Winter here in and around Tokyo usually leads me to the mountain and snowboarding, but in a bit a of a change, here’s a bunch of random photos which don’t involve sliding down mountains, and with a little explanation.

An Actual Capsule Hotel

Despite my time in Japan, I hadn’t needed to use a capsule hotel. I either lived within striking distance of wherever I was, would amuse myself until first train, or on bike trips, I’d stay in cheap business hotels since there was a better chance they’d have a parking space.

Anyway, the day I chose to use a capsule hotel near Shinjuku (and a very nice one it was) it had to be the day it decided to have a decent amount of snowfall (for Tokyo), so I snapped some photos, and actually got a good night’s sleep. It seemed most of the other guests were tourists looking to get some decent sleep too, and it was quite quiet, even later on.

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On The Bike

Speaking of snow, I was out on the Tracer, just planning to go up Yabitsu Touge and have a cup of tea at the top. The weather said it would be chilly, but no one mentioned snow. As I started winding my way up Mt. Tanzawa, it started raining, which of course as you get higher could mean there’s a chance of snow. However, as I got nearer the ’top’ where there is a rotary for buses, there began to be slush on the non-tyre track parts of the road, and then a thin layer of snow…

I have faith in the Tracer’s traction control and ABS, and indeed the Michelin Road 5 tyres. I have less faith in my own skills but the road is quite difficult to turn on in those few hundred metres to the top so I decided it would be better to get to that flat, spacious (relatively) rotary, and make the turn there. (Spoiler: it was all fine).

The image here is from the bike’s drive recorder I had installed a while back, so image quality isn’t great, but it gives a fun ‘just above the wheel’ POV.

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A Tunnel Spa

Japan is somewhat blessed by with spas and hot spring due to its volcanic spine, but they are sadly not all ones you can pop to and have a soak in. This one is more to look at, being securely fenced off at the end of a tunnel. I first stopped off here in the Summer of 2023, but when its 35degrees outside, adding to that heat didn’t seem like a good idea, so I came back in the middle of Winter.

It’s a short tunnel which is as hot and humid as you’d expect, but at that time of year it was a nice contrast to the chill outside. The water did look very hot though, so understandable they don’t let people access it.

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I should also say that there’s a few ways to access this hot spring, but I did from the Beach Line, which is a toll road along the coast, but nowadays the road I used doesn’t have a gate, so you can get in and then get out without incurring a fee.

So that was a few days in February, and I would like to think a few diverse things going on.