Shikoku Bike Tour - Part 9
Tosa → Nahari · Kochi
We started with the full breakfast buffet at the ryokan, the kind of spread with a dozen little dishes that makes it hard to know where to start. It had rained a bit overnight, but by the time we got moving everything had cleared up nicely.
The whole day traced the coast, rural roads through old farmhouses giving way to a stretch of the main highway with some truck traffic. What struck me most was the scale of the sea walls. Kochi and Tokushima take tsunami protection seriously, and for long stretches the road ran elevated right along the top of these massive concrete walls, giving us a clean view out over the water the whole way. It was windy enough that every gust square on the nose really let you know about it.
Further along there was a sunflower field growing right beside a tsunami evacuation tower. We stopped for a snack at a convenience store not long after, restocking the panniers before carrying on down the coast past boatyards, a stretch of black sand beach, and long rows of greenhouses.
For dinner we found a place recommended to us by our host and it was one of the best meals we had: sashimi, a full plate of karaage, a few pizzas, seared duck, and a seafood pasta. The owner was awesome and cooked all the food in front of us. Great service and food. I thought the menu was a bit funny too, as there was an option for ten billion yen. Sadly we were a bit short on cash.
We wandered back through town afterward, glowing vending machines lighting the way down the dark streets.
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