first time. I'm still<\/span> not feeling my descent mojo, but even when I'm taking it easy I tend<\/span> to be fairly zippy, so\nI was<\/span> bummed that I missed<\/span> the KOM on the descent<\/a> because\nmy water bottle bounced out on a bump.<\/span> Even though I had<\/span> to stop, ride back up a bit<\/span> to pick it up, and then get\nmyself going, I missed<\/span> the KOM by only 14 seconds. Maybe next time.<\/p>\n\n

(To be clear, I know that descent KOMs are sort of meaningless... the real work is in going up<\/i>, but I'll take\nmy warm fuzzy feelings where I can.<\/span>)<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLunch<\/span>\nSmile Kitchen (\u30b9\u30de\u30a4\u30eb\u30ad\u30c3\u30c1\u30f3)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

We had a comically-difficult time finding a place<\/span> to eat, with every place we tried being closed.\nEventually I resorted<\/span> to a simple<\/span> search for “<\/span>restaurant”<\/span> on Google Maps, and one with the name “<\/span>Smile Chicken”<\/span>\ncaught my eye. I loves<\/span> me some chicken<\/a>. We went, and it was great...\nit was a simple<\/span> all-you-can-eat buffet for 1,100 yen (about US$10).<\/p>\n\n

It was only when writing this post that I realized<\/span> I'd been dyslexic in reading the name, transposing two characters\nto end up with an oddly-pronounced “<\/span>Smile Chicken”<\/span>. It's actually “<\/span>Smile Kitchen”<\/span>. Still just as tasty.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 50mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOn to the Next Monadnock<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBut Not This Way<\/span>\nSigh. I've since added the “<\/span>no access”<\/span> gate to OpenStreetMap\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 65mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nSerendipitous Discovery<\/span>\nwe ended up on this lovely cycling route that wasn't on the maps\n( but I've since added it )\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 28mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The third climb of my plan was one of the approaches to the Kannonsho Temple (\u89b3\u97f3\u6b63\u5bfa),<\/span>\nthe temple I'd seen from the bullet train<\/a> that started all this.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 46mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBullet Train Crossing the Plain<\/span>\nthe white line from the center to the right edge of the screen\n( with the first mountain we climbed sitting there in the background )\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/a>\niPhone 6 + iPhone 6 back camera 4.15mm f\/2.2 at an effective 29mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>350 sec, f<\/span>\/2.2, ISO 32 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAt the End of the Road<\/span>\nbefore a long set of stairs to the Kannonsho Temple (\u89b3\u97f3\u6b63\u5bfa)<\/span>\nphoto by Koji Yano (via timer)<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The climb was comparable to the first one we did, and like that first one, there were two lower approaches\nleading to the same final road, so like that first one, we descended and turned right around to head back up.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nDescent #1<\/span>\nI should have tracked him to make him sharp and the background blurry\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nStarting the Other Attempt<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

On the second descent I didn't stop for photos or lose my water bottle, so\nI made<\/span> the KOM<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Now that we'd done these two approaches to the temple, we moved around to the other side of the mountain\nfor a third<\/i> approach, the North Approach that goes quite a bit<\/span> higher:\n2.4km (1.5 miles) @ 10%<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

That out of the way, I had one more climb on the agenda, one that I hadn't<\/span> looked at closely but\nseemed to be short and mild. I wanted<\/span> to bother with it only because I wanted<\/span> to do all the climbs on these\ntwo mountains.<\/p>\n\n

It was ridiculous<\/i>. The short<\/span> road is about 1km @ 15% average<\/a>,\nwhich turned out to be more or less several “<\/span>Nasty”<\/span> segments<\/a> tied\ntogether by road whose steepness was merely jaw-dropping. I'm getting<\/span> used to these kinds of steep,\nespecially after this place<\/a>, but it was still demoralizing to\ncome around a hairpin<\/span> and see a stretch<\/span> before you that didn't look humanly possible.<\/p>\n\n

I was happy to survive without stopping, for I don't<\/span> think I would<\/span> have been able to clip in and restart.<\/p>\n\n

Eventually, Okabe-san came along...<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 33mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/2.2, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFinal Push<\/span>\nthis picture might actually capture the sense of steepness\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

The other two never made it... they came around one of those hairpins and decided that discretion was the better part of valor.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 75mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/5, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nReturning Home<\/span>\ninto the setting sun\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nPanasonic LX100 at an effective 24mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>80 sec, f<\/span>\/1.7, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nDinner<\/span>\nat Sobokkuru (\u305d\u307c\u3063\u304f\u308b)\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

All in all it was 172km (107mi), my ninth-longest ride. There was 2,070m (6,800') of elevation gain.<\/p>\n\n