The Slow Road

Rather than rush from Tokyo to Kyoto by train, as most visitors to Japan do, Tom Vanderbilt chose to bike—coasting down country roads, spying snow monkeys, and refueling with hearty bowls of soba

AT THE PEAK of the day’s heat, I pulled into the tiny hamlet of Hirase, in Japan’s Gifu Prefecture. I’d just climbed a twisting, waterfall-lined road several thousand feet through Hakusan National Park before descending into the shimmering fantasy landscape of Shirakawa-go, an almost Tolkien-esque village (and UNESCO World Heritage Site) comprising centuries-old farmhouses with peaked thatch roofs. After replenishing myself with a black-sesame ice cream cone, I made a last push toward my destination. My cycling computer told me “destination reached,” but all I could see were closed businesses along a small street. Seeking shade, I flopped against a security gate and began a text to the ride leader saying that I was lost. Suddenly I saw two cyclists from my group in the distance. One, a Dane living in…

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Conde Nast Traveler (Digital) - 1 Issue, September/October 2024

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