Blessed with outstanding weather and lucky schedule breaks, I’ve just finished an amazing three-day weekend of cycling.
I got to get on the bike as part of a cycling club’s call for riders to share their cycling experiences.
My duties to the local estate threatened to put paid to my riding over the weekend, but things worked out and I could ride on all three days of the event.
Today was the highlight, and I was supposed to lead a ride from Tokyo Station to Inokashira Park in Kichijoji.
We were to follow the delightful Kanda River cycling course, which weaves through the central city, through the leafy suburbs and ends at one of Tokyo’s most popular parks.
It was intended to be a group ride, but ended up being a solo run.
That also proved to be fortunate in some ways as it enabled me to learn what’s required to run a group ride without having to learn from mistakes that could affect others.
We were also a bit pushed for time at home, so needing only to think of myself allowed me to push through at a faster pace than I’d planned for.
It was hard, though, because the weather was absolutely sublime; sunny and hot, at over 30 degrees, but a perfect temperature for riding fast enough to create a cool breeze.
The skies were also filled with dramatic clouds, which made for spectacular photos.
Some of the highlights of the ride included the stunning Higo Hosokawa Garden, where I was able to take some dazzling photos of the Big Red, and the cartoons honoring works by Osamu Tezuka in Takadanobaba, the birthplace of Tezuka’s most famous character, Astro Boy.
But the whole ride was just great fun, and simply a delight to wind through the western part of Tokyo at a sedate pace.
The weekend had also been a monster of a time; literally so on Sunday.
I woke at my typically early hour and headed down Setagaya Dori, where I encountered King Kong making a spectacle of himself above an optometrist shop.
From there, it was a short trip to Toho Studios, where I got to meet Godzilla.
Backtracking slightly, I headed along the delightful Nogawa river cycling track and into Chofu to see the yokai imps made famous by Shigeru Mizuki.
Time was running out as I needed to be back at the estate to help with lawnmowing, as able-bodied residents are required to do in lieu of paying market-rate management fees. Running was on my mind as I dropped by Dodo Hiroba in Fuchu to find the series of running Buddha statues.
A slightly roundabout trip home gave me just enough time to see the topiary Totoro, crafted by a garden ornament company in Kokubunji. The operator of the company was headed out but spotted me taking selfies. He rode off once on his motorbike, but then came back and took some snapshots for me. We bumped ito each other on the road home a number of times, but he personified the hospitality for which many Japanese take great pride in showing. I made it home in time for the mowing, the board meeting that followed in the afternoon, and even a concreting job that board members carried out in the dusk to avoid paying a repair bill running into hundreds of thousands of yen.
Saturday morning started with paperwork as I had meetings to attend all weekend in connection with the operation of the estate where we live. I had an apartment complex management sub-committe meeting in the afternoon, but more importantly, I needed to get Dino down to the Yokohama Bird Clinic for a check-up.
Our rosy faced lovebird was nestled in her pannier bag for the trip as we headed along the Tsurumi River so she could see the avian vet. Dino was in a feisty mood, but ate heartily and continued to show great appetite for life even if her body has failed her.
