Tazawa Lake 🐻🌋🌧️

Last day crossing the steep and wild Akita mountains. The landscape got colder and colder as I climbed up, until it was all covered snow white around the road. It was beautiful though. It was a last challenging day, the cycling started with a road that had fully fallen down, so I had to go back down the mountain and climb it again from the main road, which added another 10 km to the route. And it rained, a lot. After a couple hours on the road a car stopped to say that there was a bear behind, and not too further away I bumped into a cub bear. Such a wonderful but super scary moment, the mom is going to come out of the forest anytime now, and this is it for me, I was saying to myself as I was literally holding my bear spray paralyzed in the middle of the road. There were no cars, no connection. As I was looking at the bear as still as I knew how to be, he started approaching me. Great, I thought, now what? But I was so lucky, he turned around and faded into the wild forest, no sight of his mother. I also got to stop in a volcano with the craziest hot spring. Known to be the most acidic onsen in Japan. There was simmering water everywhere and a really strong steam giving the area a mysteriousness to the place. People were lying on the ground everywhere inhaling the steam, because it was known for curing diseases. Now, there were signs everywhere saying it was highly radioactive, so not to stay there for long. So, was it actually good for you? I continued to Tazawa lake completely wet, I was gonna wild camp, but I found a little jazz bar right next to the lake and it felt like a good way to spend a rainy evening. I found a campsite and set up my home while it was pouring down. The lady who worked there, a 77 year old lovely woman, could feel how my cold wet bones were challenging after such a hard day, she made me some dinner and hot coffee and brought it out for me. I felt so lucky to be so seen and understood. Then, after putting all my belongings in the dryer, I took off to the Jazz bar to enjoy a nice bear in the heat while listening to some nice japanese jazz. The main singer was trying to sing classics in english, I say trying cause not a word resembling the actual lyrics haha it was still lovely. The owners of the place were nice and rude at the same time which was confusing. Who knows, maybe it was my mood. The next day, after having a slow morning I slowly took off for a short biking day.

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🏯 Sounds Good Jazz Bar, there is an onsen town nearby that is very famous, but it was too far and a bit hilly for me to go just for an onsen, GorgeLeia mais