大野 清美 Full bloom of cherry blossom
On a beautiful sunny day in April, I went out for a touring to see cherry blossom in Hakone,
west suburb of Tokyo, on the Izu peninsula.
There is a mountain called Daikanzan, from where we can see beautiful scenery of
Mt. Fuji, if you are lucky.
Indeed, April 6th was the best day this year to see the full bloom.
That means, at the same time, many people go out, making traffic jams everywhere.
It took me three hours to reach our destination by our motorbike.
But the beautiful scenery was worth for the time.
Hakone Turnpike Touring
The Hakone Turnpike is a privately owned toll road.
It costs 520yen per bike.
It’s a relatively mountain road with stretches of elevated straights and long sweeping curves.
There are cherry trees on both sides of the road,
they make like a tunnel made of cherry trees.
It was very comfortable to ride under the trees, feeling the breeze
and seeing the petals falling from the trees.
If the sky is clear, we can see Mt. Fuji just behind the Lake Ashinoko.
Fell down and fracture
As there were many motorbikes on the parking space,
I had to park my bike on a tilted lot.
After enjoying some coffee, I came back to the parking lot
and started the engine.
As the bike was tilted, and I had to make a left turn
just after I started to move,
I lost the balance and fell down. My left foot was under the bike.
Although I felt pain on the left foot, I wanted to come home by my bike, otherwise
I had to ask towing service.
I went to the surgery later and the doctor found metatarsal bone was fractured.
It was a painful memory, but I enjoyed the cherry season a lot, anyway.
The route: from Tokyo to Hakone Turnpike via Daisan Keihin Highway and
the return route (Tomei Highway)