15 October 2024: The town of Kani is the constant waypoint for rides to Gero Onsen from Nagoya. After the western route past Kasugai Country Club proved to include something close to a mountain hiking trail, and the eastern route via Seto and Tajimi proved to parallel speedy traffic over a nerve-rattling distance, this jaunt explores a middle route that merges with the Toki River. A fun ride, but without happy news on that front.

20-21 September 2024: Wherein I explore an alternative north-bound route to that used in the July excursion to Gero, and face a trade-off between convenience and solitude.

16-18 July 2024: A casually planned three-day ride to a popular hot spring resort. Surprises included: an unridable hiking trail; a flat tire repair challenge in a rainstorm on a mountain road after dark; a midnight map reading failure; and the kindness of strangers.

21-25 May 2024: A sentimental multi-modal journey to Tokyo and the Kantō plain to visit old friends and make new connections.

18-20 March 2024: A three-day ride into the foothills behind Okayama led by a friend in the area, in which I brought a road bike to a country tour and … found out. A tale of hot springs and cold weather.

1-2 January 2024: A two-day trip starting on New Year’s Day to a free campsite within easy riding distance from Nagoya; but the mountainous route chosen for this first ride to the site was full of surprises.

12-13 October 2023: A two-day trip to a mountain campground in Shiga Prefecture, in the direction of Biwa Lake and Kyoto east of Nagoya. Good conversations and rural scenery reminiscent of California coastal forests in days of youth.

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.