Kanazawa Summer Cycling: From Pizza Ovens to Pothole Rivers Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of riding Kanazawa’s Sai River… in the heat of summer. Although riding a bicycle generates plenty of wind, which feels great, it can also fool you into thinking you’re not sweating very much. Trust me, you are. So make sure you have a bottle of water and some sort of sports drink on hand to replace the salts, minerals, and electrolytes that you’re losing as you ride upstream. (I hope this fisherman has a bottle of Aquarius in his pocket.)

©Keri Yazawa

So far today, you’ve stopped at the Japanese knotwork museum, ridden through lush parks, and browsed through a few shops. By now, it’s probably lunch time and you’re ready for something less sweet and more savory. The shopping area you’re in has several options (including Starbucks), but they are chain restaurants. If you want some homecooking, gird your loins for another bout of cycling. Ride past the Tsutaya complex and turn right at the traffic light just past Sports Depo. You’re going to ride up, up, up (you’ll be thanking that Machi Nori bicycle’s electric motor right about now) past slender ginkgo biloba trees and into a long tunnel. Be sure to ride on the left and in single-file to better avoid narrow misses with cyclists traveling downhill.

Machi Nori Website: https://www.machi-nori.jp/en/

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After the tunnel exit, keep going up and then through the next intersection. Keep your eyes peeled for an Italian restaurant called Tramonto on your right. Tramonto is a family-run business with their own unique recipes. As it’s lunchtime, why not try one of their lunch sets? If you want to save room for one more cafe stop, order their pizza special. Baked in a brick oven, the crust is super thin, very crispy, and completely unlike any other pizza crust I’ve ever had. For a heartier meal, opt for their pasta or paella.

Tramonto: https://maps.app.goo.gl/bppF5U2tKBQ5CQ6y6

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Right! Are you ready for some real coffee and dessert with a capital D? Head back the way you came – down through the tunnel and back to the corner of Sports Depo. Now, go straight up the ramp beside the main road. No, you won’t be going through another tunnel – at the fork in the path, stay to the right and head up to the ridgeline. This area is called Wakunami and it’s another quiet residential neighborhood. At the intersection, cross the street and continue riding in the same direction. On the right is a small cafe called Three Arrows. The owner here absolutely loves sweet potatoes and I am sure you’ll enjoy at least one of her recipes. If not, get a banana split – a true rarity in Japan! Or perhaps try a yogurt, fruit, and ice cream parfait! Order a single origin coffee – Mandheling goes best with the baked yam brûlée.

Three Arrows: https://maps.app.goo.gl/xBStSUWGR49oNbW19

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It’s now time to start the ride back to the station. You can return the same way if you like, but if you’re all caffeinated and sugared up and ready for just one more adventure, take the side streets that run behind the cafe to where they intersect with the main road. Traffic may be a little heavier here, so be careful and keep left. You’re not going far – just one or two minutes ahead is a road that veers downhill through a bamboo grove. 

The roads: https://maps.app.goo.gl/AhHkFgePoNULpqkw6

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Follow the street around to the right, but get ready to turn left, where you’ll find a humble footbridge that spans one of the area’s best examples of my favorite geological formation: potholes.

Potholes are formed when small pebbles get trapped in slight depressions within a larger rock. The river water passes over them, swirling them around and around until they carve out a hole in the boulder. The end result is something like Swiss cheese.

©Keri Yazawa

This bridge over the Sai River is called Okuwakaigara and it’s a favorite fishing spot for locals. If you want to go down to the riverbank, you’ll need some good, reliable shoes like lace-up sneakers or hiking boots, plus trousers and high socks, and possibly a trekking pole or two. (Insect repellant would also be a good idea.)

Okuwakaigara: https://maps.app.goo.gl/AkRn9nGgXF3G2t6J6

If you walk your bicycle across the bridge, and ride toward the overpasses, you’ll eventually find your way back to either the shopping area (with the Tsutaya bookstore and Sports Depo), or you can continue along the road by the baseball fields. This route will take you past pocket-sized orchards and quilt-like patches of rice fields. 

©Keri Yazawa

Ride through the underpass and keep going until the road leads you uphill. You are now on the north bank of the Sai River and there are a couple of nice views along the way. One of them is this bridge of colored glass: the Saigawayukimi. If it’s late afternoon, the sun should be low enough to make them really glow.

Saigawayukimi: https://maps.app.goo.gl/M9wJiUzEzbWSMtzq7

©Keri Yazawa

Either ride down to the riverside and follow the concrete trail, or keep to the quiet, residential streets above the riverbank. Above the riverbank, just before you reach Kanazawa’s downtown area (Katamachi), you’ll pass some of the oldest and gnarliest of Kanazawa’s cherry trees. Even without their blossoms, they look amazing in the golden light of late afternoon.

©Keri Yazawa

To avoid the crowds and pre-rush-hour traffic, stick to the riverside until you get back to that first bridge you crossed – the one with the single arch (Mikageo). Turn right and ride about 15 minutes back to Kanazawa JR Station. After you turn in your bicycles, there’s nothing stopping you from enjoying a nice, cold beer at Oriental Brewing. (There are two locations: one is on the second floor of the train station and the other is on the second floor of the Crossgate building to the right of the station’s west exit.) Both locations have free wi-fi, so cool down and post about your day exploring Japan along one of its beautiful rivers.

Mikageo Bridge: maps.app.goo.gl/GbqzojSzVBdkMQNz7
Oriental Brewing Website: https://orientalbrewing.com/

About Keri Yazawa

Keri Yazawa, a resident of Kanazawa City since 2005, guides bicycle tours specializing in good food, quirky history, local craft making, and gorgeous landscapes.

©Keri Yazawa