misasa: over the hill and far away

it took 4 hours to get to misasa from osaka and despite a very laid back train journey, I immediately dumped the bag in search of a climb. I'd been thinking about this for a few weeks now. the road I took was great but my follow-your-nose technique ended up 140kms later........

the pass I chose was being partially resurfaced and despite doing a pretty good job of off-roading on slick tyres and getting over, my route back on the other side was also being repaired. the road was mostly perfectly smooth though and the views up near the clouds, stunning. my bike and I had endured enough vibration though and so we headed on down toward tottori city - the capital of the county. just before reaching the city I headed back west toward my destination, only to find a bunch of more hills in the way which added some valuable time with the sun getting lower and lower. certainly that sinking feeling. eventually deciding on the coast road for the final run in, my legs managed to keep up momentum and I managed to arrive back in daylight. the last 20 were pretty demanding mentally and physically but the ride was a good one and I knew what was waiting.

misasa onsen itself is a nice enough wee town with a quaint street and many fancy 'ryokan' inns and not so fancy 'minshuku' b&b's. being a cheapskate I opted for the latter and had an absolutely adequate stay in ichinoyu for six grand a night - they even throw in onsen and dinner for the price. I didn't need a beer to put me to sleep but I murdered one in any case.