Looong Bike Ride Around Iwakuni 3/21/12

Riding across Monzen River on Hwy 188. We're riding to the bike shop further down Hwy 188 today. I've been having trouble with the light switch on my front wheel. Not sure how many miles it is, but it's just beyond the very large "BOOK" sign on Hwy 188, if you're driving South - toward Yanai. OK. Here we go . . .


Looking back across the bridge toward MCAS Iwakuni buildings. What a beautiful day, although it's still a little chilly and very breezy.


The brand new high fence & retaining wall at the school on 188. We've been watching this construction as we ride on our way to sushi at Akiyama for the past few months. Looks nice!


Also, construction has begun on the large corner lot where the plant nursery (across from Yellow Hat) used to be. It was torn down & the lot leveled several months ago, so we've been wondering what would happen here. It's a HUGE lot by Japanese standards!


Riding the sidewalks (where bikes & pedestrians "share the road"). I always feel so safe riding outside the gate . . .


Ah - here's the big BOOK sign on Hwy 188. If you turn right here, you can go to Dragonfly recycle shop, Iwakuni Library, and further to Nafco.


Just a little further down the road, is our favorite bike shop - where I bought my beautiful new (well, slightly used) pink 3-wheeler. I've asked the proprietor to fix my light switch, which has not been working properly. (All Japanese bicycles have a front light that runs off the power of the front wheel - nice, huh?) But when I show it to him - guess what? It works perfectly, over and over . . . He's also checking my back wheels to see if they can be adjusted to work independently like my previous bike. Hmmm, with this one, it's all or nothing, so I'm leaving them locked together. I just have to remember to slow down around corners.


Meanwhile, I walked inside & found this VERY cool foldable bike for 87,000 Yen - over $1000 USD. Yikes! But you can fold it up, place in a handy carrier, and take it with you on the train or elsewhere. Convenient . . .


So now, we're taking a shortcut, hopefully? to Dragonfly recycle shop. I've never been this way on my bike before and it's exciting to think we can still shop there even though we no longer have a car. Yay! I love these quiet back streets . . .


Oh - no guardrails here - so one must pay close attention whether driving (yes, these ARE actual roads!), bicycling, or walking. Texting and walking would definitely NOT be a good idea!



Inside the Dragonfly, I'm looking for Barbara's bowl. This one is similar shape, but a different design. I'm hoping to find a replacement for the one that got broken after she left Japan, but still no luck . . .


They've rearranged everything again at this shop recently, and I love the way they are using this tansu to display Hina dolls - beautiful!


A closeup of one of the dolls . . .


Once we left Dragonfly, we decided to go a little further to a nearby coffee shop & gift shop. How beautiful in here!


Fancy, decorated mochi - wow! These are some of the most beautiful I've seen.


These look like strawberries and peaches. All are sweet and relatively healthy . . .


I love this chocolate "Hello Kitty" cake!


Stan's bringing the sweets we've picked out to one of the two tables in this shop.


We are encouraged to help ourselves to tea or coffee. Coffee, please! This little machine grinds the beans & make each cup fresh - yum!


Here's Stan's strawberry & chocolate dessert. It still has the clear plastic wrap around it.


Of course, I chose this dense chocolate cake - I can't remember what it's called, but it's European I think because it was usually what Ingrid and Nancy both used to order at the Bavarian pastry shop we used to go to - except no gold flakes on top . . . yummy!!!


In the small, very clean restroom, I LOVE this tiny sink - not more than 5 or 6 inches deep, but it serves the purpose of handwashing! Using this size sink would make it pretty easy to turn a closet into a half-bath . . .


Very efficient.


Sign in the pastry/gift shop. I like this!


As we leave the shop, we see the newer building of Nafco across the street, but we're not going there today. We are, however, going to return to Hwy 188 by riding along the right side on one of Stan's favorite "shortcuts" - this usually means trouble . . .


Wow - I used to HATE the road when Stan used to drive on it - yes, it IS a 2-way road, and there used to NOT be any guardrails on either side. Now, I don't mind riding my bike here.


Ducks and a white crane in a canal along this street with a yellow forsythia blooming in someone's yard. Beautiful!


Closer view of the ducks.


Onion garden in someone's yard.


And colorful cabbage roses all in perfect rows . . .


This shortcut takes us directly to YouMe Town. Wow! I had no idea we could actually bike here! So, we've gone inside to look around. In the toy department, little girl is enjoying riding on this bouncy toy. Cute!


I love these colorful & happy plastic cups.




Cute coffee cup with spoon in the handle - how clever!


Odd name for small digital camera . . .


Darth Vader gumball machine!


Looks like price is only 100 yen per piece . . .


The little girl has finished and left the toys in a line. Of course.


Colorful children's clothing department.


These children's mannikins look like Japanese anime characters.


Children's play area.


Stan loves the noisy gaming play area - you can't imagine how LOUD all these toys are!!!


Look at the cute train car you can "ride" in.


In another toy shop that's decorated with springs of pink cherry blossoms -'tis the season!


Chair socks?


Oh.


Speaking of which, it's gotten cold since the sun set, so before we left YouMe Town, I bought ME some socks to wear on the way home. Although it's officially Spring, it's still getting cold at night. Now it's dark, but you can see Stan's reflective gear and taillight flashing as we ride down 188 toward home.


But first - we can't pass Akiyama - our favorite sushi go-round! And it's always time to eat . . .


Inside, there were lots of children enjoying the "art corner" - a favorite among all the children who come here. It's crowded, so we wait patiently, but it's ALWAYS worth the wait. And because there are ony 2 of us, and we prefer sitting at the counter, it never takes very long.


Looking from the end of the counter. Lots of sushi chefs at work tonight. And yet they always remember to bring us our favorites!


Yum! We are SO spoiled here . . . And I think we earned it because we rode at least 12 miles on our bikes today - yay!

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