🎌🙈Day 41🙈🎌

Final Rest Day

7 miles / 930 ft. / 1:05

We took full advantage of our last rest day before the end of the tour. Sleeping in, enjoying a slow hotel breakfast in Japanese style, soaking in the 温泉 (onsen – hot spring), and even sneaking in a nap. It felt good to let the morning mist lift while we rested. By noon, the clouds were still hanging low, but the heavy fog had cleared enough for exploring.

I had planned a 6-mile (10-kilometer) loop for the day, leading us to the famous 地獄谷野猿公苑 (Jigokudani Yaen Kōen – Snow Monkey Park). As we suspected, it was a bit too early in the season to see any monkeys bathing in the hot springs, but it was still a beautiful walk through the forest, and it felt good to support the park anyway.

Afterward, we coasted down the hill to a small local ラーメン (rāmen – noodle soup) shop for lunch. Warm broth, friendly smiles, and the quiet hum of conversation filled the little dining room. From there, we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering through the touristic old-town streets of 山ノ内町 (Yamanouchi-machi), where narrow lanes wind between wooden houses and old storefronts. We hiked up to a few secluded 神社 (jinja – shrines) and 寺 (tera – temples), the smell of cedar and sulfur from hot springs in the cool mountain air.

At one point, we climbed up toward 平和の丘公園 (Heiwa no Oka Kōen – Hill of Peace Park) and found the towering Peace Goddess of the World (世界平和大観音, Sekai Heiwa Daikannon – World Peace Kannon), a 25-meter bronze statue of Kannon that overlooks the town below. The statue was erected after World War II as a symbol of peace, and its pedestal houses exhibits and photos of an earlier version that was donated for metal during the war and later reconstructed. Nearby we visited a cemetery and a temple, which had some stone statues of monkeys.

Just as we were about to head back, we spotted a small public 足湯 (ashiyu – foot bath). It felt wonderful to slip off our shoes and soak our tired feet in the warm mineral water while chatting about the day.

When we finished, we decided to have our “lunch dessert” of a cream puff and a bottle of grape soda, a combination that somehow felt perfectly right. Back at our guesthouse — Miyama — we started our packing and made plans for tomorrow’s big ride.

As evening settled in, our stomachs reminded us of the brewery from the night before. We returned to Tamamura Honten (玉村本店, Tamamura Honten), a historic sake brewery founded in 1805 that also produces the local Shiga Kogen Beer. We thought we ordered one small chicken meal that was for one or two people, but somehow this was lost in translation and we ended up with two full sets. Thinking we had ordered correctly, we were amazed at how much food arrived. Then it hit us — we had each ordered a chicken dinner meant for one or two people for each of us. We laughed so hard imagining what the staff must have been saying as we polished off every bite.

We returned to our room at Miyama completely stuffed, still laughing, and ready for a good night’s sleep. It was the perfect way to close our final rest day — full of warmth, flavor, and quiet gratitude.

Later we finalized our packing and turned in early. Big day tomorrow, of course rain is in forecast!Read more