There wasn’t a lot that I had to see in Sakata, the seaside town of about 100,000, but I had planned on biking around to enjoy the area. As I found out, the town’s tourism office offers free bike rentals — there’s a main rental shop across from the train station by the library, but all hotels have their own fleet (the main shop also has ebikes for a fee). Visitors, both foreign and domestic, just have to fill out some forms and provide a credit card in case of damage or loss before heading out for the day. They’ll even provide a bike helmet as required by local law.
Sakata Central Hotel was a bit of a walk from the train station, so I decided to take a bike from the hotel for convenience. Unfortunately, the hotel bikes were not as well maintained as those at the tourism office. All of them had some rust. I should’ve run a more thorough inspection before taking the bike out.
The plan was to bike across the Mogami River to the Ken Domon Photography Museum. I thought I might come across some other sights along the way and stop at a sake brewery before heading back to the center of town. The previous day, I visited the temple with mummified monks and the harborside park as well as the Sankyo-Soko rice storehouses.
Other than that, Sakata offered a few small historical museums like the Homma Museum, which I stopped at on the way across the river. It was a bit of interesting history and art related to the wealthy merchant Homma family that rose to power in the city during the Edo period.
After two days of intermittent rain, biking felt like the best way to spend a warm, sunny day while getting to know Sakata.
I wasn’t worried about getting lost along the way — I had a paper map and general directions from the hotel front desk. Plus, I had a local SIM card for data on the journey; I was able to get that delivered to my hotel the first night in Tokyo, so it was waiting for me on arrival. I had general directions to the museum, but still checked the map every so often to ensure I didn’t miss a turn.
I had crossed the river when I realized that there was something wrong with the bike. Both tires were flat. It was too far from the hotel to turn back, and close enough to the museum that it wasn’t a major burden. Of course, I seem to have these types of biking problems too often.
After years of biking around on a folding commuter bike, I was used exerting more energy to get myself moving around, so I thought this rental bike needed a tuneup. I stopped at a gas station to see if they could help, but they didn’t have a bike pump. Fortunately, the museum had one, and staff tried to inflate the tires on my way out (one had a slow leak while the other was completely shot). I decided to make the bike tour of Sakata a little shorter as I struggled to head out for more sightseeing.
After crossing the river, much of the ride to the museum was downhill. The scenery along the way to the museum distracted from the struggle of biking — knowing that the tires were flat made the ride more challenging. It may have also been because it was warmer than expected in October after a couple days of a rainy chill.
I could relax inside the museum while enjoying some photography, much of which was close-ups of Buddhist-related objects focusing on texture. The building itself was worth visiting to admire the architecture.
After the Ken Domon Photography Museum, I biked a bit more on those flat tires toward a sake brewery, and I hoped to find lunch along the way. Sure enough, at a highway intersection across from a gas station was one of the best ramen restaurants I’ve been to. Ajiryu (麺処 味龍) was the first eatery I saw since crossing the Mogami River earlier in the morning.
Ajiryu was a crowded little ramen shop at lunchtime, and for good reason. I don’t know exactly what I ordered, but it was a regular bowl of spicy ramen for less than $8. When I saw the size of the regular bowl, I was glad I didn’t entertain the idea of the large bowl. Staff spoke just enough English to help me order.
After lunch, I biked along more back roads toward the Hatsumago sake brewery. It was a quiet ride with few cars, but there were plenty of farms — I even stopped to admire the persimmon trees.
As I came to one intersection where I needed to check directions, I noticed a snake slowly crossing the street. I remained back because I have no idea whether it was venomous, and I didn’t want to find out. The pace at which it moved tried my patience, and when it was far enough to one side of the street, I rode past on the far side. The vibration from the bike frightened the snake, and it moved much faster away.
Hatsumago sake brewery wasn’t much, inside or out. There was a small display on the sake and brewery, but it was all in Japanese. When I asked if I could have a taste of any, I was told, “No.” The staff had seen me bike into the parking lot and could not legally allow me even one sip of sake. Without knowing what I was buying, I picked up a half bottle to take home.
I will note that most of the sake from Yamagata Prefecture, and even farther south in Niigata, is light and smooth. The sake doesn’t have any strong flavor or sweetness like so many available in the US. The region is known more for light, dry, and floral sake.
In an effort to avoid the struggle of riding on flat tires, I opted to take no additional detours and head back to the hotel. I hoped that there would be a better bike to continue riding in the late afternoon to have some time along the coast.
When I returned to Sakata Central Hotel, I spoke with staff via Google Translate to explain the problem with the bike. They told me to take another bike if I still wanted to ride. Sifting through the dozen bikes in the lot, I found that every one of them had flat tires. I gave up and walked around town until it was time for my friend to pick me up and take me on a trip to a public outdoor onsen in the mountains to relax.
The walk around town provided a pleasant time to get better oriented, though many shops were shuttered (I’m not sure whether it was the season, time, or post-pandemic circumstances). After seeing what there was around the center of town, I returned the Sankyo-Soko rice storehouses to browse the local souvenirs and get a taste of some sake.
If I had to do it again, I would’ve spent the additional time walking to the train station for a better bike. That also requires a later start and earlier return as the bike must be returned at the end of each day.
