While we were still riding the ferry, we tried to find a suitable hotel for the night, keeping the forecasted rain in mind. We couldn't find a good option for our stay, and meanwhile the forecast shifted - it would not rain until the next morning. We did find a campground not too far from the ferry terminal however, so in the end we went for the camp option. It was a fun experience to cycle from the ferry to the campground in the dark, especially as the roads were totally empty. We saw 1 deer on our way, found the campsite, were the only campers and had a great (dry) night.
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Same ferry, same location for the photo, different time
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| Our private campsite for the first night Hokkaido while breaking up our camp |
The weather forecast was right for the next day unfortunately. As we were preparing to leave, the first raindrops fell. It rained on and off for most of the day, but never very hard and with a lot of dry periods so it was not too bad at all. It was all in all even a nice cycling day, despite the weather. By early afternoon, after only 41km of riding, we stopped at a very nice campsite, first for a coffee, then decided to stay for the night as well. It had started to rain more heavily (and we had good shelter), there was an onsen next to the campground, it was such a nice place, ... More than enough good reasons to stay! So we used the rest of the afternoon to do some maintenance to the bikes - which was about time: swap front and rear tyres, new brake pads, a little fine tuning to the gear shifter, adjust the saddle, clean and lube the chain, ... It was a bit cold, no problem as long as we were busy with the bicycles, and no problem once we were at the onsen either. It was really nice to sit in the outdoor hot baths, looking at the clouds and the rain... And we even went for the easy option to have dinner at the onsen restaurant rather than our own camp kitchen...
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| Making choices in rainy Hokkaido |
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| Beautiful and wet campsite |
Once we got into our tent, it still rained heavily for another 2 hours or so, and then it stopped for the rest of the night. The morning was nice and sunny again, and we enjoyed great weather and great cycling for several hours. We came to the town of Hidaka, ready to change from R237 to R274 only to find out that... R274, direction Obihiro - our intended direction - was closed to all traffic, since almost a year! Impossible to get through, even on a bicycle apparently. Unfortunately this meant an enormous detour for us, at least 1 extra day through mountains, so we took our time to find an alternative. We changed our entire Hokkaido plan! Rather than go east from where we were, we decided to go north first, then east, then probably north again, and find a way back to Hokkaido by public transport in the end if we need to. Maybe this closed road was bad luck, but maybe even good luck, because our new plan might even be nicer than what we had in mind.
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| Hokkaido scenery |
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| More Hokkaido scenery |
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| And... more Hokkaido scenery |
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| Perfect place for a coffee break |
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| We asked the policeman, we asked the restaurant owner, it was clear: even by bicycle we couldn't get through. Time for a change of plans! |
So we rode north, continuously through very very green scenery, on a nice road good for cycling, with little traffic although a lot of trucks. After less than an hour the sky started to look very dark in the distance and sure enough, a little later we were riding in the rain again! Luckily we arrived at a rest area just when the rain really broke through, and we stopped to take a break and wait for the rain to stop or at least, decrease. It forced us to yet another change of plans. We had a good place in mind for the night, but with the time lost due to the heavy rain, we wouldn't make it. There was nothing from the rest area in Shimukappu for the next 40km, and the people at the tourist info in the rest area tried to find us a hotel nearby, but it was all full... So we had to improvise a campsite in the area, and continue our journey in the morning. We did find a very nice one!
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| Oh no... rain again! Luckily we were at the rest stop just before it started to rain heavily. |
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| We continued to a campsite after the rain, and it can be beautiful when things are wet too! The arrow in the picture, is something we see on many roads in Hokkaido; it must be to indicate the side of the road after heavy snowfall. |
Hokkaido has been surprising so far. It's very different from the Japan we've experienced so far. The scenery is incredibly green, even more than before. There is hardly any built up area, small villages and farms but no cities so far. A lot of farmland, Hokkaido is Japan's dairy farm. It's very quiet and peaceful, and more pure and "raw". Not surprising, as it has 20% of Japan's land surface but only 5% of its population, so it's pretty "empty" and natural. Totally something for us. Also, it looks much less like Japan. Houses are more modern, western style, hardly any temples or shrines. There are much less supermarkets and convenience stores, and they are different brands than before too. Funny and interesting how you're still in the same country, but it definitely feels and looks different. It even reminds me of places like Scandinavia, rural Australia, or even Belgium (including some of the exquisite agricultural odours).
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| On the small road towards the campsite, a few km before reaching it |
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| Goodnight! (soon) |