UTSUNOMIYA -- Comfortable lodging for a family of four, with meals, for less than 20,000 yen? Yes, it's possible, even in Japan. That's all my family paid for a very enjoyable overnight in Utsunomiya, at a public facility that promotes bicycling.
Utsunomiya is a city of about half a million people, 130 km northwest of Tokyo. Most tourists go right by on their way to Tochigi Prefecture's better-known destinations. But we've seen the shrines and temples at Nikko. We've done the ninja theme park and hot-springs baths at Kinugawa. What we really wanted was an active weekend outdoors with our kids.
I asked around for ideas, preferably ones that wouldn't break the bank. So my ears perked up when my friend Izumi told me about "cycling terminals." You can rent bikes and the rooms are cheap, she said. This sounded perfect for us, and it was.