Day 5 - Up along Lake Biwa to Adogawa

a beautiful sunrise put me in a good mood and after trying all sorts of different foods for breakfast, with everyone watching (I was complimented on my dexterity for chopstick use!!) I loaded up Hennie and we turned our noses to the north...  I kept finding little paths along the Lake's edge, keeping away from the traffic as much as possible...  so all good...  heaps of farming land and the rice seedlings are being planted at the moment, so the paddy fields are a hive of activity...  stumbled upon R601 which is a bike path - maybe it goes right around the Lake and this is first time I have seen serious bike travellers - some lycra lads beating strava BPs, some just doing a section haven't ridden since they went to school, some serious pannier loaded travellers and everything in between...  but they were all going the other way - maybe I was going to wrong way?
managed to find the Yobaino Falls with some help from 3 lycra lads who didn't have any more idea than I did, except they had mobile phones with more access than I did and soon I was puffing up a steep mountain track (I knew about this already) and parked Hennie near the toilets and headed off even higher on foot...  the falls were well worth the walk - up through beautiful forest with maple in new leaf and birds peeping and tweeting and still I have no clue what they are!!  I climbed right to the top - some really steep steps section, but was glad I went all the way... 

I managed to stop at the Shinto Shrine that stands at the lake's edge out from the Shiga Shrine...  again a bit commercial, but quite beautiful buildings and the Shrine is pretty nice...

Saw heaps of herons again today - I think they are fishing probably for frogs as the paddy fields are filled with frog song - but haven't actually seen one yet...

tomorrow we're heading west for Obama and hoping that the hills are gentle!

1 of 3 Fried Burdock left, followed by softened Camembert with cucumber 

Fried potato rose

freshest cripest salad ever!