Cycling Into the Mountains of Japan 🚴‍♀️ I Almost quit…

We finally arrived. We are in the middle of the mountains. There's a lovely river. And yeah, no one. Just me, my bike. There are three people really far away. I think they are camping. But it's such a good feeling. Yay, we made it. Today we are cycling into a quiet valley in one of the most beautiful areas of Kyoto, Harashiyama, where I end up alone in the middle of nature. Now we are really close to the mountains and I can really see the difference of the neighborhoods around. Everything around here is so quiet and so calm. It just feels so good. It's completely different from the center of the city. And the houses are bigger. It's definitely quieter. I feel that people around here, they live a good life. So before we arrive at our main destination, I just saw that there's a really beautiful pond nearby. We are not even a kilometer away. So I think it's worth for us to stop and check it out. Wow, it's so pretty here. So green. They say that Harashiyama is one of the prettiest areas in Kyoto. And I think it's so true. I feel that sometimes, because of the tourism, we are not able to really appreciate certain areas of Japan. So it feels good to be more in a local place. I think we arrived. Besides the code, it's so cute here. I can't imagine people really enjoying their time here in summer. And I can see a tiny little viewpoint with a few people on this side of the lake. So I think we can cycle there. It's so windy. It's funny. You end up in such unexpected places when you cycle. I found this pond in the middle of nowhere, with no one around. Half of the pond is dry this time of the year. But there was this beautiful and serene feeling in the air. I imagine the locals have a great time here during the summer. This is really cool. And now we're supposed to go back to the main road. But there's this tiny street that ends up in a few really traditional Japanese houses. And all around here is rice fields. It is so windy that it's hard to be able to cycle. We end up in the middle of the rice fields and it's just so beautiful. There's basically no one, only locals. And it's just so quiet. If you ask me why I love cycling so much, moments like this are the perfect answer. What I love the most is the feeling of freedom that it gives me. Feeling the wind on my face while exploring the most local and random places. This is when I have some of the best moments of my life. Ok, so now we have 5 km until we arrive at the main bridge of Arashiyama. Which normally is really full. But I think it's nice for us to go there and check a little bit. Being in Arashiyama brings me a mix of feelings. Happiness and a little bit of sadness. This is one of the prettiest areas in Kyoto. Surrounded by mountains, temples, rivers and lots of tradition. It would be perfect if it wasn't for the huge amount of tourism in the area. Ok, so I just had lunch. I chose more like a healthy style Japanese food. Because we still have to climb a lot. So I didn't want it to feel too heavy. And now it's time to start climbing all the way up to the mountain. I'm definitely starting to feel the inclination. And it's so windy and cold. That makes everything a bit harder. But we still have 1.6 km to go. So these are little things that you only find in really local places here in Japan. Which are these vegetable vending machines. And basically what happens is the locals around the area. They have space to sell their vegetables. So here you can find many different types of vegetables. And they are always super fresh and really cheap. And it's more to help the community than anything else. So it feels good to find one. And it means that we are going to a really local place. I think 500 meters away. And the climb is not that steep. But you know it's like that long hill that slowly makes our legs really really tired. My only worry is that I want to go to a bridge. Which is much higher. And I don't know if I'm going to be able to climb all the way there. But after stopping at the temple I think I can rest my legs a little bit. And then we try again. This is a really unique Buddhist sanctuary hidden in the mountains of Arashiyama. It is perfectly located along the way to my main destination. So I decided to stop by. This temple is famous for the 1200 stone statues made by the monks. They are amazing. They have a touch of humor in their expression of their faces. The temple was absolutely stunning. And I think it was super nice to come and visit. And now we have our biggest challenge. Which is going up 2.1 kilometers uphill all the way into the bridge. Let's see. The roads are really closed. It's really inside nature. And I'm really excited for that. And yeah, let's see if we can cycle all the way up there. Climbing uphill was more like a mental battle than a physical one. Many times I questioned myself. Should I keep going or just turn around and ride back home? This was really hard. I had to pull a little bit the bike. I need to catch my breath. But I think now I arrived at the top of the hill. And now we have a descent all the way to the bridge. I hope I don't go too much down because I have to come back all the way. But I think now I can enjoy a little bit. I considered many times going back because I was by myself. It's in the middle of nowhere. There's no one. There's just me. But I think it was worth it. I kept going and now let's enjoy a little bit the ride. Ok, so 650 meters to go. I was a little bit afraid because there was basically no one. But I just saw someone climbing up. Because there are many hiking places around and there was a car. So this is a good sign. I'm having such a stunning view of the river. I don't know if I can capture how pretty this is looking because of the sun. But it's just beautiful. Oh my God. And here we are. Stunning. We finally arrived. We are in the middle of the mountains. There's a lovely river down. And yeah, no one. Just me, my bike. There are three people really far away. I think they are camping down there. I don't know if we can go all the way down to the river. But it's such a good feeling. Yay, we made it. Before we go back home and I have to cycle all the way uphill I would really love to go by the river. And I see this little path here. And I believe that if we go straight we can go all the way down. So let's do this and then we start going back up. Because it's already 2 o'clock and I have a lot to cycle. As always, I end up in the middle of nowhere. Not even sure I had enough energy to reach my goal. Which was the bridge. But slowly I start my descent and I begin to feel more comfortable. And in the end it was the right choice to keep going. I found myself in a beautiful valley sitting in the sun facing a crystal clear river stream. I think the lesson I take from this ride is the importance of facing my fears and insecurities. Sometimes the reward of a difficult climb can be something very simple. Like this view in the middle of nature. Ok, so mission accomplished now. I have to go all the way up and go back home. There's this amazing smell of barbecue. There are 3 people camping here which is really cute. They just say hello. And I won't lie, there were moments that I panicked a little bit. I always have this fear that I'm by myself. And if something happens, who could help me? But every time that I cross a Japanese person, everyone is so nice, so kind. That makes my heart warm and makes me feel safe. So this was a really good adventure. And yeah, I see you on the next one.