I had just gotten my rear brake pads changed out, and a new chain, and then it decided to rain and blow nasty wind on Saturday and Sunday. Luckily for me, yesterday was a vacation day, so I seized the day and went touring on the bike.
First stop was Ishinomaki. Although Mike and Sherry went back home in August, before they left they showed me a fantastic ramen restaurant by the station. I had miso butter ramen (with corn, quite good) and planned out the next leg of my journey. I expected to take route 45 north, following a large river and avoiding the coastline. But I kinda missed the turnoff to one of the minor roads. Imagine my surprise when I caught the whiff of an ocean breeze. Hmm, that’s not quite right, I thought to myself. Need to find a place to stop and get my bearings.
A sign read (in Japanese, of course):
Cafe-G
coffee, tea, toast
2 seconds
Two seconds? Oh, that means now! A quick brake and turn brought me into a seaside coffeeshop built into a cliffside. Rather than the normal warm cafe interior I was used to seeing in Japan, this place had an old motorcycle just inside the front door. Hmm, that’s a good sign. Endless rows of CD cases and a pool table gave the place a laid back atmosphere. Finally, large pane glass windows overlooked the rocky bay, its oyster beds propped up by rows of buoys. Someone clever propped up a fishing pole with some sort of empty seashell dangling off the end, its iridescent surface catching the eye as it blew in the wind. A few stray islands popped up here and there, with tufts of evergreens growing on them. (A sidenote: it’s hard to say at a given moment exactly how many islands there are in Japan, precisely because of tiny little islands like these. Because of the tides, some islands disappear at high tide, while others become joined together at low tide. To further complicate things, a few also erode each year.)
I sat in a small couch facing the windows, and watched the seagulls as I sipped my cafe au lait in a tall conical glass. What a fantastically unexpected diversion. I’m rather glad I got lost that day, as I think part of me wanted to see the ocean in spite of my plans. Maybe it’s a bit unfortunate that we have GPS and car navigation systems, because I think one of the best parts about touring is being surprised by little places like this.
Mmmm, cafe au lait. I can always go for one of those! Too bad it takes me more than 2 seconds to make one.
They should come up with an official number of islands in Japan, like 970 +/- 343. Or [376,1298]. Actually since some erode, you could never technically reach 1298, so it would be [376,1298)…just kidding, the world would never go for something that nerdy. Hope all is well over there!