KAIKE - DAISEN EXCITING TOUR ! (2)
Then it was time to check-in at the Hotel. We were very lucky to stay at the Kaike Tsuruya Ryokan. This is one of the most popular Hotel in Kaike and one of a very good standing. Good for us ;-)
In the afternoon we went for a lesson of sea kayak. The waves were a bit high though so we enjoyed kayaking in the near river for about 2 hours. I learnt then that there was a "sea to summit" race organized at the same place [also the place of the Kaike long distance triathlon]. The "sea to summit" is a race starting with some 6k of sea kayak, followed by 23.5k of road race uphill, and a 4.5 hike to the top of Daisen! Overall a climb of 1709m. It is a great idea, I will surely participate next year! I just need to perfect my kayak skill :-)
Then rain came so we went back to the Hotel to enjoy the salty onsen a speciality of the place. It is said to have curative properties. In the evening we were greeted by a dinner like we can enjoy in Japanese ryokan.
[Black & White Rapha jerseys]
[Some serious equipment here!]
As we were riding around the mountain we were constantly going up and down. Even if we were going at a rather cool pace (it was not a training session) everyone could go at his own pace during the climbs and we waited for each other before to start a new section.
We were lucky to be guided by talented triathlete Daisuke Kawabata [7th at Kaike Triathlon (huge performance when you know this race) and also 7th at Yurihama triathlon!] and biathlete. I hope to train with him more in the future. Thank you again Kawabata San!
It was a great day to ride, weather was perfect. We rode a bit less than planned because we started a little bit too late I think. But 65km in the mountain is quite a good ride anyway.
The Madone excels in the mountain :-)
Then we put the bikes back in the truck and came back at the Kaike Tsuruya hotel with our minibus. At the hotel we enjoyed one more good onsen time to relax the muscles and then we were invited to eat the dinner with some Kobe beef prepared in front of us by a cook master, that was very impressive and… yes very good. Can I say it was awesome ? :-)
We did a stop at a temple where we were explained the basics of Zazen.
A 10 hours Ironman on a mini-velo :-)
Ganbare Kakui San!
Visit of a very old style sweet-toys shop.
A short lesson on manual computing.
Finally after one more ride in the old city to the Yonago port we took our lunch (a hearty bento) on a typical cruise boat and then that was the time to say good bye to each others!
I would like also the Korean group I joined for the 3 days. Special thanks to Yunsuek and "Julian" who could speak English unless it would have been a bit awkward for me :-). Come back here anytime guys!
[Most of the pics are mine, some are from my new friends :-) ]
Posted on : 2011-11-06 11:13:10
KAIKE - DAISEN EXCITING TOUR !
Last week I was kindly invited by the Tourism and International Affair Division of the Western Tottori General Office Citizen's Bureau (yes, a long name:-).The purpose of this invitation was to participate to the monitoring of a 3 days tour that could be offer in the future. This tour entitled "Kaike Daisen Exciting Tour" is for people having an interest in outdoor and sporty activities. The main activity being a ride around Daisen, the highest mountain of Western Japan, about 1700m. A good... Read more
Posted on : 2011-11-06 11:13:10 - Comments : 2
VOLUNTEERING IN ISHINOMAKI
Last week-end my wife and I joined Dan Castellano and some of his friends to do some volunteering in Ishinomaki with the NGO JEN. Ishinomaki is a port and one of the cities that have been the most devastated by the earthquake/tsunami of the 11th of March. It's a city about the size [160000 people] of my hometown Le Havre in France which is also a port. It is said that about 10000 persons lost their life in this area only.I upload the following photos and videos to encourage those... Read more
Posted on : 2011-06-08 16:24:02 - Comments : 2
EVERYDAY LIFE IN JAPAN 9 - A JAPANESE SUMMER
Well it is more about *my* Japanese summer...How's your summer?Here it's probably my hottest summer since I've been living in Japan. It 's the first year the lack of AC is bit of a problem at home.I am still working at UltraSuperNew for some Red Bull projects and an other website for an Ayurveda clinic in Tokyo. We already released the keitai site for Red Bull Japan. Keitai meaning "mobile", this website runs only on traditional Japanese handset. For iPhone and Android, things will come a bit la... Read more
Posted on : 2010-08-22 19:00:07 - Comments : 2
LEARNING TO PLAY SHAMISEN - 1
How to play Shamisen was something I wanted to learn even before I start to live in Japan. Well, it actually took some time, but today I had my first lesson! Yeah !!I am a guitar player (well, I mean like everyone~) and always had interest in strings instruments. When I visited Istanbul in 2004 I bought a baglama (pronounced balama) and had fun with it at home even if I never properly learned how to play it :-) A friend also offered me a valiha (pronounced "valee" if I remember well) from... Read more
Posted on : 2010-05-23 11:33:55 - Comments : 8
ASAKUSA SANJA MATSURI - DOG AND SAKE
A quick post with : a cool dog : (I want one like this)And a video shot at arm's length : Japanese Tea Ceremony is well known all over the world. May I introduce you to to their Sake Ceremony :) Read more
Posted on : 2010-05-19 11:22:18 - Comments : 2
By Julian At 2011-11-06 13:50:57
Ichimura San, Ganbare Kakui San、kawabata san、Udagawa San, ジヨウンチャン、ジェロームすべてありがとうございました
By Edouard At 2011-11-07 00:21:40
Je suis français (passionné par le pignon fixe) et me rendant très prochainement me rendre au Japon j'aimerais te contacter pour avoir plusieurs informations. Je n'ai pas trouvé ton adresse mail, mais j'espère en écrivant ce commentaire que tu obtiendras la mienne pour me recontacter. A bientôt je l'espère et continue de nous faire rêver à travers ton blog.