Sunday, May 11, 2008

Diversions - Bicycling in Awase

Location: Drive to the Awase seawall, which starts at the southern end of the Awase Communication Station. There are a few parking spots right there, and a bit further south a parking lot in front of a row of restaurants.
You can bicycle north about halfway around the base perimeter, until the path stops abruptly in front of a dead tidal flat. Heading south, the seawall intersects Awase bay road (the 227) which goes into Comprehensive Park. There is an obvious bicycle track hugging the coast , from which you can enter the park to explore. Back on the coast, the seawall starts again and continues back out to the 227. The seawall area is less tidy than Chatan's, but also much less crowded, making it possible for two people to cycle side by side most of the distance.
Food options here are not ideal. Chain restaurants and large izakayas dominate. Many smaller shops close on Sundays. There are a couple smaller soba places, one on the corner main road heading into Awase (the extension of the 20). The restaurants in front of the seawall seemed not quite right. We ended up having an ebi burger at MOS, which was adequate.