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.