This 400km winter cycle trip takes us through Ibaraki Prefecture. At Lake Kasumigaura, our cyclist plunges into freezing water to help a husband and wife harvest lotus roots. After hill climbing on Mt. Tsukuba, he visits a historic kendo hall, and a workshop where two brothers make fine armor the traditional way. Then he meets hotel brothers experimenting with fishermen's cuisine. Ibaraki families know the value of working together.