桜とヤギとツーリング / Cherry Blossoms, Goat, and Touring
Since I have started to focus on bird watching, I have been going on fewer and fewer touring trips. First, living in the same place for a long time, I have already done all the touring I can think of, so there is nothing new to do. Secondly, although I try to carry a certain amount of equipment on my motorcycle, I still lose out to the convenience of a car in this respect.
Even so, the exhilaration of occasionally riding a motorcycle is irreplaceable, and I maintain it in a modest way.
Sometimes I can go into remote places with its mobility, so it is not without practicality.
Incidentally, I own a Yamaha MT-07. Although it is a road bike, it weighs only 184 kg and is very light, so it is easy to get around on rough terrain. Compared to a large naked bike of over 1000cc, the difference is as much as the weight of an adult male, and I have to say that lightness is justice!
But actually, I don’t like this futuristic or gimmicky design with things that have nothing to do with function, and as a tool, it’s great! But I have to confess that I don’t feel attached to it for some reason. I guess that’s why I don’t go touring much…
This time, since it was the season, I decided to at least go see a cherry blossom, so I searched for a place that (1) was a famous cherry blossom viewing spot in the area, (2) I had never been to before, and (3) was fun to ride as a touring.
The two that stuck out were “Ohira Cherry Blossoms” and “Cherry Blossoms of Igawa” in the town of Misumi, Hamada City, Shimane Prefecture.
Google Maps was still posting cherry blossoms in full bloom, so I decided on these as the destinations.
I was somewhat curious about the area around Aonoyama Station, not far from Tsuwano, and stopped by. The rustic feel of the area is very nice.
I am not much interested in railroad photography, but there are cherry blossoms, which is the theme of this project, so I took this picture. I thought it would be a good picture if I could take a picture with the train from the front, but I didn’t go that far.
And more side trips. Taking side trips is what touring is all about.
At the end of the mountain road, I found a mysterious hut. Perhaps they heard the sound of the motorcycle, the goats came out from inside.
And there are lots of baby goats. Cute.
Now, this is the original destination, the Ohira Cherry Blossom.
…It was a leafy cherry blossom.
Apparently, the nighttime cherry blossoms in full bloom on Google Maps were taken earlier in the day and posted only yesterday. I should have checked more carefully.
But the cherry tree was very magnificent.
After regaining my composure, I went on to the next hope, the lone cherry tree on the Igawa River. It is relatively close, so it won’t take much time.
This one is in full bloom as expected. It looks better than expected.
The light was not so good at noon, but I tried my best to capture it. There is a wavy path beside the big cherry tree, which is an intriguing combination, but there is actually a power line nearby that is difficult to deal with (right side of the photo above).
Two pictures taken by various trial and error.
