Hamamatsu trip #1 (Shizuoka Prefecture)

26-28 September 2023: The first long ride in Japan, the first flat-tire experience on the cargo bike, the first experience of a Japanese campground. So many firsts.

Just back to Nagoya from a 100km camping trip to Hamamatsu, on a Surly cargo bike loaded up with tent, cooking gear, tools, clothing, and other bits and pieces. One day down, two overnights, one day back. My first long ride in Japan, it’s good to be back.

I dropped the chocolates below on the way out, while clipping in lights on a dark country road. They were my only lost item (yay)️ but I spotted them two days later on the way home!

Two wrapped pieces of chocolate beside a Meiji Black Chocolate box, one piece with a dent in its center.
Two wrapped pieces of chocolate beside a Meiji Black Chocolate box, one piece with a dent in its center.

Anyway, to photos from the trip. I have a terrible eye, and here’s Exhibit 1 in evidence of that: could really do without the distraction of horizontal lines in this one. But that’s the bike as loaded, a couple of minutes before departure. Hard to pick out the detail around the handlebars, but the water bottles and tool kit are at least visible, and you can see my crappy initial attempt at the packing. The Surly panniers are capacious and forgiving.

A cargo bike with a long frame, loaded with camping gear.
A cargo bike with a long frame, loaded with camping gear.

“Bonesetter” in this snap of a sign over a clinic in Hina (a town between Nagoya and Okazaki) wasn’t a familiar word, and I assumed that it was just a bad translation of chiropractor. It’s not. 接骨師 (bonesetter [more info behind photo]) and 整体師 (chiropractor) are separate non-MD qualifications. The former treat injuries like dislocations, sprains and bruises, as well as broken bones. It’s not a countryside thing, there are a bunch of clinics in Nagoya too.

A sign in Japanese reading “ドリーム接骨院” and under that, “Dream Bonesetter’s Office,” followed by details of office hours and contact details. 接骨師 [sekkotsu-shi] is a qualification, 院 [in] is a clinic. The proper qualification name is 柔道整復師 [judo-seifuku-shi], with “judo” the same as the name of the sport. Like chiropractors, these aren’t medical clinics, but treatment by a “bonesetter” is covered by national insurance, with copays as usual. Service here is presumably less costly than treatment by a licensed osteopath.
A sign in Japanese reading “ドリーム接骨院” and under that, “Dream Bonesetter’s Office,” followed by details of office hours and contact details. 接骨師 [sekkotsu-shi] is a qualification, 院 [in] is a clinic. The proper qualification name is 柔道整復師 [judo-seifuku-shi], with “judo” the same as the name of the sport. Like chiropractors, these aren’t medical clinics, but treatment by a “bonesetter” is covered by national insurance, with copays as usual. Service here is presumably less costly than treatment by a licensed osteopath.

I used the BikeMap app on an Android phone for navigation. It worked pretty well! Japan DOES have some straight roads where the phone could be switched off to save battery. In a couple of instances (no photos, oops!) it plotted a course down tiny footpaths between buildings that I wouldn’t otherwise have noticed. But in a couple of places roads had disappeared through 区画整理 (planning adjustment) and in some other spots the weeds were reasserting themselves.

A country road, straight as far as the eye can see.
A country road, straight as far as the eye can see.
A bicycle parked at the end of a dirt road overgrown with weeds.
A bicycle parked at the end of a dirt road overgrown with weeds.

En route to Hamamatsu, I was whizzing through Okazaki when I had a flat tire in front of this very tiny roadside restaurant—basically a counter surrounding a galley kitchen. It was run by two women, with a third kibbitzer at the counter, all apparently of the same family. They were extremely kind! I had a good lunch and patched the flat in their parking space. Found four rose thorns in the front tire, but missed a slow leak and later landed at a bike shop.

A tiny roadside restaurant nestled between concrete telephone poles with a faded sign reading “お好み焼ハウス [okonomiyaki house] POPEYE” adorned with the Popeye cartoon character flashing a peace sign.
A tiny roadside restaurant nestled between concrete telephone poles with a faded sign reading “お好み焼ハウス [okonomiyaki house] POPEYE” adorned with the Popeye cartoon character flashing a peace sign.

Features of the landscape that would sail past unnoticed when traveling by car can be cause for reflection. This craft, abandoned in the shadow of the Tōkai Shinkansen tracks on the southern outskirts of Toyohashi, made me wonder what sort of graffiti might have been scrawled on Noah’s boat by the people he left behind. Graham Hancock, if you’re listening, we need to know.

A disused motorboat covered in graffiti, sitting on a patch of grass in front of a gutted metal shed.
A disused motorboat covered in graffiti, sitting on a patch of grass in front of a gutted metal shed.

​ On the morning after arriving in Hamamatsu, I had breakfast at cafe アトリエ. No photo (oops), but really welcoming clientele, who declared I resembled someone named キャ ンブル??? The owner directed me to Hamanako Garden Park. It’s big, and there’s a bicycle course around the perimeter. My timing was good: the course will be closed for a marathon relay (駅伝 “eki-den”) on October 8th. More snaps from this park to come.

