Cycling day 7: Oboke Gorge -> Tsurugi

66km and 990m ascent. A big day though not the one we planned!

Originally we'd intended to go east through the Iya Valley, to the Nagoro Scarecrow Village and round the mountain. We had hummed and ha'd since it would be a big long day and a huge climb, but initially decided it was worth it to see some things we really wanted to see.

In the end our e-bike batteries decided for us and we realised 20 minutes in that we would be left without any battery halfway up a 1750m climb.

Rapid replanning and we ended up with an incredibly beautiful cycle through the northern part of the Iya Valley and some wonderful views and rolls into the big valley of the Yoshino River, so slaps on the back all round for some good life choices.

Gutted when we cycled 5km past our hostel only to discover we'd gone to the wrong one, and not a soul in sight in the town - another Lawson dinner and sleep since the amount of cycling is starting to bite now! Elli can barely walk and has started falling asleep at random intervals.Read more