Up and away early from our stealth camp, tracking parallel to Matsu Bay mostly managing quiet secondary roads. After an hour, slight hills as we turned inland to the centre of the peninsula.

Climbing through tranquil forest.

Under the large transmission corridor through farmland.

Dropping to Lake Okagawa, we followed the shore for an hour and a half with a light tailwind, little traffic and plenty of birds and boats to look at – and the occasional self-defence (fighter) jet screaming overhead from a nearby base.

Didn’t work out what all these boats are used to fish for.

Lake looked a little low.

Looking across the southwest end of the lake and the hills towards which we were heading.

With the earlier start, a long lunch layover was enjoyed – also a chance for Rachel to shed some of her load by posting excess to her brother.

The early part of a pleasantly warm afternoon was spent riding through peaceful, productive cropping land very gradually climbing; onions and diakon being crops of note in these parts.

As the gradient increased, the fields began to be replaced with forest; that and the clear creek running down the valley helped also to keep the temperature down.

Maybe one day I’ll have a wood stack like that…

About the time we would normally be looking for ice cream, we found a store stuck about forty years ago – it did at least have ice cream.

There were still a few rice fields amongst the trees.

The first we’d seen of this method of drying rice.

Only in the last ten kilometres of the day, above 500 m, did the road steepen, put a hairpin or two in and bid farewell to the farming. Enjoyable riding, rather deserted up there too.

Having crossed the main road, we found a short walk to the source of the creek – wonderfully cool and clear spring water.

The few facilities up here were entirely deserted, summer holiday season having ended two weeks earlier. Having cooked on the side of a large parking lot, battling mosquitoes, we slept in the large clean toilet block – but still had to put our tent inners up to avoid the bugs.

Parking lot view – a rather spread out wind farm.