Yashio is a flat, workaday city in south-eastern Saitama, just north of Tokyo's Adachi ward, sandwiched between the Nakagawa and Ayase rivers. It is a landscape of small factories, warehouses, apartment blocks and the occasional field of vegetables, crossed by expressways and railway lines. It will not feature in any guidebook, and it does not pretend otherwise.
What it offers a rider is position. The Tokyo Gaikan expressway, the outer ring road, runs past, and the Metropolitan Expressway and Tsukuba Express link it with central Tokyo, so it is a practical place to meet, fill the tank and grab breakfast at a convenience store before heading out. Service stations are plentiful, and the convenience stores sell everything from rice balls and coffee to rain ponchos.
The rivers are the main natural feature. Their embankments, which protect the low-lying land from floods, offer long, open views across the plain, and they are lined with cherry trees in places, beautiful in early April. The land here was once marshy, and the efforts to control the rivers, which began centuries ago, have shaped the whole region.
From Yashio, the roads lead south-west towards Tokyo and the bay, or north towards the open plain and the mountains. Traffic is heavy, especially on weekdays and at rush hour, and the roads are lined with traffic lights. An early start, before the city wakes up, is the best way to escape. Once you are clear of the suburbs, the riding improves quickly.