A leisurely Saitama bikeride

Last Thursday morning April 25th, I woke up to bird song and balmy temperatures so I decided to cycle to work from my home in Noda City across rivers and countryside to Kasukabe City in Saitama Prefecture. I depend on a sturdy three-speed shopping bike, a “mamachari” as it’s commonly called in Japanese. In preparation, I checked Google Maps for places of interest on the way as I was in no hurry.

The southeastern part of Saitama Prefecture is a mix of cities and small towns. The first leg of the journey took me along the Edo River to the Noda Ohashi, one of the major bridge crossings. I whizzed past trucks and cars waiting to exit the bridge into Matsubushi Town. Likely you've never heard of it because it’s wedged between the Edo and three more accessible Saitama cities and has no rail service. 

I aimed for Matsubushi Midori no Oka Park, a hill surrounded by trees, meadows, and ponds. On my visit, the wisteria was beginning to bud but the field of baby blue eyes was a profusion of blue reflecting the color of the sky.

The park was uncrowded. Some visitors took part in "radio taiso", the instructions for stretching broadcast from speakers around the park. At the dog run, I greeted a man with his free-flying parrot.

From there, I continued to a pond in Kasukabe City, Yakushinuma Water Park. It's unremarkable but it is a good cherry blossom spot. I stopped here just for a breather and a toilet break.

When I glanced at Google Maps, I realized there are about a dozen temples within a 10 minute bike ride and aimed at Jorakuji, a Shingon Buddhist temple. It has a rare thatched gate and a temple bell that visitors can ring.

The next stretch took me north along the Furutonegawa Midori Michi, the Furutone River Greenway. It was more beautiful than I expected. 

 
At some bends in the Furutone River, suburban life recedes into the background, and time stands still. The narrow path is suitable for walkers and leisurely cycling. There pocket parks with public toilets and benches along the way.

At the northern end of the route, suburban Kasukabe City begins. I cycled through residential neighborhoods and shopping streets on the last leg of the trip to reach work.

There are so many out of the way natural and historic beauty spots in the region. A few years ago, I told you about cycling through Minuma Tambo to beat the summer heat. It's another gorgeous cycling and walking route through a historic landscape. No crowds. No hype. Just tranquil.