Today I've teamed up with Aichi Prefecture

to check out how to ride and bike around this area in central, Japan.

To get there, we're taking a super smooth ride

the magnetic, levitating train called Linimo

and checking out a few stops along the way.

At each stop, I'm doing a survey by bike

checking out what to do and where to eat

around Aichi, in the heart of Japan.

Hey Guys! I'm Loretta and welcome to my channel, KemushiChan!

I'm going to go buy my ticket and then we'll get started.

To get here you start at Nagoya station,

then take the Subway Higashiyama Line to Fujigaoka St.

OK, let's go!

We made it to Irigaike Koen Station.

We're first going to check out Cycle Joy.

Bike rentals are pretty popular across Japan,

but at Cycle Joy you can rent them for FREE.

You just need to fill out a brief application, available in English,

to rent a bike for the day.

We made it to the first place. It's a local ramen shop,

but it has a very special flair to everything its serving up.

I got the cheese, curry, soy milk, tan-tan men.

The lunch set also comes with a special side

so I got Italian TKG.

And then there's deep fried gyoza! Who doesn't like that?

I'm going in!

Mmmmmm!

That's a good tantan-men!

Good heat, good cheese, good balance, good eats!

Our main ramen is Tonkotsu (Pork-bone) based.

So It's kind a like the fable , but you are the wolf.

This is the concept of this restaurant.

A-ha, I see.

A lot of rugby players come to eat here

and this town has a lot of study abroad students,

so we get a lot of students, too.

Welcome to the grounds of Iwasaki castle!

If you use a bike like we did you can get pretty close to it off the Linimo,

and from the surrounding areas as well.

We just learned about the history of this castle

that starts in the early 16th century,

there were so many battles and stories about how the castle was turned over between different families

but none of that really known outside of Japan.

In Japan there are these things called TAIGA dramas which is like historical dramas,

and apparently this castle has been skipped over,

but Iwasaki castle has a huge history that you have to come here to see here yourself.

Thanks to the bike we were able to do that today.

Next up, I read there are a bunch of trendy cafes in the area

and decided to check one out along the way.

They have delicious coffee and a full bar,

but they also have some cool desserts,

so I'm getting a little treat after all that bike riding.

The Chocolate Bon Bon. Do you guys want a bite?

Looking good!

Oh my god!

It's like caramel swirly nougat stuff.

My otsukare-bon bon. This is so good!

It's not overly sweet, I really like that.

Ahh. A proper cup of coffee!

We made it to the next station, Ai-chikyuhaku Kinen Koen.

Also it's the home of Aichi Expo Park.

This is one of the hugest and widest attractions.

We're going to be cycling here today, but also,

DO YOU GUYS LIKE GHIBLI?

There's a little treat in for you today.

This whole area is loved by people around here for picnicking and hanging out.

So this is where you pick up your ticket to rent a bike!

1 person, 100yen for the whole course. Nice.

And then you can take it over here

Good morning, miss. Good morning.

May I have your ticket, please? Here is your helmet.

Please select the size. Okay.

So, your card is yellow? Yes, it's yellow.

Bike time!

We made it to the first checkpoint

and I have something EXTRA special to show you guys!

Look over here!

About two kilometers into the bike course

there's this hidden house from the original My Neighbor Totoro movie.

Isn't it just adorable?

There's the pond over there, too. You can actually go in and do tours.

Welcome to the heavens!

You can see the entire bike course from up here!

I bet you it's beautiful in the Spring too, but these Fall colors?

The reds and the yellows and blue sky…

Aichi Expo Park is a huge space where families can come play,

it's a great date spot, you can go on picnics

and the CYCLING is by far my favorite! You can really see far out from here!

If you ride the Linimo train to the last stop,

you'll arrive at Yakusa station.

From there you can transfer to the Aichi Loop Line and catch a soccer game

or the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Toyota Stadium

or head back towards Nagoya!

I only visited a few spots along the Linimo Line, but let me know in a comment

if there's another spot I should check out next.

Thanks for watching! I'll see you next time. Bye!