(The following entry is from my paper diary, hence the quotation marks. Comments may follow at the end. These are written after the completion of the trip.)
Day 16: Saturday, July 31, 2010. Lake Tazawa to Matsugasaki
"I left in the rain at 7 am. It was hard to motivate myself to leave at 5 as I had intended. Traffic became heavy and I had to pay attention on various curves. The road was very narrow.
Had my 2nd flat tire. Found out that my 'English valve' tube wouldn't fit through the wheel hole and lucky for me I had another 'French valve' tube (and one more as I later found out). Changing tubes wasn't difficult and it wasn't raining by that time.
I came to a very pleasant part of Rte. 341 and crossed a bridge called Arakawa-bashi. Took some pictures from the bridge and in the town. Followed 341 past a spring (picture). It then became a 'Mountain Road', was quite narrow and very steep. The average grade was probably 10% with one spot probably 15%. I walked the bike up about 2.7 km to a lodge which was being used by a pre-school group of kids!
It turned out to be a good place to rest - it had a vending machine - and the kids' interest - swarming around me - raised my spirits greatly. After leaving them to their 'hanabi' I continued upward just a bit, then descended continuously for quite a distance. Passed one rather high waterfall (marked on the map).
Not much further I reached the Japan Sea on a road parallel to the train line which wasn't marked on Google!
I turned south and, since it wasn't much after 4, I decided to see what I could find. I asked at a Circle K convenience store just south of Matsugasaki village about hotels, minshiku, etc. ahead, but the woman could only guess that there was a Route Inn about '5 minutes' by car. I estimated the distance at 10 km and set out. However, about 4 km south I spotted a cheap looking hotel - probably an old 'love hotel' - and checked in at 5 pm. The rate from 5 all night was only 3,900 yen. The manager, an old man with a cane and mostly gold teeth, showed me the room. Check-in involved giving him my first name only as most guests only had to provide license plates.
I cycled back to the Circle K for dinner and returned to the hotel, the 'Kouyou', just at dark.
Total distance: 105 km"
A more detailed time line:
7:00 a.m., left Tazawa Youth Hostel in the rain
9:40, just west of Kakunodate on Rte. 46
1:20 p.m., crossed the Omono River at Yuwaarawa on Rte. 341
2:30, reached the "mountain lodge" near summit of Mt. Takao on Rte. 341
3:30, arrived at Kamedafudo Falls
4:35, arrived at Circle K convenience store on Rte. 7 just south of Matsugasaki
7:00, bought groceries at the same Circle K after checking in at hotel
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