A Cycling Trip on a Different Route Than Usual
With Hamamatsu Festival coming up soon, I thought maybe they’d be practicing flying the giant kites, so today I headed to Nakatajima Sand Dunes first. My CROSSCORE RC, after repairs, was completely silent and super comfortable (which is how it should be, lol). Perhaps due to the strong winds, or maybe it just wasn’t a practice day, but unfortunately, not a single giant kite was flying. There was a market in the park that caught my eye a bit, but for now, I headed to the dunes. The wind was really strong that day, blowing sand in my face and stinging, so I quickly retreated.
Looks Like There’s a Path Along the Coast
When I parked my bike at the park and entered Nakatajima Sand Dunes, I noticed “Sazanka Street,” the coastal road I had planned to use to head west. It looked quite narrow with a lot of car traffic, not very comfortable for cycling. On my way back from the dunes, I found a path next to the windbreak forest. It looked like it went quite a distance, so I decided to explore. After riding through the park for a while, I came out onto an embankment overlooking the sea. It was a gravel path, but it seemed to stretch even further, so I decided to go as far as I could. There was almost no one on this path and hardly anyone on the beach itself, making it incredibly comfortable. The only people I saw along the way were the windsurfers in the photo. The strong wind carried them along at a considerable speed—it looked exhilarating!
A Road Not Even on Google Maps
After a long gravel path, I merged onto a paved cycling and pedestrian path running parallel to the Hamana Bypass. It was truly wonderful to ride on this well-maintained path with almost no one around, right in front of the sea. Despite being such a lovely path, there’s currently no trace of it on Google Maps. There’s only a spot where people walk from the parking lot attached to the Hamana Bypass to see the sea; otherwise, it’s mostly deserted. I had the endless white sandy beach road all to myself.
I thought if I continued on this path, I might eventually merge with the Hamanako Ohashi Bridge and cross to the other side, but halfway along the road, there was a sign saying “Road closed 1 km ahead.” Well, the Hamana Bypass is for cars only, so of course, I couldn’t merge. When I reached the very end, the wind was incredibly strong—my parked bike nearly tipped over, and it felt like anything I was holding would be blown away.
Nagiisaen is All About Yuru Camp△!
I decided to extend my trip to check out Nagiisaen, a campsite I’ve been wanting to try someday. Nagiisaen is a spacious, grassy campground, and it looks like you can cycle right in, making it perfect for bike camping. Inside the reception building, I was surprised by how much they’re pushing “Yuru Camp△” (Laid-Back Camp△)! They were selling all sorts of merchandise and showcasing various articles. There was even an autograph from Haruka Fukuhara, who played Rin Shima in the live-action adaptation. Even though it was a Sunday and the next day was a weekday, quite a few people had pitched tents, and even in the evening, people were still trickling in at reception, so it seems like a really popular campsite.
Shunkado SWEETS BANK
On my way back from Lake Hamana, I stopped by SWEETS BANK, a place I’d passed by before and was curious about. Inside the building, where a giant table with chairs and bags were abruptly placed, there was a café and a shop. In addition to the classic Unagi Pie, they sold many other delicious-looking treats, so I picked up a few souvenirs.
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