Still able to roll out the door after another big hotel buffet breakfast, it was not far to go to the ferry terminal. We boarded the largest ferry we’d been on yet for our longest crossing to another island – Sado.

Again, very well secured.

Got to board first, and disembark first too.

More laying around for the voyage, good time to try and stretch some of the sore muscles.

Ready for Island #6, after a lumpy crossing.

Certainly bigger than all the other ferries.

Riding by noon, we had the afternoon around the north of the east shore of the island – before crossing back west over some hills to the central plains. The island looked prosperous and I saw none of the abandoned buildings that we’d become used to during our first seven weeks in Japan.

The northern tip of the eastern side of Sado.

The western side of the island extends further north.

(Rachel’s photo.)

Small islands like this close to shore usually have a shrine – this no exception. The arch under the island different though.

The predominant house style was brown board and batten.

More board and batten, with bonus onions drying. (Rachel’s photo.)

(Rachel’s photo.)

This was a great campsite, but too early in the day and Thomas wasn’t carrying camping gear.

Just about to discover a guy escaped from the city selling tasty donuts out a window of his house. (Rachel’s photo.)

Certainly worth stopping for.

A pleasant 300-odd metre climb took us through mostly forested land, with some rice fields and attempts at erosion control to then drop to the plains.

These were differnt statues to what we were used to seeing at temples.

Certainly were a lot of them.

The sea was a lot calmer when we came to check-in to the campground, conveniently next door to the hotel-onsen that Thomas was staying in.

Tasty dinner that night at a Taiwanese restaurant – little bit more spice than typical Japanese fare.

Packed up early, before the repeat fireworks display, and up to a different restaurant in the hotel for breakfast.

Milk vending machine – another reason we didn’t venture into town for supplies, could have our standard tea.

The same charming elderly woman from last night was in this restaurant, she was a bit taken aback when Rachel ordered two pieces of toast.

We soon worked out why; an inch thick was more bread than Rachel could stomach.

Out into the mist, through small forested hills and along some tranquil valleys.

Buckwheat fields.

Still admiring the grain stores, and ornamental trees.

The narrow wheels on these tractors always intrigued me – we saw plenty.

The day brightened as we crossed into a new prefecture; mostly we were by the highway, but occasionally found alternatives that provided us with diversions in the form of various temples and the largest cypress trees in Japan – apparently up to 1400 years old.

Wooden, unadorned temples and these tesselated retaining wall bricks always catch my eye.

In the small town of Aga, a visitor centre/museum had plenty of local crafts and tried to explain the tradition of the fox fire wedding.

It’s just as well I resisted buying cool local pottery early on, I’d have been towing a heavy and fragile trailer load.

Another common sight – baskets at tables for putting one’s bag, various items in.

Down the valley to the coast we continued.

After a long tunnel with no path separating us from traffic, we sought an alternative to the next tunnel – the old road, with its own tunnel. It started out well enough, despite being closed.

Then the vegetation started closing in over the old road.

Soon it was decidedly boggy under foot, there was some carrying and mostly I was breaking trail through the thick, yellow sticky webs we’d found elsewhere. I was soon covered in them, and their inhabitants. Rejoining the road was so close, so it didn’t make sense to turn around and go back through the same mess.

One last obstacle to get back to the road, through the side of a galleria.

A quick ride through what remained to get back out in the open and start dewebbing.

I soon had all the spiders off me, quickly pulled a leech (!) off my leg before it became too attached and settled for removing most of the webs. Bit more adventure than we bargained on.

Nope, didn’t work this ark out.

Out of the hills for the last thirty kilometres to the centre of Niigata – the largest city on the west coast of Honshu. Predominantly we rode on stop banks through extensive rice fields, harvest being in full swing.

Checking into a hotel, we had a whole day off in front of us, as Thomas was not due to arrive until the following evening. I was well pleased with this, as we’d not had a rest day for well over a month.

International themed burgers for dinner – a rare day where we didn’t eat rice or noodles (nor muesli for breakfast, but that was an us thing not a Japan thing).

Bit different to our normal night views.

Early start today as the village chimes rang out at five in the morning, ouch! Rewarded with a beautiful sunrise, although the colour brought the proverbial warning.

Leaving the lake for the first few kilometres, the sky became more ominous.

Soon after leaving for an even quieter road, the heavens opened and we were soon drenched in the heaviest rain we experienced in the four month trip. Fifteen minutes were spent under the edge of a forest, besides rice fields. Rachel hopped over a small water race to get further out of the rain.

Unfortunately on hopping back she took a big slide in the mud down the slope. Only damaged pride, thankfully – that concrete a bit close for comfort.

And a very dirty rear, to my amusement. No shortage of water for cleaning though.

The rain easing to drizzle, we rejoined the new cycle path we’d found just before the thunderstorm had found us.

It was good, besides the inexplicable gaps.

And overgrown sections.

Soon we were back lakeside and found where all the boats go to hibernate for most of the year. All looked a bit bleak, but this place must be busy in August.

Reminders to be ready to reach for the bear spray.

These foxes presented no danger.

A fun, wet descent through twisting back roads to Aizuwakamatsu –  where we spent a few hours waiting to see what the weather was going to do (still ahead of schedule to meet Thomas in a couple of days, so no rush). We passed the time having a look at the restored castle (impressive moat) in the rain, went to a couple of cafes for morning tea and then lunch.

More doorstop cheese-on-toast. Cafe at the house (now museum) of Dr Noguchi – a famed bacteriologist, whose face we were used to seeing on the 1000 yen note.

With the sky and forecast improving, another forty kilometres towards the coast was on the cards. The first half fairly flat through outlying houses, suburbs and fields before small hills crossing between and riding alongside different waterways.

The campground in Nishiaizu was attached to a large hotel-onsen, so we checked in there. Heading down to make camp, we found this alarming sign. As we were the only campers, we thought we’d probably sleep in the large kitchen!

Soon after, a guy drove down in a kei truck and wordlessly starting firing flares into the scrub to scare away bears. A little alarming, but mostly amusing – and slightly deafening.

Back up at the hotel we had a wonderful soak in the onsen, pleasing to have a hot soak after the cooler one earlier in the day. We were the only diners in the dining room, where a sweet elderly woman cooked us lovely oyakudon with local rice, chicken and eggs.

Typical old-school soap dispenser – I find them charming in their simplicity.

And the common sight on entering a bathroom – bathroom slippers to swap into.