Blog | FindingSachi – Japanese Food, Cycling Japan, Foodie Adventures | See Japanese food found on a bicycle tour

Day 185-188 There’s A Bird In My Bike Helmet!

Sep 18 • Blog, Hokkaido • 2874 Views

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Scallop Man’s wife in Oumu, Hokkaido made a big breakfast for me. She taught me that they call salmon, Akiaji, around this region, which means the autumn flavor. Also in season and on the table was a grilled Pacific saury. The milk in the cups were brought there the night before by their friend who have a milk farm. She thought I should taste their delicious cow milk, straight from their farm. That was the most delicious milk I’d ever had. My heart as well as my stomach was full with their kindness and love. While cycling in Hokkaido, I see so many cows. Hey, chillin’ cow, your milk was the best ever! The kind host made me lunch to take with me too. Oh, have I received so many homemade onigiri (rice ball) during this trip! It’s the best lunch ever. After lunch, as I was just pedaling on, I had a glimpse of an unusual sight on the pavement to the left of my tire. It was a flash of a little bird with the most surprising expression on its face. What the…? On
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Day 184 Swimming Salmon & Scallop Farmer’s Feast

Sep 17 • Blog, Hokkaido • 4066 Views

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At this beautiful coastline called Cape Kamui, I met an oil painter, capturing the sunlight of the morning time. Kamui is a word of Ainu, which means spirits or god. Ainu is Japan’s indigenous people who have lived in Hokkaido region. Many town names here are from Ainu language, and they sound quite differently from the rest of Japan. The oil painter from near Tokyo was surprised to find out that I cycled to get there. We chatted for a while about his painting, my travel, and the beautiful places in Japan. He talked how similar the scenery in Hokkaido was to that of Europe, and appropriately so were his stunning paintings. After I said goodbye to the painter, I came to a bridge, and something moved in the corner of my right eye. I took a few steps back with my bike, and popped my head over the bridge. There, I found salmon swimming up the river!! They didn’t seem to be swimming forward, but were staying in the same area for the last bit to lay eggs. The salmon season had ju
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Day 183 GOAAAL! The Northernmost Point of Japan & Now?

Sep 16 • Blog, Hokkaido • 791 Views

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On the day I left the city center of Wakkanai, the sun decided to shine despite the opposite forecast. The ocean was so clear I could see the bottom as I cycled along Soya Bay. With the back wind that pushed me to my goal, I got to the northernmost point of Japan, Soyamisaki (Cape Soya). I actually cycled all the way from Okinawa, the tropical southern island of Japan, to where I could literally see Russia! Yes, I broke my hand and had some down time, but there was nothing like making it to the goal of a project that I’d been scared of at the beginning. I had stomachaches, headaches, my head full of anxiety when I was preparing for this trip, even though it was something that I thought of and decided to do all on my own. For someone who had never been on a bicycle tour to get out for a country-long, total of 5,020km of cycling might have been a bold idea, but now that I look back, this has been the best adventure of my life. My northernmost meal of Japan was miso ramen noodles wi
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Day 180-182 Cycling with Dragonflies & Eco Power in Hokkaido

Sep 16 • Blog, Hokkaido • 809 Views

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Sandwiched by the beautiful yellow rice fields from Fukagawa, I was getting closer to the goal of my tour. The great thing about cycling in Hokkaido is not just this beautiful vast land, but the friendly motorcyclists out on tour too. Most of them wave or give me a thumb up as they pass by. Every time that happened, it gave me a smile as I cycled alone in the middle of nowhere. Even better were the construction workers who guided the drivers on the road. Each and every one of them was so polite, greeted with a real smile and guided me around the site. It left me humbled to pass by people who carry on their work with integrity even in the middle of a chaos. Speaking of smiles and happy scenes, look at the cutest bus stop in Japan I found! People told me about cyclists spending the night in some bus stops in Hokkaido, and now I know why. They are like tiny little houses. The doors are for their freezing winter with thick snow. There were several of these yellow bus stops in Hokuryu Town,
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Day 178-179 Catching Up with Hokkaido

Sep 8 • Blog, Hokkaido • 1026 Views

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OK, people. It’s no secret that there’s a big time lag between my blog and where I’m at in Japan with my pink bike, Sakura. (It does take quite a bit of time to write in two languages in between my cycling and everything else that happens, I assure you!) While I intend to write all about cycling and the deliciousness of Japan’s regional nibbles I’ve had, I figured it’d be good to write about what’s current. I’m getting closer to my goal, Soyamisaki, which is the northern tip of Hokkaido. I want to let you know when I get there!
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Day 78-81 Water Is Calling – Cycling Along Lake Biwa

