Sasado Onsen trip #1 (Toyota City)

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.

A belated Happy New Year to all! Returned yesterday from a NYD ride to a public campground, mentioned by the owner of the local bike shop. The plan was to visit a temple in a historic village then push on to the camp site. Things didn’t go quite as intended! Here’s a desultory thread on this tiny adventure, with the usual smattering of poorly composed photographs.

A map showing a circuitous route between Nisshin and the village of Sasado.
A map showing a circuitous route between Nisshin and the village of Sasado.
Elevations over a circuitous route between Nisshin and the village of Sasado.
Elevations over a circuitous route between Nisshin and the village of Sasado.

Toward Kōrankei/Asuke

For starters, a countryside meeting point for students walking to school, passed early in the trip.

A loaded cargo bicycle parked at a bridge over an earthen canal with trees and dried grass on the banks. A sign on a guardrail behind the bike is partly obscured by black spray paint over the school name, but seems to read “Miyoshi North District County Elementary School/Gathering Point/Departure Time 7:40” (三好町立北部小学校・集合場所・出発時間７時４０分). Not sure what the reason for the splotch of black paint is, but the sign must be at least 13 years old, since Miyoshi County became Miyoshi City in 2010.
A loaded cargo bicycle parked at a bridge over an earthen canal with trees and dried grass on the banks. A sign on a guardrail behind the bike is partly obscured by black spray paint over the school name, but seems to read “Miyoshi North District County Elementary School/Gathering Point/Departure Time 7:40” (三好町立北部小学校・集合場所・出発時間７時４０分). Not sure what the reason for the splotch of black paint is, but the sign must be at least 13 years old, since Miyoshi County became Miyoshi City in 2010.

About 4km out, I passed Nagoya Prison, with this inviting sign at the entrance.

A loaded cargo bicycle parked at a zebra crossing spanning the entrance to the grounds of a prison. On the far side of the zebra crossing is a sign reading “Exhibition Gallery of the Products of Prison Labor/Open 9:00-15:45, except Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays/Immediately to the left of the entrance/Visitors welcome” (刑務所作業製品展示場・９：００−１５：４５㊡土・日・祝日・入ってすぐ左手・お気軽にお立ち寄りください). A cartoon finger points to the opening hours.
A loaded cargo bicycle parked at a zebra crossing spanning the entrance to the grounds of a prison. On the far side of the zebra crossing is a sign reading “Exhibition Gallery of the Products of Prison Labor/Open 9:00-15:45, except Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays/Immediately to the left of the entrance/Visitors welcome” (刑務所作業製品展示場・９：００−１５：４５㊡土・日・祝日・入ってすぐ左手・お気軽にお立ち寄りください). A cartoon finger points to the opening hours.

About 15km out (??) I arrived at this fork in the road. These small tunnels to allow foot traffic and bicycles to pass under expressways and train lines are common in the countryside. As I would discover on the return journey, this marked a crossroads between the relatively easy ride straight on leading more or less directly to the campground, and the nightmare of mountain huffing and puffing awaiting to the right. Of course I turned right here.

A loaded cargo bike parked in a narrow paved pathway, with a steep stonework embankment on its right. The entrance to a tunnel under the embankment is to the right, and there is a sign to the left of the path with arrows indicating destinations Sanage (猿投) straight on, and Asuke (足助) and Chikaraishi (力石) to the right through the tunnel.
A loaded cargo bike parked in a narrow paved pathway, with a steep stonework embankment on its right. The entrance to a tunnel under the embankment is to the right, and there is a sign to the left of the path with arrows indicating destinations Sanage (猿投) straight on, and Asuke (足助) and Chikaraishi (力石) to the right through the tunnel.
A blurry image of the back end of a cargo bike with the bright light at the end of a tunnel behind.
A blurry image of the back end of a cargo bike with the bright light at the end of a tunnel behind.

There aren’t a lot of photos for what followed. The BikeMap app recommended a shortcut detour that turned out to be a wash (literally) where timber, rocks, and mud had sluiced down what I guess was once a road. After a good hour of to-ing & fro-ing, I found a barely navigable path that led down to a point within reach of the intended route. At the bottom a sign said more or less “None shall pass”. I was now beginning to think about turning back to avoid getting stuck in the woods somewhere.

A loaded cargo bike parked on a forest floor, with traffic cones behind supporting a plastic rail on which is hung a sign reading: “No Through Road/Due to destruction of the road, vehicles cannot pass” (通行止・道路崩壊の為車両の通行はできません).
A loaded cargo bike parked on a forest floor, with traffic cones behind supporting a plastic rail on which is hung a sign reading: “No Through Road/Due to destruction of the road, vehicles cannot pass” (通行止・道路崩壊の為車両の通行はできません).

