Big Red Bike Tour Stage 7: Anything You Can Do We Kanda Better
Despite having literally cycled hundreds of thousands of kilometers in and around Tokyo, I’d never cycled the full length of the Kanda River Cycling Road until the Big Red Bike Tour Stage 7 today, and boy had I missed out.
We started at the beginning of the path at Inokashira Park in Kichijoji and pottered downstream at a very leisurely pace amid sapping heat under cloudless, blue skies.
Kichijoji has traditionally been rated as the most liveable part of Tokyo, and the area is a delight. The cycling path tracks the Kanda River as it flows through the leafy western suburbs of Tokyo.
Eventually, the river flows into the back streets of the inner suburbs and all the way into the center of the city. It is quiet, peaceful and visually attractive in many areas.
If there is a downside, there are too many gates in several parts of the track, which hinder smooth riding.
And the cycling path simply disappears in parts for a few hundred meters at a time, often requiring guesswork to find again. Some sections also request a dismount and walk.
But it is a delightful 25-kilometer meander from Kichijoji to Tokyo Station.
I’d definitely recommend it as a beginner’s ride and an ideal way to get a look at a part of the world’s largest city in a different light.
From Tokyo Station it was on to the sublime Rikugien Gardens in Komagome. I was delighted to pay the 300 yen entrance fee and have the entire place pretty much to myself on the midweek afternoon.
The gardens date back over 300 years and were donated to Tokyo in 1938 by the Iwasaki family, the founders of the Mitsubishi conglomerate.
The afternoon was more about simple riding before heading back toward home, where I feared the worst for Dino, our ill rosy faced lovebird who appeared in poor form when I viewed her on camera during the day.
Before getting there, though, I was blessed by the most amazing sunset in my memory. Nature turned on a simply sublime show far more spectacular than even the most extravagent fireworks extravaganza. I was truly blessed to be able to see it.
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