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Today is why you do cycle touring.  On a tour, there are days like yesterday, where you just need to ride to get from point A to point B.  Then there's days where the ride is a joy.  The scenery today is exactly what I…

I have no words.  Literally no words.  I took no notes for this day.  The only photo that isn't at the departure or destination is of a kiwi fruit fizzy drink we bought at a Seven-Eleven .  So clearly today was just about getting from…

Some online commentary suggested there was nothing to do in Niigata; nothing, full stop.  With that in mind, a day trip over to Sado Island was considered, to the extent of picking places to see on the island, looking at ferry times and comparing car…

Niigata is famous for rice production and things you can make from rice - like sake.  I'm guessing one of the reasons for that is it is located in a vast coastal plain, so there's plenty of nice flat farmland.  The prodigious rainfall the region…

A day of ups and downs, literally and figuratively.  In the literal sense, North of Joetsu, Mt Yoneyama falls directly into the ocean making the coast road climb where the pinch between mountain and sea is the narrowest.  After clearing Kashiwazaki there is a non…