The sign at the gate of Hamamatsu Garden Park, reading:\n"Welcome! 浜名湖カーデンパーク"\nand stating the opening hours of the parks to be 8:30am to 5:00pm, and giving the phone number of the administrative office.
The sign at the gate of Hamamatsu Garden Park, reading:\n"Welcome! 浜名湖カーデンパーク"\nand stating the opening hours of the parks to be 8:30am to 5:00pm, and giving the phone number of the administrative office.
A cargo bike parked next to a sign reading (in translation):\n\nOctober 8th (Sunday)\nAn eki-den event will be held on the Cycling Course on Oct. 8. We ask your understanding and cooperation.\n—Enshu Relay Marathon Executive Committee
A cargo bike parked next to a sign reading (in translation):\n\nOctober 8th (Sunday)\nAn eki-den event will be held on the Cycling Course on Oct. 8. We ask your understanding and cooperation.\n—Enshu Relay Marathon Executive Committee

The lawsuit over “Makoto-chan’s house” built in Tokyo by the manga artist Makoto Umezu back in 2009 is pretty well known. On the way to Hamamatsu, I hit a dead end due to construction work on a canal that cost some time in back-and-forthing. It was not for naught though, as it took me past a house equally odd, if less famous and, by its location, less likely to be the subject of a nationally publicized lawsuit. Perhaps someone grew tired of the weeding.

Photograph of the “Makoto-chan House” built by the manga artist who created “Makoto-chan.” The house is painted with bright red and white stripes and has a turret. It looks like a cartoon house. This photo is from https://blog.goo.ne.jp/mig8818/e/58e765e168a2fe78825c7919f9349875
Photograph of the “Makoto-chan House” built by the manga artist who created “Makoto-chan.” The house is painted with bright red and white stripes and has a turret. It looks like a cartoon house. This photo is from https://blog.goo.ne.jp/mig8818/e/58e765e168a2fe78825c7919f9349875
A diorama filling the entire front garden of a house. The area has been covered in cement or plaster, and decorated with some miniatures, and with streams painted in blue, and many other features painted directly onto the cement.
A diorama filling the entire front garden of a house. The area has been covered in cement or plaster, and decorated with some miniatures, and with streams painted in blue, and many other features painted directly onto the cement.

Hamanako Garden Park (see up-thread) was a relaxing waypoint. Off season it’s very quiet, with a very large deserted parking lot.

Empty parking lots attract other forms of entertainment, of course. The sign (see photo descrip) prohibits “hangouts” like one I came across at a Family Mart across the bridge after midnight: engine-revving scooter kids hunkering around their minor gang boss’ modded sports car. Vroom-vroom.

Sign in Japanese, reading (in English translation):\nUnauthorized group activities involving cars or motorcycles are prohibited!\nThe following activities are prohibited in the park grounds:\n1. Revving engines, blowing horns, reckless driving, spinning donuts, and other nuisances.\n2. Parking outside the designated parking area.\n3. Hanging out in the parking area (i.e. gathering around vehicles).
Sign in Japanese, reading (in English translation):\nUnauthorized group activities involving cars or motorcycles are prohibited!\nThe following activities are prohibited in the park grounds:\n1. Revving engines, blowing horns, reckless driving, spinning donuts, and other nuisances.\n2. Parking outside the designated parking area.\n3. Hanging out in the parking area (i.e. gathering around vehicles).
Large empty parking lot.
Large empty parking lot.

Above I mentioned the Hamanako Garden Park bike course that skirts around the edge of the grounds. Bikes aren’t allowed to enter the grounds proper, so when I saw the “Family Rental Biking Course” sign on a walking trail, my first thought was, “Aw jeez, more petty gatekeeping for pennies.” Then I saw the bikes: they’re fanciful 4-wheelers that will mix better with pedestrian traffic.

The obligatory photo-dock was nearby. That’s me in the dark glasses.

A wooden sign reading (in translation): “Family Rental Bicycle (literally ‘rider-propelled vehicle’) Path”
A wooden sign reading (in translation): “Family Rental Bicycle (literally ‘rider-propelled vehicle’) Path”
Four-wheeled pedal-powered carriages parked in a lot. The vehicles are in various colors and configurations, but all have two seats for adult riders and one or more child seats mounted somewhere on the frame.
Four-wheeled pedal-powered carriages parked in a lot. The vehicles are in various colors and configurations, but all have two seats for adult riders and one or more child seats mounted somewhere on the frame.
A photo dock with generic garden-related cartoon figures with placeholder faces in all positions except the center one, where a bald man in sunglasses peers out at the camera.
A photo dock with generic garden-related cartoon figures with placeholder faces in all positions except the center one, where a bald man in sunglasses peers out at the camera.

To tie off this thread on the Hamamatsu adventure, there were two welcome sights on the way home. I know the roads near home pretty well, but the rest was a stream of little discoveries. One of those near the end was a branch of Gyoza no Osho, and boy was I hungry. Mieko had mentioned it as a chain with good food at budget prices. (This ran to about $10.) A bit later I came to our veggie market, still a couple of kilometers to go, but I knew I was home.

A restaurant meal of mabo-dofu, gyoza, white rice, salt pickles, and egg soup.
A restaurant meal of mabo-dofu, gyoza, white rice, salt pickles, and egg soup.
Cargo bike parked in front of Tachiya, a Nagoya food market, after closing time.
Cargo bike parked in front of Tachiya, a Nagoya food market, after closing time.

This thread has featured pictures of signs and structures that drew my attention on the ride to and from Hamamatsu, with little in the way of exotic-Japan eye candy. To fill that gap, here is the bike parked in front of the Benten-jima Torii, taken a short distance from the Family Mart mentioned in the post above. Exotic Japan at its disorienting best. (More info on Hamana Lake and the Benten Island Torii in this blog post (Japanese, with photos).

A cargo bicycle parked at water’s edge, with a Japanese shrine gate (“torii”) in the background, and a freeway overpass beyond that.
A cargo bicycle parked at water’s edge, with a Japanese shrine gate (“torii”) in the background, and a freeway overpass beyond that.