As I pushed on, it became painfully clear that I’d set myself up for a frustrating series of climbs over mountain ridges and plunges into gorges on the other side. I was nonetheless beginning to feel cautiously optimistic when, near the top of a ridge I hit this sign and gate on the ONLY route forward. With a golf course in the way, I was forced to retrace my tracks, cursing and swearing, back down to the main road. Go on, ask me what I think about the game of golf (better sit down first).

A sign reading “Entry to these grounds is prohibited/Chukyo Golf Club, Inc.” (事業地につき・立入禁止・中京ゴルフクラブ(株).
A sign reading “Entry to these grounds is prohibited/Chukyo Golf Club, Inc.” (事業地につき・立入禁止・中京ゴルフクラブ(株).
A loaded cargo bike parked in front of a locked steel gate.
A loaded cargo bike parked in front of a locked steel gate.

While retracing the route I attempted to follow in this adventure, I had to cast around for the golf course that I’d slammed into at the gate in the photo above. In doing so, I was a little surprised at the number of country clubs in Toyota City. They’re all over the place. It’s impressive that middle management gets any work done with so many playgrounds to choose from.

A contour map of Toyota City with six golf courses circled in red.
A contour map of Toyota City with six golf courses circled in red.

Toward Sasado and Return

After the country club disaster, the app decided to omit a dog-leg that would have led to a temple at Asuke village that I had wanted to visit, and that was just a fine by me. By this point there was only a modest distance remaining (like 15km or so), but each grade was steeper than the last, and I found myself pushing the bike, taking breathers at that, and using the brakes to keep from backsliding. No pictures, but imagine if you will a seemingly endless expanse of cedar forest.

After cresting the final ridge, and with something like just 2km to go, I enjoyed a whizzy descent to the Yahagi river basin. I worried that I might not be able to find the campground, but it was unmistakable, a large flat area along the river, with four tents pitched here and there by others who also fancied spending the New Year holiday out of doors. I spoke with a young couple that smiled as I walked by their tent to take in the river, and we exchanged holiday greetings.

A loaded cargo bike parked on a field of close-dropped dried grass, with an A-frame house on a wooded hill in the background.
A loaded cargo bike parked on a field of close-dropped dried grass, with an A-frame house on a wooded hill in the background.

Astonishingly I arrived with daylight to spare and had the tent pitched before sundown. I’d had only some bread midway through the nightmare climbs, and despite being pretty tuckered, dinner was very welcome. The two traditional New Year items (black beans and sweet & sour salad) were courtesy of a kind neighbor (who I now fret over having saddled with completely inappropriate homemade bread on the 31st). I had two not-unexpected bouts of leg cramps in the evening, but slept well otherwise.

A small jar of sweet-and-sour carrot and radish salad, a small jar sweet black beans, a coffee cup and small plate of soy sauce on a plastic cutting board, resting on the ground. Beyond the cutting board a pot of water is boiling on a small gasoline camp stove.
A small jar of sweet-and-sour carrot and radish salad, a small jar sweet black beans, a coffee cup and small plate of soy sauce on a plastic cutting board, resting on the ground. Beyond the cutting board a pot of water is boiling on a small gasoline camp stove.

A kind man accosted me at the campsite when he spotted the cargo bike, and we chatted. He knew a lot about the area and camping in general, and directed me to the best road back to Nagoya, downstream along the Yahagi river. There was some mixing with car traffic, but it was a smooth ride, always with the calming sound of the river on the left. This view from the Inubushi Bridge (犬伏橋) was nicer than this photo suggests, but I hope it at least gives the general impression.

A loaded cargo bike parked at a painted steel railing, overlooking the view of a river winding into the distance between wooded banks, with a small village visible very far down at a distant bend in the river.
A loaded cargo bike parked at a painted steel railing, overlooking the view of a river winding into the distance between wooded banks, with a small village visible very far down at a distant bend in the river.

The ride home was mostly downhill (of course!), and so much easier. When I passed a large unmanned vegetable stand that I’d seen on the way out, I stopped to pick up daikon, negi, and sato-imo. A steal at 350 yen.

A loaded cargo bike parked in front of a vegetable stand. The greens of a bundle of large long onions projects from the rear of the cargo bike’s saddle bags like a short horse’s tail.
A loaded cargo bike parked in front of a vegetable stand. The greens of a bundle of large long onions projects from the rear of the cargo bike’s saddle bags like a short horse’s tail.
A closer view of the cargo bike parked in front of a vegetable stand.
A closer view of the cargo bike parked in front of a vegetable stand.

… and then I clicked my heels … and I was home!