Day 35 (August 19): Amanohashidate (天橋立）to Moroyose (諸寄） or "Listen to knowledgeable locals"

Day 35. Thursday, August 19, 2010. 8:30 pm. Amanohashidate to Moroyose, Hyogo-ken. Distance traveled: 114 kms.

Listen to locals who know. I did and then I didn't.

Yes, I was in, rather on, Amanohashidate last night, that narrow pine-covered sliver of land bisecting the bay at Miyazu. Slept poorly as I usually do when sleeping out of doors. The iPhone alarm vibrated me awake just before 5. Packed quickly, found a spot on the mainland to eat something, took a few pictures of Amanohashidate at dawn and was away on Route 2.
This is when I did listen to Fujii-san's advice: stay inland to avoid roads with lots of hills to climb. The road did start climbing and eventually I had to dismount and push. The sun had not yet broken through and mist occasionally blurred the road in the distance. Not very cheery. Finally reached the top of the pass which actually was under a snow shed. But the other side!
Sunny! Green fields! A good view of distant mountains! And a welcome downhill ride at 35 kph!
From there to Toyooka the road was flat and followed an ever-broadening river and valley. Entering the town I had committed myself to the coast road about 15 kms distant. First, I stopped and ordered a "morning set" at a little kisaten ("coffee shop") called Yashiro near the station.
Continuing on Route 178 I left Toyooka via it's strip of discount stores and fast food outlets proving the town is of considerable regional importance. Some kilometers later I discovered that 178 became a highway reserved for motor vehicles and so was forced north to the coast reaching it soon enough at a village called Satsu. It was after a brief rest stop there that I learned what Fujii-san had meant about staying away from the coast.
Route 11 climbed out of the village, offered one teasingly beautiful view of a rocky coast and turquoise water then turned directly away from it. It would then climb and descend to the next coastal village only to ascend again and turn away from the cooler breezes offered by the sea. One bright spot was a larger town, Kami, where I had a rather big lunch with a large bottle of Asahi at Osho and watched Tokai beat Kyushu in the high school baseball championship near Osaka. Another incident that made the unpleasantness of the drudgery of pushing the bicycle uphill in 34 degree heat was the discovery of a little roadside spring where people were filling bottles.
I drank my fill then poured glass after cool glass over my head to the great amusement, but with the total sympathy of three ladies from Tottori. Pictures taken.
Rolled into Moroyose just 35 kms short of Tottori City at 4:30. A good time to stop as there was a YH. However, the woman running the minshiku-style YH said she wasn't serving any meals and there were no eating places or shops in the village. Accordingly, after unloading the bike, taking a quick shower and changing, I backtracked 2.5 kms to Hamasaka and found a supermarket there.
A bottle of Asahi Super Dry and water chasers will complete the day. (I won't mention the laundry I've been able to catch up on.)
Tomorrow to Daisen and the temple complex there.