roads

A black bicycle with blue panniers parked at the overlook of a freeway cutting, at the entry point to an overpass. A rust-stained concrete barrier is behind the bicycle, and in the background a six-lane freeway is visible.

A touring bicycle with four panniers parked in front of a set of concrete stairs, with a sheer concrete retaining wall on the right.

A touring bike with four panniers parked at the top of a set of concrete stairs, with a city skyline in the background.

A loaded cargo bike parked in a narrow paved pathway, with a steep stonework embankment on its right. The entrance to a tunnel under the embankment is to the right, and there is a sign to the left of the path with arrows indicating destinations Sanage (猿投) straight on, and Asuke (足助) and Chikaraishi (力石) to the right through the tunnel.

A loaded cargo bike parked on a forest floor, with traffic cones behind supporting a plastic rail on which is hung a sign reading: “No Through Road/Due to destruction of the road, vehicles cannot pass” (通行止・道路崩壊の為車両の通行はできません).

A loaded cargo bicycle parked at a bridge over an earthen canal with trees and dried grass on the banks. A sign on a guardrail behind the bike is partly obscured by black spray paint over the school name, but seems to read “Miyoshi North District County Elementary School/Gathering Point/Departure Time 7:40” (三好町立北部小学校・集合場所・出発時間７時４０分). Not sure what the reason for the splotch of black paint is, but the sign must be at least 13 years old, since Miyoshi County became Miyoshi City in 2010.

A loaded cargo bike is parked on a paved path lying alongside a busy two-lane road with trucks moving in both directions. A guard rail separates the path from the road, but scarcely noticeable is an opening to enter a narrower path on the road side of the guard rail, separated from traffic by a low concrete curb.

A narrow path with a guard rail to the left and a low concrete curb to the right lies next to a trafficked road stretching upward toward a bridge crossing. A sign indicates this is Route 134, and a yellow sign below tersely marks this as “walking path” 歩行

The path shown in the companion photos, beyond the bridge crossing. Tall weeds grow here and there through cracks in the pavement.

A cargo bicycle parked at water’s edge, with a Japanese shrine gate (“torii”) in the background, and a freeway overpass beyond that.