The side of this ship says "Japan Scientific Research Vessel." If you're new to Japan, you may not know that this is code for "whaling ship." Every year Japan kills a certain number of whales, ostensibly for scientific research, and the meat goes to sushi shops all over Japan (don't know where the research goes to). The Japanese are very sensitive about the international criticism of their whaling activities (and there are valid points on both the pro and con sides of the issue) - and KANcycling certainly does not intend to take any position one way or the other. We report, you decide. Wait - let me rephrase that...

Along this route you cross two massive rivers. This first is the more famous of the two, and arguably more picturesque as well: the Oi river (Oigawa). As the Glucks point out in their massive guide, this river was an intentional barrier along the Tokkaido between Tokyo and Kyoto; the Tokugawa shogunate strictly forbade the building of bridges or unauthorized boat crossings to make it impossible for any large army to cross. As a tourist, you can be impressed by the historical importance and the size of the river mouth. As a cyclist, thought, you may be less positive about the fact that you have to leave the coast and cycle a considerable distance inland to find a bridge that will actually span such an enormous distance. If you were just thinking that this might be one of those places where the bikepath route breaks off and is hard to find again, score yourself five bonus points. If you further supposed that the situation might be the same at the next massive river, add on five more points.