Sep 3 • Blog, Honshu • 2904 Views

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Water does wonders. When I cycle out to the vast open space filled with water, whether that be a lake or the ocean, my eyes and mind open up and I somehow get more energy. Though I would have loved to stay even longer in my favorite city, Kyoto, with my cycle clothing sponsor who kindly hosted me for nearly a week, it was time to set off to Hikone. From the beautiful ancient capital, I cycled toward and along the biggest lake of Japan, Lake Biwa. Several wind surfers were out enjoying the force of nature while I was fighting against it. Cycling too, is a bit like surfing when you get the back wind, but its useful direction is literally up in the air. Cycling along many rice fields full of water, Hikone Castle was that day’s destination. The surrounding moat was quiet accompanied by an adorable family of swans with three fluffy ducklings. (Find the castle above the white wall and trees.) Speaking of adorable, Japan has produced some internationally popular characters such as Hello
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Video: 3 Minute Trip to Kyoto, the Ancient Capital of Japan [Day 71-77]

Aug 27 • Blog, Honshu, Video • 2144 Views

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Sometimes a video is the best way to share my experience. Watch and take a three minute tour of Kyoto!
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Day 70 The Best Lost and Found in Kyoto

Aug 20 • Blog, Honshu • 1240 Views

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Away from the busy streets of Osaka, I found my way to the cycling road along Yodo River. It is a long stretch of quiet way surrounded by trees to get to Kyoto. The sun was out and so was a turtle, slowly crossing the street in front of me. Late in the afternoon that day, it suddenly occurred to me that I actually cycled slightly further than a normal person as I got to the first of many temples in Kyoto. The five story pagoda in Toji Temple, one of Japan’s national treasures, somehow seemed more significant than my previous visit. I actually cycled to the old capital of Japan! Every detail of these old buildings is an art of skilled workmanship. Remember the cigar-chomping onigawara in Matsuyama? Here are some (…without cigars) in the works on top of a temple. The Temple’s gate was closing at 5pm. I hurried myself out and started cycling to a hostel. Where I thought the place would be turned out to be a wrong location. Over my bike with a map, I was puzzled. I am bad
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Day 67-69 Cycle & Eat Till You Drop in Osaka, The Kitchen of the Nation

Aug 13 • Blog, Honshu • 3729 Views

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Osaka must be scary. That was my stereotypical prejudice I had about this big city. It is historically the city of merchants, where its people are known to be loud, funny, and very outspoken. They have been producing many comedians, speaking in their aggressive Osaka accent with unstoppable jokes about every subject. The part about “scary” was overturned as soon as I crossed the border into this city. When I stopped for a beef bowl lunch (which was delicious), the restaurant owner who saw my sweaty cycling attire asked me what I was up to. When he found out it was my first visit to Osaka, he quietly made two onigiri’s (rice balls) with sesame seeds, and handed them to me as I was leaving. I’m really sorry Osaka, I had it all wrong! Prejudice is stupid, and so was I. The personality of this city and its people are visually recognizable. I started my sightseeing with the Glico (the company that makes sweets like Pocky) sign at the entrance of Doutonbori district.
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Day 66 Taking Tango Steps with Burgers in Kobe

Aug 10 • Blog, Honshu • 779 Views

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Kobe Beef. Kobe Bryant. The name of this beautiful port city in western Japan has spread itself for its world-class gourmet flavor. It’s not just the beef, but they are also known for delicious patisseries and bakeries that make people melt in oo’s and ahh’s. As with some other port cities in Japan, quite a few retro Western buildings can be seen in Kobe, but I wasn’t doing much sightseeing there. More than anything, I was looking forward to seeing Eri, a good friend of mine from university back in Los Angeles. Eri is an artsy type with many friends in Kobe as it is her hometown. She invited me to their barbecue birthday party in a park. As I had just had my birthday while I was stuck in rain in Awaji Island, she celebrated it for me too with just about 30 of her friends! I wondered if my luck with food and friends would run out somewhere during this trip, but I tried to just enjoy the timing in life that kept smiling at me and my bike. This party in the park wa
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