Well, Spring is finally here. At least I thought so when I left on Thursday, April 23rd 2009. I left on shorts and a short sleeve IMBA jersey. I was back a minute later to my new Ono house in Sanda to get on warmer clothes because it was very cold and windy. I also packed my riding windbreaker just in case. I changed to my full gloves instead of the half-finger ones. I rode from Ono through the back (fire) roads all the way up to what used to be Shibata farms. I saw a family of boar on the way and a raccoon, but no people at all. It is quite a nice, non-technical ride, but since it is about 5 kilometers of what is most of the time up-hill, it is good workout. Once on the top of the hill, I went down into route 308 and to a very nice waterfall you would most certainly miss if you were going down by car. Here are some pictures I tooke there:




After a rest and a snack, I ketp going down route 308 and found a trail on the left going up into the mountain, which I decided to explore. I carried my bike half-way, but it was mostly stairs. I then went all the way up on foot until the very top, took a breath and went back to the road. I continued on 308 until I found another dirt road on the right which said was going up to Moshi and Moshi OO-Ike. Decided to explore this, although it was going up basically to the same place I had come from about 4 kilometers up. I am glad I did. The Moshi OO-Ike area is basically a dammed lake on the top of the mountains, which is just gorgeous. It was breathtaking to say the least. However, since I am not poetic in my descriptions as you might already have surmised, I decided to take pictures. Here are some:






This is one of the most beautiful places I have been in Japan.
After I went down back to Ono and home, but on the way I saw a cow stable that raises the famed Sanda-beef, a.k.a. Kobe Beef. Here is a picture.


I am definetely, doing this ride again.